Wednesday, April 10, 1996
By Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Contributor
They’re hip to a post-punk edge, a folk edge, a finger-picking
edge, a jazz edge, and they draw on influences from rap. Just don’t
throw trumpets or they might get mad.
Who is this eclectic bunch?
They’re the UCLA-based band, "Neither Trumpets Nor Drums," and
they’re playing tonight at the Troubadour.
Although drums have been added in the lineup since the group’s
formation, they continue to stay true to the acoustic style they
engineered back in the dorms.
Like many alumni, they owe much of their success to their days
on this sunny campus. The three guitarists, John McGinnis, Seth
Eklund and Jeffrey Storey, used to jam just for fun in their spare
time. Having composed a few tunes in the process, they decided to
share their talents in 1993’s Spring Sing, where they eventually
won best band.
McGinnis recounts, "I was actually going to leave. I mean, the
night before, my dad came here  I’m from Atlanta, Ga. Â
and I was like ‘Well, I’m goin’ back home. I’m gonna start a band
with my friends. I hate L.A. and I hate the dorms and all that
stuff. The next night we had Spring Sing and afterward I was like,
‘I’m stayin’! I’m stayin’! I’m not goin’ back! I never played to
5,000 people before!’"
The following summer, the three lived and worked at Eklund’s
house, further refining their sound. Playing shows at the Coop and
California State University at Northridge later on, "Neither
Trumpets Nor Drums" soon added another member.
Peter Kim remembers, "I showed up because I knew John from work.
I saw them play one time after Spring Sing at this alumni event …
I see three guitar players up there but they don’t have a bass
player and I don’t exactly have a lot of musicians I’m playing
with, so I’m like, ‘I think we could hook up.’"
So far, the match has been well-fit. Always staying in tune with
each other’s musical meanderings, most songs practically write
themselves.
McGinnis relates the creative vibe, "One part, say, we’re just
kind of playing where one person will play something and somebody
will start to go somewhere else and other people will pick up on
it. All of a sudden, we’re playing something a little different,"
he says. "There’s no way that we could ever have come up with that
part without doing that. Nobody could have just sat down and
written it."
Still, for the lyrical inspirations to the music, many
techniques are employed. While Eklund enjoys stream of
consciousness work, Storey and McGinnis use their own private modes
of creation. In the end, the whole ensemble comes together to
release a unified effort.
"What’s cool is we all have different musical backgrounds,"
relates Storey. "When we all contribute to songs equally, all those
styles integrate into something that transcends where we’re all
coming from."
An odd mixture of musicians, McGinnis hails from punk origins,
Eklund from rap, Storey from jazz and Kim from classic rock.
Despite the wide range of influences, the four continue with their
simple, acoustic sound. In many ways, it provides them more
mobility than the electric counterparts.
Storey explains, "We want to be kind of raw and honest with how
we play, and acoustic’s the kind of instrument that really caters
to that. But at the same time, we’re pretty open-minded, I think,
about the different possibilities that we could use for us."
For instance, the band has just recently added a drummer. Able
to keep up with their trademark odd keys and varied time
signatures, the jazz percussionist fit right in. Having performed
live with the now inaccurately titled "Neither Trumpets Nor Drums"
only once, all members look forward to future concerts.
"We’re really excited about it," McGinnis says. "When we played
live, our first song we jumped in there and then Daryl was on the
drums and he started kickin’ into it and it was that same feeling
as at Spring Sing. It was like, ‘This is right! This is what we
should be doing! This is perfect!’"
With that high frame of energy, the original four headed out
down south just a short while ago. After a meal at Dem Bone’s
Barbecue, the group decided to branch out and share their talent
with the rest of the country. By calling clubs in a concert
magazine, they booked their own shows at local small town joints.
One location in particular Eklund will never forget.
"My favorite place to play so far was in Houston. We played at
this bar called Emo’s. It’s just this huge bar. And it’s not so
much the place as the people that were there. It was the weirdest
crowd I’d ever seen in my life. They had like this 350-pound lady
who sang that night with us named ‘Miss Zanna Don’t and the
Wanted.’ She’s like this country rockabilly, fast paced, and there
was also this punk band that night. There was just this trippy
crowd. We had a really good show that night."
Still, all are happy to be back in L.A.. Admitting that it can
be rough to start out in a large city where big name bands are apt
to tromp on the smaller acts, they try to stay away from the
competitive nature of performing. Other problems about the area
present themselves as well.
Kim explains, "UCLA pretty much typifies the scene. It’s like
one of the biggest colleges, and music is such a small little
corner of the place because there’s so much else going on, so much
else you could do. So, it’s like the music scene doesn’t even exist
over here."
Yet, "Neither Trumpets Nor Drums" has managed to etch a niche
out for itself in the world of L.A. music. Playing tonight at the
Troubadour, all members are content with their success.
"We’re not like that," McGinnis says of being fame-crazed.
"We’re basically too, not antisocial, but if you threw us into a
huge party with a bunch of rock stars, you’d probably find us in
the bathroom going, ‘That’s pretty weird, isn’t it! Like, let’s go
back home and jam!’"
MUSIC: "Neither Trumpets nor Drums" at the Troubadour at 7:30
p.m.. $5 with a flyer or this article.
"Neither Trumpets Nor Drums" will perform at the Troubadour
tonight.