FoeWeel !!! ???

Miike Snow, off of Downtown Records (Spank Rock) will be making their San Francisco debut at where else, but Popscene on Thursday Night.

I came across Trouble (Trevor) Andrew as a pro snowboarder some years back doing incredible McTwists in the halfpipe. A style maven on the slopes as a rider for Burton Snowboards, Trevor Andrew soon turned to music in 2004 and Trouble Andrew was formed. l discovered Trouble Andrew, the band, on an Analog snowboarding promo video called Moving Picture Project. They were performing in Japan and they sounded familiar, yet new…. A pro snowboarder who is newly signed to a major label and is also engaged to Santigold, Trouble seems to have a bright 2009 ahead of him.

FoeWeel – What inspired you to make music when you were already a successful pro snowboarder?

Trouble - I blew out my knee snowboarding in 2004 and had 9 months to recover. I was staying in philly at my fiance Santi’s house and she had guitars and an sp1200 drum machine. I was bored a lot because i wasn’t mobile so I would mess around with the stuff that was there. I bought myself a keyboard and a mpc2000 and Santi got me my own guitar and 4track recorder for my b day that year. I would write songs when I was by myself to kill time. I never wanted anyone to hear the stuff I was doing but Santi snuck my demos out of the house and played them for the Shitake Monkey(NY based production team) They called me and we made the record for real and put out a ep to the snowboard/sk8 community late that year.

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F – I’ve always tried to explain to friends how snowboarding and music are so closely related in that it isn’t an exact science and it’s more about style and the incredible feeling you get when you’re on a line, or listening to an inspiring piece of music. What do you think snowboarding has contributed to in your music, and in your life.

T – Yeah, for sure! snowboarding and skateboarding are more of an art than a sport to me. music has always inspired what i do on my board. I also discovered a lot of rad indie music watching sk8 and snowboards videos as a kid.

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F – Who are the riders and musicians that are inspiring you today ?

T – Snowboarders like Jeff Brushie, Craig Kely, Shaun Palmer, Chris Roach, Sean Johnson. Skaters like Christian Hosoi, the bones brigade, Matt Hensley. Bands, Descendents, DK, Black Flag, Real Life, Bad Brains, Suicidal Tendencies, Tool, 2pac, B.G, Juvenile, Eight Days, Agent Orange, Warsaw, Joy Division. There are not many people or bands that inspire me today, I respect a lot of what people are doing but my hero’s are a lot of people from my past.

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F – A powder day, or playing on stage ?

T – Powder day for sure!!!

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F – Since you’ve signed with Virgin, and they are re-releasing your debut album, are there any changes to the album?

T – It has a new bonus track and overall the quality of the record is better. On the original that I recorded in late 04/05 they sound a lot more like demos, he cant turn it up loud cuz it blows out. We got Mark Needham to remix it so it’s better sound quality.

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F – What takes priority, snowboarding or music ?

T – I been hurt pretty bad over the past two seasons so music has def(initely) filled the gap. I love snowboarding just as much though, its been my life and opened up so many doors for me. Even when I’m not riding I’m working on my snowboard graphics and designs for Burton and Analog clothing. I love the culture. It all started with skateboarding. I found out about so much great music through hanging with the people I skated with and tried snowboarding cause it seemed like skateboarding

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F – What do you listen to when you are riding ?

T - The mountains

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F - What are your thoughts about what transpired with UnInc. brand and most of the team being dropped from Burton ?

T - Its always sad to see good friends leave. It’s the nature of this business.

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F – From guest spots on each other’s albums, what is your relationship to Santigold, who had a breakout year in 2008?

T – Santi aka Santigold is my fiance.

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F – Who would you like to collaborate with in the future ?

T – B.G, Young Jeezy

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Thanks for your time Trevor.

Here’s an exclusive track not on the album:

Trouble Andrew – Run Hide featuring Diplo

North Lake Tahoe, 2009

I’m back from what seemed to be like my never-ending holiday vacation. Time spent all along the east coast as well as a few trips to Tahoe made it a memorable one. I’ve been listening to a number of interesting selections lately which includes a lot of techno and abstract stuff, which I think was pretty lacking last year, and the new Animal Collective album. Named after the outdoor amphitheater where I saw my first shows back in 1987. These series of shows included Mission UK/Psychedelic Furs, Echo & The Bunnymen/New Order, and Squeeze. So, it’s pretty interesting to have such an incredible collection of music named after the venue that broke my live music cherry.

Here are some selections to help you cope with the winter season. We are experiencing summer-like conditions this week in San Francisco.

Pigeon Funk – Blues For Raymond – eclectic abstract techno offering from San Francisco’s Sutekh and Kit Clayton.

Ki: Theory – Holiday Heart – A free EP from his site and an interesting take on the traditional singer-songwriter fare.

Animal Collective – Taste – This one is their most accessible, but still one that continues to grown on me with each listen.

Jesus & Mary Chain – Drop (Acoustic Re-Mix) – A reworking from the classic Automatic album.

Photo Image Courtesy of Someone on the Internet

My last post was about Muxtape which everyone is raving about including my dentist and librarian. Well, I came across one from Thom Yorke, or someone claiming to be him, and it is filled with a number of unreleased and exclusive never before heard tracks. Check it out.

Thom Yorke Muxtape (thomyorke.muxtape.com)

Here’s another one I found which might have a broader audience, Catbird Muxtape