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$5 Cover: Alicja Trout
First-time mom; garage-punk trio's front woman
By Andria Lisle
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Her music: Midtowner Alicja Trout, 38, made her musical reputation via the Clears, her late 1990s synth-pop group, and solidified her status with Lost Sounds, which, from 2000 to 2004, pushed the boundaries of punk rock to darkly maniacal heights. Trout’s current musical projects include Destruction Unit and Black Sunday (primarily recording studio bands); the retro girl group-inspired Ultracats; the moody pop ensemble Mouserocket; and her most successful outfit to date, River City Tanlines. Offstage, Trout is a tireless presence on the local music scene, both as a studio producer and as the proprietor of her own label, Contaminated Records.
In $5 Cover: Trout showcases the dual sides of her real-life persona, both as a first-time mom and as the no-nonsense front woman for River City Tanlines, a garage-punk power trio that provides the raucous soundtrack for a skirmish on the local roller derby rink. Featured song: “I’m Your Negative.”
In $5 Cover Amplified: Trout evaluates her relationship with her conservative-minded parents as she strives to teach her daughter the value of self-worth.
On Memphis music: “Memphis is sort of a vacuum: Our music ends up more pure and raw because it’s not really made for public appeal.”
Latest news: Expect a compilation CD from Trout’s side project, Black Sunday, on Contaminated Records this summer.
- Gomemphis.com
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
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Bio
The River City Tanlines (the name being a play on the concept of a farmer tan) is a three piece rock band from Memphis, TN. Together since late 2004, the band has toured extensively in North America and Europe playing clubs and festivals, and has seven releases on various record labels around the world. Their last LP, Im Your Negative, was released by Dirtnap Records out of Portland, OR.
Alicja Trout, the River City Tanlines frontman and principle songwriter, is a veteran of countless noteworthy punk/indie bands over the years, including The Clears (Smells Like Records), The Lost Sounds (Empty Records, In the Red) and her other current project, Mouserocket . Likewise, the powerful rhythm section of Terrence Bishop and John Bubba Bonds are no strangers to success, having played together behind such names as Jack Oblivian, R.L. Burnside, Monsieur Jeffrey Evans, and T Model Ford.
2009 looks to be another big year for the River City Tanlines. In addition to the bands always extensive touring plans, they will appear in Craig Brewers (Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan) upcoming web-series (and soundtrack) for MTV, $5 Cover, and have a song (Black Knight, a crowd favorite at live shows) featured in the EA Sports video game Skate.
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