Life is Music™

photo courtesy of Trampled by Turtles

Born from the Superior shores of Duluth, MN, Trampled by Turtles have gained tremendous momentum since their inception as a band back in 2003. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, with each new show and each new album, the fan base grows exponentially. The band now spans out far past the Midwest, playing shows in wonderful venues all across the United States, Canada, and even Europe. But no matter where they are, Trampled by Turtles does not forget their humble beginnings in Minnesota and the fans that helped them attain their modern success.

Original members Dave Simonett, Dave Carroll, and Erik Berry started Trampled by Turtles as a novelty side act to their respective rock bands, but as circumstances would have it, Trampled by Turtles wasn’t ready to play second fiddle to any band.

Singer and guitarist, Dave Simonett, explained the origins of the band in a recent telephone interview, “Well three of us started the band, that’s Eric Berry, Dave Carroll and myself. None of us had ever really played bluegrass before, or this style of acoustic music but we were really getting into it. We’d been playing rock music before, and this band was started as an acoustic side project to those bands. But as time went on, all those bands split and this band was all that was left. I was dead broke and left with just my acoustic guitar, after someone stole my electric guitar and my amp while loading out gear after the last show with my previous band. And like I said, the other bands were gone, and all my gear was gone, so this just naturally happened.” An escalating amount of fans across the country are grateful for that.

One of the most memorable moments for the band in the last year was playing the main stage and the seventh annual 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes, MN. Their growth at this fantastic festival precisely represents their evolution as a band and the direction they are headed in the future. After starting on the small saloon stage in 2004, then growing to the festival’s barn stage in 2006 and 2007, then finally playing for fans as far as the eyes could see on the main stage in 2009, the band has come full circle. “That was a blast!” Simonett said proudly. “That was really something that was so exciting for all of us.”

With a new management team on board, Trampled by Turtles have a tour schedule full of larger venues including the recently announced Stagecoach Festival next April in California. But don’t expect these larger shows to start going to their heads, “We spend enough time packed into a little van and staying on people’s floors to stay grounded.” Dave said when asked if there was a definitive moment that made him realize the band was getting big and he could make a career out of music. “As far as making a career out of it, that was something that I knew personally before I even made my first dollar. Playing music is what I always wanted to do. Before we even started touring or selling any albums, we made that decision to see if we could do it.”

This quintet from Duluth has come a long way with their unique take on bluegrass music and their live show is not to be missed. Seated in chairs, the band bangs out enough raw energy to part the sea and if a listener is brave enough to stand in their way, the music will surely shroud every last bit their being. Their music is as much rock as it is folk, as much metal as it is bluegrass, but one thing it definitely is not, is lacking in sheer power. When asked what part of the country gets the rowdiest at their shows, Simonett responded with a laugh, “Probably the Midwest, but it really depends on where we are playing.”

With four albums under their belts and a new and currently untitled release due out next April, Trampled by Turtles are on a mission to spread their music far and wide. Currently they are doing just that, one unassuming step at a time with fans ever-enthusiastic holding on in the wake of the flood.

Who: Trampled by Turtles
Where: The Aquarium
When: Friday, November 20th
Cost: $15, 21+

Written for High Plains Reader in Fargo, ND for their November 19th, 2009 issue.

The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band who sound as if they’ve been trapped in a wooden vessel on the deep blue sea for centuries, only to recently make landfall on the shores of America.  Colin Meloy leads the group with a troubadour’s tongue, while Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, John Moen and Nate Query round out the band with distinction.  Since their debut in 2002, The Decemberists have sharpened their talents with each subsequent release making them the epitome of indie rock.  Below is a review of each of their full-length albums in the order I would rank them.

