Chris Trapper and the Past, Present, and Future of being a Musician
I remember the moment I first heard The Push Stars. I was at my cousin Anthony’s house in Greece, NY, a suburb of Rochester. Two young guys seated at a dining room table with a CD player. This sort of summer Friday night was perfect for listening to music, having a drink, and seeing where the night leads.
So Anthony says “Check out these guys” and the album Meet Me at the Fair plays. The first thing I thought of was I really like the music. The album starts with a piano prelude before twangy guitar comes in with a song called Me. The second thing I thought was this guy sounds like Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (the more you listen, the less you hear it, but it certainly there at first). This is how Chris, Dan, and Ryan of the Push Stars were introduced to me.
Anthony, a guitar player, knows the Rochester music scene. He and some friends were part of various bands over the course of the years. One band took the name Back Porch Poets. As the name suggests, the band stayed close to home, but the individuals all ventured out bringing their music to the world. Hello Longwave.
This is the fuel for musicians. Create relationships, create inspiration, create music. Sometimes it lasts, sometimes it doesn’t. Anthony, Chris Trapper, and others have countless stories of playing with people as they stream into and out of their lives. For people like me, you hope they recorded it, a cassette, a video, anything.
The summer nights get longer and I’m off to Poughkeepsie. This is a small city in the Hudson Valley, north of NYC.
Its the home of several life altering places. Its debatable, but the Palace Diner is near the top. Marist College is too. But The Chance is a legendary place for rock and roll. If I could say how many times I’ve been there I would.
During my time in Poughkeepsie, the Push Stars release an Album called After the Party. I buy the CD and immediately put it in my player. Any Little Town starts. If you’re from a town called Wayland, this song is perfect. And yes, I had the old school Sony CFD-55 as my CD player.
But it’s really the next song which clinches it. Drunk is Better than Dead is an anthem of young adult parties. Maybe even some assisted living facilities. The rest of the album has some up tempo songs, but the ballads stand out. Cinderella, Sofkuri’s Room, and Cadillac are song writing gems. Earnest, catchy, and fun.
The CD finds its way into the rotation. It’s with bands like Dinosaur Jr, Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam, and Tool. The Push Stars make the Chance part of their tour rotation and I was there to enjoy them. I may have enjoyed a beer or two as well. I have to admit, this may have given me the courage to try to get on stage and sing with the band. As I lift myself up I get the don’t try it look from Chris Trapper as he sings “We’ve been here before, stood up at the door.” Its burned into my memory and my roommate at the time still laughs at this one.
Years go by and a couple more albums are released. Chris goes solo and writes several albums by himself. It’s my thirty fifth birthday, I’ve got no plans today, ’cause it fell on a Monday, I guess I’m lucky that way.
Enter 2017.
I have a beer, but my shirt is wet. I’m at the Evening Muse, a small venue in the NoDa neighborhood in Charlotte to hear Chris Trapper perform.
I almost didn’t make it. First off, Charlotte is installing a light rail heading north to UNC Charlotte. The streets are closed and detours make no sense. Besides that, the rain is intense. Buckets and buckets. I finally find my way, park, and run through puddles and into the door. I missed the opening act, but this is one of those times where you take a deep breath and relax.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Chris at the Evening Muse. Saw him in October, 2016 with my sister who was in town to get the vote out. He’s loyal to Charlotte as a tour stop; in addition to playing the Evening Muse he’s played the Tosco Music Party.
This is a quarterly event with many different types of musicians playing short sets, playing together, and playing with the audience. Imagine a 13 year old violin prodigy on stage and five minutes later you have a sing along to the Beatles Hey Jude. Many greats have played the Tosco Music parties. Musicians know it. They know their community.
The show begins.
“I’m just the thought in the back of your mind” are the lyrics sung to open the show. Opening Time is the first song on the Push Stars album with the same name. From a song writing perspective it has clever analogies and an uptempo flow to it. Its about a guy in a one way relationship.
$100 Man is a strumming guitar love letter. A song about the little things. A Chris Trapper solo work.
After a fun story about Jonesboro, Arkansas and another about waffles Drunk is better than Dead is played. “Na, Na, Na, NaNa, a little drunk, a little drunk is better than dead”
Angel Appearing in a Small Town Cafe follows a story about Paris. This song has a nice easy flow to it. Its on his most recent solo album.
