Dumber with Age: Trouble in the Wind

"Getting there is the important part"

-Larry Doran

Where to start? It feels like I've just made it out alive from the Armageddon of band 'interviewing'... Anything that could stall my nosiness was sprouting out of a fucked-up sidewalk where every crack, definitely broke a mother's back somewhere out there.  It was six months of constant canceling and rescheduling, hunting down an elusive lead singer, recordings getting erased, and plenty of awkward eye contact.

Trouble in the Wind, humble and extremely talented, consists of Robby Gira, Kyle Merrit, Trevor Mulvey, Larry Doran, and just recently Keith Haman.  From Southern California, their sound can carry over a handful of genres - folk, bluegrass, surf rock, country... overall, it's Robby's voice that hangs heavy over whatever bin you think you want to put them in, because it demands your full attention and forgiveness to a heartbreak you surely share.  I'd be lying if I said I haven't been near-to-tears at least once... But it's not all tragic, Trouble's chemistry and creativity executes all those sounds on through to slap you on the bum and get you to dance.  They're just THAT assertive... in the loveliest way possible.

In the last couple of years, during my travels I've been asked a good bucket-load of questions about this band... and have been extremely disappointed in myself for only really recalling how Robby likes his coffee, or Kyle's favorite Prince song (all of them...) and how many kids Larry has...  So, anyway...  persistence prevailed, and here I give you a Frankenstein-chopped-up-glued-together-scrapbook of a Q & A among 4 out of 5 members, as well as videographer/sweet thang Tyler Nielsen...

K: When did Trouble start? How did everyone meet?
TREVOR: Mmm I don't know
K: You don't what?
TREVOR: I'd say Ryan Fox... we met through Ryan Fox.  I was a sophomore... he [Robby] was a little annoying, I would drive him around, and ... Robby at the time wouldn't write songs let alone sing.
K: What made you change your mind Robby?
R: Parker Tabas got a guitar in highschool and we started writing songs about his cat.  Gary.
K: ...Kyle?  How'd you meet everyone?
KYLE: I recorded them at Mira Costa, Robby's younger brother Davie gave me their CD... their old band, and I liked it...
LARRY: I originally met Robby I think it was 2007 or 2008 at Spin Records - he would come in and buy tapes and CDs and such... he was just a punk kid then... I didn't really know him, but I kinda knew him through other people and I started seeing him at Duchess shows, when I was playing with Duchess and he was there rockin out, havin fun with us- got to know him a little bit that way... And then we used to... at Duchess shows, I'd go outside and get stoned with him, hang out, listen to music - so that's how we became friends.  And then shortly around 2008 - 2009, Ryan Fox left Trouble in the Wind and they needed a drummer and some mutual friends of ours basically put me in touch with them.  They asked me to fill in for some shows, and I was already a fan at that time and had been to several of their shows.  I loved them, they're cool guys.
K:  And Keith?
TREVOR: We've known him for a long time.  He subbed for Kyle about 7 years ago... and his wife danced for the band for about a year... even at the Del Mar Fair
LARRY: He's an amazing musician with his own project going on as well, but he came back in and we all worked so well together.  We definitely consider him a part of the whole band.

K: When y'all started the band did you have an initial sound in mind?  Do you feel Trouble's sound has progressed in any way?
TREVOR: Oh, we played shitty music... wouldn't strive for anything specific, it was always different... but this was before the band.  We never had a vision for this band but playing Robby's songs, and experimenting...
ROBBY: There was no particular plan for how the band would sound.  We just made music to the best of our abilities with what we had.  Eventually the sound progressed along with our musicianship and took shape.  It also changed with rotating players.
LARRY: I don't think we have adapted to anything, we don't have a specific sound in mind when we start writing and making songs.  We're not trying to join a scene... we certainly have friends of ours who are local musicians, that we have nothing but respect for, but most of those bands all sound very different from us... and in some ways I feel that Trouble in the Wind was a bit ahead of the curve this whole current... ya know... neo-folk-Americana movement that seemed to have happened like a year or two after Trouble was already well into what we were doing.  By no means do I mean I think we started anything because that's happening on a much bigger scale.  I think Robby with his songs was ahead of the curve in some ways. And we don't write our music or songs with the intent to fit with anything... what we do is very organic, it's what we are... we have pop songs, we have rock songs, and there's some folk in there... country... it's hard to put a label on what we do...
KYLE: I don't think the sound has changed, but people always have seemed to place us under the folk-rock/americana... probably my fault because I play banjo, and Robby with his guitar... but I definitely feel the songs are of that genre... if I switch to synthesizers we'll see...

