Words: Ashley Marie Sansotta
Photo: Jade Harris

Who they are...
Eric Earley - guitar/vocals
Erik Menteer - guitar/keyboard
Brian Adrian Koch - drums/vocals
Michael VanPelt, - bass
Drew Laughery - keyboards
Marty Marquis - guitar, keyboards, vocals

What’s their story...
Portland-bred, these six musicians decided to come down from their mountain and play their crazy campfire songs for the rest of us to hear.  Previous to Blitzen Trapper’s recent release, they were handing out their recordings to their beloved fans for free.  Now, with their third album, Wild Mountain Nation, the boys have taken the world by a storm – almost overnight.  This new album has received some of the most amazing reviews from the critics of Rolling Stone, Spin, Pitchfork, and now – REAX.

Sounds like...
On their MySpace, it says that they sound like, “Spurs and Carnival.”  Which can also be translated to:  Music that came rolling down the mountain, picking up strange guitar riffs, banjos, old-school keyboards, and a slice of homemade apple pie along the way.

Why I want to turn you on to it...
Their music has claimed its residence in the majority of my iPod playlists.  Yes, Blitzen Trapper has taken a special place in my heart.  I recently spoke to their down-to-earth frontman, Eric Earley, about the band, the shows, and the sudden stardom.

REAX:  Explain a Blitzen Trapper show in one sentence.
EE:  Ah, man, in one sentence?  (Laughs)  Ok, I’m thinking, I’m thinking...  Ok, Ok...I’ve got it...  For me, a Blitzen Trapper show is kind of like when you’re driving in the mountains on a dirt road, and you have the cliffs on one side, and then the mountain goes up on the other side...  You know what I’m talking about?

REAX:  Yeah, yeah, yeah...
EE:...and you’re going too fast, and you think you’re going to lose control, and you spin out, and then you kinda slide towards the cliffs, and then you stop...and you realize you’re ok, and you’re all like, “Oh, we made it!”  Yeah, it’s like that for me.  For the audience, I don’t know.  I’ve never actually watched a Blitzen Trapper show.  (Laughs)

REAX:  Before you guys were Blitzen Trapper, you were Garmonbozia...why the name change?
Eric Earley:  Because it sucked (laughs).  And there were a bunch of other changes going on at the same time.  Shitty stuff happening to some of us, and our lives were all changing.  Just like life stuff, you know?  And we were like, let’s just change the name and start over, you know?

REAX:  Besides just the name, your music has changed a bit through the years, as well.  Why do you think that is?
EE:  Oh you know...life, death, money, poverty...all of that influences our music.

REAX:  You recorded Wild Mountain Nation in a makeshift studio that used to be a telegraph station, using vintage keyboards and pianos, and a four-track recorder.  How do you plan to record the next album?
EE:  Actually, I pretty much finished it already.  It’s similar to the last one, but more like...not.  I don’t know, it’s different.  It’s more hi-fi, like with the drums and stereo.  I mean, I still used the four-track.  We kind of made Wild Mountain Nation a lot less raw.  I wanted to, but I didn’t, you know what I mean?  It’s not so much the gear, but it’s how you use it, and what you want everything to feel like.

REAX:  And when are you guys every coming to Florida (because I’ll be front and center)?
EE: (Laughs) Well, we’re actually coming there for a festival in March.

www.blitzentrapper.net