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Gypsy Funk Squad…

…is Interactive & Family Friendly!

…is Fun, FUNky, Happy, Hippy, World dance music.

…plays rock/pop classics plus tunes from Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Mexico, India, etc.

…performs the music in a fun, eclectic, psychedelic manner—with or without a gypsy dancer.

We lead workshops & drum circles too!

Workshops include…

— Funky Hand Drum Games —

— Intro to Middle Eastern rhythms —

— Yoga for the Seven Levels of Intuition —

— Hindu Magick: Feel the Power of Lord Ganesh —


Giacomo…

comes from a lineage of unknown, behind the scenes influencers, and jokesters, from the well known land of "Li-Talia".

Some say his ancestors intentionally altered the blueprint for the Tower of Piza to lean at its current angle because "it was too perfect".

Excelling at hijinks, he enjoys tricking people into having a good time, dancing to music they would have otherwise ignored, and bringing them closer to the realization that life can actually have good qualities such as

…joy…

…triumph…

…fun…

…singing…

…happy faces…

…bright colors…

…and the little things.


Ohannes

…appeared into our realm as a result of the collected, shared intense emotion of extreme, tearful joy emoted by those of whom participated in a 3-day festival of dancing in his village from a hidden land, far, far away—perhaps "The Fertile Crescent", or something like that (if such a place even existed). Having skipped the infant, toddler, childhood years, and puberty, he was already 18 feet tall, fully cognizant and aware of all the local rhythms, not requiring any instruction nor needing to know the names and math involved to make beauteous music from any percussion instrument thrown at him.

Eventually, he appeared on the scene in this land with doumbek in hand, laying down the beats, and teaching the party people the traditional dances of his home land. Scientists claim that the reason Ohannes appears to be quite shorter than the height printed on his driver's license is due to refraction.


The squad member known as "Rhadni" (because his actual multi-syllabic name, unintelligible to our ears, vaguely sounds like that) is from unknown origin, although some speculate he may be from Outer Mongolia, or perhaps in a remote region near the Yucatán Peninsula, but it's anyone's guess at this point.

One evening, he shows up to a performance unannounced, fully prepared with instruments and gear, with a vague foundation of the music, and joins in as if he had been playing the music for a lifetime.

As a perpetual guest musician for years, he has disappeared and reappeared as mysteriously as his initial appearance, and although now a regularly performing member, still, nobody knows where he lives.


Ko-Ko

…comes from a realm very distant from our comprehension of "what is", hailing from the other side of a proverbial Möbius strip, very close in proximity to our physical reality which one may call "Inner Earth".

Ko-ko has analyzed human behavior by way of viewing triple reflections of individuals' auras bouncing off ethereal rain drops. Curious to learn more about us, he decided to experience "what is" through a "band", much like a Möbius strip, rich with its own twists and unusual outcomes.

Due to the seemingly random nature of Gypsy Funk Squad, he believes he has found himself a good match.


Guest Artists

Richard Reiter (1947-2024)
Musician (saxophones, clarinets, flutes), Band Leader, EMMY Award winning Composer, Educator, Leader of Spiritual Drum Circle.

Chuck
An amazing RIQ player, sits in with Gypsy Funk Squad whenever he can.


Former Members

Luis
One of the founding members of the Gypsy Funk Squad, (originally called Not Constantinople). For more info about him, visit his web site

Edward Rollin
Oboist, multi-instrumentalist and instrument inventor has been performing improvisational music since the 1960’s. He played with Gypsy Funk Squad from 2014 to 2017.

Fast Fingers
…was a wooden marionette carved from exotic Africa wood called bubinga, until he made the transformation to becoming a real boy through the help of his alchemist friend and science (for those who are wondering, his gender remained consistent throughout). Learning the way of the drum, he doum - tak'd his way to everyone's hearts with his bombastic beats and radiant joy.

Jimmy the Tree
…sprouted in an underground forest lit by its own local "sun" and became anthropomorphized through the magic of sonic resonance allowing him to move about. Raised by a pride of chimaera, they taught him the ways of the magic that made him who he was, and thus, he set forth to spread its power by way of any musical instrument of his choosing.