Crazy Eclectic Groove Funk

We’re not dead, I promise!

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:29:46 -0400

We’re not dead, I promise!

Happy holidays y’all!

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:26:20 -0500

Happy holidays y’all!

I despise the comic industry, but I will always love the comic medium.

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:49:42 -0500

“Life isn’t divided into genres. It’s a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you’re lucky.”

Ever see or read Watchmen, V for Vendetta or From Hell, and wonder what the creator of these amazing graphic novels is like? Find out this Sunday at 8pm when we screen “The Mindscape of Alan Moore.” FREE to general public. $4 drafts, $4 select red wines and hookah specials!

Open at 10am tomorrow!

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:31:17 -0500

And later that night, Black Hellatones (Jacksonville, NC) and Dirty Dakotas (ILM)!!!

CZARINA SAUCE: #OccupyWallStreet Fundraiser Festival Schedule

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:18:18 -0400

CZARINA SAUCE: #OccupyWallStreet Fundraiser Festival Schedule:

czarinasauce:

#OCCUPYWALLSTREET FUNDRAISER//FESTIVAL ITINERARY

###### Friday November 4 ######

4pm: DIY Cleaning with Essential Oils workshop: Learn how to make your own simple non-toxic cleaning products, utilizing the properties of essential oils, from Maya, a certified clinical…

Next weekend...mark dem calendars

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:28:00 -0400

Facebook Event

Halloweek

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 17:27:24 -0400

Halloweek:

Wed (today!): Wikkid Wednesday with 420B Collective, feat. The Real MFA, Nate Nasti, Spitfire, Grady Watts. FREE SHOW.

Thurs: Fire and Drums!

Fri: Tragic Magic w/ Elation

Sat: Project Chalk Hulaween!

Sun: “Rocky Horror Picture Show” 8pm, Halloween show w/ Caucasians 10pm

Mon: Open Mic!

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 13:02:54 -0400

still here

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:46:02 -0400

Hey guys, we’re still here. It’s been awhile since our last update, but with Mayhem, post-Mayhem and other happenings at The Gypsy, we’ve been awfully busy. But hey, for all those who came out to Mayhem, hope you all had as much fun as we did!

We’re still here at The Gypsy and YES, air conditioning is working just fine, so get over here and hide from the heat while smoking some teasha and drinking a nice, tasty craft beer at our bar.

Not much to update with, but look out for following events and stay tuned for more info:

-The Traveling Super Variety Game show (yes, this is a game show, not a band)…more details pending
-July 1st ILM music extravaganza, featuring Ponchos, Dirty Dakotas and Technoetry
-July 2nd FOAM PARTY
-July 4th Electro Noise bash, featuring Mecanikill, Headstone Hollow and more
-July 8th Nick Driver
-July 9th ASYLUM GOTH NITE
and more more more!
-TRANSFORMUS

Get ready to blast off!

Tue, 17 May 2011 22:51:34 -0400

Don’t have your Mayhem ticket/boarding pass yet? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!

Get ready for a weekend of art, music, fire, camping, debauchery and more! Look out for camps like Ancient Astronaut Awesome Camp, Barbarian Camp, Houston Central Command Camp, Camp Electric Cthulhu, Life in the Trees Camp, Project Chalk’s Moon Bass Camp, 23 Skidoo and more!

If you’ve never been to Mayhem, here’s what you need to know:

1. Tickets are presently $30 now, as they have gone up this past week. Obtain tickets either at the Gypsy during business hours, online at Brown Paper Tickets. If you wait too long and just show up at the gate, you will be charged $50 per ticket. So get it soon!

2. This is NOT a music festival or a Rainbow gathering styled event, although there will be plenty of music playing throughout the weekend and we will greet you with “Welcome Home.” But this is a burn (based on Burning Man), which entails art, creativity, radical self-reliance, the trade/barter system (no money is to be exchanged once you enter past the gate…if you need to go out and buy food and water to bring back, we certainly will not stop you), and more. If you wish to leave the property and return, you MUST keep your given wristband on. And yes, we will be marking accordingly to those who are 21+ and underage.

