musical mondaze

After having a conversation with Nigel Chapman, singer/songwriter of the Nova Scotia-based Nap Eyes, it’s easy to see how such thought-provoking lyrics pour from such a philosophical mind. A fierce proponent of self-discovery, his journey is vast in its scope as he seeks to understand the world that we’re all cohabitants of. Much of this is conveyed through the band’s most recent offering, “I’m Bad Now,” though he’s quick to note that the underlining understanding of those songs is open to individual interpretation.

We recently sat down with Chapman to discuss why “I’m Bad Now” is a bit like a software patch, how his own mood cycle lends to the current connection he has with the music, and the reason creative encouragement is good for all of us.

TrunkSpace: We read that writing music is sort of a quest of self understanding for you. Has your creative POV changed at all throughout the years as you’ve grown and discovered more about the world?
Chapman: Oh, that’s a really great question. That subject area is such an encouraging and true one – that you would constantly be evolving and learning, and actually you would be becoming wiser. You can’t forget your older experiences. You can’t ignore what you’ve learned from your past experiences and relationships – the important events in your life. You actually have to, in some degree, probably integrate those. There may be unexplored aspects of those past experiences that you can learn even more from, but in a general way of speaking, definitely one is always learning. And I love learning, and I think it is like one of the most fulfilling things. So, yeah, in that way, I guess that realization has just clarified more for me in recent years, where when I was younger, school was more of an obligation.

TrunkSpace: Beyond life learning, we would also imagine just having two previous albums under your belt translates to how you approach album number three?
Chapman: Definitely. I’m giving this caveat all the time. It’s been almost two years since we recorded it, but that being said, I feel very happy. I’ve been using the analogy that it’s like a software patch. I mean, it’s not that it matters what people think is your current state, like artistically. It doesn’t really affect you, you know? But there is something a little bit more relaxing about feeling like people have an idea where you’re coming from, like at the present time, rather than the version of you from like four years ago or whatever.

TrunkSpace: If this album was recorded two years ago, some of those songs were probably written even before that. Are you personally able to still relate and connect to the things you were saying in the songs?
Chapman: Definitely. I have been in more positive and more negative moods about that particular question over the years, depending on the time of my life and my annual mood cycle, but at the moment anyway, especially spring time, I feel pretty positive about that and feel able to kind of relate to the things that… well, one thing that’s helped with that was while we were waiting on these this time, I was able to not focus on it as much. So, I could kind of conserve some of my mental interests in it without burning it out right after we recorded it. So, there is a really positive side to this sort of delay.

TrunkSpace: There’s something to be said about sort of stepping away from something and then seeing things from a different perspective. For example, some authors will write a draft and then step away from it for awhile to come at it with a fresh set of eyes.
Chapman: Yeah. That’s right. So, we’re learning. I feel not skilled at these sort of things yet, but it’s cool to see the process you’re working on unfolding.

TrunkSpace: What’s cool is that, even just hearing you talk about it, the joy of getting music out there is just as profound as creating it?
Chapman: That’s for sure. Yeah. That’s another great aspect to highlight because there’s something so gratifying and reassuring, to use the language of like weakness or sickness into health, and get reassured – to have all ducks in a row. There’s a real effect, I think, of when people are kind to you and say validating things, like, “Good job,” or, “I like this,” or, “This song meant a lot to me.” These are really gratifying and kind things to hear, you know? It makes you feel, unless you take it for granted, it makes you feel really warm and appreciated and, thereby, appreciative. You find a sense of gratitude. If you don’t find the gratitude, then you’re in trouble, or you’re being, at that time, you’re being somewhat egocentric, you know?

TrunkSpace: The great thing about music is that positive feedback may come from a place that you never even intended. Listeners may find something in the songs that you didn’t even see when you wrote it.
Chapman: That’s true as well. This is perhaps the most mysterious and enigmatic aspect of creating music and having it mirrored back to you by others in a social way. It’s a profoundly mysterious phenomenon to the creator, I must imagine, in almost every case. Unless you assume you know how they are experiencing it, which I suppose I’ve been guilty of various times – assuming that I know how people are interpreting my ways and songs and things and just social actions, but people are totally mysterious when it comes down to it. They’re their own entity, and that sort of gives me a sense of wonder, I guess, about the whole experience of relationship to other people or to an audience.

TrunkSpace: Is having a creative outlet, for you, a necessity? Do you think if you weren’t writing music, would you be expressing yourself in another way?
Chapman: I suppose so. Yeah. That’s another great question and topic of conversation to highlight. It’s such a beneficial, positive thing. The reason why I think that it’s encouraging is that it’s just good to make this statement or encouragement or just a mood of encouragement that we would want to foster universally among the people, feeling encouraged to be creative. And creativity is not a narrowly defined thing. Like, 100 percent every human is being creative in the sense of creating their world, and so the ways that people are creative have a huge influence on the experience they have in their lives. And it’s possible, I suppose, to be malignantly creative, you know, but when we speak of creativity in general, as a trade, it has a strong cognitive connotation. So many artists would say, and if they don’t say I think they haven’t realized or they probably haven’t affirmed this with their lives, is just that it’s good to create. It makes you feel better. If you have any mental health issues, it makes you feel better. It’s the same thing in a different spectrum with physical exercise and also emotional and social relationships. All of these things… just absolutely are necessary.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with “I’m Bad Now,” and not necessarily with the music itself, but in the process of putting it together?
Chapman: Yeah. That’s a nice question, and the wide scope is appreciated. I think answering from that angle, the sense of the width of an endeavor, like the scope of an endeavor has increased for me through this work especially because of collaborating with Chris and Brendan at Paradise of Bachelors and collaborating with Howard at Hotel2Tango and also, of course, with Nap Eyes and with Mike. We had a familiar collaboration. But basically, widening the collaboration in a way that, as a shy person, sometimes you might want to keep things nuclear, as to sharing meaningful, emotional signifiers and symbols like you do in creating music, and you don’t really want to hear any critical feedback from the outside. Kind of like a fear of that, which because I didn’t go to art school, I lack the experience with being criticized, so I take it personally in a fearful way sometimes. But I’m getting better at that, and some of the things that helped with that are just dedicating your time in a deliberate way to the things you want to do, so studying or whatever things you value.

“I’m Bad Now” is available now from Paradise of Bachelors.

With his latest album, singer/songwriter Stoll Vaughan is inspiring dialogue, or should we say… conversation.

Collaborating with filmmaker Austin Lynch and artist Case Simmons, “The Conversation” is part record and part cinematic journey, spotlighting both the people and places that Vaughan encounters throughout his base of operations, Los Angeles. The music and corresponding videos where released simultaneously on March 15.

We recently sat down with Vaughan to discuss where the conversation about “The Conversation” began, how it impacted his songwriting process, and his thoughts on the future of music.

TrunkSpace: For your latest project, “The Conversation,” you opted to bring a visual element to the music. Where did that idea originate and did it change the musical journey for you?
Vaughan: Austin Lynch, the director, who is a really good friend of mine, we were spending a lot of time together as I was writing the songs. He was hearing them in the process. It was him who saw the opportunity to bring the essence of them alive, acoustically and visually. It changed the musical journey because it allowed me to start this record with the fundamentals of my voice, and my guitar.

TrunkSpace: Was any of the music written with a particular visual purpose or did the cinematic element marry into the relationship after the fact?
Vaughan: The songs weren’t written with a visual purpose. Austin and I saw an opportunity to collaborate together again and it was my role to allow him to find the visual storytelling. He is a wonderful artist and I’ve always believed in his abilities.