K: How was it winning Best Americana?
LARRY: It was weird haha, definitely very strange for us, we weren't expecting to be nominated in the first place and we didn't submit anything... but we felt honored that, ya know, that they put us on the list and we went down there to just kinda be involved in the whole thing, the event - because we thought it'd be cool to be there and see... and we figured a lot of our friends were gonna win and they were nominated too... so we just wanted to be a part of it and see what the experience was all about.  It was pretty surreal when they called our name - we were up against some other pretty great bands and we were shocked.  We had no idea and didn't expect it... it was a good feeling... certainly, to be recognized by our peers and fans most importantly... we're not really interested in impressing any kind of industry-type people, but it was really cool that it was based on voting that gave us a feeling that we've cultivated an audience that has been very supportive...
KYLE: It was cool.

K: Can you describe the recording process for the latest EP? 
KYLE: The recording process?
K: Well compared to Slide Rock it has a much more live and raw feeling
LARRY: Very much so... well, it's kind of half and half... we've done some live tracks in our studio - and we really kinda like the idea of capturing the way we play live - that seems to, the essence of what we are as a band translates more naturally in that setting... 
KYLE: Is it ok if I play... [stares up at the ceiling while plucking at the guitar] ...Well it was actually recorded at the same time [as Slide Rock] it was just stuff that we left off... er... stuff that I left off and didn't work with as much.
LARRY: We do have some of our stuff that we've tracked in a more traditional studio, but the live sound is what people come to know and seem to like about us, so we try to implement that in the actual recordings.
K: It all still went well together as an EP, did you guys like how that turned out?
KYLE: Ya we probably liked that one better...also cause I spent less time on it... cause I usually go crazy mixing stuff a lot. Is that weird?

K: When do you reckon you guys will go on tour again?
KYLE: Probably this year
K: How about SXSW?
KYLE: Maybe... We got asked to play a SXSW showcase so if we get asked, we will... probably


K: Larry, how it is balancing raising a family, and work, and music?
LARRY:  That can be challenging, but I've found a way to balance it all just through... ya know... staying focused and using good time management... and having a job... we're kinda a blue collar band, we all have jobs and we have to find time to get together.  My family - I'm very fortunate, my wife is very supportive of what I do so we just use our time wisely. When we get together - the band - we actually work, instead of it being something where we fuck around... we actually get things done and work on our music and we go and we have our lives.  We're very productive with our time, which is something I love about the band because we actually know how to stay focused on what we're trying to do.  And we have fun too, but we just know when it's time to get down to business and get things done.

K: How's the songwriting process?  Do lyrics come first or visa versa?
KYLE: Do you wanna listen? [places headphones on me] pretty basic stuff... he brings it to us [it was just Robby's voice for a bit, then cut out and followed by each instrument on its own, then all together], and we play around with it, or someone has an idea how to play something... 

K: Crazy! So what ELSE do you do?
KYLE: Me?
K: Yeah, you do a lot don't you? Marketing, booking, mixing
KYLE: I'm the dad
K: I thought Larry was the dad
KYLE: Larry's a real dad... umm yeah, I do all the recording at practice, schedule pretty much all the shows, the PA for practice, record everybody. A lot of pressure on me, and I buy all this stuff.
K: Shit, well where would you like to see Trouble play next year...
KYLE: I just like playing somewhere not in SD, although I do like SD area cause it's easy for us... we've been everywhere, have all our tour posters like AZ, Texas, North Carolina... etc... Actually like playing in-state too, California has a lot of really cool places... Santa Cruz...
K: How's the amount of folk-rock bands in SD compared to Northern California?  How do you feel about that competition-wise...
KYLE: Probably those guys really know how to play banjo and shit like that.  I'm a faker
K: You teach yourself that?
KYLE: I taught myself. I only learned piano, everything else I taught myself.
K: So, what inspires you the most?
KYLE: Chicks. ha no, musically? To play music?
K: Yeah, to play music, to teach yourself more instruments than the average bear...Who are some of your favorite artists? The ones that got you into music?
KYLE: Well, what got me into music? Myself... and my mom... and I wanted to make rap beats. Space Jam soundtrack.  But it was funner to play with live people.

