What do you get when you combine influences as diverse as funk & soul, bubble gum pop and the blues?Obviously, you get a band that's cranking out some righteous death metal and the recipients of this edition of Fistful of Questions.Ladies and gentlemen and I use the terms loosely.May I present Trog! Hudson Barth
Dan Erdenberger
TJ Coon
Nope
What bands are you actively involved with?
Just Troggy Fresh at the moment - Hudson
Ditto -Dan
Just Trog - TJ
What was the first instrument that you played?
I started off playing piano when I was 5 or 6, but eventually was able to convince my parents to let me switch to drums when I was 10 - Hudson
My dad gave me his beat up old Washburn acoustic when I was about 14 years old. - Dan
I began playing guitar in 4th grade and upright bass in middle school.- TJ
Tell me about one of your first musical memories?
Going through my dad's CD collection when I was 7 or 8 and becoming completely obsessed with Nirvana and Alice in Chains. -TJ
What was the name of the first band you were in?
Troglorot (this one) - Hudson
Tell me about the genesis of Trog.
Dan and I had been recording random projects together all throughout high school and our first year of college. I remixed one of the songs we wrote as my final project for a Live Sound and Audio Production course I took in college, and Dan and I were both super happy with how it sounded. I sent it over to my cousin Pete, who was way further into the heavier subgenres than I was at the time, and who had been doing death metal vocals for a whole bunch of bands (namely Apocrophex) for a long time. He liked the track and decided to write lyrics and lay down vocals on top of it, which elevated the song to a whole new level. He said if we could write a few more songs for him to growl over that we might just have something worth sharing with the world. Thus, Troglorot was born, and we immediately began writing what would become the 'Cave Dweller' EP. (That original track never made the EP though haha)
'Cave Dweller' was released and we spent two years trying to write a follow up, honing our skills, and experimenting with new influences. A ton of great ideas and concepts were developed throughout this time, but we were ultimately unable to come up with a group of songs that we believed to be both consistent enough with each other and with the identity established by our debut EP to release. At the very least, we decided to shorten the band name during this period, as "Troglorot" became rather awkward and embarrassing for us to explain to other people. The stalemate persisted until a friend of Dan and I's, Henry C, introduced us to a friend of his, the almighty (and irresistibly cute) TJ Coon. We had him come jam with us, and he instantly demonstrated his competence on guitar. We welcomed him into the band after the first jam session and he immediately revitalized our writing process. We wrote the entirety of "Horrific Irrational Dream Imagery" on the first night that he came over to write as an official member of the band. We spent the next year working on what would become "Of Vomit Reborn".
Hudson
What inspired the name Trog?
Trog - the prefix for all things pertaining to caves/cavemen. Commence the knuckle dragging
How long did it take you to write and record Of Vomit Reborn?
The songwriting process started in the early fall of 2021, and after a few failed attempts at putting songs together, we brought TJ onboard. The addition of TJ made the songwriting process such a breeze because we always had an extra decision-making vote and he just has so many riffs on tap. Recording was wrapped by the end of March 2022 -Dan
If you could insert yourself into any one band what band would it be and why?
A dream of mine is to jam with Metallica, but I wouldn't insert myself into any band permanently - Hudson
Have you ever heard a song and immediately wished you had written it?If so... What was the song and artist?
Nah, not really. But there are plenty of songs that I wish were written differently - Hudson
Do you have any non-metal musical inspirations?
For me, it has to be funk and soul. James Brown, Tower of Power, Vulfpeck, Chic, just to name a few. Anything that gets me moving is good in my eyes, and I always try to inject a little groove into the death metal where I can -Dan
Maroon 5's debut is my favorite non-metal record of all-time, and I hate every single record they released after it haha. I love Smooth Jazz (George Benson, Grover Washington, etc.) and orchestral music as well. Yanni is my fucking boy. In recent years, I've become pretty obsessed with synth stuff; I'm constantly streaming new synthwave/synthpop playlists on YouTube. As far as pop stars go, I love Adele (although her newest record did nothing for me), Silk Sonic is THE shit, and I cannot stop spinning The Weeknd's last two albums (once again, synths) - Hudson
There are too many to even name. A lot of my inspiration comes from blues. Booker T & the MGs, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters, etc. - TJ
What's a non-metal song that you'd like to do a cover of?
I personally think we could do a really cool metal rendition of "Blinding Lights" by the Weeknd, although Dan and I already have a metal cover of "Dangerous Woman" by Ariana Grande floating around on the internet somewhere - Hudson
The year is 2012.Where are you at and what are you listening to?
