Marty Marquis - Blitzen Trapper (14/03/2012)
Before heading down to Australia, Marty Marquis of Blitzen Trapper spoke to The 59th Sound about their upcoming tour and the changes that their years together and their recent record deal have had to their music.
The band are currently on tour in the States, how has it been going?
It’s great. We’ve had some great shows. Last night we played at this classic rock spot called The Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood. It was a packed crowd and we had a good time. We’re here for a couple more days, then we’re heading to Austin for some more shows.
And after this tour, you’re heading to Australia?
Yeah, we’re coming to Australia. I think we’ll be there the first of April. To play some festivals and a couple of pub shows over in Sydney. So we’re looking forward to that a lot.
And you guys have toured in Australia before this?
Yeah, we were there in 2009, but just three states, and we didn’t really get to hang out or see much of the country.
So you’re looking forward to doing more of the touristy things this time round?
Yeah hopefully. Hopefully we’ll have more downtime. Enjoy ourselves and get to know the country a little better this time.
Blitzen Trapper are playing at the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay; is there anyone on the line-up you’re looking forward to seeing?
Yeah, I mean I can’t wait to see John Fogerty (playing the albums of Creedence), I think that’ll be really cool. We’re all big fans of Creedence and of John Fogerty.
Have heard much about your music’s reception in Australia?
I haven’t. I mean it’s hard to tell, even in the States, what the reception is like. I heard that our record Wild Mountain Nation, got played on Triple J a lot, but that was back in 2007. I’m not really sure what it’s been like in Australia more recently. I guess with the shows, we’ll find out.
You’ve been signed with your label Sub Pop for a few years now, has there been a significant change from your earlier, self-released work?
Well yeah, when you’re on your own you have to make all the decisions and you don’t have a lot of support marketing your music, so it’s been great to have some experienced players working for us. It’s definitely improved our exposure, a lot more people know about now, then they used to. And a lot of connections to things, like tv appearances. Overall it gives you a lot of advantages over working by yourself.
Has it had an impact of on your approach to writing and recording?
Not really. Maybe in a superficial way, but I would say the main thing that changed is that you have another set of partners to consult with on things, like what the record is going to come out looking like, what your single is, how its going to take shape, that sort of thing. I think fundamentally we’re still doing the same thing.
Over the years, Blitzen Trapper has released a mix of both full albums and eps; was there a reason behind releasing a mix of the two?
Eps get released for different reasons, I think our most recent one Black River Killer, the record label wanted to have a product to help push the song (Black River Killer) because it was a strong song, and the crowds were responding pretty strongly to it and we had a really good video for it too. So they took an older ep of ours, which was something we just put together from a bunch of unreleased recordings that we could sell on tour and our fans could have. So they took that and put Black River Killer and the beginning of it and called it Black River Killer, which is just another surface for people to access the band on. Eric (Earley) our singer, songwriter, he’s got lots of good songs so its kind of easier to release an ep without a whole lot of planning, so if you want a market an ep it comes together really fast, to get it out there.
What is the band’s writing process like when you’re starting out on a new album?
Eric does most of the writing, and he records and writes it simultaneously. And after he’s got a bunch of demos done then the band will come in and help him out, record the final version for the record and arrange it for a wider performance.
As a band, what would you say your influences are, both from music and other sources are?
We listen to all kinds of stuff, and from that find all sorts of influences. I think classic rock is a big influence, folk and country music, different kinds of literature, tv shows, commercials and advertisements, they all go into the pot. A lot of people will compare our music to classic rock. I think basically that’s probably our biggest influence, maybe heavy on the Rolling Stones and Joe Walsh, (Led) Zeppelin and bands like that.
Well with that in mind, how would you describe your overall sound?
I guess just rock and roll. That’s what we like, maybe some country, folk, pop elements to it. But at heart it’s rock and roll.
How did you get started in music? Is it something that’s always been part of your life?
