NEWS: Truslow Offer Story Behind Their Creation
Columbus based Alternative-Pop group "Truslow" have been making big waves within the music scene as they enter their second year together. A band who is a breath of fresh air to the Ohio music scene, and music scene as a whole in general. Bringing a mixture of alternative rock yet meets with interesting pop beats and catchy vocals.
Truslow recently decided to offer their fans the story behind the band, their formation and path since then. Below is the story as told by vocalist James Truslow himself:
I had some time to kill this afternoon and thought this article may be interesting to some of our fans!
Storming into our second year as a band,we are excited for what the future holds! The incredible support our fans seem to foreshadow an exciting next few years. I could spend the remainder of this article praising our fans, however, I want to use this as an opportunity to take you all on this journey with me. I would like to share with you the story of our beginning, leading up to today.
This whole project started in the summer of 2012 with an empty Logic 9 window glaring back at me. I had just decided to let go of an album I had been working on for two years. The songs on the album seemed to suffocate everything I am as an artist. I felt like I had to conform to a certain genre, or limit my potential for the songs to translate well. I needed to feel a sense of freedom in my writing, so… I decided to let that project go. About five minutes later,a demo of our song Vacation was born! It was the beginning of an incredible discovery.
I began to bounce some of these new ideas off of a few local producers. I eventually landed with my friend Kevin Lankford. Kevin and I began experimenting with different sounds, instrumentation, and structures. We found a successful variety of Pop, Rock, and Alternative tones. I was able to write an array of different songs, and Kevin helped me bring them to life.
During the months it took to record our first self titled EP, I surrounded myself with my friends Josh Barnes, and Chris Salih (former drummer of Twenty-One-Pilots). Entering into 2013 we were activity searching for the right guitarist. Sean Mackowski seemed to appear miraculously out of the blue! Fresh off his final tour with“Attack Attack”, Sean searched for the next chapter in his life. Sean actually wrote an album of his own which he planned develop and pursue before we had met. In passing, I offered Sean anunfinished copy of our new project. Sean passively took it off my hands with low hopes of anything presentable. Sitting in his room, Sean popped open the project and was instantly hooked! Sean decided to test the waters, and schedule a writing session with me on a song that he been working on. Unaware of Sean’s motive, I took up the offer, and co-wrote the song Goodnight. (Goodnight is song we play at the end of each set). After an incredibly successful writing session, and a three-hour conversation later, Sean joined the band and left his album behind.
Starting out the year with a band in place, we tested our show against an audience of friends and family. Our CD release show occurred on May 3rd of 2013. We were able to bring out about 175 to a local venue in our area. The response was incredible! People were singing along with songs they had never heard before. It was clear indicator to us all that this worth pursuing. Excited by the response, we booked our first public show at the A&R Bar later that month. Because of the instant support of our fans, we were only fifty shy of selling out our first real show.
After that show, each day seemed to drag on as we all anxiously awaited our next opportunity to reunite with our fans. Working 9-5’s and struggling with the balance of paying bills and supporting the dream, each of us had to decided if we could commit to this thing for the long haul. Two heading shows, and a half dozen small gigs later, our drummer Chris Salih had to throw in the towel and commit to a new dream. Mr. Student-Loans and Mrs. Future-Salih and company. The transition was simple, Chris is a man of character, and more importantly, a genuine friend.
With no new drummer in sight, we trusted our vision and continued to work hard and stay focused. By chance, my friend, Andrew Lee, recommended Matt Meyers as a potential new drummer. Having never met the man, Josh and I met with Matt. At first glance, we saw this model-like, ripped dude walking up to us and expected to hear some overly confident, cocky comment leave his mouth to start out the meeting. Fortunately, that was the furthest from what actually happened. Matt ended up being this goofy, hilarious, passionate dude that seemed to mesh perfectly with what we were looking for. The connection was instant. It was blatantly clear that Matt was going to become the new member of our band.
In early October of 2013, one week after inviting Matt to join, my friend Tyler of Twenty One Pilots invited us to join them for a short run across the country. Overwhelmed with excitement, we accepted the offer. We only had one small show in front of 50 middle school students to prep our chemistry with our new drummer. With only five days to prepare, we packed our gear and set off for St.Louis!
The response was unbelievable! Our first show in St. Louis was sold out at 2,500 people. The whole room sang and danced along with a band they had never heard of. The same pattern continued as we ventured to Indianapolis and Cincinnati. The shows were an indicator to us all that we were on the right track. We finished out the run, and came home to work on our next successful headlining Christmas show.
Staying consistent with an array of unpromoted shows in-between our headliners; we decided it was time to work on our next EP. We were given an opportunity to work with our friend Caleb Shomo, former singer of Attack Attack and leader of the band Beartooth. The chemistry was perfect. The product is far beyond what any of us could have anticipated. As a band, we have worked on developing our sound and isolating our strengths. Caleb helped us build on what we had already established. We could not be happier with our new product!
This next year appears to be loaded with promise. We will be releasing our new EP early this summer, and are excited to welcome a new member to our band! Andrew Lee will be joining us at our next show as our new bassist. Once again, we could not be more pleased with the transition of our friend Josh Barnes. Andrew is one of the coolest guys you will have the chance to meet! Say hello to him at our next show and give him a warm Truslow welcome! Our fans are the only reason we get to do what we do. You all deserve our genuine gratitude! We can’t wait to share in bigger and better shows together! Share your band with your friends and lets all sing together at our next show!
Stay connected to the journey on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @TruslowMusic