TrunkSpace: How did the creative team come together on “The Conversation” and does it take a leap of faith to put your own creative offspring in the hands of another creator, albeit from another medium?
Vaughan: For this project, it was easy. Austin and I had already worked together on “The Interview Project, The Making of There Will Be Blood,” and a few others. So I knew his direction and trusted in his talents. He had started Tête-à-Tête, (a creative studio) with artist Case Simmons, so it is a really strong team. My job was to provide him with the resources and ability to get across what he wanted to get across. On something like this I don’t feel it is necessary for me to micromanage the creatives because I understand that only hinders the process and product. I see that it could be perceived as a leap of faith, and at times the emotions for your offspring come with fear. Again, I believe in trusting others. That is the foundation of this continual project. But you must believe in the people you are working with and why you want to work with them. That is hard at times, but this project is about that conversation between people.

TrunkSpace: There are some great cinematic portraits of people featured throughout “The Conversation.” Was the human element of the project – putting a face on the people you came across, so to speak – part of the original concept?
Vaughan: Yes. It is in the same style as “The Interview Project.” Austin is really a great documentarian. The words in my songs can be captured in faces and scenes.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with this particular project?
Vaughan: How real it is. I perform the songs and someone that I trust was able to tell those stories the way he could interpret them, which when I watch them, they are true in their aim and you don’t get any riff raff that gets in the way of storytelling through song and visual. I couldn’t ask for more. Los Angeles is where I live. These songs are universal. As I perform them by myself, the visuals can carry the songs deeper.

TrunkSpace: What does your songwriting process look like? Can you walk us through how a song goes from core concept to completion?
Vaughan: Every song is different. With this project in particular, it started with myself and a guitar. At first I was seeking acoustic guitar parts à la, Ry Cooder. I was playing a lot of guitar and open tunings. What transpired was I started finding lyrics and melodies that were going with the parts I was writing. So in its infancy I had “I Was All Alone” and “Forgiveness” and that was the foundation to explore further. Sometimes they would start with lyrics and sometimes with guitar, but I would just commit to writing it all the way through and not judging it until afterwards. I wrote a lot of songs for this project and the themes being about forgiveness, faith, growth, love. I wanted to strip that down with just myself and a guitar.

TrunkSpace: Lyrically are you someone who likes to write from experience or do you take a more storyteller’s approach?
Vaughan: I write from experience.

TrunkSpace: Are you somebody who can shut off the creative brain or is it always writing and processing, even when you’re in your day-to-day routine?
Vaughan: I would say that it’s always processing. But inspiration is a funny thing. When it comes, my day to day is all about capturing it. But we all have so many fears and insecurities that sometimes it’s hard to even recall how to write a song. But life is still going on, and I believe those things are stored in the sub-conscience, waiting to find a time where I can be present.

TrunkSpace: When you finish a project like “The Conversation,” do you need to step away from songwriting and refuel the creative tank, or do you find yourself immediately stepping into the next endeavor?
Vaughan: With this project, “The Conversation,” I have seen it as a multiple part endeavor. It started with me, a guitar, and the videos and now I have more work to do. I have to expend a lot of creative energy mapping it out. There is also the part of me that would rather be hiding in the mountains fly fishing for trout.

TrunkSpace: Where are you hardest on yourself as an artist?
Vaughan: It’s very typical for artists to never feel satisfied. I think constructive critique while I’m working on something can be positive. I believe that I was given this gift to create so I can’t beat myself up, or I start missing the point. Yet, that doesn’t stop me from missing the point sometimes. I just keep trudging and engaging the process. When I engage the process, I can find freedom in the moment.

TrunkSpace: Are you optimistic about the future of music? Being in the industry, have you gotten the sense that there is a next generation of voices ready to step up and carry the torch? If so, who are some artists that you believe could leave their mark on the future of music?
Vaughan: Yes, I’m optimistic. The next generation of artist will be digital natives. They will understand the landscape and understand where their audience can be found. My only concern is for the tradition and structure of songwriting. With so many musical choices, the song can become second fiddle. If that’s the case, then we are in a lot of trouble. But I hear amazing stuff all the time. When I hear the lyrics of Kendrick Lamar I know that songwriting is in an amazing place.

TrunkSpace: Yes, this is a bit of a vague, all-encompassing question, but… what’s next for you?
Vaughan: As I said, there are several more parts of “The Conversation.” Let’s see where that takes me…

“The Conversation” is available now.

As a concept, Olden Yolk has been in existence since 2012. The brainchild of songwriter Shane Butler, the project’s current artistic path wasn’t paved until 2016 after he met and formed a collaboration with Caity Shaffer, a songwriter herself. Both multi-instrumentalists and sharing a love for “choral compositions,” the duo began writing and divvying up vocal duties, ultimately coming together in the studio to cut their self-titled debut, which was released in February on Trouble in Mind. (Our review can be read here.)

We recently sat down with Butler and Shaffer to discuss where they’re looking to expand on their cooperative sound in the future, why the album is a gateway to their live show, and what impact is felt on their music by marrying it with visuals.

TrunkSpace: Your debut album dropped a few weeks ago. What emotions were you two wrestling with as you geared up to launch such a big part of who you are creatively, both as individuals and as a pair, into the world?
Butler: Honestly, I’m personally just really looking forward to bringing the record to people. I have a lot of excitement to tour and to offer what we’ve gathered to the world outside. Also, I have a lot of excitement already to jump back in the studio and make another album after gathering experience touring these songs.

TrunkSpace: From what we read, the idea for Olden Yolk first hit in 2012, but it didn’t become the dynamic duo that it is today until a few years later. How has the band changed sonically from what you were in the beginning to what we hear today on your debut?
Butler: Well, in actuality the project didn’t really become a duo until this past year, 2017. Between 2013 to 2014, I recorded a split-album with our friend Weyes Blood, but at that point Olden Yolk was still a ‘solo’ entity. Caity & I met in 2016 and started to share a lot of ideas with each other and towards the beginning of 2017 we started working on this album together. It’s been super exciting; the opportunity to incorporate multiple voices, songwriting styles, and work with a partner has really expanded the project. The sound will probably always be changing – so this specific album is just one incarnation of that teamwork between Caity & I, as well as with Jesse (DeFrancesco) & Dan (Drohan) who added to the record.

TrunkSpace: Your vocals pair so well together. Did that marrying of your voices work instantly when you two first started playing together or did it take some perfecting?
Shaffer: Thank you. We’re both fans of choral compositions, and/or songs with multiple singers, so we made something we might want to listen to – something conversational. It was our first point of connection, musically. While demoing, I added some accompanying vocals to “Common Ground,” and the result excited us, so vocal interplay became a major focus from that point forward.
Butler: Very nice you say that. That’s one of the things that first got me really excited about collaborating together. When Caity and I started singing together it really was a breakthrough moment. I think the timbre of our voices are really nice compliments to each other, or at least what I’d like to listen to. When we figured out weaving moments on songs such as “Common Ground,” “Esprit De Corps” and “Takes One To Know One,” I was pretty excited. Also, listening back to that stuff just shows me how much more we can do with that idea in the future. We really want to push that stuff on the next album.

