Trinket

Trinket Explodes With "Boom," Duran Duran Dates

18 Jul 2000 06:15:00 EDT

Trinket's Brian Youmans

Almost a year and a half after first issuing its self-titled second album, the Athens, Georgia pop-rock band Trinket has returned with a refurbished version of the record, appropriately titled "Set To Explode."

The reworked album includes several new songs, including the first single, "Boom", which the band recorded during sessions in Los Angeles late last year with producers David Bianco and Michael Urbano.

On a break from recording his own group's new record, Wallflowers guitarist Michael Ward also guested on the three new tracks, as well as a souped-up take on "All The Rave," the original lead track from the 1999 "Trinket" album (see "Trinket Cuts Tracks With Wallflowers Guitarist").

As evidenced by the "Boom" single, Trinket has modified its sound to include more samples and loop-driven beats, and singer Brian Youmans recently talked with MTV News about how the band stumbled across the song and its subsequent new direction.

"Well, 'Boom,' actually, I heard on a demo tape [from songwriter Johnny Douglas] and just fell in love with the song," he said. "The vocal on the [original] track was just horrific, and I thought, 'Wow, there's really something going on with this track,' but it just didn't sound good.

"And I just thought we could do it. I played it for the guys, and it was probably the first thing that the band had collectively agreed on in a long time. We were like, 'Wow, this is a really good song.'"

"We decided to go out [to Los Angeles], retool 'All The Rave,' and do something kind of special to it for the re-release," Youmans continued, "and make a bridge between the old and the new with 'All The Rave.'

Youmans also noted that the mix of material worked surprisingly well once "Set To Explode" was finally sequenced, even if listening to some of the older songs was a little bit of a flashback.

"It's like looking at a high school annual," he said. "You look back and go, 'Wow, did I really look like that?' That's the way it is. When I listen to some of those older songs, I think, 'Wow, that was a long time ago.' [Laughs]

Part of the change has involved a shuffling in its lineup, as Trinket has parted ways with guitarist Jeffrey Fisher and bassist-songwriter Tommy Salmon during the gestation of the new album.

Trinket has since enlisted a new guitarist, Mark Skinner, as well as a rotating cast of several different bassists for its recent live shows.

The band is currently gearing up for a planned fall tour in support of "Set To Explode," and Trinket has been tapped to open for MTV pop pioneers Duran Duran on July 23 in West Palm Beach, Florida and on July 25 in Nashville, Tennessee.

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Trinket Cuts Tracks With Wallflowers Guitarist

6 Oct 1999 10:00:00 EDT

Trinket

While the Wallflowers aren't expected to deliver the long-awaited follow-up to 1996's "Bringing Down the Horse" until sometime next year, guitarist Michael Ward recently took time out to record a few songs with another band, Trinket.

Ward and Trinket got together in mid-August in Los Angeles studio for sessions produced by David Bianco and session drummer Michael Urbano, a friend of Ward's who played on Smash Mouth's hit single, "All-Star."

The sessions yielded a cover of Dramarama's "Anything Anything," a new song, "Boom" (which Urbano also played drums on), and an updated version of "All the Rave," a track that originally appeared on the group's 1999 "Trinket" record.

Another song, "Turn It On," was also recorded, but the band will likely hold onto those tapes for later usage. As for the three other tracks, both management and label reps for Trinket indicate that there is talk about adding the songs to a possible reissue of the self-titled release early next year.

Tentative plans also call for the album to be retitled, resequenced, and given new artwork as well.

Trinket hooked up with Ward after one of its guitarists, Jeffrey Fisher, amicably split from the group over the summer. The band has yet to officially name a replacement for Fisher and is currently auditioning several guitarists for the vacant slot.

-- David Basham

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R.E.M., Shawn Mullins, Trinket Get "Live" For Benefit

2 Jun 1999 09:45:00 EDT

Shawn Mullins "Shimmer"

Several artists from Atlanta and Athens, including R.E.M., Drivin' N' Cryin's Kevn Kinney, Shawn Mullins, Trinket, and Guadalcanal Diary, have lent their help and some of their music to a new benefit CD entitled "Got Live (If You Want It)."

Net proceeds from the record will be donated to the AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia, and other acts contributing live cuts include 5/8, Deacon Brody, and the Josh Joplin Band, who recently signed to Shawn Mullins' SMG label (see "Shawn Mullins Inks Deal With Josh Joplin Band").