3. This is on private land, so respect it and DO NOT LITTER. We strictly enforce a LEAVE NO TRACE policy, and anyone caught littering or leaving MOOP (matter-out-of-place), will be punished accordingly, by the M.O.O.P.stapo. If it persists and there is no attempt to improve, you may be asked to leave without a refund. You’re here to have fun, but you will also respect the land the owner is kindly letting you use to have your fun. A good tip for smokers: bring an empty Altoid can to store your cigarette butts.

4. As far as what to bring, it’s basically the general camping gear: YOUR ID & TICKET, lots of H20, coolers and ice for your beverages and food, tent, sleeping bag and linens, TRASH BAGS!, lawn chairs, costumes, art, instruments, bug spray, sun block, swim suit (Cape Fear River will be right there), grills, Altoid cans (to store those cigarette butts), body paint, fire/glo toys, hula hoops, etc.

5. NO PETS ALLOWED. We don’t really like it, but this is the request of the owner and his neighbors and we must respect it. So please, get a friend to babysit, find a kennel, etc. Do NOT bring your pets.

6. NO DRAMA. This is all about having a good time and being a community, so leave your baggage at home. If there is a problem, find someone from the staff/rangers. They will have identifying badges and you can probably find at least 2 at the gate if you should need them to address a problem.

7. Any other questions, report them to our staff. When you arrive at Mayhem, you will get a warm welcome from the gate folks who can easily answer any questions you may have about the event.

ALSO, if you have never been to Mayhem before, you must receive a spanking to enter. NO EXCEPTIONS. If you refused one last year, you will be spanked this year or you will not enter the site. EVERYONE who goes to Mayhem has gotten spanked, so if you think a spanking is going to destroy your reputation or dignity, then this event is not for you and you can just go home.

COUNTDOWN TO BLAST OFF: 3 DAYS suckaz!

Guess where [some of us] will be this weekend...

Thu, 12 May 2011 15:38:53 -0400

If any of you cool cats, beer aficionados and stinky hippies are going to be out on Carolina Beach (North End) for either this big beer/music/art festival, or for ReVolution, look out for The Gypsy!

For the Pleasure Island Brewery Invitational Beer, Music, & Arts Festival, The Juggling Gypsy will be out there for the weekend setting up our famous dome. And underneath the shady dome, we’ll a hookah bar setup, ambient/tribal music playing and some smokin’ gypsy ladies tending to your shisha needs.

So look out for a big dome and the aromatic scent of shisha coming from inside. Enjoy your delicious beer from all the visiting breweries, while taking a few tokes of hookah on the beach!

Sheesh

Mon, 09 May 2011 19:23:31 -0400

Well, this has been an interesting past week for The Gypsy and Gypsy staff overall. For privacy reasons, we will not disperse too many details, but a few of the staff members have endured some health problems lately, one involving a serious car accident that nearly killed a Gypsy. So, if you pray or talk to any deity, god, idol, whatever, tell them to send good vibes and a swift, healthy recovery to our inflicted Gypsy staff members.

Oh, and hey, there was also a shooting not too far from The Gypsy recently. We hope the victim is okay, makes a speedy recovery and that the perpetrators will be served a nice cold plate of justice.

So far, May has been a turbulent month.

But hey, we’re survivors here at The Gypsy. We survived these past seven years in business, despite smoking bans, crazy neighborhood incidents, etc. In the words of Gloria Gaynor (or Cake, if you prefer that version), we will survive. And we will flourish and continue contributing and supporting the creative arts here in Wilmington!

So, what’s happening this week at The Gypsy? Well, hopefully nothing too insane, but we do have the following:

Tues: Usual Sake night! ($1 off sake shots, along with beer and hookah specials)

Wed: Open Mic Nite with Ted for President as your host! Bring your music, comedy, poetry, etc! Signups begin at 8pm.

Thurs: Fire & Drums Night, beginning at dark o’clock, with DJ M-IT coming in with some psytrance at 11pm.

Fri: Gothic Belly Dance Showcase. 9pm. $10 door charge goes to the dancers and artists. Celebrate Friday the 13th with belly dancing!