TrunkSpace: One of the things we loved about your debut was that while a studio album, we felt it was also a great window into what an Olden Yolk live show would sound like. Was that one of the goals with the album, trying to capture a live vibe?
Butler: Well, it was definitely important to do that on some level. For one thing we really wanted to have an album where we could play the entire thing live. I’ve been part of albums in the past where there are studio songs that you literally just can’t play live… and it’s a bummer. So, after all the demos were done we went into the studio to just rehearse and make sure we could capture a live essence of all the songs. This also allowed the ability for new parts and subtleties to be added to the songs. I think this was a time when Jesse was really able to come up with some great guitar lines and ambiances for certain songs to add to the arrangements that were already there. Almost every song on the album had it’s core played live by the band in the room and then we went back in and added to those original arrangements afterward. But, a lot of the sound on the album is from those first takes – the core of the songs were all live. It definitely helps to provide a gateway between the studio and the live show.

TrunkSpace: When you put the finishing touches on the album and called it a wrap, did the experience of putting it together exceed your expectations? Did you accomplish all that you set out to with it and more?
Butler: Yes and no. I think we were all really happy with the album, but as always happens, as soon is it was done I think we realized how much further we could go on the next album. I think this is actually a really healthy feeling. I feel like if you ever were to finish an album and say, “That’s it, we did it – this is the best thing we could ever make,” it’s like you would die as an artist. I think that constant want to improve and the knowledge that you can push yourself further is what keeps you alive as an artist.
Shaffer: Completely agree with Shane. After all was said and done, the album became more than anything Shane, myself, and the band might have accomplished alone. We had a lot of talented people lending their insight – Jon Nellen, Jarvis Taveniere and more – who enlivened the songs. Compositionally, we were coming to terms with our sound, and that’s what I hear. While I’m glad to have that process captured on the record, there’s a lot more we’re looking forward to.

TrunkSpace: Do you need to step away after completing a project like your debut in order to refuel the creative tank or does the process inspire you to jump right into the next chapter of your artistic journey?
Shaffer: I’m feeling ready to jump into the next thing. We’ll be playing a few recent songs on our upcoming tour, and otherwise have a stockpile of ideas. In some ways, releasing the album refueled the creative tank. Receiving positive feedback from friends is definitely motivating to me, as is listening to the songs on the album and having those “what if”/“next time” thoughts.
Butler: A little bit of both. Personally I’m really excited to play all these songs live throughout this year. I always learn so much from performing live and get ideas for what directions to bring the next set of songs from this process. For me, touring is an essential part of the writing process – it’s where you gather the notes you will use in the next stage of creation. Also, I’ve always experienced that a lot of songs come to me when I’m traveling, so I’m excited to be writing a lot while traveling this year – and getting a little break from being stationary.

TrunkSpace: You’re both songwriters. How does that impact the writing process for Olden Yolk? What does that process look like from the inception of an idea to the completion of a song?
Butler: It’s really different for every song on the album. Both Caity & I have a hand in every song that’s on the album although there are songs that one of us may have created the core for and vice versa. We always do a lot of workshopping for each thing and then bring it into a phase where we can just freeform and play with it a bit in the studio. Also, we have had helping hands from our bandmates Jesse & Dan and from other friends who have added flourishes and arrangements to the songs. Each song is it’s own organism with dynamic traits. We’re both really excited to push the boundaries of the collaborative process on the next album. There’s so many ways to do, so…
Shaffer: Yes, for the next album, we want to try to begin that collaborative stage a bit earlier – working on new songs at the formative stage of the writing process as opposed to the end. Just for kicks, to free things up.

TrunkSpace: We could be completely off base here, but it seems like you enjoy the process of marrying visuals with your music. Is that a continuation of your creative expression with the music itself, or does that tap into a completely different part of your artistic brain?
Butler: The blending of visuals and music has always been really important to me. I studied visual art and have pursued it alongside my music for a long time now. With this project we’ve really wanted to really have fun with our visual ideas and to test out what happens when we place the music alongside certain images. It’s a place where we’ve been able to bring together these two practices. It’s really incredible how much of an effect it can have. A lot of my favorite bands over the years have had a really strong connection to the visual arts and I look to them for inspiration. There is such a long history of visual artists making music and vice versa. Everything from Fluxus to La Monte Young to The Velvet Underground to Sonic Youth to Black Dice to Grimes and onward…

TrunkSpace: Where are you both hardest on yourselves as artists?
Butler: There are weeks where you feel that you are really on and that you are heading in the right direction and then there are weeks where you feel like you should just give up and never make anything again. Trying not to get stuck in the latter is the hardest thing. I’m so thankful to have supportive folks in my life and to have some inner-practices which have helped me continue forward.
Shaffer: Yeah, the existentialism bit is real. Outside of that – I’ve been hard on my voice, been surprised by it many times, asked myself what the hell it’s doing, felt like it wasn’t in my control. When nervous I slip into a British accent, and there’s just no need for that. My voice has a lower range, but that’s something I’m embracing – I see it more like a birthmark and less like a wart these days.

TrunkSpace: If your debut launched Olden Yolk into the fame stratosphere, would you be comfortable being cast in that bright of a spotlight? Is there a downside to sharing your art with the world?
Shaffer: I can’t see a real downside. The infrequent criticism/reviews might seem dark, but I think dealing with that builds character, not to mention that sometimes the criticism is spot on. Overall, we’re lucky that people are listening. Also, it is difficult to find a supportive label. We’re grateful for ours. Bill and Lisa (Trouble in Mind) are kindred spirits and we admire them a lot. Regarding spotlight casting, I enjoy a certain degree of anonymity that I am probably unwilling to part with. The reason I share is because I’ve benefited so much from others doing the same… but it took a while.
Butler: I can’t imagine a life where I didn’t have some semblance of anonymity and I don’t think I would like it if I didn’t have that. I would be very happy for our work to reach as many people as possible – yet, I would always like to maintain a ‘regular life’ along with that. I also really want to keep growing as an artist. I know that a lot of demands are placed upon those who have had a lot of success and it has been hard at times for them to change, grow, and push their art to another level because they have already become so successful at one thing. It probably takes an incredible amount of discipline and fearlessness to keep yourself growing once you’ve found a ‘formula that works’. Luckily there are people who have always pushed themselves in light of these things – if our work was ever to be held in a light like that – I would look to these people for inspiration/guidance.

Olden Yolk’s self-titled debut is available now on Trouble in Mind.

Ruby Boots, aka Bex Chilcott, pinged our radar earlier this year with the release of “Don’t Talk About It,” an album that instantly floated to the top of our Best Of ‘18 list. Defying genre labels and rising above simple sorting, the Australian-born singer/songwriter isn’t just a square peg finding her way in the circular hole that is the music industry – she’s her own yet-undefined shape who is leaving her mark by being musically malleable.

We recently sat down with Chilcott to discuss how she takes compliments about her art, why she needs to give herself free reign to create “whatever the fuck” she likes, and the inspiring vibe of her new home, Nashville.

TrunkSpace: We have loved “Don’t Talk About It” since we first heard the album, and in fact, we think it is something that we should very much be talking about. As it relates to your music, are you someone who handles compliments well?
Chilcott: Well thank you, I’m glad you love it! I have learnt to say thank you as a way of handling compliments the best I can. Someone once pulled me aside and said, “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I was trying to pay you a compliment and when you brush it off and don’t receive it, it robs me of the joy of sharing how I feel.” So from that moment on I learnt to say thank you so as to keep in mind that it’s not up to me to depict if someone enjoys what I create and receive whatever it is my music makes them feel, good or bad!

