In anticipation to their forthcoming Sun Pavilion full length release on November 19th, we recently had the chance to catch up with Glenn from midwest based indie garage rock trio Triptides for a quick Q&A. Check out our conversation below:
B3SCI: How did Triptides and the trio of Glenn, Josh and Josh come to be?
TRIPTIDES: Josh Menashe and I met at Indiana University. We happened to sit next to each other in a rather large history class called “Rock and Roll in the 70’s and 80’s.” The first thing I ever said to him was “do you know who the singer for Nirvana is?” It turned out that he lived in the dorm next to mine so we started playing guitar together before class until eventually we were jamming all the time. Josh Morrow joined last spring a few months after seeing us perform at a living room show. He had played drums in Josh Menashe’s other band Ivory Wave for a few shows so they already had a musical connection through that.
B3SCI: It seems much of Triptides early material was recorded in a bedroom and/or basement in Bloomington, Indiana. How did you guys initially channel your sunniness sounds of summer in this type of environment?
TRIPTIDES: We kept the sunshine in our heads. Most of the time we would just forget about our surroundings and become completely absorbed in our headphones. At that point it doesn’t matter where you are.
B3SCI: Speaking of environments, how has Bloomington, Indiana embraced Triptides?
TRIPTIDES: Bloomington has been really supportive. People always get crazy when we play a really loud house show. There’s a lot of music going on here and it’s become almost perfectly intertwined with the party scene, which is cool because usually there’s a handful of big parties going on each weekend and a lot of different types of people will end up at the same parties, and then end up enjoying the same music.
B3SCI: Guitar melody and hooks are pretty front and center on your new Sun Pavilion LP. At what point does guitar come into the Triptides songwriting process? Is there a particular writing process in general with your songs?
TRIPTIDES: A lot of the hooks are just riffs we’ve come up with randomly and then think “this could be part of a song.” Sometimes the song is based entirely around a riff (“English Rain”) and the other parts are figured out after. Sometimes the riffs are created after we’ve figured out the entire song and are looking for ways to ornament it (“Bright Sky”). With those songs, the hooks are notes that we hear in our heads while listening to them and we want everyone else to hear them also.
B3SCI: A lesson from the school of Triptides. Who are some of the most underrated surf bands (or any other type bands) that we need to check out ASAP?
TRIPTIDES: The Tornadoes, The Tornados (UK), The Belairs and The Pyramids are all pretty great surf groups. Other great bands I’m listening to right now are July, Lazy Smoke, Broadcast, Rainbow Ffoly and the Leopards.
B3SCI: On a similar note, next time you head to a record store, what are you heading for first?
TRIPTIDES: The new Melody’s Echo Chamber album.
B3SCI: Your recent Halloween-friendly single, “Graveyard” has a bopping snappy emphasis that we can’t resist. Is there an affect or vibe that you were aiming for on this tune with such a spooky title?
TRIPTIDES: The title actually came after the song was written and recorded. The vibe was supposed to be somewhere between a continued longing for someone even after accepting that love is dead.
B3SCI: How has Triptides evolved as a band on Sun Pavilion from your previous full length Psychic Summer LP and other releases?
TRIPTIDES: We’ve moved away from a strictly summer sound and are currently experimenting with the astral properties of the other seasons.
B3SCI: Sun Pavilion seems to have a nod to timeless British guitar pop. How, if at all, has British pop music of past and present influenced Triptides?
TRIPTIDES: The Beatles are one of our favorite bands. They’ve taught us a lot about songwriting and melody. Piper at the Gates of Dawn has definitely been an influence. The Troggs, Hendrix and Cream have definitely influenced the heavier aspects of our sound.
B3SCI: The band seems to have a passion for analog recording. How important would you say the recording process is to the Triptides sound?
TRIPTIDES: It’s been very important so far. We started with a 4 track Portastudio but for Sun Pavilion we used an 8 track Portastudio. The recording process is key to our writing process; we frequently don’t know how the bass/piano/2nd guitar is going to sound until we’ve recorded other parts of the song. A lot of time I’ll demo out every part of a song on the 8 track just to show it to the band – it’s our equivalent of sheet music.
B3SCI: Is there a track on Sun Pavilion that you feel particularly proud of as a band?
TRIPTIDES: We probably worked on the track “Morning Dew” the longest. It went through a bunch of different versions and started out sounding a lot different. It took a lot of demos before it ended up sounding how it does on the record.
B3SCI: When can fans expect to catch Triptides on tour?
TRIPTIDES: Possibly this winter, definitely this summer.
B3SCI: When Triptides isn’t playing music, what passions bide your time?
TRIPTIDES: Space travel, super smash brothers and records.
B3SCI: We’re hooking you guys up with a free ride on the B3SCI time machine, where are you guys heading?
TRIPTIDES: Pink Floyd’s “Games For May” concert, May 12, 1967
Triptides 
(Bandcamp)
Reviewed by b3
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