Vintage Trouble – Touring with The Who and Pushing Their Pelvis To You
Written by Ben Hughes
Sunday, 23 December 2012 03:30
For those of you waiting and wondering what Vintage Trouble will come up with next have no fear, as Uber Rock have had a little taste of what is coming your way in 2013 and believe me when I say you won’t be disappointed. As things stand they are currently tearing it up in the US supporting The Who, promoting ‘The Bomb Shelter Sessions’ and treating their home country to a bit of what we have already had here in the UK.
I recently caught up with the guys to get their thoughts and experiences on the tour so far, and here in their own words is what they have to say.
Rick Barrio Dill:
“Being all up in it with The Who…it just blows me away at how alive and relevant the music still is and how passionate the people can be when everything comes together like this. The production is brilliant, the performances each night are incredibly powerful and the mood everywhere is just infectious. We get to pair up with true legends every night and blend our styles, attitudes, music and essences together. It really is the stuff that dreams are made of.”
Nalle Colt:
“We are on tour with The Who! I wake up in the morning on our tour bus. The bus is idling in the back of an arena (today in Toronto, Canada), there is a lingering energy in the air. Lots of frantic work outside, cases and cases of production is getting loaded into the arena. This is a BIG tour and lots of equipment is needed. I sleepily go to catering and get some coffee and ask our tour manager where our dressing room is so I can get a shower and clean up a little. I meet up with my guitar/stage tech and go thru what guitars needs to be ready for tonight’s show. We are opening for The Who and we get 30 minutes to grab the attention of 20,000 frantic Who fans, so shit’s got to work! It’s the level of professionalism that surrounds this type of tour and it really makes you step up. Around 4PM The Who shows up for sound check and you walk by Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend towards the stage. After a brief conversation with the two of them about last night’s show you slowly walk away shaking your head how surreal this is. Here we are, sharing the stage with The Who, the legendary band who with their wits, stunning talent and song writing was part of changing rock music as we know it today. We are blessed and sheer gratefulness is in place to say the least. Life is good.”
Richard Danielson:
“Besides my brother being named after Tommy, and my first recollection of Rock N Roll being The Who, destroying their equipment, my young self composing a letter asking if they’d forgo this act for one evening to send a kit my way, as I did not have one: The Who embody a ‘Spirit’ that cannot be taught. That is what true Rock n Roll is to me. It makes you want to put your hands in the air and shout out loud! It makes you want to jump up and writhe your body about! It stirs you to your core! It inSpires like the Spire that it is! Spirit translates to Breath, and The Who were fire-breathing dragons in there heyday. Well I am here to tell you, that Spirit still lives and comes alive every night on stage like the true beast that they are. I would like to think that we embody some of this Breath–this Spirit. I know it’s within us. I know we feel music in this way. So to be cradled in the opening arms of The Who–this fire-breathing dragon, on a nightly basis, makes my own wings stretch hard and reach for the sky as I soar about these huge arenas. Such gracious elders they have been to us. And such inspiration. This tour has been one of the great musical joys of my life, truly.”
Ty Taylor:
“There are so many things to say about being on the road with THE WHO. I wasn’t sure what to pick to highlight until my conversation with Pete Townshend happened last night. He sat me down at dinner in the catering room and we had an in-depth conversation about why he was so happy that we were on the road with them. What?! Yes. He explained that when they got together they were, like most mod musicians, inspired by early Rhythm and Blues acts. We shared stories about our love for certain soul acts and how we loved how they really got the rooms moving and shaking. Then he really blew me away by saying how he noticed that the audience didn’t want to stop applauding for VT the night before. Then he said, “I thought that we (The Who) didn’t even need to go on!” Then he jokingly punched me, laughed and walked away smiling. I sat in my seat in daze feeling blessed and honored. The Who are not only legends but also giving, inspiring and down to earth human beings.”
If you have seen VT live over the last 2 years then chances are you have heard ‘Pelvis Pusher’, it has become a live favourite, a natural encore, highly talked about and anticipated amongst the TroubleMaker community, so it comes as no surprise that this is due to be the next release from the guys.
Having just recently been treated to a final mix I am pleased to say Vintage Trouble deliver again on all levels. ‘Pelvis Pusher’ is probably the greatest song James Brown never wrote, it’s not a love song, it doesn’t come from the heart, it’s a song that emanates straight from the crotch. It’s 3 minutes of sexual, soulful power that will be sure to make every bone in your body move and shake, bump and grind and if it don’t get you swinging one way or another then you surely must be dead inside.
If this song gets the push to radio it deserves it could cross over to the clubs, the refrain of “1-2-3 push your pelvis to me” is pure dance material and perfect for a dance remix. From the drum intro to the awesome finale, the magic of this song lies in its simplicity, the trademark RBD bass groove, Nalle’s clever guitar work here is almost secondary to that groove, an accompaniment to the beat laid down. The production loses none of that primal energy they possess live, I am just reminded what a great live band they are as it sounds exactly the same here as it does on stage each night, you can literally feel the sweat dripping from this song. They capture that mid ’60s Stax groove so well here.
The energy of a VT live show has been captured and distilled into 3 minutes of sexual energy that is just ready and waiting to take the radio by storm, you better believe it, VT have the songs to back up their live reputation. ‘Pelvis Pusher’ is the first introduction to album number 2, this is the taster, a little cheeky teaser of what’s to come, and it’s definitely coming people, there will be more and soon, are you excited yet?
Vintage Trouble end the year on a high with a New Year’s Eve show at The Roxy in L.A., it is set to be recorded for future release on vinyl, and after a frankly stunning performance on The Late Show With David Letterman, they have just been confirmed to continue supporting The Who on the next leg of their tour through to the end of February next year. I am left in no doubt that 2013 is going to be the year of Vintage Trouble, are you are TroubleMaker yet?
[Photo kudos to Adam Kennedy]