TrunkSpace: What we really enjoyed about the album is that, while each song works cohesively together, it really is a mosaic of different genres and styles. As a songwriter, are you someone who works within your own self-imposed boundaries or creatively is anything on the table as long as it suits the song?
Chilcott: I love this question! I am all about instinct. I know when I want something and I know when I don’t – it always comes based on a feeling, usually that is in the form of either joy or anxiety! (Laughter) It’s never very calculated and sometimes I can barely put what I want from a song into words, which is probably why the album has that mosaic feel, and quite honestly, I am always worried that the albums I make won’t be cohesive even though its something I do strive for! I don’t like boxes. We as artists should give ourselves free reign to do whatever the fuck we like, and that’s how I approach making music. As long as I can be proud of it, and if I put something out that I can’t get to that place, if I can take some kind of lesson away and grow from the experience then that has to be just as good as that sense of pride!

TrunkSpace: Breaking down the songs further, it also seems that lyrically you’re not afraid to pull back the curtain and reveal the rawest of emotions and personal experiences. Do you feel it’s possible to put too much of yourself into a song or is that honesty a part of what makes it all work so well?
Chilcott: Even if the song is not about a direct experience I have had, I will always try and put myself in it, and if it is, I try not to be too coy. Maybe someone could listen to one of my songs and feel understood in one way or another – perhaps they have been through something that hits home for them and they can take something away from it. Whatever it is, I am not afraid of being real. I don’t have time for fake.

Take the song “Somebody Else.” It’s based on a story, the whole gaslighting concept, and I had a very close friend spiral into deep depression because she had someone lie to her so consistently she thought she was going mad until she found out she was right. It was awful. So I write that from a first person point of view to best try to understand it. I have been hurt before too, so I throw that sentiment in there and hopefully a listener in a similar situation can feel understood too!

TrunkSpace: When you put so much of yourself into a song, do you second guess putting it out into the world, particularly in a day and age where everyone seems to have a soapbox they’re all too eager to stand on thanks to social media and other internet-based platforms?
Chilcott: I mean, it’s an assumption that each song has all of myself in it. I write in first person because it helps me connect with what I am writing about, but I don’t always write from deeply personal experiences. When I do however, I don’t stand on a soapbox because I don’t approach life like that. I have overcome so much in this life already that if I get kicked down, first I hurt but then I pick myself back up, dust all that shit off and keep moving forward, and I think that is a positive perspective to write from – show the hurt and the pain but show the defiance, the resilience and the victory of not giving up or being pushed around, you know?

TrunkSpace: Where are you hardest on yourself as an artist?
Chilcott: The songs. It’s ALL about the songs. In my mind, the songwriting has to always be growing or I should stop writing songs. And without that feeling, that I am growing as a songwriter, I feel like I should just quit what I am doing all together.

TrunkSpace: We have read about your journey from Perth to Nashville and the personal difficulties you experienced throughout your younger years. How much of that impacted who you are as an artist today? Obviously it’s impossible to know what could have been had we zigged instead of zagged in life, but do you think you would have a much different creative POV in the present had you had a more stable, less nomadic past?
Chilcott: I love this question too! Yes, your life journey shapes the way you see the world and so it’s exactly the perspective that you write from. Had it been different so would be my writing and my songs!

TrunkSpace: Is songwriting a form of therapy for you? If you didn’t have it as a creative outlet to get your thoughts out, do you think you would feel more emotionally bogged down?
Chilcott: It used to be therapy in the sense that it was the first outlet I had found in life to express my emotions in a way that made sense, but now it’s therapeutic in the sense that it helps me process things – how I view certain situations or things that are going on around me or even what’s going on inside rather than just expression from emotion in a more raw format. It allows me to question something and process it that way.

TrunkSpace: Nashville is such an amazingly creative city. Does being around other creatives inspire you to pursue your own art even further than you would if you were living in a different place?
Chilcott: Yes, it is, and yes, it does. There is always someone to collaborate with or a show that is happening that is deeply inspiring and the quality of music that is made in this city means there is always an awesome album coming out from someone I know that blows me away.

TrunkSpace: Writing, recording and promoting an album is a long process. As you’re continuing to put time and promotion into “Don’t Talk About It,” has your creative brain and essentially who you are in the moment (likes, dislikes and things you want to express) already moved on to what you would like your next artistic endeavor to be?
Chilcott: No, it doesn’t have the chance to move onto anything, it kind of gets stuck in this vortex of time for a while. All the focus goes into being present in the moment and giving your attention to the release. Sometimes it can appear that once an album is out that that’s it, but there is so much work to do around release time and if all goes well, for some time after that! Thankfully this time I have some incredible people working with me on this release so I am able to focus more on my live shows, etc!

TrunkSpace: If someone came to you with a time machine and offered you a chance to have a glimpse at what your career will look like 10 years from now, would you take the futuristic peek?
Chilcott: No way! I need to stay present in the journey and enjoy each moment. If I knew what it was leading to then it would take away all of my joy!

“Don’t Talk About It” is available now from Bloodshot Records.

Featured image by: Cal Quinn

For Leslie DiNicola, music is a deeply personal journey, but it’s one that the singer/songwriter doesn’t shy away from sharing with people, particularly in a live atmosphere where she feeds off of the atmospheric ebb and flow of the crowd. Although she is still hitting the clubs in support of her 2016 EP “Love + Destruction,” the NYC-based songstress teases that a full-length album is on the horizon, a creative sunrise that we are eagerly awaiting the chance to bask in.

We recently sat down with DiNicola to discuss hometown shows, artistic growth, and finding hope within the sorrow of life.

TrunkSpace: You’re kicking off March in style with a couple of big shows in your base of operations, NYC, one of which is tonight at The Iridium. Is there something extra special about hometown shows and knowing that the crowd is going to be filled with familiar faces?
DiNicola: Hometown shows are so much fun! Especially when they fall at the end of a tour (like these do) when I’ve been out on the road missing NYC. It always feels like a bit of a homecoming.

TrunkSpace: How would you compare the thrill you get from performing live to that of getting in the studio and seeing new songs get brought to life? Are they two completely different pieces of the puzzle or are both part of the overall picture that the puzzle becomes?
DiNicola: For me, performing live and recording in the studio are two very different experiences that both bring me equal amounts of joy. In the studio I get to dig deeply into the art and lose myself completely in the journey of discovering what music wants to come out of me and what it wants to become. On stage, I get to celebrate that journey and share the emotional experience it was with a live audience. I love feeling the energy of an audience changing all throughout a performance and how completely different each audience is.

TrunkSpace: Your latest EP, “Love + Destruction,” was released in December of 2016. Where are you at now creatively and are you approaching writing from a different artistic POV than you were during the time that those particular songs were written?
DiNicola: Every time I record an EP I change and grow, not just as an artist, but also as a person. Each one of my EPs is very precious to me because they are like photographs of the person I was in a particular moment. So, I would have to say that the work I am creating now is definitely coming from a new POV. But, it’s a POV that wouldn’t be possible without the POVs of each of my previous releases.

TrunkSpace: Is there another EP or possible full-length in the near future that fans should start getting excited about?
DiNicola: All I will say is, yes, there is a full-length recording in the very near future and that fans should definitely start getting excited. I know I am!

TrunkSpace: Where did your musical journey begin? What was the catalyst for not only loving the art form but wanting to be a part of it in a creation sense?
DiNicola: Technically, it started in the backseat of my neighbor’s car singing along with Van Morrison on the way home from elementary school. But, after that, I was enrolled in very competitive choir programs all over the country. I was trained classically and in Opera until I was 20 but I spent most of my time sneaking out at night to go see rock shows at the local clubs. I connected with those performers in such a resonant way. I knew immediately THAT was what I wanted to do with my life.

TrunkSpace: Are you comfortable in your own songwriting skin? If so, can you pinpoint the moment you found your voice?
DiNicola: I think as a writer and a performer I am always growing and finding new, sometimes surprising, levels of my abilities. To say someone is ever comfortable in their craft I’m afraid implies that they no longer feel the need to learn. And when you stop learning the art ends. I hope to always be learning and discovering.

TrunkSpace: What does your writing process look like? How does a song go from inception to completion?
DiNicola: It almost identically resembles the look of a room shortly after the Tasmanian Devil has blown through. When I am writing, I am at the complete mercy of the songs. They come to me any time they want to: in the middle of the night, on the subway, in the grocery store when my hands are full and I can’t write anything down… I truly feel that I am just a channel for music to move through and that my job is to sit back, listen, and give the songs the space they need to tell ME what they want to become.

TrunkSpace: Creative people are infamous for being extremely hard on themselves in the creative process. Does that apply to you, and if so, where are you hardest on yourself?
DiNicola: I am always critical of the work I do and I think people in general, artist or not, are always hardest on themselves because we have a decent sense of our potential and we know when we are not meeting it. I will always be able to listen back to a recording or a live video and tell if I was 100 percent on my game or not. Even though other people might swear they can’t hear or see a difference I will know it’s there. But, at the same time, I think it’s extremely important to achieve a balance by making sure you acknowledge to yourself when you have done something that you couldn’t have done better.

TrunkSpace: What do you want people to take from your music? What messages do you hope they uncover and decipher in a way that they can apply to their own lives?
DiNicola: While every song I write has its own story and it’s own message, I think the common thread that connects all of my work is an inherent sense of hope against life sorrow.

TrunkSpace: We’re big baseball nuts here and we know that you’ve performed the National Anthem for a number of teams. Is getting to do really fun, interesting things like that a rewarding perk of the job? Also, that’s a tough song to sing! Do you get nervous or are you always, baseball pun intended, ready to knock it out of the park?
DiNicola: I’ve sung the Anthem for the Atlanta Braves on three separate occasions as well as the New York Mets, the New York Rangers, the New York Red Bulls, and the Dallas Stars. It is definitely an awesome perk of the job! I grew up in a family that loves sports, so to be able to be a part of them in this unique way and bring my talent to an arena that is so different from the typical music scene is so much fun. You are correct, it’s not the easiest song ever written, but that’s what makes it so rewarding when you hear yourself belting it out in front of all those people in that enormous space. Like Tom Hanks says in “A League Of Their Own”…

“Of course it’s hard, it’s supposed to be hard… it’s the hard that makes it great.”

“Love + Destruction” is available now.

Featured image by: Logan Cole

We’re all chasing individual dreams and running down specific goals. For prog rock icon Neal Morse, he caught up to one of his own creative objectives with his most recent album, “Life & Times,” which he calls the singer/songwriter album that he always wanted to make. (Check out our review here.)

We recently sat down with Morse to discuss growth through personal difficulties, the heartbreaking motivation behind the song “He Died At Home,” and why he wanted “Life & Times” to exude warmth.

TrunkSpace: You’ve been writing music for decades. As you have gotten older, what has impacted that process more – is it you changing as a person or the world changing around you?
Morse: Oh, I don’t know, I suppose it’s a bit of both. It’s probably me changing more, I think. Writing is very often more of an inner thing. Even the way that we perceive the outer world all comes from the inner space, so to speak. So, yeah, I think I’ve changed, and you can definitely hear that through the course of my albums.

TrunkSpace: Do you still relate to the guy who wrote some of your earliest songs?
Morse: I relate to it, yeah. Sure. I remember being super angry a lot, and it really makes me more thankful for where I am now. I think it’s important to remember where God’s brought us from, and then also it helps us to have compassion and all the good stuff helps us to be relatable and to reach out to others in a way that’s understandable and works.

TrunkSpace: As people, we can’t grow unless we’re given situations to grow from, right?
Morse: Yeah, that’s why I think we all go through things, and if we go through them in the right way, we’ll grow from it. Of course, that’s hard. Nobody wants to go through difficulties, but it is through difficulties very often that we grow the closest to the Lord.

TrunkSpace: Does “Life & Times” mark a musical milestone in your career in that, is it sort of a creative transition for you in terms of just how you’re approaching music as a whole?
Morse: No, not really. It’s its own thing. I feel like it’s a milestone because it’s the singer/songwriter album that I’ve always wanted to make. I’ve tried several times, and I did some pretty good singer/songwriter albums – I think “It’s Not Too Late” is good, “Songs From November” is good, but I feel like “Life & Times” is just a step up from there. I don’t know how that happens. It’s a lot of factors, but mainly, it just kind of happens and you write a series of songs that are kind of special. That’s what I think happened with “Life & Times.” It all starts with the song.

TrunkSpace: So from the perspective of it being a singer/songwriter album, did you consciously approach it as a storyteller?
Morse: Well, it just kind of occurs. You’ll start off with something, maybe a thought or sometimes it’s a riff – you’ll just start playing something and you’ll start singing over it. “Oh, what should I say?” And then you start thinking, “Oh, well, it would sound good to say something like this…” And very often one line, the whole song, or sometimes a whole album if you’re doing a concept album, will really sprout from the seed of just a couple lines. “He Died At Home,” for example, that was something that always stayed with me that I’d heard at a prayer meeting years ago. A woman got up at a prayer meeting and said, “Would you pray for our servicemen? We’re going to a funeral almost every week.” It was near an Army base, and when we asked how he passed away, they’d say, “He died at home.” And that always stayed with me. Then I got a text that a friend of a friend had died, an ex-military guy. Then, I Googled this article. So there was a bunch of different factors. I started writing from this article about a guy who had come home from Afghanistan and committed suicide. His name was William Busbee. But it really all came from “He died at home.” Then you start thinking, “Okay, how am I going to tell this story, and how much of it do I want to tell?” It’s very intuitive, and very challenging, but very rewarding when it all comes out in a good way.

TrunkSpace: Are you someone who has a difficult time shutting off the creative brain? Are you always observing and absorbing?
Morse: No, I don’t think I’m always in that mode. Very often I’m more in the mode of, if I’m composing or if I’m in the middle of working on an album or writing it, I’m usually thinking about, “Where does it stand? Where are we in the piece? And where should it go?” I’m very often thinking more musically than story-wise. That’s the great thing about writing concept albums, is that the story will then bring forth the music and the lyrics. It was that way with “The Similitude of a Dream.” Once we figured out the story we were going to tell, then that brought forth a lot of the songs. They just sort of fell out. They just came really easily.

TrunkSpace: You mentioned how “Life & Times” was the singer/songwriter album that you always wanted to make. While you no doubt have a personal connection to everything you create, do you have a deeper bond with these 12 tracks because it’s been something that you’ve yearned for?
Morse: Yeah, I think so. I feel definitely more connected to this record right now. But, you know, you’d have to ask me in five years. As Mel Brooks once said, “I’m always in love with the girl I’m dating.” (Laughter) Of course, being married, I don’t know if I should say that. (Laughter) But musically, I’m almost always enthralled with the recent child… the most recent birth. So, we’ll see in the long run, but I feel like, yeah, it’s a special time. And I feel like the way God helped me to orchestrate and record the album… I was originally, for example, supposed to record it with a couple of younger guys that I love to work with, but they became unavailable at the last second. We were supposed to record it in July, and suddenly they said, “Well, we have one day free.” They were just booked. So I had the choice of, “Well, should I wait until they have more time?” And then I looked at my schedule. I was touring in August with the Neal Morse Band, and then I had Morsefest coming, and I thought, “Man, if I don’t make this record now I don’t know when I’m going to.” So I started making calls around Nashville, and I remembered I’d done some worship records with a drummer named Scott Williamson that I really liked. I thought it was kind of miraculous because we’re talking about, “Hey, can we record this next Tuesday?” And it was Thursday. A lot of the A-list people, they’re booked. They’re just booked for a while. But Scott had time. I sent him a bunch of the songs and he started charting things out.

Anyway, it just came together in a beautiful way – all the people that worked on it. I just felt like Chris Carmichael’s string arrangements were just inspired, and extraordinary, and beautiful. And Rich Mouser’s mixes, and Terry Christian’s mixes are just… I’m really in love with the tone, the warmth. I kept telling them, “Make it warmer. When people put this record on I want them to feel the warmth.” So I’m really happy, because I feel like we have really achieved that, and many of the responses that I’ve been getting say exactly that. “I feel like this album is so welcoming and warm,” and I just smile to myself, “Yes. We did it.”

“Life & Times” is available now.

Neal Morse tour dates can be found here.

Featured image by: Joey Pippin

Marlon Williams’ sophomore album “Make Way For Love” reaches the masses today, and as we made pretty clear in our review, it’s one of the best complete, start to finish collection of songs that we have heard in some time. Singular in a multitude of ways while being familiar enough to be reminiscent, Williams is a game changer, the kind of artist you make regular social media check-ins with just to see when new music is dropping. He isn’t just to be heard, he’s to be followed, because you don’t want to miss what comes next.

We recently sat down with Williams to discuss the process of marrying visuals to his music, squaring off with the wind for the “What’s Chasing You” video, and why he feels that it is not his right to assume what the audience will take from his music.

TrunkSpace: You recently released videos for the singles “What’s Chasing You” and “Come to Me.” Do you enjoy the process of marrying your music with visuals? Is it something you labor over in terms of finding the right “fit” between the two?
Williams: It’s something I’ve grown to enjoy more and more. I’m starting to frame it as an extension of the songwriting process, a way of muddying the waters.

TrunkSpace: The video for “What’s Chasing You” features you grooving back and forth on a beach. What did you like about the concept and how it ultimately fit with “What’s Chasing You?”
Williams: I like the confrontation of the video. There’s no cutting away, and once you realize that it’s one long unedited shot, as a viewer, you’re more forgiving, you buy into the limitations.

TrunkSpace: How long were you out there in the sand, shirtless and dodging kites?
Williams: Well, we did about eight continuous takes and I was so windburnt by the end I didn’t know up from down.

TrunkSpace: The song itself has been on repeat here since we first heard it. It will appear on your new album, “Make Way For Love,” arriving today on Dead Oceans. How do you personally choose the singles prior to an album’s release, because in many ways, for the consumer, that single becomes the representation of the album, does it not?
Williams: Because the writing and recording was such an unconscious process for me this time around, it really was a lot of feeling it out as I went. A lot of allowing things to sit where they naturally fell. That’s totally true, and you have to be resigned to that reality and not impose too much on the way a listener fits the puzzle together.

TrunkSpace: Do you have emotional connections to individual songs or do they all sort of become parts and pieces to a larger emotional connection to the album? For example, what do you feel when you listen back to “Make Way For Love” and is your hope that listeners find a similar connection to it, either musically or through the lyrics?
Williams: I have no preconceived ideas about what I expect an audience to take away from it, I feel like it’s not my right. Of course I long to be understood, but I’m also aware that I’m learning from the songs as they’re out in the world too.

TrunkSpace: How have you personally changed between the songwriting that ultimately became your debut album and the songwriting on “Make Way For Love,” and how has it impacted your music? Has your songwriting POV changed at all?
Williams: I used to think I could hide behind my songs. I don’t feel that so much anymore, or I don’t feel the need to. However, I’m only two albums in and who knows if and when I’ll change again?

TrunkSpace: You have described your approach to lyrics as “newspaper storytelling.” Are you someone who has a difficult time shutting off that storytelling part of your brain? Do you see someone in a cafe or on a street and find yourself creating a fictional origin around them?
Williams: I do definitely like to create narratives for passing strangers. It can get a bit much. Sometimes I’ll watch an old person eating alone and imagine what Proustian memories of their mother’s cooking they’re conjuring up and hope it’s not making them too sad about mum being gone. Unnecessary.

TrunkSpace: You’re kicking off an extensive international tour on February 22 in Bristol, UK. What are you most looking forward to while out on the road?
Williams: I’m looking forward to going through all the stages of tiredness and overdoneness with the songs and being forced to find new angles of self-entertainment.

“Make Way For Love” is available today on Dead Oceans.

Songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and professional project juggler James Dewees has had a hand in many memorable acts throughout the years, including The Get Up Kids, New Found Glory and My Chemical Romance. The most personal of his musical outlets, and the one that has stood the test of time even as time refuses to slow down, is Reggie and the Full Effect, a solo project he began in 1998. With 20 Full Effect years under his belt, Dewees recently released his 7^th studio album, “41,” one he says was inspired by a series of personal tragedies in his life and how he chose to subconsciously cope with them.

We recently sat down with Dewees to discuss how each project fuels the next, the aspect of “41” he’s most proud of, and what he won’t lie to himself about in 2018.

TrunkSpace: It’s been four years since the last Reggie and the Full Effect album. Do you ever get in a headspace where you’re not sure if you have another album in you?
Dewees: Not really. Music is just something that I’m always doing. Writing, performing or whatever, I’m always working it seems, but I love it so much it never feels like work.

TrunkSpace: A lot of people find themselves needing to refuel the tank before tackling their next creative endeavor. Is that true for you between albums?
Dewees: Not really. I’m involved in so many projects that are different from each other. Each helps inspire the other.

TrunkSpace: When you set out to put “41” together, did you want to approach the songwriting or recording process in a new way? At any point during the experience did you feel out of your comfort zone, but by way of putting yourself there on purpose?
Dewees: Well, having gone through two personal tragedies in a month, I used the sadness for creative fuel, even though I didn’t realize it when I was doing it.

TrunkSpace: What are you most proud of with this particular album?
Dewees: Writing and recording the songs for my mom, they were very difficult to sing because of the content, but I got them done and I’m super proud of them.

TrunkSpace: The album is your 7th as Reggie and the Full Effect, which is a huge accomplishment. If we were to sit down with all seven albums and listen to them back to back, sonically and thematically where would we hear the biggest differences? Where you do you think your music has changed the most over that time?
Dewees: It would be 21-year-old James and 41-year-old James. I’d like to think I’ve grown as a writer and performer throughout the years.

TrunkSpace: As you mentioned, 2018 marks 20 years of Reggie and the Full Effect. Time flies by in life, but does it fly by when you’re making music as well? Have those 20 years felt more like a handful?
Dewees: Yeah, I’ve never stopped being super busy. From Reggie, Get Up Kids, New Found Glory, My Chemical Romance and Deathspells – I’m always a busy person.

