10 Questions with ... Jypsi

NAME:Jypsi TITLE:Band WEB:www.myspace.com/jypsi

1. Briefly introduce the band members using adjectives or personality traits.

a. FRANK: artistic, wanderer, easy-going, and friendly - never meets a stranger

b. AMBER-DAWN: bubbly, pink, hyper, pizzazz-stuffed, outgoing, rainbow

c. SCARLETT: flirtatious, mysterious, intriguing, very intelligent, and happy

d. LILLIE MAE: free-spirited, old-soul, deep, comic, vibrant

2. You've been touring and performing together for over 13 years, yet Lillie Mae is only 16 years old. How did your parents get you excited about music at such a young age and what was it like being on the road so much at such a young age?

a. SCARLETT: We were meant to do this. Before we even formed a band, we would travel with our family listening to live music, and we really don't know any other life.

3. You are now recording on Arista Nashville - how did the touring help prepare you for this, and how does it feel to have a major label involved with your career now?

a. FRANK: Everyone we work with all love music so much - what else can you ask for?

b. LILLIE MAE: Our crew is so amazing!

c. AMBER-DAWN: Constantly touring really never allowed us to settle down, so it prepared us. Everyone warned us that we would be so tired constantly traveling and performing, but this is what we've always done!

d. FRANK: We end up playing music in the van on our way to shows, but when we take a bus we have a chance to write together. We love being out there on the road.

e. SCARLETT: It's not stressful or tiring - it feels natural and comfortable

e. LILLIE MAE: We have friends in every city because we've always traveled!

4. The name "Jypsi" seems appropriate with your history as a family touring act. Who came up with the name? And we have to ask this - why is it Jypsi and not Gypsy?

a. LILLIE MAE: Amber-Dawn came up with it.

b. SCARLETT: Amber-Dawn said it first and we loved it, and we needed a different name that would stand out. We came up with the new spelling to spice it up.

b. AMBER-DAWN: When we were trying to think of a name that would fit us, we didn't just want a name, we wanted significance behind our name because of our lifestyle growing up traveling and performing on the road since we were little (Lillie Mae, age 3; Frank, age 7; Scarlett, age 10; Amber-Dawn, age 13).

5. Your new single "I Don't Love You Like That" seems to really hit home with listeners. Tell us about the song.

a. LILLIE MAE: It's a beautiful song, but it's sad at the same time.

b. FRANK: It's one of our favorite songs on the record because it is so sweet. It talks about how you can love somebody so much that you are willing to let them go because you want that person to have everything.

c. SCARLETT: We actually listened to that song for over a year. Then when the label brought it to us to record, we learned it in less than a week.

c. AMBER-DAWN: I see people in the crowd sing along. It's tricky because you think the meaning is 'I don't love you anymore,' but it really means the opposite. I think it touches a lot of emotions.

6. You're a family of incredible musicians. Where did you grow up, and how did you learn to play all the instruments?

a. SCARLETT: We all started on fiddle, but we had way too many fiddles in our band. We needed other instruments, and our parents thought it was really important for us to spend time learning to play other instruments. We learned how to play mandolin and guitar by listening to albums at home and on the road.

b. FRANK: We were always around musical instruments.

d. LILLIE MAE: We would have jam sessions for hours around campfires

7. How did traveling growing up help/hurt your career?

a. SCARLETT: Growing up as a traveling band, we learned how to play for different audiences and in many different venues and situations. We learned how to perform and act, and how to play particular music for specific audiences.

b. FRANK: Constantly touring, we had to really work hard to make everything happen. We would have to fix a car in a day to make a gig, and it really helped us prepare for whatever is thrown at us on the road.

c. SCARLETT: It taught us how to deal with everything.

e. FRANK: Once we played a casino and the sound system was busted, and because we're used to rolling with the flow, we were able to play acoustically until it was fixed. We're ready to do anything.

8. Who are your inspirations?

a. LILLIE MAE: Everly Brothers to Marty Robbins and Patsy Cline

b. SCARLETT: Sam Bush and New Grass Revival

c. AMBER-DAWN: Alison Krauss, Tony Rice, Louvin Brothers, Everly Brothers, Doyle Lawson

d. FRANK: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Led Zeppelin, BB King, Hank Sr., Waylon Jennings

9. You currently perform at Layla's Bluegrass Inn in downtown Nashville when not touring. How did you start performing there, and what do you see happening as your music takes off nationwide?

a. SCARLETT: We started playing at Layla's Bluegrass Inn because Amber-Dawn knew Layla and asked her if we could start playing one day a week. We were booking our own venues at that point, and we didn't know how it would work because it was a bar and Lillie Mae was only 12 years old, but we tried it for one week. Between the time Lillie Mae was 12 to age 13, we went from performing one day a week to six days a week. Anytime we get off the road we can't wait to play there.

b. FRANK: It doesn't matter if there are five people in the audience, we love to play there.

c. LILLIE MAE: Layla's is home. It's more home than home, but we're ready to spread our music worldwide.

d. SCARLETT: We are really looking forward to staying together and making music always. It's something we never get tired of doing...

e. LILLIE MAE: No matter what happens, we will always be playing together!

10. What is one guilty pleasure each of you have?

a. LILLIE MAE: Reading celebrity magazines.

b. SCARLETT: Shopping.

c. FRANK: Chocolate.

d. AMBER-DAWN: Watching television.

1. You clearly have fun on stage. What is your favorite song to perform for fans?

a. FRANK: "I Don't Love You Like That."

b. LILLIE MAE: We always have fun, but I really like "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

c. SCARLETT: "Stranger In My House" or our instrumental, "Kandi Kitchen."

d. AMBER-DAWN: That's a hard one, my favorite at the moment is "Night Flyer."

2. What was it like hearing your song on the radio for the first time?

a. AMBER-DAWN: When we heard our single for the first time we were in a van during a snowstorm in Wisconsin.

b. LILLIE MAE: We were driving to Chicago; I looked out the window in a tiny car.

c. SCARLETT: We literally had guitars on our laps.

d. LILLIE MAE: and our dream was finally a reality. This is what we've always wanted and been working on for so many years, and [when we heard our single] we realized it was all really coming true.

e. SCARLETT: As soon as we heard our song on the radio, we were close enough to home that friends started to call our phone.

f. AMBER-DAWN: They had heard us on the radio and were so excited!

3. What's in your CD player or iPod right now that you're diggin'?

a. FRANK: Ray Charles

b. LILLIE MAE: Jim Croce

c. SCARLETT: Jerry Reed

d. AMBER-DAWN: John Denver and Tony Rice

4. You wear cool, colorful clothing - have you always been creative with your clothes, and who picks out the stuff you wear?

a. SCARLETT: We pick out our own clothes, and we love to vintage shop. Our colors come from us expressing ourselves, and music really inspires our fashion. For instance, if I'm listening to Carly Simon when I get dressed, I'll tend to lean more towards hippie clothing. We've all really started to notice how much what's in our CD player can transform our moods.

5. Favorite junk food

a. AMBER-DAWN: Rice Krispies treats

b. LILLIE MAE: chocolate milk

c. SCARLETT: peanut butter

d. FRANK: Snickers

6. When you're on the road, who in the band is the most easy going and who is the most, well, annoying?

a. SCARLETT: No one is really annoying, but Frank is probably the hardest to deal with on the road because he is so easy going.