In 2012, I was 13 and just finishing up middle school. Metallica has always been consistently #1 for me, but "Before I Forget" by Slipknot was probably the heaviest I dared to venture at the time. Probably a lot of Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed. I had a loooong way to go haha. I will say though that a decent amount of Avenged Sevenfold's stuff that I loved as a kid, then heavily rejected as I got into the heavier stuff, and have since revisited with fresh ears actually holds up pretty well now that I'm no longer interested in trying to "big-dick" everyone with my music taste. (Now I just let my music taste big-dick everyone on its own without having to say anything) (That was a joke) (Was it?) Their 2016 record, "The Stage", got me right back on the A7x train. That album fucking rules. Unfortunately, Disturbed has only continued to suck more and more ass since I was a kid.
-Hudson
What advice would you give young musicians that are just starting out in the music business?
Are you asking us to give ourselves advice? - Hudson
What is an absolute band killer?
Plane and bus accidents, apparently - Hudson
Have you ever recorded a song that you really didn't like, but somebody else in the band really did?
I feel like everyone has to be relatively on board with a song for it to survive the writing/recording process. Not sure there have been any that any of us really didn't like overall - Hudson
Hudson is right, if one or more band members truly dislikes a song or a part of a song, it generally doesn't survive to completion. There have been sections/ideas that our enthusiasm has cooled on that'll still get pushed through, but nothing that somebody hates ends up making it -Dan
If you were to start your own music festival what would be the name of that festival and who would be the three headlining bands?
Cringefest 2022:
Five Finger Death Punch
Machine Gun Kelly
Motley Crue
Hudson
What's the longest time you've gone without bathing?
23 years and counting - Hudson
What's one thing that most people don't know about you?
Where I live, I hope - Hudson
Is the Fistful of DOOM show in the top 10 of your favorite music podcasts?
None of us listen to podcasts
Do unicorns sleep standing up?
How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
You're driving cross-country and you can only listen to one album the whole time.What album will it be?
Europe '72 by the Grateful Dead. Perfect driving music and doesn't get old to me. -TJ
You are writing a book about your life thus far.What is the title of that book?
"Over the Pants, Under the Table" - Hudson
What is your favorite song by Taylor Swift?
The one about the boy, probably -Dan
Our song (unironically) -TJ
Death or Cannibal Corpse (if you had to choose)?
Fuck. Why? I guess Death, because Leprosy is my #1 DM album of all-time, but they are dead even in my eyes. - Hudson
In terms of sheer influence, songwriting ability, etc. I gotta give it to Death. For my own enjoyment, though? CC, all day. -Dan
They're so different that I can't really compare the two, but I have to say I listen to a lot more Cannibal Corpse - TJ
Doobies or Boobies (if you had to pick one)?
I love "China Grove" as much as the next guy, but I think the birds are pretty cool - Hudson
Waffles or Pancakes (if you had to pick one)?
Waffles - Hudson
French Toast - Dan
Pancakes are superior - TJ
Star Wars or Star Trek (if you had to choose)?
I was a Star Wars nerd as a kid, but I don't really care about either at this point in my life, especially not after the Disney trilogy - Hudson
Favorite band t-shirt you own?
The shirt I bought at Metallica's 2016 Webster Hall show. Dan and I won tickets to that show through the fan club for 25 bucks each. The best concert I'll ever see. - Hudson
Probably the Mortiferum shirt I bought when I saw them play with Candlemass. -TJ
A good NJ deli sandwich, an in-house half-and-half, and a bag of salt and vinegar chips. Can't beat it - Hudson
A breakfast sandwich with coffee. Specifically taylor ham, egg, and cheese on a cinnamon raisin bagel. Nothing comes close. - TJ
I don't read books - Hudson
I don't really watch movies either lmao - Hudson
Now we're talkin'. Master of Puppets 100% - Hudson
It changes like the weather. Right now, it's Opeth's "Still Life" -Dan
Of all time? I'd have to go with Dirt by Alice in Chains. -TJ
Halo: Reach, some of the best memories I have as a kid were playing SWAT and custom games with my friends - Hudson
Super Smash Bros. Countless writing sessions ended with a few dozen rounds of Smash -Dan
I had lots of great times playing Tony Hawk's Underground 2. -TJ
Mucho thanks to the boys in Trog for taking the time to answer my questions.I appreciate it.The link below will immediately allow you to get your grubby little mitts on a top shelf death metal release.That of course being Trog's latest album Of Vomit Reborn.You can thank me later.Or better yet... Thank the boys in Trog for sharing their blood, sweat and tears with us all.~El Pedo Caliente (aka Uncle Jameson from the Fistful of DOOM show)
https://trogdeathmetal.bandcamp.com/album/of-vomit-reborn
