Ryan & Joe (Trifles)
What are your top five albums that were released in 2021? (In order 1-5)
- Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg
- Nightway - V
- Mallwalkers - Do Something Drastic
- High Strange - Woe Upon Man
- Black Midi - Cavalcade
What band did you discover in 2021 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?
Joe: I’ve been mostly listening to reggae music this year and The Gladiators are a group I’ve discovered that has had an impact on me, mainly the album Country Living. I love Albert Griffith's voice and the positive vibes. The songs "Country Living" and "See and Blind" I’ve been listening to over and over.
Ryan: Mark Guiliana (Drummer/Composer/Beat Music). His drumming has a distinct style and it really resonates with me. I don't usually gravitate towards individual musicians, but hearing and seeing him play has pushed me to take drumming more seriously this year.
How will you remember 2021? (In terms of music)
Joe: It won’t stand out as a productive year for me. We didn’t play as much music together as we should have. We were all pretty busy with work and Tia and I with taking care of our kids as well. The three of us missed playing and seeing live music to varying degrees. Me, not so much. Tia and Ryan played and collaborated on music much more than I did. Tia with Walk Out and Ryan with various stuff.
We did do a music video last winter which was a lot of fun. It’s the only song we have shared from the upcoming record.
We played one show at our friends’ farm which was fun but, generally, I think since we finished the recording process around January we took a bit of a breather and a break from Trifles stuff. We jammed a bunch to get ready for that one show but that’s about it. With young kids and both parents in the same band it’s not as easy anymore.
What can we look forward to from you in 2022?
Joe: The new record will be out! It’s called Nerve and it’s been a long time coming. Between delays with getting a record pressed and the length of time it took us to get it done it will have been well over three years since we started recording way back in December of 2018. With the pandemic, Tia’s brother, Ian, had the time and desire to work on it. We re-recorded some vocals and he added some guitars and keys and played around with it a bunch. The process was long but it was the most pleasant recording experience I’ve ever been a part of. Ian lives down the block so that was convenient, there was no pressure really and the record was never priority number one in our lives so we let it simmer and came back to it when the time was right. We also got to work with our good friend Phil who has been recording our bands for over 20 years. He recorded the basic tracks on Ian’s analog tape machine, which I think he was excited to do, and then he did the final mixing. I’m glad the songwriting wasn’t influenced by the pandemic and I’m glad we took the time with it that we did.
We are starting to get back into going to shows and have talked about playing out some more. The plan is to switch Tia from drums back to bass and Ryan from bass to drums and get a little heavier, maybe more like our old band Fellow Project. Tia was playing drums in Trifles because it was just us two at first doing a side project but she is really a bass player. When we got Rye to play with us we experimented with him on drums but it didn’t really sound right with the songs we already had which was probably 8 or 9 of the 10 on the record. Now that we are starting from scratch with writing new songs and our other band isn’t really a band anymore I think it makes sense to switch back. Playing live it might be annoying if they have to switch instruments for different songs though.
What records are you looking forward to most in 2022?
Ryan has been jamming on and off for the past coupla years with Wells from Rations and 86'd Records and another friend Dave. I think they're trying to get in the studio to do something this year that might wind up as new Ration Noise material. I’m looking forward to that.
I’m also looking forward to the new Drug Church record and Night Shop has a record coming out soon I’m sure will be good. Also excited for the new Bear Child EP due out, called Lost Songs. Tia sings backups on one song and it’s fantastic.
What went through your head the first time you played live in 2021 after the delay? (If you haven’t -- what do you anticipate when you hit that point?)
Joe: We played outside at our friends’ farm stand. It was a little awkward. We had to tone the volume down but it was fun, relaxed and chill. Just about 15 family and friends were there including our kids, one of whom was having a freak out about yellowjackets in the middle of our set. Being outside we didn’t worry about covid related stuff or anything, just the wasps.