K: Tyler, How is it shadowing Trouble in the Wind... in a nutshell?
Tyler 'Tudder' Neilson: It's a lot different for different personalities... you know me...
K: That is true, I do know you.
TN: ...I'm intrusive, but I like to let things happen... like if it's really tense I'll alleviate it. For example, in comparison to Larry, Robby is an intense person and if there's tension between I'll go aside and talk it out with him.  I'll also answer some questions about the band, but Robby's all about Rock n' Roll... which is what they want to play.
K: Who would you say are the most awkward out of the band?
TN: They're all awkward people
K:...
TN: Especially Kyle, and Trevor
K: How so?
TN: Kyle relies on silence to answer questions - people may ask one that requires more than one word, but he just responds "Ya!" or "No".
K: Haha yes, that sounds familiar
TN: Trouble in the Wind is a modest band who doesn't like talking about themselves... but growing up with a lot of musicians around, I have seen the ones you may lose respect for - are the ones who buttfuck you with information about the band, themselves, and the big venues they are playing next.  Trouble is the opposite.  If you were to ask where they played next, they'll most likely say the smallest venue possible... because it's honest, and more fun.  It's how they are.
K: So, when you're filming, do you notice a wall go up or a difference in how they behave?  Or is it pretty cut & dry?
TN: It's easy for me, because... I wait until they've loosened up, and it's all candid, like after-parties and the guys dancing to Prince, smashing beers, hugging each other, crashing at whoever's house... tours are not a business thing for them... and in the Arizona tour, Trouble lost money, but it wasn't about that... it was about the camaraderie... the experience

K: If y'all could play anywhere, where would you like to play?  Any dream venues?
KYLE: Umm... well I like the places that we play, like the Casbah and the Belly Up
ROBBY: My dream venue is any place with good atmosphere, a low stage, and beer
LARRY: There's a lot of places I wanna play, but I wanna go to Europe... that's BIG on the itinerary for us - we're gonna figure out how to make that happen soon
K: Right, like transporting instruments and stuff or borrowing...
LARRY: Yeah, that part is really difficult, but I figure between booking...if we plan it right we can get in touch with other bands over there and fly over and basically rent equipment or borrow and play with local bands... anything we can do we can literally bring acoustic instruments and stand on a street corner and play our songs...we're willing to do that if that's what it takes... just getting there is the important part, we don't have to have fancy equipment to do what we do - that's another thing I love - we use what we have available to get our songs across and that's the most important thing to us...

K: Any wise words?
LARRY: Wisdom... Ah, I'm getting dumber with my age... I'm becoming more juvenile... I don't know what kind of wisdom would be helpful, I guess the best advice I've ever had from somebody that affected me in a positive way, was to simply be completely true to your own sense of integrity and follow what it is that makes you happy... that sounds a bit like a cliche, but I have never in my life gone wrong when I've pursued something that I felt was meaningful to me... even if other people around me thought it was kinda foolish.  If it brought a sense of peace and ... and a little more to my life, it was always worth it.  Even if at the time it felt like it was the wrong thing to do, good things have always come from me following my dreams.
K: Note taken.

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Miles to Spare: Inspired & the Sleep

"In the end, it's about finding balance"

-Max Greenhalgh

I'm no professional-anything, let alone wannabe 'music journalist', but for a hot minute now, this travel-log has expanded just a bit more to share what some offensively talented local artists, dreamers, do-ers, wanderers, and musicians are up to.  

Inspired & the Sleep is a psych-lo-fi-pop band that sprouted out of the sands of North County San Diego in 2010.  In the splash zone of the Pacific Ocean, and within arms reach of second-hand smoke, Inspired consists of Max Greenhalgh, Bryce Outcault, & Zach Elliott, among a handful of other musicians that pitch in some teaspoons of jazz, when they pass through town.  