Sat: Asylum Gothic/Industrial Night. A wide array of DJs. Dancing, costumes, visual art and more. Donations appreciated.

Sun: Subversive Film: “Exit Through the Gift Shop: A Banksy Film” at 8pm. Behind the Garage Music: Sex Seahorse. 10pm. FREE.

An article on beer, featuring Ted for President

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:54:19 -0400

Photo By Carter Smith

Article By Gwenyfar Rohler:

One of the more interesting aspects of the Live Local challenge has been the responses that people in the community have. Rather unexpectedly one night, while having a drink at the Soapbox, my friend, Ted, turned to me and said, “So you know your local thing? I’m doing that with beer.” Needless to say this non sequitur got my attention.

“What?” I responded.

“Yeah, I’m not drinking corporate beer this year; it’s my New Year’s Resolution.”
Needless to say, Ted expanded upon his plan. Here is what he had to say.

encore: So, what is your New Year’s resolution, exactly?
Ted Roberts (TR): To not purchase beers owned/brewed by, and therefore not give any money to, [large corporations]. As someone who supports local/regional breweries and someone who is quite proud of the breweries within our great state, I felt like this would be a good goal. I do what I can to support smaller businesses in other aspects of my life, so why not with beer?

e: What led to this?
TR: For quite some time I have worked at the Juggling Gypsy. The Gypsy prides itself on its beer selection; while we do serve products owned by the large behemoths, they are never what you will find on special, and any bartender will try to suggest a better version of whatever domestic beer you might try to order. This is both to promote the small craft brewers and because the quality of domestics is generally low. In the same way that you get better service at the general store than at Walmart, the people that brew their beer without the opinions of shareholders and corporate bureaucrats being forced into the process of something that has been treated like art in the past. There’s a reason that smaller brewers are called craft brewers.

This was already on my mind when I saw the documentary “Beer Wars” late last year. The film covers the differences in the way smaller brewers and the large companies (InBev and MillerCoors). I’ve worked for a massive corporation, and I’ve worked for small local businesses. I don’t buy goods from the massive corporation I worked for because I don’t want to support what they do, having seen it from the inside. “Beer Wars” and the other sources of information for me have caused me to apply that opinion to beer as well.

e: How hard has it been?
TR: Honestly, it’s been fun so far. I feel better knowing more about the brewers that make the beer I drink… . one fantastic thing about living in this area is that we have some great breweries owned and operated in North Carolina. Duck Rabbit and Highland are amazing, and the majority of the places I would even consider buying beer from carry them.
I feel better knowing that the money I spend is helping out smaller brewers and factoring into the statistics that owners look at to decide where their money goes. The difficult part is finding out certain things about breweries I like. I used to drink a lot of beer from Leinenkugel’s, a Wisconsin brewery that had been family owned since 1867. I knew they had been around that long, but I did not know until recently that they were bought out by Miller in the late ‘80s.

e: Has our community benefited?
TR: From my decision? I’m not in a place to say. But any community benefits when people that are doing something locally recognized. During the same time period that I’ve started trying to do this, I have seen a friend of mine try to start homebrewing. Based on my own research about the subject, I’ve discovered others who were making their stuff at home before I came across this concept. Maybe the community has benefited, but I think I’ve benefited more by discovering more about my own community.

e: Where do you find beer that meets the criteria?
TR: I definitely must mention Cape Fear Wine & Beer and Satellite. I know there are other bars around town with a good selection but those are the main two that really have what I want—a product that is close to home, either in location or in the heart of the product being sold, and a staff that cares just as much as the people that made the product and the people that buy the product. Front Street Brewery is an obvious choice, since they brew beer less than two miles from my apartment.

e: Suggestions for others who might want to get started?
TR: Make a list of the beer you already drink. Do some research on the Internet and find out who owns the breweries that make those beers. You will be surprised by some of it. Go to places like Cape Fear Wine & Beer, or spend some time on beeradvocate.com, and you will find a different approach to what you already like made by a craft brewer that will probably taste much better.

link

Bring Yr Own Vinyl Night

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 16:41:25 -0400

Originally, we were going to have an Arts Fund-raiser for Mayhem, brought to you by Team Awesome and Eight Circuits. That will be postponed until further notice.