Yeah, I think that we all got into it fairly young. Like my dad was a thespian and liked to act in Broadway musicals, so I started out just by having to listen to his stuff all the time and going to shows. A lot of us went to church when we were kids and there was always music in church. I think it’s just something that’s always been around for all of us and we’re lucky enough for the founding group to still be together.
Do you feel like the music you were listening to and playing when you were younger still impacts your style today?
I think when we were younger, we all just started playing bands in high school and at that time it was garage, grunge, whatever was really big, so tended to play more alternative rock. Hybridisations of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, things like that that were really exciting to us.
So I think as we got we played more of the kind of music that was playing when we were born and the stuff that we heard when we were very little kids. And the stuff that we were into in the 90s I think informed the kind of things that we later listened to. I guess now our sound is more retro.
So it’s something that has changed over the years as you have matured as musicians.
Yeah, and one part of that is getting to know your instrument better and also if you’re a songwriter you learn how to write better songs. You’re not just repeating whatever you hear; you’re doing your own thing more. So yeah, it’s changed the longer that we hang around with people and the more comfortable we get doing our thing.
Would you say that that change has come across in your live shows as well?
I think that when we started touring and we started playing we did we did stuff that was more punk, or more experimental. And as we became better players and better performers we were able to modulate and put on a musical performance instead of just the display of attitude, which I think a lot of bands do when they can’t really play their instruments.
And I suppose with the changes over the years both in your style and performance that you would have seen a difference in the audience that you attract?
No, it’s still the same kind of people now that have always been attracted to our music. It’s a pretty wide cross-section of people. They’re all different ages and folks. People who like rock music are attracted to certain literary part in music, and our lyrics a more complex than a lot of stuff that people hear so we tend to attract the sort of bookish, rock lovers to our shows.
Do you have a message that want your audience to take away from your songs or a way that you would like the band to be perceived?
No, I don’t think there is any message that music is important and live music is important. That we can all come together and enjoy things together. Maybe there’s a subset that we’re not denying the past of rock music. I think a lot of punk bands kind of view it differently and we’re saying history is real and it matters. But there’s nothing political or anything like that.
Bethany Williams
The band are currently on tour in the States, how has it been going?
It’s great. We’ve had some great shows. Last night we played at this classic rock spot called The Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard, Hollywood. It was a packed crowd and we had a good time. We’re here for a couple more days, then we’re heading to Austin for some more shows.
And after this tour, you’re heading to Australia?
Yeah, we’re coming to Australia. I think we’ll be there the first of April. To play some festivals and a couple of pub shows over in Sydney. So we’re looking forward to that a lot.
And you guys have toured in Australia before this?
Yeah, we were there in 2009, but just three states, and we didn’t really get to hang out or see much of the country.
So you’re looking forward to doing more of the touristy things this time round?
Yeah hopefully. Hopefully we’ll have more downtime. Enjoy ourselves and get to know the country a little better this time.
Blitzen Trapper are playing at the Blues and Roots Festival in Byron Bay; is there anyone on the line-up you’re looking forward to seeing?
Yeah, I mean I can’t wait to see John Fogerty (playing the albums of Creedence), I think that’ll be really cool. We’re all big fans of Creedence and of John Fogerty.
Have heard much about your music’s reception in Australia?
I haven’t. I mean it’s hard to tell, even in the States, what the reception is like. I heard that our record Wild Mountain Nation, got played on Triple J a lot, but that was back in 2007. I’m not really sure what it’s been like in Australia more recently. I guess with the shows, we’ll find out.
You’ve been signed with your label Sub Pop for a few years now, has there been a significant change from your earlier, self-released work?
Well yeah, when you’re on your own you have to make all the decisions and you don’t have a lot of support marketing your music, so it’s been great to have some experienced players working for us. It’s definitely improved our exposure, a lot more people know about now, then they used to. And a lot of connections to things, like tv appearances. Overall it gives you a lot of advantages over working by yourself.
Has it had an impact of on your approach to writing and recording?
