TRP

There are legions of devoted music lovers who long for days past, when rock didn’t need to be preceded by any one of dozens of adjectives. It was simply rock music, and it was good. This is the “classic rock” audience, and it’s huge. Every music market, whether major or secondary, has its own classic rock radio station, and more and more formats are including these timeless rock gems in their playlists as they perceive the impact it has in satisfying the tastes of key listeners. The defining characteristics have been well-described and the best of the best are very well known indeed. Does this make “classic rock” a dead medium? Is there nothing more to be done?

Thomas Payne, former key songwriter and guitarist for the 90s alt-pop juggernaut Joydrop (he penned the band’s biggest single “Sometimes Wanna Die”), cries a resounding “No!” Following the hiatus/dissolution of Joydrop in 2002, Payne fell in with two of his oldest musical companions, drummer Josh Hicks and bassist Dennis Mohammed. Hicks and Mohammed were seasoned veterans of the Toronto music scene, having played with a potpourri of Canadian artist, including the Wild Strawberries, Jesse Cook, Howie Beck, Spookey Ruben, and the Cash Brothers. This new/old musical triad found themselves exploring Payne’s songwriting as if the band were rehearsing in a London flat in 1973. Subconsciously, Payne, Hicks and Mohammed were communing with the spirit of music that had, years before, inspired their own musical explorations.

Sometimes, providence rules the day, and it was a happy chance that Payne, Hicks and Mohammed found each other to be both musically compatible, as well as the best of friends. The proof of this musical and personal synchronicity lies in the bands first recordings, which eventually went on to become the EP “Out for Show”. When listening to the six tracks for the first time, the listener is immediately struck by how TRP evokes a period in rock music that some say has died, yet the band has managed to infuse Payne’s masterful songsmithing with performances that range from tastefully underplayed balladry to wildly innovative arrangements that expose the trio’s mastery of not only their individual instruments, but of the process of contributing to something that ultimately becomes much, much more than a sum of each player’s parts.

The next chapter in the story of TRP will include the release of the band’s first full-length album, as well as extensive touring. Live performance is where this band truly shines, providing an outlet and focus for their collective pent-up enthusiasm for the works they’ve created. Surprisingly, TRP is actually at its best as a live band, something that audiences are beginning to realize, witnessing the sonic fruits of a rare ability to instinctively perform and contribute in ways that both surprise and delight fans of timeless rock music wherever they go. Whether it be a devotee of the brilliant and poetic musings of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, or a disciple of the progressive and wildly innovative early albums by Peter Gabriel and Genesis, the audience for this sort of timeless rock statement has something new to fall in love with. TRP produces songs that resonate, not only with graying prog-afficianatos, but also with a whole new generation of kids discovering fully-conceived rock music, lyrically relevant and masterfully performed.