L.A.-based TRIBE OF GYPSIES, featuring guitarist Roy Z (BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD, DRIVER), have posted the following Facebook message on the passing of their vocalist Gregg Analla who died from a motorcycle accident in Albuquerque, NM on Thursday, January 4 [see news report here].
“It is with a very heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of our beloved brother, friend and band mate, Gregg Analla, who died from a motorcycle accident in his home town of Albuquerque on Thursday afternoon. We are all shocked and heartbroken. Gregg, as you know, was a big part of the TRIBE OF GYPSIES for about 5 years starting around 1997 and we remained friends even after he moved back to Albuquerque. In ’97, we had a record recorded instrumentally but no singer. Gregg’s name had come up previously as a possible vocalist when TOG first started out and this time we decided to track him down in New Mexico. He was intrigued enough by the Tribe to want to try out. He came out to L.A. and we took him into our home base, Joe Floyd’s Silver Cloud Studios in Burbank. The first thing Gregg sang on was “Summer Rain” and we instantly knew he was THE GUY. It was magic, he sounded as if he’d been singing with us for years! No need to look any further. So we completed what became “Revolucion 13” and followed it up with “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”, aka “Tribe of Gypsies III”. The chemistry with Gregg was awesome – the creative juices were really flowing and we had a lot of laughs together. If you heard Gregg‘s infectious laugh, you’ll never forget it. Good times, fun times! I got more chrome than Tony Iommi!…. we laughed so hard at some of the things we came up with! To top things off, we ended up getting a string of U.S. dates with the legendary SANTANA which was an amazing experience culminating in 2 shows in San Francisco and meeting Carlos backstage who very complimentary. It looked like we were finally on our way. But then we somehow hit a snag when we started working on the next album…. we laid down some tracks but never completed the record with Gregg who wasn’t feelin’ L.A. anymore and moved back to ABQ to be with his people. Things fizzled, the long distance thing wasn’t gonna work, but older and wiser, eventually, we started talking again about doing stuff together. Gregg was stoked, we were stoked. We made tentative plans to do shows in 2018. but now getting the word that Gregg is no longer with us is a crushing blow.
Our deepest condolences go out to Gregg’s family and friends – fly on to The Great Spirit, brother. We are forever grateful to have crossed paths and for the chance to create some magical moments with you. With love, your brothers in TOG”
In addition to TRIBE OF GYPSIES, Analla also recorded and toured with 9.0 (featuring Ray Luzier of KORN), SEVENTHSIGN, SLAVIOUR, and SHADOW TRAIN featuring guitarist George Lynch (LYNCH MOB, KXM, DOKKEN), among others. Analla who was Native American and of Isleta/Laguna pueblos descent, was also a painter, sculptor and educator. He was 52 at the time of his death.