BUT HEY! Doesn’t mean this Monday is going to be lame! The Gypsy will host a Bring Yr Own Vinyl night! If you’re not familiar with this concept, here’s what you do: 1) dig through any old records you may have or any new ones that hopefully you got at your local record sh…ops for this past Record Store Day, 2) Bring them to the Gypsy to play! If you don’t hae any vinyl and want to start collecting, Gypsy suggests you go straight to Gravity Records (Kerr Ave), Squidco (4th St) or Yellow Dog (S. College Rd).

Vinyl Night will be hosted by Ted (for President 2012) & Christina (aka: Christinushka) and will also do a Vinyl Trivia session where you can win some beer and/or hookah! (if you’re of age, of course!)

And if you’re worried about what genres of music to bring, bring WHATEVER. Just don’t be surprised if we cut short on any 90’s boyband or Britney Spears vinyl (geez, do they actually exist?!) [Yep]

And while you’re hanging out listening to the raw, beautiful scratchiness of records, enjoy our $2 micros, $4 champagne and some surprise shisha and teasha specials!

9pm
Free
Play some music, win a prize!

Did you know....

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:42:15 -0400

That THE RAPTURE will take place this year?

And that it will occur while we’re all at MAYHEM?

Get ready to be LEFT BEHIND and PARTY SOME MORE!

(and hey, the IHOP and all the places we’ll be hitting up for food after we leave Mayhem won’t be crowded with the Sunday Church people!)

It's the time of the year again...

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:35:00 -0400

Yes yes YES! Mayhem is coming soon and I know a lot of us Gypsies are excited and still making awesome plans to make it the best Mayhem!

For those who are unfamiliar, Mayhem is the annual regional burn/fund-raiser in southeast North Carolina. Have you heard of Transformus (Asheville) or THE BURN, Burning Man (Nevada)? Well, Mayhem is like that—fire, art, creativity, camps, debauchery, community and MORE!

*Last year (photo taken by Susan Elizabeth Henry)

This year for Mayhem will be a “Space” theme, so just let your imagination wander and guess what our effigy might be! The dates are May 20-22.

Tickets ARE on sale now for a mere $25 for 3 days of fun, and you can either purchase them online here, or just stop by the Gypsy and ask the working bartender that you want to buy your boarding pass to Mayhem. If you’re interested in helping make Mayhem happenor have some creative ideas, get in touch with Cape Sphere, one of the masterminds behind Mayhem. This is, after all, an event promoting the arts and creativity.

The directions on the website are for the Castle Hayne site that has hosted Mayhem since the beginning. It is possible we may be at a different location this year, but stay tuned and we’ll get you that info as soon as we find out!

*Last year (photo taken by Susan Elizabeth Henry)

Don’t miss it this year.

It's been awhile...but they're back!

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:04:44 -0400

Yes, the Sofa King Naughties are back and coming back to The Gypsy for their first show of 2011! It will be for April Fools Day and we can assure you that we ain’t foolin’ around—it will be an awesome night of sideshow, jokes, burlesque, sexy ladies, and more! $10 cover charge to get in and it will directly support your entertainers!

The last time the Naughties performed in public was last year for their Halloween show. Check out these photos from that spooktacular night. All photos were taken by Carter Smith.

This weekend at The Gypsy

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 17:28:00 -0400

Of course we’ll have our usual Wednesday Open Mic w/ Ted for President 2012, and our Thursday Fire & Drums w/ DJ M-IT. This weekend, however, we’ll have two really fantastic North Carolina bands taking The Gypsy Stage.

Friday: Crystal Bright and The Silver Hands (Greensboro, NC), w/ Saint Anthony (ILM)

Saturday: Baby Rattlesnakes (Asheville, NC)

Don’t miss either bands this weekend. And if you’re unsure, check out Christina’s review on Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands below, which was featured in March’s issue of Performer Magazine.

—

Colorful Ensemble Flaunts International Flair

By: Christina Dore

It must be difficult for Greensboro, North Carolina band Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands, to avoid comparisons to the likes of Dresden Dolls, thus being categorized with terms like “vaudeville” or “cabaret” Even Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls dubbed her duo as “Brechtian punk cabaret” to avoid the “gothic” label.