The next song was from the hilarious movie There’s Something about Mary. Its called Everything Shines.
The Losing End. Follows a story about money and dad. “And I never lost hoooooope. The change came so slow. I never lost hoooope. I prayed real hard to the northern most star to shine on me.” A song for anyone who’s needed a break, got a break, and was grateful.
F#+k it, the most obscene song in the Chris Trapper repertoire follows a story about some dark days. Its a simple song. You get the idea.
Finding a eukelye and probably wishing for a mojito the song Summer Time is Here is strummed. And this is the magic of a Trapper show. We have a eukelye and a kazoo making an appearance. We’re halfway through the random toy chest. Next show I’m hoping for a tambourine and a harmonica. Five year olds couldn’t be more delighted.
If You’re Still There is next. A mature song, one which evokes style and class on the Pierce Brosnan level. It was featured in one of his movies. But really this song is on your flight playlist, especially if you’re going to visit a loved one.
The film August Rush and its Grammy award winning soundtrack featured a song called This Time. As much as I’m a fan, this isn’t a favorite. It doesn’t take any chances. Chances are a hallmark of his catalog.
The show concludes with Chris Trapper bolting off the stage. After raucous applause for what felt like over 20 minutes Trapper returns for an encore.
To settle the crowd down, Wild Irish Rose, a classic off the Push Stars first album, starts the encore. This is the ballad that hooked me. The guitar is played to perfectly match the emotion of the lyrics. There are high notes, pauses, fades to the background, and look at me moments.
Boston Girl is how we switch into party mode again. An anthem.
Gotta love a lyric like “You and I know how to weather the weather” from the song Skin. He explains this is the song from his catalog chosen for weddings. This is one I prefer live. Its slowed down just a smidge and more raw when it’s a man and a guitar.
We’re on to the wrap up song. Chris Trapper thanks the audience, Joe, the owner, and a few others. He goes into a story about an Irish drinking song.
A Keg on My Coffin sing along ensues and it concludes the terrific set. And yes, put the key on my coffin.
After the show in the back of bar a stream of fans line up to meet and talk with Chris. I’m one of them. There is a table set up with CDs, stickers, and the like. I have much of Chris’s catalog already, but in October I bought some of his CDs. Unfortunately, I have one CD player. Its in the bedroom off to the side. The CDs sit in their plastic wrap on a counter somewhat annoying my wife. For artists like Chris, the CD is a great merchandise item. He has a bunch made up, can throw them in the car, and sell them at shows. If they sell for $10 a piece then that is $10 going into his pocket. If I buy the album on a platform such as iTunes or CD Baby he won’t get the $10. He gets the amount minus some commission the platform takes. Commissions range from 15% to 30%. This is more than the cost of the CD and the packaging.
When it’s my turn with Chris Trapper we take pictures and talk about his social media posts. My favorite is one where he says “hey” then pans to a truck full of hay. After we chat I post my photos to facebook and let people know I enjoyed the show. This is how artists now interact with their fans.
Even as I was writing this I tweeted at Chris Trapper. I had a couple of gaps in the set list. He responded and I thanked him. We went from dining room tables with CDs to lead singers giving the don’t you dare get on stage look to exchanging tweets on random nights from several states away.
Who doesn’t benefit from this relationship with fans? Artists can still do commercials, can still do billboards, but why? Fans can find their favorite artists on social media and get pointed to the platform of choice. Walls are gone. Plus just like Anthony sharing the CD with me at his dinning room table, now it can be shared online.
As a supporter of independent musicians, Disctopia is the best option. Its a platform where everybody is an artist; you pay a monthly fee rather than commissions. For under $10 an artist can sell their music commission free. There are many other great advantages (e.g. Streams pay better than other platforms), but Disctopia has solved the commissions problem (also payments are weekly and split to everyone in the band).
The Push Stars have reunited. An album is in the works. A tour too. I won’t buy the CD, but I will get the music. I’ll do what I can to support them, but I’m probably just the thought in the back of their mind.
As Alice in Chains sang, “It’s over now, we pay our debts on time.” This is the life of a professional musician. The dream of getting signed and hitting it big is a wonderful dream, but it’s just that. The future has arrived and it’s playing music, paying bills, supporting loved ones, playing with other great artists, and engaging directly with fans. That’s the life.