The five-piece band Trampled by Turtles, comprised of Dave Simonett (guitar/lead vocals), Tim Saxhaug (bass/harmony vocals), Dave Carroll (banjo, harmony vocals), Erik Berry (mandolin) and Ryan Young (fiddle/harmony vocals) has added cello player, Eamonn McLain to tour with them. The band has been playing music together for the last 13 years, and although they each play instruments that are traditionally bluegrass, this alternative folk rock band is not a bluegrass band.
Zoran Orlic
“We fall under a large umbrella that is folk and rock with acoustic instruments,” explains Young. “We definitely don’t play bluegrass.”
Like many musicians and bands, Trampled by Turtles doesn’t fit into any traditional genre. Influenced by the likes of Neil Young and Bob Dylan, the band tells a story through their lyrics and instruments.
[blockquote3]
“A certain part of our music is improvising. We play a verse, then a chorus,
then a verse. The words are same, but we improvise
and our bass player keeps everyone together.”
-Ryan Young
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“Dave, our lyricist, is one of the best I’ve worked with. We are one of the best listening bands I’ve ever played with. We listen well. Everyone in the band reacts the appropriate way and plays his part. A certain part of our music is improvising. We play a verse, then a chorus, then a verse. The words are same, but we improvise and our bass player keeps everyone together,” he says.
Young says that the band’s music is energetic and quiet and everything in between. “We may sing a couple songs and the melody gets quieter and quieter and quieter, even the audience responds and gets quiet. Then the music kicks back in.”
The tune “Pipe Knot” is an example of this. While the song, “Wild Animals,” offers a more ethereal haunting sound, the video evokes the darker aspects of our nature and reminds us we are all a piece of the bigger tapestry. The lyrics offer a taste: “I see the better part of you. I see the better part of you. But I’m a monster just like you. Wild animals, it’s true.”
Young reflects that during his years with the band he’s learned a lot about himself. “Playing in a band for this long kind of requires a lot of interpersonal skills. You have to get along. I’ve learned a lot about working with other people, keeping the peace. Sometimes you realize you have to suck it up and respect each other. It’s about the good of the whole and being a team player. When I get angry or annoyed, I’ve learned not to react immediately,” he says. “I think of the big picture and ask myself does it really matter?”
Many of the band members are involved in side projects and other bands. Dave Simonett and Tim Saxhaug play in the country-rock band, Dead Man Winter. And, they have a new release out. Young works in a recording studio and also plays in two side bands. One of the bands, The Fiddle Heirs, is a band with four fiddle players that showcase what fiddlers are capable of.
Trampled By Turtles will be swinging through Tahoe and playing the Crystal Bay Casino on June 25, followed by an after party with Lonesome Locomotive.
For more information or for tickets, visit crystalbaycasino.com.
June 25 | 9 p.m. | $35
Crystal Bay Casino | Crystal Bay, Nev.
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