By Michael Leavy
The Gypsy Souls are so good, they aced their audition for Morristown Onstage without most of their instruments.
But they’re not taking any chances on Wednesday. They plan to bring their gear to the Mayo Performing Arts Center, where they will compete for prize money against a dozen other local amateur acts in a benefit for programs serving the Morris School District.
Rhythm guitarist Declan O’Hara says the band’s tryout for the contest was something he and drummer Leonardo Salazar, guitarist Tom Leitner and bassist Tony Tersh will never forget.
“We didn’t bring a drum set because I thought we didn’t have to, so we had quite the funny rehearsal. We had Leo playing air drums. I decided not to grab my amps. I was playing air guitar. Tony wasn’t plugged in, either.
“So Tommy pulled in clutch and he threaded the song by himself and it was awesome. None of them agree with me, but I thought it was the greatest performance we’ve ever done…”
The Gypsy Souls Band began with Leitner and Salazar, now a bartender at Homestead in Morristown, back in high school in Piscataway
“We were in this class where we would basically play music from, like the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s. It’s kind of like a history class for music,“ Leitner explains.
In 2019, the two began jamming together and experimenting with other musicians. They started attending open mic night at Bernie’s in Chester, where they met O’Hara and Tersh, a Morristown resident.
“And the rest is history,” Leitner says.
The band’s tastes run from Dave Matthews to the Police to John Mayer, according to Leitner.
“I always describe it as Declan being like the classic jam guy, the big Fish fan, the Dave Matthews fan. Tony is your kind of like ’80s aspect of it, with the Police and the punk rock kind of thing. And then Leo, you know, comes from a background of definitely a harder rock, metal kind of band…he loved the Avenged Sevenfold and all those guys growing up. And I’m the classic rock.”
The band will perform a song by Leitner called Can’t Get You Out of My Mind. He has worked on it for a few years.
His lyrics come from a personal place, he says, yet can be understood by anyone.
“So, it’s definitely a love song, an expression of feeling and emotion. The one thing I like most is that it can be relatable to anybody.”
Adds Tersh, “I think it’s one of the songs in our set that really gets people moving pretty much every time we play it.”
O’Hara says crowds at Bernie’s and the Stage House in Somerset have loved it.
“It’s very high-energy. It’s a lot of fun to play and we just have it down. I would say it’s probably our tightest song.”
Tersh is thrilled to be competing at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, where he once worked, and where, as a kid, he attended the contest, then known as Morristown’s Got Talent.
“This band is a heck of a lot of fun to play in. These guys are super talented, great guys and I’m like, why aren’t we playing at the Mayo Performing Arts Center right now?”
On Wednesday, Tersh gets his wish.
And you can bet your bass he will be plugged in.
The 16th edition of Morristown Onstage, a fundraiser for the Morris Educational Foundation, is scheduled for Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Mayo Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $35-$85, at MPAC’s box office, at 100 South St., Morristown, 973-539-8008.