A couple weeks ago, I got to catch Max and Bryce just after they touched base back home after their first out-of-state tour Coming Up for Air in mid November - for about 10 minutes...8 once you get past the interruptions from friends and bystanders (if you want to get real exact and shit) outside a local show at the 'Silver Cloud Lounge'.  I haven't seen or heard from Max since the recent Outside Lands Festival where he was sneaking his slick body between fences and "security guards"... but no one was really in any right mind to function properly, so... maybe all that really matters is the victory...

The images throughout our said-amateur-chat consist of crashing their band practice in all it's rarity.  Located in a warehouse-turned-brewery/recording corner, Max's echoes playing off the walls with the distortion and effects of knobs and buttons, singing pop songs while educating me on Kratum, a chinese herb that gives the equivalent body-high as acid.

M: Have you had it before?
K: Not Yet  

Zach arrives and sets up his drums between a distressed cabinet, and chipped piano while filling us in on his day... while Max finally gets off the little carpet he spent the last hour hunched over, pacing around the front room in a figure-8 as Bryce finally comes in and starts to corner me into the make-shift bar behind with amps, keyboards, and wires.   

Wednesday // November 26, 2014
Oceanside, CA // 9:32PM

K: Alriiiiight, first and foremost, how was tour?  
M: So much fun, the thing is every day you meet new friends, see new places, and new culture... it's like a sensory overload when you are already so used to a certain place - it's exciting.  And everyone is so accommodating to traveling bands. 
K: Could you name a favorite venue y'all got to play at?
M: Well we did a lot of basement shows, and those are fun... but there was this one place in Rock Island, Illinois called Rozztox - a bar/cafe/VHS store and above it was a hostel, so that was pretty cool. 

[Max disappears into the sea of sweaty people to grab a beer]

K: You find any obstacles to overcome, being together 24/7?
B: Like... uh... the whole endurance, I mean being on your best behavior...
K: Behavior?  So, how would you say yours is?
B: Well... uh, really quiet 

[Max returns]

K: So Max, I asked Bryce about any significant obstacle you guys may have had being on tour 
M: Obstacle? like the hardest thing on tour?
K: Yes while being together all the time, sure on tour
M: Um, I think staying healthy, but I thought we were all pretty well-behaved working together... except I would freak out if people would use my stuff and like not put it away, or I do them a favor of letting them borrow my shit like...
K: Like what?
M: Ahh like my laptop, shit like that, cables or something 
K: Why would they want to borrow your laptop?

[Bryce snickers as Max begins to get pretty worked up]

M: Because Zach really wants to watch a movie, and is all fucking stoned, and he's like... [grumbles, mumbles, and shakes his hair] We got a lil pissy at each other, but we never really broke out into any big arguments or anything like that.
B: I think the biggest thing is the messiness
K: Messiness? Even though you're staying at hostels or friends
B: No, I just mean in the car
M: ...the car got pretty messy after a while
B: Max and Zach tend to be ...

[slight pinch of minutes of arguing to where I can't decipher what the rest of that sentence would have been]

M: Anyway, I purchased a 2004 Honda Odyssey Supreme vehicle for touring, and it was the best purchase I could've made- there was plenty of space, and we fit all our gear, with 4 of us in the van comfortably
B [excited]: The best part is, it's 80 miles when the gas light turns on!
M: We were driving home from Flagstaff and we reached this stretch of land where there was no gas station for 100 miles or so, and lo and behold our gas light comes on and we made it 80 miles
K: That's impressive
B: With miles to spare!
K: To do anything that you want with it 
M: So that was a pretty exciting fun fact that we never knew about...
B: We were freaking out for a lil bit
M: Oh yeah we thought we were sooo screwed

K: So, could you compare Coming Up for Air vs. TEENAGER... TEENAGER seemed a lot more raw, was that just the style you were looking for at the time or?
M: TEENAGER was done at home, and it was all pretty much just me and help from some other friends playing things here and there... Bryce and Zach weren't even a part in the slightest I don't think.  CUA was sort of a longer process, we had a live band together doing all these songs and had all these arrangements, so it came together from there.

