Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
Brad – I play guitar in PennyTrip and engineer all of our songs at my studio called Analog on Third. My childhood was full of music. Whether it was my dad playing 8-tracks of Steppenwolf, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, or whatever on our family stereo, or me listening to Disney records on my Fisher Price record player, music was always around. I remember Born to be Wild and Magic Carpet Ride being my absolute favorite songs when I was really little. All of the musical parts just felt really exciting for me to hear come out of the speakers. It was just exhilarating. Later, my cousins gave me the Michael Jackson albums Thriller and Bad on cassette and his music even more transformed how I heard music to my ears. The production on those albums was above anything else at the time. It felt unmatched to me.
Josh – I do vocals and play guitar in the band. I grew up in a very musical family. My mom used to sing at church and all of my uncles on her side played a variety of musical instruments. I began playing guitar at age 12 and fell in love with it ever since then. As soon as I found music and bands like The Offspring and Green Day, that was my earliest influence and I’ve been chasing it ever since. From there it influenced me to start writing my own songs.
Robbie – Me being adopted, music has always been my home. Rock music has always reflected with me. Rock shows such emotion, it’s always resonated with me. It’s like the rebel and rock music reflects that with me. I tried out for the concert band and it was between sax and drums. When I hit the drums, the power of them made everyone in the room come to attention. I’ve been playing in bands since then. I think drums are the heartbeat of music. I’ve always liked dance, hip hop, and other drum related music as well.
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover “PennyTrip”?
Brad – Currently, we are water falling singles out as fast as we can record them and professionally distribute and market them. For us, it not only helps get a fan base more organically in 2024, it also isn’t a lot to ask of someone that hasn’t heard our music. It has been difficult for years now to ask the ever diminishing attention spans of people to listen to your new 10-12 track album as a new artist. The music industry ebbs and flows with singles culture and I feel like it’s been the best for us now.
Josh – To add to what Brad said, it’s important to me to play as many shows as we can and connect to people or an audience that way. For a message, lyrically, for me, is to follow your own path, don’t worry about what the world around you is trying to tell you, make your own direction, and if you want it bad enough to go get it.
Robbie – Local experiences and nostalgic experiences we bring to the music world are relatable to people. We’re just trying to find the missing piece in the rock world that has been missing for a while now.
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
Brad – I think the band Idles has been a big source of inspiration for me recently. I started listening to them when their first full length, Brutalism, came out and feel like they are a band that pushes the envelope every album and lets their sound grow organically. Overall, my biggest inspiration musically throughout my life has been The Smashing Pumpkins. I feel like Billy Corgan is a musician that makes and breaks the rules all at once. He paved the way for a lot of the overall 90’s sound of course along with Kurt Cobain, but also was daring enough to put out a rock opera with Machina, the Machines of God and a techo-acoustic-piano driven album just a few years prior with Adore. Inspiration for me always comes through documentaries, books, and seeing a great live band on stage.
Josh – Lyrically, I love Phoebe Bridgers. I think she is an incredible artist because she can sing the softest melody and it feels so heavy at times. I’ve also gotten into the band Idles lately. The raw energy and straightforward lyrics punch through me. Another fun band I’ve gotten into is Dinosaur Pile-Up. They’re just pure fun and they have catchy hooks. Their production with their albums sounds fresh and nostalgic. I get inspired mostly from listening to all types of music. I tend to write about the situations and frustrations that we all seem to go through in life, whether it’s a relationship, regret, or figuring out things going on in the world around me. I know all of these things are subjective, but I’ve always found it interesting hearing other people’s perspective and viewing the world through their lenses and changing my objective to get a full picture.
Robbie – Travis Barker revolutionized the drumming world. He mixed marching rudiments and hip hop and punk style drumming all fused together in a way that can inspire multiple genres of music. He has entrumpeatur leadership with Stars and Straps and other mogul experiences that tells me playing the drums is more than just playing in time to a song.
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song, “Pins & Needles.”?
Josh – I wrote this song as an idea about my own rearview mirror. It’s a song based on hindsight. To be a professional procrastinator, to think I’ll do it tomorrow, and then waking up 10 years later too late is the foundation of the lyrics. We all wish then what we know now which to me, means time is precious and it’s a reminder to me to not waste a single second.
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
Brad – Driving
Josh – Sonorous
Robbie – Vital
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Pins & Needles”?
Brad – The biggest challenge was definitely the mixing and mastering part for me. This song had the most tracks to mix of the 3 singles we have out now. We were technically still tracking guitar parts when I was mixing the song. There were a lot of moving parts that all needed to sit just right. From synths, Ebow parts, strings tracks in the bridge, it all had to be right. Our second single, Merrily, was far more guitar driven and was a lot easier to mix.
Josh – The biggest challenge for me was writing the bridge to the song. There’s always that space in the song that feels unknown and the direction in which you want to take it for the listeners. I grew up listening to such great music with instrumentals and bridge sections that created builds and energy that took the song to a new place and then brought it back around to arrive at a great outro chorus. I really like the idea of doing that because it releases the tension you built up in the song. I like songs with a great crescendo.
Robbie – I think we mesh well and feed off each other. We try to be supportive with all our ideas between each other and that makes for far less challenges when recording and playing.
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as an artist?
Josh– Unity. We all turn to music in some way form or fashion to help us feel heard or understood. Whether it’s dealing with the trials and tribulations of life or needing a song to facilitate our current mood. One thing that I’ve always understood is that no matter how alone we feel, we are all united and sometimes we just need to hear it from someone else as a reminder.
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with? (dead or alive)
Brad – David Bowie because he was such a prolific musician and artist. He wasn’t afraid to take a new direction with each album and be what he wanted to be. Keith Richards would probably be a close second.
Josh – Steve Albini because he was just a no BS kind of guy. You get what you get, you are who you are, like a true mirror to the artist. He was great at showing artists as they were and not through a lot of filters.
Robbie – Deftones because of the euphoric and type of vibe they create with their music. It’s not too heavy and also not too soft but always feels in the pocket.
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or for those trying to enter the industry?
Brad – The music industry is always evolving. You’re dealing with creatives in all aspects of the business. I/We don’t like to stay stagnant for too long. Be prepared to go with the flow with things. Be prepared to have to pay for things now. The stories of bands like Motley Crue and others are over. Be prepared to be daring too though. Being different is ok. Again, you’re being creative but having to be a standout amongst the others that are similar. Write the 50 bad songs to get to the one good song. It happens.
Josh – Have a backup plan and very thick skin. Allow things to not intimidate you because it seems impossible. Have a plan in place and don’t be too impulsive. It’s important to have patience and don’t wait for anyone to do anything for you. You have to go get it.
Robbie – Stay humble, keep your character, show support throughout your journey to those that have been there since the beginning.
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Brad – Get serious, start now, and stop waiting around for it to just happen.
Josh – Don’t settle. The time is now. It won’t be there tomorrow.
Robbie – Shoot for the stars and never settle.
