In 2003, Trapt burst onto the hard rock scene like a speeding bullet. You couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing some of their hits like “Headstrong” or “Still Frame.” Over the years, the band has gone through some lineup changes and has recently taken the independent route with their latest release “Reborn.” Having this creative control has been a positive experience for the band and they are currently touring the United States in support of the album. I had the opportunity to talk with lead vocalist Chris Taylor Brown and find out the details. Join us as we find out all the latest with Chris and Trapt.
KE: Good Morning Chris! Welcome to backstageaxxess.com. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today.
CTB: Yeah, no problem.
KE: Your latest album “Reborn” has been out for over a year now. Tell us a little bit about the record and how it compares to prior Trapt releases.
CTB: Yeah, you know it’s our first album that we released independently. We could do whatever we wanted to do. There was no deadline or anything like that and we were really able to experiment with songs we haven’t explored before. Electronic and stuff like that. We’ve done that on all our records but for “Reborn” we really took it to a different level. Just different techniques, different programs, things we had been working on for a few years and brought that into our music. So we did that and brought in different tones and effects and stuff like that. In the end we had just a really good hard rock record.
KE: You mentioned that it was an independent effort. What prompted you to go in that direction for this album? Was it the creative control?
CTB: Yeah, creative control and we wanted to be basically on that side of it, see how everything works. At the same time, reap the benefits as opposed to you know only a percent. Just not having to rely on a big label. We just wanted to get the music out there our way and so that’s what we did.
KE: You had mentioned the programming and electronic which you have been doing but more and more bands seem to be doing that now. Is that something you think we’ll see more of?
CTB: I don’t know. I’m not sure how much we’re gonna do it. If the song calls for it, then it will come out but if it doesn’t call for that then we won’t. It just depends on the music you know.
KE: What about the songwriting for “Reborn?” Are you responsible for the writing or is it a team effort?
CTB: I probably write certain songs and sometimes the band will have some tracks and when we get into the studio it’s a real team effort then.
KE: You’re hitting the road this summer here in the States. Can you tell us a little bit about the tour?
CTB: Yeah, we’re heading out and we’re just going to be playing all the songs from our first record plus all the fan favorites from the other records over the years. We just want to play our first record front to back. We haven’t done that in ten years so we’re thinking of just playing full albums like they were meant to be heard. Just playing it live. We’re gonna explore that and the first one we’re gonna do is our first record.
KE: Is that something that you’ve wanted to do for a long time, play the album track to track?
CTB: Yeah, we just wanted to play a record as it’s heard on the albums and play it through all the way. We just haven’t done that for awhile.
KE: Now the first time I saw Trapt live it was at a big festival, Cruefest. Will you be doing any festivals this summer or just the club tour?
CTB: There’s at least four or five festivals on this summer tour.
KE: The band has had some lineup changes over the years on drums and lead guitar. Is the current lineup pretty solidified?
CTB: Yeah, you know it feels good at the moment so we’ll just keep going with stuff and as long as it feels good and everyone is happy that’s what it will be.
KE: Going back a little bit, tell us how you got started in rock and roll.
CTB: Just listening to bands and listening to the early nineties stuff and late nineties kind of heavier stuff. I just wanted to be a part of that and luckily I was able to sing and play guitar and get a group of guys to play and from there we were able to have people believe in it. It reached a large audience and you know that’s what we’re doing. I just wanted to be a part of what you grew up listening to you know.
KE: Who were some of those biggest influences?
CTB: Pearl Jam and Chili Peppers and Tool and Incubus. Korn and U2 and Fleetwood Mac I got into later when I was late teens and early twenties.
KE: “Reborn” has been out for awhile now. Are you working on any new music?
CTB: Yeah we’re working on a new album. We’re gonna be calling it DNA and we really want our fans involved with it. We’re gonna be doing an indiegogo campaign to give them a chance to jump up and help support us and help with the production of the album and the promotion of the album. And we’re also going to be releasing our first acoustic album which will have twelve or thirteen of our most requested songs that people want to hear acoustically. So we’ll be putting out two albums in the next six to nine months. The acoustic album first and then the new album after that.
KE: Sounds great. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us today and we look forward to seeing you out on tour this summer.
CTB: Alright, sounds good.
We would like to thank Ebony Jeanette from street Smart Marketing for setting up the interview with Chris. For more information on Trapt, please visit Trapt.
