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THURSDAY March 4, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels February 12, 2004 'Soul' finds success at home By Richard Moeschl Arts & Entertainment Editor Their music has been aired on TV shows, movies and more than 700 radio programs. They've headlined nationally and internationally and performed on the same stage with many Grammy award winners, including Los Lobos, Edie Brickell and Beth Neilsen- Chapman. But finding a home here in Oregon has brought the greatest satisfaction. They are Gypsy Soul: Canadian-born Cilette Swann, whose heritage is Irish and South African; and British-born Roman Morykit, of Italian and Ukranian descent. Swann writes the haunting lyrics, and Morykit creates the equally evocative soundscapes on the guitar and bass that have become Gypsy Soul trademarks. Their sound defies conventional description but has invited comparisons with the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Sheryl Crow, Loreena McKennett, Sarah McLachlan and Enya. Morykit records and produces all of the group's CDs in his studio for its Off the Beaten Track label. Swann and Morykit met in Scotland. They have spent 12 years writing music for a career that is definitely on track. But it was not an easy journey getting there. "We started making records in 1996," Morykit said. Their parents loaned them the money to record their first record, "Test of Time." They had to go to a professional studio, as the home recording technology was not there yet. Their publisher loaned them money to manufacture the first record. "We were writing and working every kind of part-time job. We moved to L.A. and tried to live that illusion - 'you're a musician'," Morykit said. Many other hopeful musicians did the same and ended up with a lot of broken dreams. "In L.A., everybody is living their own strife," Swann said of their years there. Morykit described Los Angeles as a pop culture center, not a city that supports the arts. "It's a big machine: buy demos, equipment, make meetings for a career that will never happen." When the inevitable exit came, the two decided to move to Southern Oregon. They have been here since May 2001 and have never looked back. They still spend a considerable amount of time on the road - domestically and abroad - playing at clubs, universities and other venues. Their favorite places to play are state fairs and fine art fairs which attract their kind of people. "People who are open-hearted, who want to support the arts and music and feel it enriches them in some way, and want to feel better rather than just look better - that is our crowd," said Swann. And they're loyal. They have bought more than 50,000 Gypsy Soul CDs. They join the fan club, send more than 5,600 e-mails and attend the annual fan picnics. Gypsy Soul has had more than 1 million downloads and plays on MP3.com with 10 No. 1 songs and their "Somewhat Acoustic" sampler has been the best-selling DAM CD on the MP3 site. "It's not success at any cost for us," Morykit said. "We're very proud of the fact that we make a living being musicians. We've produced, financed, etc., all these CDs ourselves." The group, which does only about four local concerts a year, is playing at the Ashland Community Center at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Call 772-4940. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: The new search is here! Click here for more information. .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams