An interview with Trickshooter Social Club
An interview with Trickshooter Social Club
What inspired the name of the band? What are your influences?
Trickshooters used to travel the American west and dazzle people with smoke and
mirrors. They were gypsies, entertainers, illusion makers – part carnival, part carnal –
exciting and dangerous and fun as hell. We’ve always liked that particular cocktail of
things, so that is where “Trickshooter” part or the name came from. “Social club” came
from the fact that we didn’t want to be a traditional band – but a community – an open-
door social club of musicians and makers and creative people trying to tell stories and make
moments.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
We tend to start small and build bit by bit. A riff. A chord progression, A little bit of
melody. And it goes from here. In terms of themes – we tend to keep coming back to
the big ones – fucking up and seeking redemption… loss and loneliness… the things
we run from and the things we run to… the fight and fragile balance between the
sacred and the profane. We try to write with a conscience, a respect for our
audience, and a reverence for art with (at least a modicum of) nutritional value.
How do you approach songwriting? Are there any themes that you are keen to explore when you start off?
We tend to start small and build bit by bit. A riff. A chord progression, A little bit of
melody. And it goes from here. In terms of themes – we tend to keep coming back to
the big ones – fucking up and seeking redemption… loss and loneliness… the things
we run from and the things we run to… the fight and fragile balance between the
sacred and the profane. We try to write with a conscience, a respect for our
audience, and a reverence for art with (at least a modicum of) nutritional value.
Why do you write the sort of music that you do?
Our favorite music has always been timeless – Tom Petty, The Beatles, CCR…
bands that played songs… songs that stood the test of time. So that has always
been our musical space – we like melody and hooks. We like story in 3 minutes. We
like songs that are authentic and played by real people on real instruments. We like
rock-n-roll — and these days (given the amount of pop, rap and country and patent
lack of rock) that is a pretty subversive thing.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Our live show is all about energy. Again, we come from the trickshooter tradition of
carnival meets carnal – so our job is to be exciting and dangerous and fun as hell.
So, we lean toward the up-tempo stuff and the turn the slower stuff into up-tempo
stuff.
How do you decide what songs to perform live and how do you transpose them into that live setting?
Our live show is all about energy. Again, we come from the trickshooter tradition of
carnival meets carnal – so our job is to be exciting and dangerous and fun as hell.
So, we lean toward the up-tempo stuff and the turn the slower stuff into up-tempo
stuff.
What plans do you have for the future?
More recording and more releases. With our new (awesome) label, Animal Farm Music. We will
also start playing live shows this Fall and plan some mini-tours through the winter and spring.