May 2013 Update

~

the Gypsy Queens

~ continue to circle the globe

~ bringing their great music with them

~ and finding new adventures at every turn  
~ including trips ~ earlier this month
~ to Beirut, London and Cairo !!
~

~ ~

Sadly ~ a recent (wrong) turn 

~ involved a lost passport in Dubai

~ and a very lost Gypsy Queen   

~

"This is what it looks like when im depressed,

with no passport, missed flight, stranded in Dubai

... At least i have a nice prayer mat."

~

Jason

who lost his passport

and got left behind

~ March 2013 

~ this is Jason in happier days

Caterina Murino with " Bond. Jason Bond !! "

~ luckily ~ Jason got things sorted out

~ at the British Consulate

and with new passport in hand

~ he caught up with the band !! 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First up ~ is
~ Booker T and the MGs
~ playing "Hang'em High" (1991)

(use double-click ~ or 'esc' 
~ to open and close Full-Screen)

Booker T was a BIG hit with all the guys
~ particularly Jason's brother ~ Adam King
~ who was around to photograph and videotape
~ the making of the album

Adam taping Booker T

Adam ~ Didi ~ Larry Klein ~ Jason  

~

Adam shot each of these beautiful portraits
~ at the Jim Henson Recording Studio in LA
~ Jay

~ Anders

~ Jason

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of the greatest strengths 

~ of the Gypsy Queens

~ is their individual musical skill and versatility

~ with a wide range of instruments

  

Altho Jay Metcalf is well known

~ as a terrific saxophone player

~ he can also sing (lead and harmony)

~ with the best of them

~ and plays a range of brass and woodwind instruments

~

here's a video directed, photographed and produced by Adam King !!

Ark Films ~ Adam R King

~ of Jay Metcalf ~ adding his superb skills

~ to some of the many musicians and singers

~ who have turned Nice into a music Mecca 

~ ~ ~ PHOTO ~ TIME ~ ~ ~

Here's the band performing in London

~ in mid-December, 2012 

~ and a couple shots of Manuel and Jason

~ enjoying the local color

~ in St. Petersberg, Russia

~ in late February of this year

~

After midnight ~ New Year's Eve ~ 2013 !!

~ Baku  Azerbaijan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ we asked Sherman to set the way-back machine
~ first > to 1999 ~ and then > to 2001
~ before there were any Gypsy Queens
~ and Didi was busking the streets of Nice ~ alone
~ 

here he is ~ in July 1999

~ with his trademark Uncle Sam hat

~ and his famous "mean green machine" guitar

~ (he had turned 19 ~ the month before) 

wandering the streets of Nice

~ trying to avoid the little white tourist train

~ (from which he was being secretly filmed) 

~ the next evening ~ in front of Le Criee

~ where the diners delighted
~ in his varied and eclectic musical menu

by 2001 ~ when he was 21

~ Didi was appearing on French television's

~ "Star Academy" 

~ competing for best male singer

Around  the :50 second mark

~ you'll see the apartment Didi lived in ~ then

~ and his trademark hat and guitar in the corner

~ so ~ pull out your French-to-English dictionaries

~ and tune in to a young Didier   

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as noted ~ all the GQs are great musicians
~ but ~ they had to learn somewhere !!
fortunately ~ we have a rare tape
~ of Didi's first guitar teacher
~

if you listen very carefully
~ you can definitely hear
~ the same licks and riffs heard on
~ the Gypsy Queens' "Country Roads"
~ now you know where they got those from !! 

BUT LISTEN UP !!!!
~ THIS TAPE HAS VERY VERY ROUGH LANGUAGE
~ if that's a problem ~ then skip it
~ but ~ if not
~ get out your tattered, old John Denver T-shirts
~ light up a little "Hey Harry, How's by You ??"
~ and listen to the man who taught Didi to play !!!
~ 

~ Enjoy the Warm Weather !! ~

the Gypsy Queens at 'Atlantis' in the Bahamas

~

That's it for this month
~ stay on your toes !!
~