Matthew Viriyapah interviewed Tripsitters, an indie rock trio hailing from Norman, Oklahoma. Like many musical outfits from Norman, the group formed while two of the members, Michael and Jeremiah had attended the University of Oklahoma. Eventually the drummer, Logan, moved down from Tulsa and the three have been together ever since.
Their first EP, empty daydream, released last year. And this summer marks the beginning of many new things for the band. New music is coming but so is a departure from Oklahoma. With future plans to relocate to Seattle, they are playing a farewell show in Norman on Saturday, July 20 at Roots.
In this interview that took place last fall, listen to Tripsitters talk about the process writing that first EP and a few snippets from two new singles.
Hear the interview above and read some highlights below.
On how they met
Logan: Me and Jeremiah-- we met in highschool and he was the only person that I ever really wrote music with back in the day. We kind of rejoined when he was in college.
Michael: And then I met "Jerry Crank" as I like to call him... in the halls of OU my freshman year of college. And we were really good friends and we were roomates. And we had always played music but had never done a project together.
Jeremiah: We had played a house show together in separate bands... And so after that show, we just kind of realized, "why aren't we playing together?" And it was kind of weird knowing him(Logan) from highschool and then meeting him (Michael) in college. Kind of worlds coming together.
On collaborating between Norman and Tulsa
Logan: Michael would probably be playing something that is kind of the feel. And then I'd be like, "Ah. Okay. Awesome!" And then kind of write off of that.
Michael: Collaborating for us took on a totally different meaning the further we got into being a band together. Because Jeremiah and I were living together and were roommates. But Logan was still living in Tulsa so it was actually really hard to collaborate on stuff.
Michael: The first three (songs) were the process of Logan making that trip and doing this long distance relationship.
On the documentary
Jeremiah: I wanted to inspire people and let them know that we're serious about this. This is what we love to do--
Michael: Yeah, this is how we want to spend our lives.
Jeremiah: And I think people will really dig that. I think people will really vibe with that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHDYNmARSYY
Tripsitters will release two new singles titled "I Feel Like No One Knows" and "Lucy" on July 26. You can find more about Tripsitters on Facebook.
