Beautiful Trigger

March '09 Winner
Beautiful Trigger is an original Minneapolis-basedoutfit founded by Carly V (KRUSH) as a coalescence of impassioned vocals, caustic, angular riffage, melodicismand rhythmic intensity. The band deconstructs the dichotomy between vulnerability, dysfunction, doubt and self-acceptance,respect and actualization, delivered in a molotov cocktail of sonic defiance with a resolutely humanist stance. Beautiful Trigger is dedicated to producing original,authentic rock music relevant to today’s audiences.For the near future, the band may throw in an eclectic cover or four to pay homage to those who have left a mark on the band’s musical conscience, interpreted with attentive urgency. - Music Go Round

Minneapolis based rockers Beautiful Trigger shoot a sonic arrow at your heart with today’s featured ringtone, the stellar, “Beautiful.” With the passionate lyrics of Carly V front and center, the band crafts lush, melodic landscapes to cushion her emotional fall to earth... Intense yet thought-provoking and real, Beautiful Trigger have the talent to go the distance and the chops to keep them in it for a long time to come. Download this one on the quick, and you too will know what it means to be truly “beautiful.”
- Myxertones

"When looking at bands to endorse, I have to evaluate the group from the perspective of an investor, a marketing analyst, a musician and a music fan... If a band meets two or three criteria, that's exemplary. Beautiful Trigger met all four!"

- Sean McAnally (Basson Sound Equipment) - Basson Sound Equipment

Carly V discusses Beautiful Trigger's music and development as a band

Sonic Dissonance: Carly, thanks for taking the time to do an interview for Sonic
Dissonance.

Carly V: You're very welcome, Ben, thank you for having us!

SD: Tell me a little about how you guys came together.

Carly: We pretty much came together by chance. I saw a flyer at school for a guitar player (Marc) and took a chance to call even though the description wasn't perfect at the time. Mik was referred to me by a mutual friend, and Nick was the result of a year-long Craigslist search for a drummer.

SD: Knowing that, what was it like starting out with four different styles and personalities, especially since you didn’t have the added bonus of knowing each other prior to joining the band?

Carly: Rough, for sure. It's been a real work in progress, and it has taken us a while. In the process though, we've all become very good friends, and we appreciate the fact that music has been able to bring us together the way it has. We also have found that the different musical styles lend themselves to genre-blending and new ideas.

SD: When you first started talking about doing your first disc, what went into the decision to go EP (Sonic Dissonance Review) instead of LP?

Carly: I recorded the EP for the sole purpose of having something to show potential musicians to recruit a band. Because I didn't want to end up stifling the creativity of whomever was eventually brought in, I decided to keep the length to 5. Plus it was cheaper :-)

SD: Now that the disc has been out a little while, how's the reaction been from the press and the public?

Carly: The CD is generally well-received, although our live show has since gone in a much heavier direction. We're very much looking forward to recording new material with the band's new sound and attitude!

SD: How did having some songs already written & recorded help bring the band and the sound together?

Carly: It gave everyone at least a general idea of what I was looking to do, and was kind of necessary since I'm not particularly proficient on any instrument myself. Since the band has come together, we've been able to tweak the songs to our strengths and musical preferences, which has given us the heavier tone that I was looking for.

SD: I noticed on your MySpace page that you've added a couple of radio stations listed in Minnesota/Wisconsin for airplay, what's it been like trying to get heard?

Carly: We pretty much just started submitting material to regional radio stations, and so far it has been well-received. It has been notably easier getting airplay in the smaller outlying towns as opposed to the larger metro areas, which is a market we hope to break into soon.

SD: Self-promotion is a tough job, how are you handling the pressures of promoting the band, along with making time for shows, school, and possibly other jobs?

Carly: It's been really difficult to find the time to do all of those things, but we do the best that we can with the resources and talents that we have at our disposal. We all have a very strong business sense, which does help us manage our time and do things efficiently, but there are only so many hours in a day. It's been interesting seeing the change in promotional opportunities even over the last five years with the boom in social networking applications. We've been having fun experimenting with a variety of advertising and promotional campaigns. Of course, what it always comes down to is being able to make a personal connection with the fans. We make it a priority to involve our fans on our MySpace and to make time to talk to everyone who will listen at our shows.

SD: As the interest factor begins to build on the new disc, how are you going to approach the future (touring, radio, etc)?

Carly: We're taking things one step at a time. At the moment we're trying to focus on songwriting and semi-regional shows to build a fan base. Once the full-length album is released, we plan to launch into more regional (Midwest) touring and heavy radio promotion.

SD: With a full-length album on the schedule, what can fans expect, in terms of the difference or similarities between the EP, the live shows and a full-length album?

Carly: You can expect some similarities between the EP and the full length album in that we will still be exploring emotionally-driven themes, and we're hoping that passion will come through even stronger than on the EP since we will have had more time to refine the songs. However, the current lineup definitely brings a much heavier and raw rock feel to the table, which we think adds a lot of power to the music. Fans at the live shows have responded very well to the heavier sound, and our goal is to capture that energy on the full length album.
- Sonic Dissonance