Crystal Bright, ringmaster of the Silver Hands, is effortlessly paired with people like Palmer and their style, essentially because it’s easy and it truly is that arduous to place Bright’s group in a specific genre. It helps that Bright’s resume encompasses an education of ethnomusicology and anthropology, not to mention the global buffet of musical adventures—from participating in a Mariachi band, a Balinese Gamelan ensemble, a Brazilian Samba group, a Ugandan ensemble, to a Chinese ensemble.

“All of the ensembles I played in have influenced my sound now,” explains Bright, who goes on about “tainting” Silver Hands guitarist Diego Diaz with the introduction of nylon strings after Bright wanted to record “Malaguena Salerosa,” a song from her mariachi days.

“I really like Eastern European accordion music, and that probably comes out in the sound. Also, for some reason, I always write in a minor key, which makes the music sound ‘darker’ to Western ears.”

Imagine entering a burlesque show but instead of dirty, whimsical jokes, folktales are narrated, and instead of the audience crying out for Crystal Bright’s lingerie, it’s lascivious cries for the saw, one of Bright’s instruments that imitates a windy, melancholy whistle. The sound is a transcontinental brothel of folk cabaret fables, filled with circus loners and angry gypsies that finger nylon strings and bang fire buckets with rusty spoons.

Besides the diverse cultures Bright immersed herself in, what makes up the spirit of the group are folk stories, as their name is derived from a fairytale.

“There is a story called ‘The Handless Maiden’, and it is about her losing her hands and gaining them back in the end, representing her coming into her full creative and soulful self, which I felt like I was doing then, and am still doing.” says Bright.

The Silver Hands are guitarist Diaz, drummer Peter Lewis and Taylor Bays whose talents include guitar, glockenspiel, and other random things like bowling balls and cooking pots. There’s also Charles Kurtz who plays double bass most of the time, but when he is unable, Bright’s accordion through a bass cabinet suffices. Along with accordion and saw, Bright also plays piano. Self-managed and taking on a DIY approach, the Silver Hands has played shows in North Carolina and are always striving to collaborate.

Their self-titled album features eclectic eight tracks of carnival folk, fairytale pop and gypsy jazz. “Toy Hammer” introduces the ghostly collision of Bright’s vocals and her saw, which creates a dark, sometimes uncomfortable, presence. Accordion welcomes and opens up “Lollipop” and it’s like entering a gypsy story time circle. Without a doubt, the international influence engulfing the Silver Hands is easily heard.

“Sometimes I’m inspired by a story and write about that. The process varies: most of the time I’ll get a melody in my head and record it in my phone. It might be for a bass line or a vocal line, and then I’ll flesh it out. I’ll start playing and then try to let lyrics come into my head and write them out in a free flow process. It can take a week to a couple of years to finish a song!” laughs Bright.

www.crystalbrightandthesilverhands.com

Project Chalk: When in Rome

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:53:58 -0400

This March, Project Chalk is breaking out the wine and togas and doing a Roman, Bacchanalian style dance party at The Juggling Gypsy this Friday.

What makes this event different than the others (besides the theme), is that the party will start early…at 5pm!

Project Chalk has invited really awesome guests such as local psychedelic superstars Galactic Nuclei, beautiful blues mama Sista Otis, and more! And of course, we will have our wonderful DJs, such as DJ GON, DJ APOGEE, and more.

$5 cover, which go to Project Chalk and assist them in throwing bigger and better parties for your pleasure in the future. This is an 18+ event so bring your ID, otherwise you’re not getting banded or served. And if the bartenders catch you with outside drinks, you will be thrown off the property, after they confiscate your shit.

Don’t miss this party Friday March 18th—celebrate the Ides of March and dance your ass off!

If you missed it this Tuesday...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:17:21 -0500

Local act Neurovine will be making a swift return to The Gypsy this Saturday! Should start around 9pm…don’t miss it!

Also, this Friday, we have 3 surprise acts in 1 night! T’will be a busy weekend!