1. The Crane Wife - The Crane Wife was released October 3rd, 2006 and is the first album on major label, Capitol Records, for the band.  Many fans stressed about the move to a major label for a band whose sound is the very essence of indie, but Colin Meloy and the rest of the band put minds at ease with a brilliantly clean album that follows an old Japanese tale about a man who nurses a wounded crane back to health.  Meloy’s writing has always been heavily influenced by literature and The Crane Wife is no exception.  He paints imaginative tales of love and war with diverse and colorful strokes, and the folk-rock the band is known for is sharpened to the point of becoming the prog-rock they display on The Hazards of Love.  The Crane Wife is a fantastic album from beginning to end and is perhaps the most important record the band will ever make considering their move to a major label.  My favorites from the album are the three-part track “The Island”, “The Perfect Crime #2″ and “The Crane Wife 1 and 2″.
2. Picaresque - Picaresque is the third album for these indie-rockers from Portland, OR.  It was released on Olympia, Washington’s Kill Rock Stars label and Chris Walla from the band Death Cab for Cutie produced it.  Picaresque rocks more than the two previous releases and was a big step up towards their indie-rock prominence.  Opening track, “The Infanta” starts Picaresque off with a thunderstorm of banging toms and the album ends with the ballad, ”Of Angels and Angles”.  What fills the in-between are some of the most accessible tracks the band has ever laid down including one of Meloy’s best ever, “The Engine Driver“.  “On the Bus Mall” is also fantastic as is the aforementioned opening track “The Infanta”.  Picaresque loses the theatrics and the result is an upbeat indie-rock record that’s a terrific place for any newbie of the band to start.
3. The Hazards of Love - The Hazards of Love is a major artistic accomplishment.  After releasing just one lp on Capitol Records, The Decemberists returned with a rock-opera of all things, and not surprisingly it works wonders.  The Hazards of Love was released March 24th, 2009, debuting at #14 on the Billboard 200 making it the most successful release by the band.  The album follows a tale of a woman named Margaret who falls in love with a shape shifting forest dweller named William, while an evil forest queen tries to wreak havoc on the two.  Becky Stark of the band Lavender Diamond sings the role of Margaret beautifully, while Colin Meloy plays William, and Sharon Worden of My Brightest Diamond plays the queen.  The Hazards of Love needs to be listened to as whole.  With each song folding into the next, Meloy put together a creatively theatrical masterpiece with plenty of progressive influence to display the maturation of the band.  If you had the opportunity to see The Hazards of Love performed live in its entirety, consider yourself lucky.  My full review of this album can be found here.
4. Her Majesty – Her Majesty opens with “Shanty for the Aretheusa”, a fantastic historical voyage into the depths of everything The Decemberists are known for.  There are references to spices, rum and tea leaves while an accordion fills in the musical spaces along with singer Colin Meloy’s voice.  By the end of the song,  Meloy is wailing as the acoustic and electric guitars grind away.  Released September 9th, 2003 on Kill Rock Stars,  Her Majesty is a relatively scattered album whose highlights succeed as a much as anything the band has ever written, but it also lacks the cohesiveness of the later albums.  It’s an ambitious prelude to Picaresque though, with my favorites being the opening track “Shanty for the Aretheusa”, the blatantly satirical “Los Angeles, I’m Yours” and the absolutely stunning “The Bachelor and the Bride“.
5. Castaways and Cutouts - Castaways and Cutouts is the impressive full-length debut by The Decemberists.  It was originally released May 21st, 2002 on Hush Records then reissued a year later on Kill Rock Stars.  Musically, the album revolves heavily around the the accordian and Hammond organ stylings of Jenny Conlee.  “Castaways and Cutouts” is an appropriate title for an album that is filled with tales of ghosts, prostitutes, gypsies and other castaways that songwriter Colin Meloy seems to invent at ease.  Overall Castaways and Cutouts is a nice consistent album albeit somewhat slow paced through the middle.  The ghostly opening tale “Leslie Anne Levine” is fantastic, as is the bass heavy “Odalisque”, and the epic finale, “California One / Youth and Beauty Brigade”.

Trampled by Turtles rock to a sell out crowd of faithful fans

It’s been just under a year since Trampled by Turtles last filled First Avenue to capacity.  After a recent stint on the east coast and a Halloween show in their hometown of Duluth, MN,  the Minnesota boys were back at the best rock club in the midwest and their fans were ready.  First Avenue sold out once again.

Charlie Parr

A guitarist and drummer from Duluth called The Boomchucks opened the show.  They were very appreciative to be onstage at First Avenue and played a nice and short set to get the night started. 

By the time humble and brilliant Northwoods folkster, Charlie Parr, took the stage, First Avenue was filled.  No time was wasted on stirring the crowd as he thumped his boot down on a homemade kick box and squealed across the strings of his trademark steel resonator guitar. The lively and youthful crowd bounced along with a roar and they didn’t ease until Trampled by Turtles walked off the stage some three hours later.  Charlie Parr was accompanied by Mikkel Beckmen from The Brass Kings on washboard. Dave Simonett, the singer and guitarist of Trampled by Turtles, later joined the two.  For Parr’s final song, the remaining members of Trampled by Turtles took their respective places on stage to create a smile-inducing jamboree. 

Soon after, the curtain was raised for Trampled by Turtles.  Never to be underestimated, the band brought in their sold out show with a wonderful version of “No Surprises” by Radiohead.  They then rocked through songs from each of their four albums as First Avenue heated up into a sweltery sauna.  It was so hot that security sprayed water into the crowd at times.  Simonett did his best to cool things down as he calmly sang the cold and slow moving lyrics of “Duluth”, the title track of their fourth album.  The fans who made the voyage down from the town made their presence known by singing along, “Still I like the quiet, of Duluth in the winter.  In the sacred morning, there’s no place like home.” The local support was nice to see and certainly not surprising.

Dave Simonett of Trampled by Turtles

Singer and guitarist, Dave Simonett, announced in the middle of the set that they just finished recording their fifth album which is due out in the spring.  The band then played several new songs from it and the crowd slowed down with attentive ears open.  The new songs were very good. Bassist, Tim Saxhaug, later took the vocal reigns to lead a uniting sing-along of the classic ”Stand By Me”.  It was upbeat and fantastic.  All night the band was relaxed and I’ve never seen them play a better live show.  The live experience of the band was more obvious than ever as they burned through a wonderful set for their favorite local fans.  Big things are due for these talented alternative bluegrass rockers, and rightfully so.  Go see this band!

Charlie Parr & Mikkel Beckman

Charlie Parr and Trampled by Turtles jamboree

Ryan Young of Trampled by Turtles

Erik Berry of Trampled by Turtles