Most of the songs on the album were performed and recorded during the last two years on "Live Noise," a program featured on Athens-area radio station Rock 103.7.

"Got Live" was subsequently compiled by Chris Williams, the host of "Local Noise," who began to approach friends and colleagues about getting involved in the project after losing an aunt to AIDS last year.

"This CD was intended to be like the old-fashioned mix tapes you would give to a friend," Williams said. "This is my way of sharing with others what I think is great about the local Athens and Atlanta music scene."

One song, R.E.M.'s "Country Feedback," was recorded at a Greenpeace concert held in Athens back in 1992. It was added to the disc after Williams asked R.E.M.'s representatives about possibly getting some artwork from the band.

"I approached R.E.M.'s management about trying to get Michael Stipe or Mike Mills to donate something to be used as cover art," Williams said, "but they offered a song instead. This live version of 'Country Feedback' has been my favorite R.E.M. song since I originally heard it six years ago, and when I proposed it for inclusion they agreed immediately."

"Got Live (If You Want It)" is currently available via CDNow and by special order at most major music retailers. The track listing for the album is:

Guadalcanal Diary - "Litany"
Kitty Snyder - "NY Years"
Dayroom - "Stranded"
Kevn Kinney - "Chico and Maria"
Shawn Mullins - "Shimmer"
Trinket - "Throwaway Culture"
Soul Miner's Daughter - "That Man They Call Diablo"
Deacon Brody - "No Vacancy"
5/8 - "Orlando"
Nathan Sheppard - "Dyin' Day"
Josh Joplin Band - "Emptyhead"
Memory Dean - "Ghost"
Guadalcanal Diary - "Ten Minutes"
Kevn Kinney - "Mystery Road"
R.E.M. - "Country Feedback"

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The Interpreters, Babe The Blue Ox And Trinket To Tour Colleges For RAINN, Rock The Vote

1 Feb 1999 12:00:00 EST

The Interpreters

After witnessing the success of Eve 6 on the recent Campus Invasion Tour, RCA is sending out three more of its fledgling acts -- The Interpreters, Babe the Blue Ox and Trinket -- on another tour of college campuses.

The three groups will be heading out on the road under the banner of the Music Madness Tour, and a portion of the proceeds from each show of the five-week itinerary will be donated to Rock the Vote and Tori Amos' RAINN (Rape Abuse Incest National Network) support program.

For Trinket, whose self-titled debut for RCA Records is due out on February 9, the Music Madness Tour offers a chance to catch up with some old friends, which it hopes will help fuel each band's set and performance.

"Our guitarist, Jeffrey Fisher, is good friends with Herschel [Gaer] from the Interpreters," said Trinket vocalist Brian Youmans, "and the intensity level should just be incredible. As this tour goes on, I imagine it'll get competitive between the bands, but in a friendly, positive way. We'll each be pushing one another to the next level, and it's good music for a great cause, so that'll be fun as well."

Select dates of the Music Madness outing will be telecast on the college cable channel The Burly Bear Network. Here's where you can catch the tour:

2/16 - Columbia, SC @ The Pub - University of South Carolina
2/17 - Durham, NC @ Page Auditorium - Duke University
2/18 - Blacksburg, VA @ The Sheraton - Virginia Tech
2/19 - Charlotte, NC @ Cone Center - University of North Carolina
2/20 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ballroom - North Carolina State University
2/22 - Clemson, SC @ Edgars Pub - Clemson University
2/23 - Atlanta, GA @ Smith's Old Bar - Georgia Tech
2/24 - Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club - University of Georgia
2/26 - Birmingham, AL @ The Nick
2/27 - Tallahassee, FL @ Down Under - Florida State University
3/2 - Highland Heights, KY @ Northern Kentucky University
3/3 - Nashville, TN @ The Exit Inn - Vanderbilt University
3/4 - Bloomington, IN @ Alumni Hall - Indiana University
3/5 - West Lafayette, IN @ Memorial Union - Purdue University
3/6 - Chicago, IL @ Double Door
3/9 - St. Louis, MO @ Gargoyle - Washington University
3/12 - Columbus, OH @ Union Ballroom - Ohio State University
3/13 - Detroit, MI @ TBA
3/14 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
3/16 - Kent, OH @ Rathskellar - Kent Sate
3/17 - University Park, PA @ HUB Ballroom - Penn State
3/18 - Newark, DE @ Trabant Center - University of Delaware
3/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Owl Cove - Temple University
3/20 - New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge

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