TrunkSpace: Has your own musical point of view changed since 1998 or do you feel that your songwriter’s voice is relatively similar between then and now?
Dewees: Yeah, I am a fan and lover of music. All kinds. My songwriting reflects a lot of that. (Not just with Reggie but all the other projects or recordings I play on.)

TrunkSpace: Sticking with the idea of your songwriter’s voice, how long did it take you to find yours and be wholly confident in it?
Dewees: Have I found it yet?

TrunkSpace: As you look back on your career in music, what are some of the highlights that you’ll carry with you throughout the rest of your life?
Dewees: All of it. From playing my first show out of town to headlining Madison Square Garden with My Chemical Romance.

TrunkSpace: What has been one of the surprise side effects of your career in music? Has music changed your life in a way that you never could have imagined when you picked up your first instrument?
Dewees: It has been my dream since I was seven to be this. And I’m thankful everyday for the opportunity to be able to do this.

TrunkSpace: We’ve barely scratched the surface on 2018. Did you make any New Year’s resolutions for yourself and if so, how are you doing sticking with them thus far?
Dewees: Not really. I want to quit smoking because I know that it’s not doing me or my health any good, and the longer I do it, the worse it’s going to get. I did think about turning my attention toward something like the smok nord vaping kit in the hopes that it would be easier for me to get off the tobacco products, but I haven’t got around to it just yet. I have heard that it’s meant to be one of the best items out there though, so I’d be stupid to not look into it a bit more. But I’m also not gonna lie to myself. (Laughter). Maybe something like snus (which you can get here) could help, but time will tell on that front.

“41″ is available February 23 on Pure Noise Records.

Check out the TrunkSpace review of “41” here.

Like moths to a flame, we were drawn to the charisma and ease of performance that Lizzy Plapinger contributed to the electro-pop outfit MS MR. With her latest project, the more alternative-geared LPX, we’re not just flapping our wings towards that flame, we’re flying right through it. (Check out the TrunkSpace review of her debut EP, “Bolt in the Blue,” here.)

We recently sat down with Plapinger, co-founder of Neon Gold Records, to discuss the sense of accomplishment in going it alone artistically, the inspiration behind LPX, and why she’s ready to get inside her own skin and explore her creative self even further.

TrunkSpace: Is there a different feeling – a different sense of accomplishment – with something like “Bolt in the Blue,” which is wholly yours as opposed to a more collaborative atmosphere like with MS MR?
Plapinger: It is a very different feeling. It’s just a really wonderful sense of showing a complete and whole side of yourself with the world. I’ve always been incredibly proud of everything that Max (Hershenow) and I have made together and shared. This is definitely a different feeling when it’s just sort of me and an audience; honestly even bigger than that. I mean, on my own as a self-released, fully independent artist to feel like we’ve gotten so much traction and attention, to have so many ears on the music without the push of a major label – it feels like a huge sense of accomplishment and sort of full circle of everything that I’ve worked for MS MR and Neon Gold Records and how it all sort of perfectly came together in the package of LPX now. I’m using all the lessons I’ve learned basically.

TrunkSpace: At the same time, did you also feel more vulnerable releasing this particular material, because at the end of the day, all of the feedback, positive and negative, falls on you, correct?
Plapinger: Sure. It’s so weird. I never feel nervous about sharing music or videos or art. Not because I have some sort of full arrogant sense of it, but I just never put anything out unless I love it so completely, and I know, hand over heart, that whether it does well or it doesn’t, that I’m super proud of it. I’ve never had this anxious feeling of like, “What’s gonna happen?”, because I’m just so excited to be sharing things.

I feel like the biggest difference heading up to it was, honestly, just how much work went into it. It’s a really different thing when you’re plugging into a label and you have a whole team doing PR and you push this sort of international button and everything goes off at once. This is a really tiny team. It meant that the media leading up to it was sending personal emails to every person in the press that I’ve ever met and to any person I know at Spotify. I think everything about LPX is a lot more personal. With any sort of accolade or compliment that comes with it, it just feels that much more meaningful because I just know how much time and work and effort has gone into every piece of it.

TrunkSpace: How long has the project been gestating inside you? Was it something you have been thinking about for a long time?
Plapinger: I never had any sort of pre-meditated, preconceived notion of doing LPX while I was in MS MR. What we were sort of preparing for the third album at the end of the second album cycle, I just didn’t really know where we were gonna evolve and grow as a band at that point. Max had been writing and producing with a lot of different other artists, which is awesome and I was super supportive of. I did just honestly feel his evolution as a producer and as an artist and I think I really wanted that experience for myself, and in the process, to make music that was a little bit closer to the artists and bands and musicians that I grew up with listening to, which is really much more rooted in rock and alternative. Once we sort of decided to take a second and explain that in writing with other people, it’s only really then that I started imagining what a solo project would look like. I think it took about a year. It took four or five months for me to create “Tightrope,” which really set the blueprint for everything afterwards. And once “Tightrope” was written, it took me about maybe six months to get the rest of the material – keep writing, keep writing, keep writing, finding new collaborators, and then onto the music, which was a really awesome experience. It was a combination of being in the room with new people, which I’m really enjoying just what that means every time and how you have to reassert yourself every time you’re in the room with a new person… I assumed that going into the room with different people would mean, I don’t know, losing your sense of self and you acclimate to that person, and really it’s only forced me in the opposite direction to sort of understand my point of view as an artist more and more so that I can directly communicate that as soon as possible. Going through the process of mixing and mastering without a partner – I’ve always been so lucky to learn and have Max to help me with those kind of choices and those processes, and to do that on my own, was really awesome. I’m hoping that having that year under my belt, of doing that with “Bolt in the Blue,” I’m hoping I can move more quickly through the process and be releasing things a little bit more regularly now that that first body of work is out in the world.

TrunkSpace: And from an artistic standpoint, having “Bolt in the Blue” out in the world now must instantly charge you to get back into the studio and do more.
Plapinger: Totally, and literally the week that it came out, I was actually in Nicaragua where I wrote “Tightrope” and “Tremble,” which sparked the project, and was writing. I think I have the bones of the next body of work, the next couple songs that are going to be released. I’ve really not stopped writing even though this record just came out three weeks ago. I’m already looking to the next things, which is always a struggle. You’re always excited to put out the next thing but it took so much time to put “Bolt in the Blue” together I still want to honor and bring as much attention to that as possible, but I’m always excited to keep moving forward.

TrunkSpace: It’s like a painter. You finish a painting and you can hang it on the wall to be enjoyed, but at the same time you want to move on and paint your next work.
Plapinger: Exactly. My job is really done. I’ve made the music. Now it’s out in the world and I hope people love and appreciate it. All I really want to do is keep creating.

TrunkSpace: So will that next batch of songs be an extension of “Bolt in the Blue” or will you stylistically be trying different things?
Plapinger: It’s all in the same world genre-wise. Something that was really important to me with this first body of work was really just contextualizing LPX as something so different from MS MR, which really lived in the electro-pop world. I think when I first started releasing LPX songs, people didn’t know quite where to place me because I come from that genre. I love that these six songs really establish me in this alternative lane. I’m definitely still mining what that looks and feels like to me.

I think that “Bolt in the Blue” feels like such a high octane, aggressive, prickly, high energy body of work, it’s kind of bursting onto the scene. I feel like the next body of work, or couple of songs, will still have that energy but might not be quite as aggressive. I don’t know. I’m still sort of figuring that out. New songs take on a life of their own, but I feel like the next couple songs might be the calm after the storm.

