Gus, did it feel good to pick up those drum sticks again and slam away on that kit?
MGS: Well, it’s not like I totally stopped! I always had a kit set up in the house, and I play every once in a while. My biggest problem was endurance! I mean, if we played two songs, come song three, I was freakin’ dying! When we decided to put Trixter back together; and we had to take all of these photos and shit, I had to lose weight! Not because somebody told me to, I just knew, personally, that I had to. I lost 30 pounds before Rocklahoma, and my endurance is 10 times better than it was! Shit! I mean, we did five shows already with only one ballad in the set! Man, I’m going to have to talk to these guys about adding another ballad into the set just to give me a break! Whew! And that’s with working out!
PJ: He really did get himself into ‘Gus-Man’ mode! He’s playing like ‘Animal’ and that would get anyone winded! I feel sorry for those drums! He really did put a lot of effort in. He heard the Rocky theme in his head!
I watched some of the Rocklahoma 2008 performance on YouTube recently and you guys really did sound great!
SB: Yeah! It’s really cool! To me, Pete’s singing better than he ever did. He’s looking better! When we played that Rocklahoma show, we kicked ass! And for me, that was the most important thing! The promoter even told me that we were the surprise hit of the festival!
PL: I gotta tell ya, honestly, I was really nervous because number one—getting out in front of a big crowd like that, there’s a lot on the line. For me, I hadn’t really sang those songs in as long as we hadn’t been together, 12 or 13 years, I mean, I sang other stuff, but those songs were nowhere near the range or the demand that the Trixter stuff needed. That was a concern of mine. The other thing was getting onstage and being able to perform not having done it for awhile, and doing it in front of a ton of people was another concern. So, it was really exciting and really nerve racking for me. As soon as we got out there, it was like, ‘Yeah, ok! This is what I’m supposed to be doing!’ And then it just kind of worked! I’m sure everyone else was nervous for me too! (laughs) The next few shows after Rocklahoma, it got better and better! I think we pulled it off! We fooled ‘em—again! (laughs)
What are you feelings on this homecoming show?
PJ: I think it’s kind of cool just to revisit it at this point when we’re all reasonably energetic and can still deliver it in a convincing fashion, as opposed to doing it when we’re fuckin’ 50, ya know? So many people have been asking for a Jersey show, and I, in particular, wanted to do something special, and Dexter’s is a great venue to do something special at, and I’m really surprised at the reaction to it.
PL: It’s going to be exciting, and definitely a homecoming! We haven’t played in New Jersey for a very, very long time! These guys live there, so they get to drive down to the show. Me, I basically have to fly in, and pretty much leave the next morning immediately, so it’s going to be quick and blurry for me, but it will be fun!
SB: We’re just really freakin’! We’re really looking forward to getting out there and being with our old buds, T.N.A. and Hostel Inc. featuring one of our old label mates, Ray West from Spread Eagle! It’s really going to be, as we’re billing it, a ‘homecoming!’ I can’t wait, I’m itching! And the cool thing is that we’re just out here to have fun! We’re all doing great, personally. There’s no preconceived idea that Trixter is going to take over the world again musically and do what we did years ago. The scene just doesn’t dictate that. But what we can do is go out and play for our fans, play for our friends, play for ourselves and have fun. And that’s all we’re doing! I mean, we’re having such a great time at these shows. The reviews have been great! Like I said, I think the band is better than we ever were! I’m really happy about that.
MGS: It’s kind of funny! You wanna know the weirdest part? It’s not just the way we feel about it. You know how many god damn phone calls from old friends, and emails, and Facebook, and MySpace bullshit inquiries that I get from people I haven’t heard from in 15 years. I’m just like, ‘Holy shit!’ It’s like a blast from the past! And I’m thinking about what it’s going to be like at the show to have all of these people there that I haven’t seen in so long! That’s the coolest thing! And I think that a lot of people have been waiting to witness the whole event! It’s kind of weird, man! I’ll tell you that! We’ll be hanging out after the show to make sure we see everyone that we haven’t seen in years. We’re not the types of guys who will just jump in the limo and just go home! We were the guys who hung out with everybody! How do you think we met our girlfriends! Don’t let my wife read that! (laughs) Hey! If we’re not having fun, we’re going home! I guess we’re not going home for awhile! (laughs)
Catch Trixter on Nov. 28 at Dexter’s in Riverdale, NJ. For more info, visit trixterrocks.com or myspace.com/trixterrocks.