[People start leaving, and hugs get thrown around like confetti]

K: Is this still on?
M: I paused it for you
B: Where are you going?
JOSH: There's like a fucking 20 minute wait
B: There's a what? 
K: A what?
M: He needs to tinkle
K: OK anyways, it was mostly a home thing, without Bryce or Zach, you and other friends playing this or that...
M: Yeah, yeah lots of loop-based stuff, very lo-fi, wasn't done at a legitimate studio... I mean it was done in my room, or on the staircase, something like that.  And CUA, we did the drum tracks at Studio West, and we jumped around home-studios, and other studios...definitely a longer process and more thought out.

K: Where would you say you draw your inspiration from? Did it differ between the 2 albums, or something ongoing?
M: Well, we play some songs off TEENAGER, but we don't play them like they are on the recordings at all, we kind of take the idea of the song and reinterpret it.  I think the live thing is so much different from the recorded thing in every sense for every band that you see.  Like there are bands that play exactly to their record... but when you're at our level I don't see the point in doing that.
K: Lyric-wise some of it seems somewhat serious but you have this upbeat tone, is that something you just want to maintain in the experience?
M: Yah, alot of times, lyrically the sadder songs are the faster more upbeat ones and visa versa

[Josh returns from his tinkle down the street]

JOSH: I WAS IN THE BAND FOR A WHOLE DAY
K: That's... 
M: Josh was in our video shoot  
JOSH: I WAS, I WAS IN THE BAND
M: It was pretty beautiful, he did a great job I will say
K: Excellent, so, how does the album name CUA correlate with any of the tracks?
M: TEENAGER or CUA?
K: CUA, your most recent one you've been focusing on for tour the last 3... 3 1/2 weeks? Right?
B: 4 weeks
M: More like a month.  Lets just say a month! I mean, ya, CUA I think we were kinda just bouncing names around, and we've already been bouncing on the San Diego image so much and I thought it was so interesting that when we left, (it was our first time playing outside of CA) and played in Oregon and we got so much feedback from people saying that we 'sounded a lot like San Diego'.  Which I thought was really strange, like what do you mean?  Cause we've never gotten that before.  And here, we got that a lot. CUA is kind of like a big aquatic theme with that whole EP specifically, and the artwork and all that.
B: It kind of worked, I mean with the whole Southern California vibe, and us growing up by the beach and kind of having that inspiration into our music.  CUA just went with it and like Max said keeping with that aquatic theme.
M: And I think that's something you can't really avoid, with how we grew up and where we both work... being around the beach so much, we kinda roll with it and people outside of California think it's really cool.  CUA could be rather hopeful.
K: Is that what you'd like the feeling to be?
M: Yeah

K: So what's the story behind 'You love to be Broken'?
M: That's another song that's sad, but rather upbeat... We'll play house parties and do shows like that, and that seems to be everyone's favorite song - the most dance-able.  I guess the actual meaning is the habitual things that you do to make yourself not... function, and how it's so repetitive sometimes, that it would seem that like you love to do that.
K: Almost like excuses?
M: Yeah, like an excuse
K: Do you find you experience that a lot... 
M: I think everyone does, I think it's part of being human
K: Bryce?
B: All the lyrics are kind of a mystery
K: It's mostly you Max?
M: Yeah, it's all me
K: You've definitely gone through a lot with this band and members changing... you and Bryce so far standing the longest
B: We're kind of the only core members since..
M: We do have people jump on and play with us, like Ryan Linvill, and Kevin Corsare does keys with us... I feel the band is very, especially after this tour, and all the time we've spent together  in practice it's kind of got this 3 piece course goin.  Zach, as much as he likes to be MIA sometimes, he is very much a part of it, and it definitely feels like a 3 piece
K: And so how'd you guys find each other?
M: I knew Bryce in high school
B: We met freshman year 
K: Aww like across the hallway?
M & B [in unison]: We sat next to each other in 3 classes, in a row
B: And we fell in love
M: We didn't have much of a choice... and Zach I knew through some musician friends in San Diego, and he comes from a different style, very into jazz, so it's been a little adjustment having him come play with us, but he adds that element
K: The influence of jazz
M: Yeah, it really suits us well, and then Ryan Linvill, Zach's buddy, the Sax player, goes to Berklee School of Music, when he's in town we do shows with him, and our buddy Kevin was playing keyboards here and there
B: He may come jam again, we'll see
M: You'd be surprised how hard it is to make people show up to band practice, and I feel that you don't really need to be that good of a player, as long as you're punctual, then you can be in any band
B: It's like a part time job, if not close to full time at some points like especially on the road you're putting in hours on hours and a lot of commitment.  It's hard enough to get all 3 of us together when we do to even rehearse, so finding another member is near impossible to have all these schedules align and to meet up, and everyone to find the time to practice again and again - it's really difficult.