TrunkSpace: Artistically that must be kind of freeing. You’ve made your introduction to the world as LPX, and now it becomes less about establishing what that new sound is, and more about what is inspiring you currently.
Plapinger: Absolutely. And that’s always ever-evolving, especially if you’re a music lover and you’re always listening to new records. I think so much of “Bolt in the Blue” is honoring the artists that I’ve grown up with, especially the female heroes that I have in alternative like Siouxsie Sioux or Shirley Manson or PJ Harvey. And recently I’ve been listening to a ton of new ones, and that’s definitely shifting the influences that I’ve sort of embedded in the production. My writing style is never really going to change and I’m always sort of experimenting with the tone of my voice and what my body is physically capable of in a sonic way, which I really love. That’s really liberating for me to think of my voice like that.

It has been interesting to see that this sound is ever-evolving as I think it always should be. The first hurdle is out of the way, which is exciting. People know who I am and now there’s more room for me to even get inside my own skin.

“Bolt in the Blue” is available now.

In our current spoiler alert society, there aren’t very many surprises left. For guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, 2017 brought about one very big eureka moment – the mainstream success of his latest project, the progressive rock band Sons of Apollo.

Comprised of Thal, former Dream Theater members Mike Portnoy and Derek Sherinian, Mr. Big founding member Billy Sheehan, and ex-Journey vocalist Jeff Scott Soto, the supergroup released their first album, “Psychotic Symphony” on October 20 and saw it debut at #1 on Billboard’s “Heatseekers” Chart, not at all what Thal expected when he thought they would churn out an album that “musician fans and friends” would enjoy.

We recently sat down with the renowned guitar hero to discuss what keeps him in the music biz, the reason he gravitates towards collaborations, and why he refuses to go half way on any project he commits himself to.

TrunkSpace: So often we hear, especially nowadays, about the negative impact of being in the public spotlight, but we have to imagine that for a musician, hearing how you positively impact fans is a driving force to keep going forward. Is that true with you and your career?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: It’s definitely a driving force. Absolutely. Most of the time I want to stop. I want to stop being a musician, and I hate the music business, and I just want to do something else with my life. And then I’ll get a message from somebody saying that what I did helped them and meant something to them, and I realize that that’s why I do this, and it’s so easy to forget that. But that is why we do what we do.

TrunkSpace: You mention the occasional desire to leave the music business. Are you somebody who has to step away and refuel the tank between projects to then get that creative spark back?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: I think so. And I think that I need to live life for a while – experience life – have stories that I feel are new stories to tell, and then I can do it. If I was gonna sit in the studio every day, I don’t know if that would work. I don’t know if being an output machine, just pumping out music daily, maybe would be even better, but I found that for most of my life I’ve needed to just live my life and then go and make some music.

TrunkSpace: Does that also apply to diversifying who you’re playing with and finding new voices to write alongside? Do your collaborations keep things fresh?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: That definitely is a big part of it. I think collaboration is so important. And there’s only so much I can get out of myself, and I only have a finite amount of anything to offer. But when you’re working with someone else, each one of you has something the other doesn’t, and when you put the two together it’s almost like the result is bigger than the sum of both parts by themselves.

TrunkSpace: When you look at those various collaborations throughout your career, do you view them as different roads all intersecting, or are they the same road traveling along the same career path?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: Good question. I guess they’re the same life path, but different things. I guess you could say they’re different movies. One is “Star Wars,” the other is “The Empire Strikes Back,” and the other one is “The Return of the Jedi.” But they’re part of the same collection in your life. And that’s the thing, everybody’s lives are connected and we’re all part of this web, so it’s not a linear thing. I think everything we do is more like we expand outward than going in one direction. I think we’re like a circle that keeps expanding.

TrunkSpace: And like anything in life, you get from those experiences what you’re willing to put in.
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: Oh sure, yeah. And, for me, I find that I need to immerse myself fully and go in deep. I have a very hard time just doing anything half way. I need to fully commit to whatever I’m doing while I’m doing it, whether it’s a band or whether it’s just producing or recording or my own albums or just doing a guest guitar solo for somebody. I need to really just fully commit.

TrunkSpace: Your latest project Sons of Apollo is filled with career musicians who have been at it for decades. Does working with that caliber of musicians provide a vibe of, everyone knows what they’re there to do and they do it. Does it make the process more efficient?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: Well, definitely with Sons of Apollo, you have a bunch of people that are the same types of creatures on the same page. It works well. That’s the thing, like any relationship, it has to be a balanced one where… if one loves someone more than the other does, it doesn’t quite work out well. So, we’re all on the same level as far as things. And, for me, and I noticed for Jeff and Derek and all the guys, they’re the same way, they care 100 percent. They fully put their heart and everything into it. And I think that’s why it works. And what I’ve realized is that when you’re like that, you’re gonna do much better in a band than as a hired gun kind of guy. And I think that’s why I’ve had difficulties in the past when it was a hired gun situation – which I never was, I was never a hired gun player, I was always a band guy, always had bands, always had it either in my solo band or Art of Anarchy or now Sons of Apollo. That’s the kind of person I am, and that’s just how I operate. If it’s something where it’s just more like employment, I could maybe do it for a short time, but after a certain point I need more, and it hurts too much to not give more or to just be kept at that employee distance and not a partnership kind of thing.

TrunkSpace: You knew the guys from Sons of Apollo for a long time. When you’re in that sort of relationship with other musicians, when do you know that a jam session is becoming more than that? Is it a bit unspoken at first, or does it just kind of happen?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: You kind of know pretty quickly – it happens immediately. As soon as you start playing together you just have this comfort and there’s this mind reading thing where you’ll end up doing the same kind of feel with the same kind of accents at the same time, like you’re anticipating the same things and reading each other’s minds and instinctively just know what the other is gonna do. And a lot of times that just happens. It happens more often than not, I’ve found.

TrunkSpace: Where does “Psychotic Symphony” sit for you in terms of your own relationship with your music? Is it an album that in 20 years you’ll look back on and see as a career highlight, both as a songwriter, and just as the experience?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: I think so. It’s funny, it’s not what I expected. Going from Art of Anarchy, which was radio rock, to Sons of Apollo, which is really like classic progressive hard rock… to me, Sons of Apollo I thought was gonna be more like something just for musicians, but it kind of blew up. Something is weird in the universe when women are coming up to you saying how much they love your progressive rock band. That’s not supposed to happen. Women are supposed to run in the opposite direction. (Laughter) And we would joke about that in the studio. We would come up with this crazy part in this weird time signature, and I would say something like, “We just lost two more female members of the audience.” (Laughter)

TrunkSpace: (Laughter) Life is all about expectations. When you have them tied to something, you tend to either be surprised or disappointed. Is part of the surprise with how well Sons of Apollo has been received because you had expectations?
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal: Yeah. I went into it thinking we were just gonna bust out an album in 10 days, and that musician fans and friends would enjoy it, and that would be it, just for the sake of making an album, but then it took on a life. And here we are in 2018, we’re gonna be touring all year, and starting to write ideas for a second album. But that’s how it is, you never know what’s gonna happen. All you can do is just put stuff out into the universe and it takes on a life of its own, and you have to let it have that life and don’t hold it back, and support it.

“Psychotic Symphony” is available now from InsideOutMusic.

For Sons of Apollo tour dates, visit here.