Not Quite Country And Not Quite Rock N’ Roll, The Album Is Anchored Around The Voice And Songs Of Front Man, Morgan Snow.
Band Members: Morgan Snow (Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica), John Davis (Vocal, Lap Steel, Dobro, Electric Guitar), Tommy Mortenson (Bass, Vocal), Greg Midgley (Piano, Organ, Vocal), Page McGinnis (Electric Guitar), and Eric Stoye (Drums)
Triggers & Slips is a band that is comfortable not fitting into any one genre. Melding classic country music with a rock-fueled sound, front man, Morgan Snow fittingly describes it as “Rock n’ roll with a country soul”.
Formed in 2008, the Salt Lake City band has worked hard touring and building a fan-base in the Western half of the United States. They released a self-titled EP in 2012 and a full album, Buffalo vs. Train in 2015. Triggers & Slips is a band focalized around Morgan Snow who along with songwriting contributes lead vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica Previous recordings have had different players, but one consistent has been John Davis, who played on both the EP and Buffalo vs. Train, and Greg Midgley who played on the first EP and The Stranger. Now, with their second album, The Stranger due out this fall, the band is poised to enter the national stage.
“This record was recorded with the band that has been touring and playing live for the past 3 years,” explains Snow. “These songs have been refined and dialed-in throughout countless live shows throughout the intermountain west.” Recording for the first time with Mike Sasish (a familiar name on the SLC rock scene) at Man vs. Music studio, they used analogue tape for 4 songs on the record and used the full 6-man band, with well-known violinist, Kate MacLeod joining them on the song, “Old Friends”.
The Stranger has 8 tracks and kicks off with a title track. It’s a trippy, honky tonk song infused with rock n’ roll. “It’s the best representation of the live sound of Triggers & Slips due to the grit and feel of the song,” Snow noted. “The Stranger” will be the first single off of the album to release. “Blue Smoke” was penned and sung by John Davis. The longest song on the album, it was recorded live in the studio. It weaves and drones with electric guitars playing off of each other, which are played by Davis and Page McGinnis.
“Old Friends” was recorded live to one-inch tape in one take. Driven by Page McGinnis’ acoustic guitar, acoustic piano, bass and drums, it’s the only song to feature violin player, Kate MacLeod. “This is one of the oldest songs on the Triggers & Slips roster, and one of the first songs I ever wrote,” Snow offered. “It has been a fan favorite and played live hundreds of times. It was featured on the first EP, but it never really captured the feel of performing it live, so it was given new life with an updated feel and tone for this record.”
2019 has been a busy year for the band. Along with recording the album, they’ve been playing shows and festivals and in May Snow played solo at The Bluebird Café in Nashville. Also in May the band played a sold out benefit show to help fight the local opioid epidemic in Salt Lake City. For the benefit they recreated the Alice in Chains Unplugged album with an alt-country approach. A cover of the song, “Rooster” made it on to The Stranger as a bonus track. “Alice in Chains is one of my biggest influences and favorite bands,” Snow notes. “I like to pay homage to some of my different influences for each album. For instance on the album Buffalo vs. Train I recorded two train songs by Utah Phillips and one song that was on the Steve Earle Train a Comin album. “Rooster” was recorded live in one take to one-inch tape.”
A few years back, Snow moved to Nashville to fully immerse himself in music, only to contract a mysterious throat infection. Unable to sing, with his talking limited, he moved back to Salt Lake to heal. At the time of his surgeries it wasn’t known whether he would sing again, or if his voice would be the same. “Once I recovered fully, I hit the studio,” he recalled. “I was thinking that maybe I wouldn’t have as much time with my voice as I wanted, so I wanted to get this album recorded as soon as I was able.” Thankfully he came back stronger and with more control, and with a renewed sense of drive and purpose to make the album happen.
“Being from a hometown that isn’t considered a musical city has helped me to find my own unique voice and helped me to write songs that are authentic, raw and real,” he observed. “I have heard people say that Salt Lake City is a fenced-in backyard and it was built and designed to be self-sufficient and removed from the world. I think it’s succeeded in helping me take the time to build my craft and find the appropriate teammates to help me bring my vision and songs to share with people, and allow me the opportunity to record the album I always wanted to record. This one hits the mark that I was aiming for.”
"If you're even a little bit interested in hearing some very satisfying country and americana music, please check out Triggers & Slips. You won't regret it." James Orme (Slug Magazine)
01 - The Stranger
02 - Natchez Trace
03 - Glass Window View
04 - Blue Smoke
05 - I'm Not Your Baby
06 - Old Friends
07 - Dig A Hole
08 - Rooster
RELEASE PARTY NOVEMBER 22ND 8PM/ $20
The State Room
638 S. State Street
Salt Lake City, UTAH
TIX
Look for tour dates and more info on The Stranger HERE.
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