Photos by HouseoftheRisingMoon

K: Anything in the near future coming up? Any projects you're focusing on now that you've been home... 
M: We got some music videos coming up which should be really cool, just finished mixing a newer song, and going to record another one... I think we'll probably have some singles and an EP coming up.
B: A lot of behind the scenes work
M: We're gonna be the band that never really ever puts anything out... like... Oh you'd love to hear us wouldn't you?

Photo by Parker Darland

@inspiredandthesleep

SOUNDCLOUD

BANDCAMP

Polish Summer at the Karussell

Arrived in Hamburg Friday around 330PM, following the signs for the S-Bahn (green circle with the letter S inside). Single trip ticket cost €1.90 for me to get to Landwehr, where my friend Anna lives.  There's only one direction from the airport station, so I didn't have to think too hard yet. Barely a 15 minute ride and I made it just after a short walk down the street and found her apartment.

But, Anna was away for the day and kindly left her key for me at the shop below.  So, I grabbed those and passed out after chucking my backpack to the ground. Once back to my consciousness, her flatmate Frederike took me to the closest grocery store where I stocked up on some pasta, cheese, eggs, bread, pesto, bellpeppers, other veggies, and water for about €11.50 to last me a couple days. 

Landwehr Station

Anna left me a nice list of things to check out til she came back Saturday evening, and I went off to check out the harbor at Landungsbrücken, a couple stops off the S1.  It was chilly, but at least not raining with street performers out and still plenty of little tours going on with the boats, buses and cameras not far off.  Spent a good couple hours walking all up and down the side of the harbor, then down in between the streets scopin the souvenir shops, restaurants and parks.  

Landungsbrücken

After Landungsbrücken, jumped onto the U3 to Sternschanze, a good place for cafes, food, second hand record stores and clothing.  THEN it rained, and all I had was my blessed beanie and thankfully pants this time.  Less tourists (at the moment granted it's September now), but still ALOT of hussle alongside the concert ads and end of summer sales.  Smell of kebabs and coffees, fries, and clinks of drinks.  Just took my time strolling through whatever looked the most interesting and found some pretty awesome stores.  Wrapped it up going through what looked like a community flea market just starting to pack up for the end of the day. Bottle caps lay ALL over, in between the cobblestone streets adding a nice little glimmer when the sun peaked through. 

Anna returned around 9PM finally, after a grip of traffic due to some bridge construction or something.  Pretty weird seeing her because the last time was during our Fibers final in May - and there I left at the very second it was over because I had to work in SD! Ohh but it was so cool to be reunited, and we got ready to head to her friends bands concert at the bar she worked at, Karussell.

The band is called HiTT, made of two lively girls singing/rapping some really comedic lyrics, in german of course.  Anna did some translating, but I still actually enjoyed the melodies and beats with their emotions pouring out.  It was a small bar, but packed with friends and other bar-goers, smoking inside and laughing at some of the lyrics.  They kind of reminded me of Peaches, granted I didn't understand anything they were saying, just the overall vibe and atmosphere they create with their performance - I found very catchy.

HiTT

Anna, Birgit, yours truly

Bossman Vassili & Anna

Got treated to a Whiskey on the Rocks, and some Polish Summer with Anna and her friends, who were all so nice and welcoming.  Stayed in between the chilly night and warmth of the bar right in front of the door, yes, we were those people, but too bad.  A good handful were also in the process of getting their Masters in Costume Design like Anna, and others working in Business or Fine Arts, so that was really sweet meeting other people with a creative-drive.  All in all amped on Hamburg so far! Cheers!

Polish Summer: moskovskaya, apple, and some sort of leafy thing

KL