Not really. Maybe in a superficial way, but I would say the main thing that changed is that you have another set of partners to consult with on things, like what the record is going to come out looking like, what your single is, how its going to take shape, that sort of thing. I think fundamentally we’re still doing the same thing.
Over the years, Blitzen Trapper has released a mix of both full albums and eps; was there a reason behind releasing a mix of the two?
Eps get released for different reasons, I think our most recent one Black River Killer, the record label wanted to have a product to help push the song (Black River Killer) because it was a strong song, and the crowds were responding pretty strongly to it and we had a really good video for it too. So they took an older ep of ours, which was something we just put together from a bunch of unreleased recordings that we could sell on tour and our fans could have. So they took that and put Black River Killer and the beginning of it and called it Black River Killer, which is just another surface for people to access the band on. Eric (Earley) our singer, songwriter, he’s got lots of good songs so its kind of easier to release an ep without a whole lot of planning, so if you want a market an ep it comes together really fast, to get it out there.
What is the band’s writing process like when you’re starting out on a new album?
Eric does most of the writing, and he records and writes it simultaneously. And after he’s got a bunch of demos done then the band will come in and help him out, record the final version for the record and arrange it for a wider performance.
As a band, what would you say your influences are, both from music and other sources are?
We listen to all kinds of stuff, and from that find all sorts of influences. I think classic rock is a big influence, folk and country music, different kinds of literature, tv shows, commercials and advertisements, they all go into the pot. A lot of people will compare our music to classic rock. I think basically that’s probably our biggest influence, maybe heavy on the Rolling Stones and Joe Walsh, (Led) Zeppelin and bands like that.
Well with that in mind, how would you describe your overall sound?
I guess just rock and roll. That’s what we like, maybe some country, folk, pop elements to it. But at heart it’s rock and roll.
How did you get started in music? Is it something that’s always been part of your life?
Yeah, I think that we all got into it fairly young. Like my dad was a thespian and liked to act in Broadway musicals, so I started out just by having to listen to his stuff all the time and going to shows. A lot of us went to church when we were kids and there was always music in church. I think it’s just something that’s always been around for all of us and we’re lucky enough for the founding group to still be together.
Do you feel like the music you were listening to and playing when you were younger still impacts your style today?
I think when we were younger, we all just started playing bands in high school and at that time it was garage, grunge, whatever was really big, so tended to play more alternative rock. Hybridisations of Pearl Jam and Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, things like that that were really exciting to us.
So I think as we got we played more of the kind of music that was playing when we were born and the stuff that we heard when we were very little kids. And the stuff that we were into in the 90s I think informed the kind of things that we later listened to. I guess now our sound is more retro.
So it’s something that has changed over the years as you have matured as musicians.
Yeah, and one part of that is getting to know your instrument better and also if you’re a songwriter you learn how to write better songs. You’re not just repeating whatever you hear; you’re doing your own thing more. So yeah, it’s changed the longer that we hang around with people and the more comfortable we get doing our thing.
Would you say that that change has come across in your live shows as well?
I think that when we started touring and we started playing we did we did stuff that was more punk, or more experimental. And as we became better players and better performers we were able to modulate and put on a musical performance instead of just the display of attitude, which I think a lot of bands do when they can’t really play their instruments.
And I suppose with the changes over the years both in your style and performance that you would have seen a difference in the audience that you attract?
No, it’s still the same kind of people now that have always been attracted to our music. It’s a pretty wide cross-section of people. They’re all different ages and folks. People who like rock music are attracted to certain literary part in music, and our lyrics a more complex than a lot of stuff that people hear so we tend to attract the sort of bookish, rock lovers to our shows.
Do you have a message that want your audience to take away from your songs or a way that you would like the band to be perceived?
No, I don’t think there is any message that music is important and live music is important. That we can all come together and enjoy things together. Maybe there’s a subset that we’re not denying the past of rock music. I think a lot of punk bands kind of view it differently and we’re saying history is real and it matters. But there’s nothing political or anything like that.
Bethany Williams