Apr. 07, 2010 - Issue #755: Spring Style
Prevue
A family affair
Tavis Triance and his wife come together in Spoon River
"We like travelling," Triance admits. "And especially with your wife in the band there's no reason not to [tour] because you're going on an adventure together. It's inspiring and there's lots of negotiating and wrangling and working things out and we just live like that, so I'm definitely writing about her and writing about us and drawing from that."
While recording the recent Kingdom of the Burned the group made a conscious effort to capture a sound long abandoned in mainstream music.
"We paid very little for a space and a two-inch-tape machine" Triance explains, "and we had a board that was pretty old, 12 channels, and we recorded most of this album live off the floor, everyone in one room with baffles set up and acoustic piano in a different room. It was a good way to do it. Not everything's totally lined up and auto tuned but I hate that sound anyway".
The resulting album kicks up a dusty, ragged sound that calls to mind the likes of Neil Young and the Rolling Stones; the style is a natural fit for Triance.
"My father was an English teacher and really into country-infected rock 'n' roll, and I was raised with it so that's where my songwriting goes," recalls Triance. "He drowned unexpectedly in Mexico in 2001, so at the time I went back into his music and had a conversation with it and with him, and that definitely nudged me in this direction. My mom sang with us all the time and got me into singing and playing piano. My dad got me into the music and she got me into being musical."
Aside from inheriting his parent's taste in music, Triance is also a substitute English Literature teacher. It's a title he also shares with his wife, granting them great flexibility when needing time for the road. Add that to that the fact they have two strong sets of musicians to support them on tour, one on either side of the country, it is clear the couple leads a lifestyle of freedom.
"We're gonna keep playing—it's a life long plan. We do it together so it's something we can sustain. We don't need to be hugely successful; it's not necessarily the goal. Once you are then it's just a job like anything else. Of course we want lots of people to listen to our music, but not at the expense of the rest of our lives or our happiness." V
Sat, Apr 10 (4 pm)
Spoon River
With Rodney DeCroo
Black Dog, free
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