It would be so easy to label Trampled by Turtles as bluegrass; the group’s instruments are acoustic bass, banjo, acoustic guitar and mandolin. But according to Dave Simonett, guitar player and vocalist, the group doesn’t fit into the traditional bluegrass scene for three reasons: They don’t wear suits, they use more than one microphone and they sit down when they play. It’d be even harder to label them as a jam band as they don’t go into extensive instrumental breaks, although their local fans tend to be connected to that scene. And while Simonett enjoys those fans because of their energy and exuberance, he doesn’t want his band’s sound put into any particular category.
After listening to a couple tracks of their upcoming CD, “Live at Luce,” a live EP recorded at Pizza Luce in Duluth, Trampled by Turtles’ sound comes off as more of an indie bluegrass/folk band with hints of acoustic era and Dylan-esque melodies. But when you see them live, their performance is more like the Ramones, going from song to song at a blazing tempo, with a slower song played once in while.
Simonett, Erik Berry (mandolin, guitar), Dave Carroll (banjo) and Tim Saxhaug (bass, vocals) have created a very good audience for themselves playing more 150 shows a year. They have played throughout the Midwest and have a great following in Colorado – which Simonett calls their second most successful area only after Minnesota. They’ve played on the West Coast and recently supported Camper Van Beethoven on an East Coast tour, making it the first time they’d been in that direction.
A common goal, and the ability to get along well on the road, serves the band well. They also don’t have to haul large pieces of equipment; so one van is all that’s needed for the road. Simonett says he tries to keep the road trips to about three weeks, since he was recently married and he found staying away from home for that long was a bit hard on him.
All the members are now are full-time musicians; play some side projects, but Trampled by Turtles takes up a majority of their time. The band has two full-length CDs under their belt, a live CD soon to be released and what they hope will be a series of live CDs coming out in the future, plus they’re already planning to go back to the studio this summer to record another studio album. Since their studio albums are mainly live recordings with some added overdubs on top, the time from recording to actually releasing a CD is minimal. Simonett figures they should be able to have a new CD out before the end of this year if everything goes as planned.
Simonett’s pleasantly surprised by the group’s steady climb to success, and if things continue for the band at the same pace as in the past, Trampled By Turtles will ride over us like a herd of elephants.
www.trampledbyturtles.com |
