Interview with Thought Trumpet

Let's start with the name Thought Trumpet, where did this come from?

The name actually came from some graffiti I saw on a toilet wall. I put a lot of research into making sure it wasn't being used by anyone anywhere else and I thought the two words together described my writing style pretty well so adopted it as my own.

Who would you say your biggest influences are?

My music taste is pretty eclectic, and I draw a lot of influence from everything I listen to so could never really choose one. It really does vary across different styles and it's small things from each of those that I'll pick up on to add to my own style. If I really had to choose, I'd say the obvious ones are Pearl Jam, Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

In 2019 you released two singles, "Here Comes The Smoke" and "Ugly", what can you tell us about these two songs and do you have any plans on future releases?

I suppose Thought Trumpet's sound was born from Here Comes The Smoke. It started out as a poem that I scrawled in the middle of the night. I like to think it's about quitting an addiction.

When I came to write Ugly, there was some things said online one night and they started me thinking about how people can just be nasty.  Even the nicest people can say something purposefully mean when they're hiding behind a photo. My youngest son actually told me he thought it was about cyber bullying. I like to think that it's sending out the right messages on that front too.

As far as new releases go, I've got some brilliant new tracks written and they'll all be getting recorded soon. There's some different themes coming out from feeling trapped inside yourself, being positive and getting off your arse, all the way to tequila. There's even a lovely ballad I co-wrote with my friend Stitch that I might unleash.

You perform a solo grunge influenced set that has been described as the loudest acoustic act in Teesside. Do you feel like this can make you stand out in the current scene? I think it could cos there's no other solo artist in the area playing what I play, the way I play it. There's still a long way to go before I can really stand out but until then I'm just going to keep getting louder until someone notices. What have been some of your favorite gig highlights of 2019?

Whirling Dervish,17th January will always be an important gig for me. This was the first Thought Trumpet gig and couldn't really have gone any better. It definitely opened up some doors and taught me a hell of a lot.

The second time I played Doc Browns for Goosed Records was definitely another highlight. For some reason, everything just fell into place and I really felt like I'd exorcised some demons afterwards.

I can't not mention Whale Hills Big Xmas Bash at Base Camp. It was brilliant opening for the bands who played (Whale Hill, PerfectParachutePicture and Pink Tide) and I had loads of fun with the Christmas Cover.

What are your goals going into 2020?

Hopefully I'll get the video for Ugly finished soon, and release that. I've got a good handful of new songs written, so they're getting recorded as well as some old ones.

I would love to play a few of the festivals in the area. I enjoyed some of them this year and the only thing that could make it better for me would be to see Thought Trumpet on the line-up. Finally, you are also a big supporter of the local Teesside scene. If you could recommend five other performers from Teesside who would they be? 

It's too hard to recommend five but I've been digging Swears a lot this year. I've been getting a lot of fuzzy tingles from Leopard Rays, Dripp, The Shakin' Nightmares and Mouses too. There's so many more I could mention though.

Links

Christmas Cover

Spotify

Facebook

Twitter

Photo Credits

Promo Shot - CVYPhotography

Gig Shot - Bernice Swift