anna fermin & trigger gospel

I had gone to see a different band that night, having braved the harsh winter winds that did their best to make me reconsider from the moment I left my apartment and continued to make their presence, blowing my car from side to side as I hauled ass across the snow-blown streets of Chi-town.

I walked into the club, half-cursing the fact that I hadn’t hit nearly as many red lights as I’d anticipated and had completely failed in my attempt to miss the opening act, or, gasp, opening acts (that’s right, plural). See, it’s not that I’m against opening acts, per se, it’s just that hard winters make me a bit ornery and, even in the best of moods, I find most opening acts to be a very staunch reminder that there are just way too many bands these days. Seriously, people, leave it to the professionals. I’m begging.

As I saw shadows beginning to lurk upon the darkened stage with the clear intent of performing, I felt a magnetic pull towards the bar and and soon found myself negotiating terms and taking ownership of an icy cold bottle of Leinenkugel.

The band had started by the time I washed down the first sip, but when the woman began to sing, my jaw dropped. It wasn’t just my jaw that dropped either. The whole room was standing in slack-jawed ecstacy and for the first time in a long time, the forty-five minutes allotted to the opening act didn’t seem like an eternity.

It was all the time needed for Anna Fermin & Trigger Gospel to take a roomful of strangers and turn them into fans.

You may have noticed that I’ve thus far resisted describing their music and it is at this point that any normal writer would no doubt dive into a witty and urbane recitation of the same buzzwords you’ve seen used to describe a thousand different bands, such rendering such words devoid of any possible meaning.

Instead, I figured I’d simply interview the band’s guiding songstress, Anna Fermin, and allow her to provide the necessary information. Maybe as you read, you’ll feel compelled to listen to the two songs I’ve provided from their latest CD, GO.



Anna Fermin & Trigger Gospel - I Know Why
Anna Fermin & Trigger Gospel - She

Q: What was your inspiration for becoming a singer/songwriter and what keeps you inspired these days?

AF: Initially, LOVE (and eventually heartbreak. Surprising, I know). I was 22 years old and falling in love with a man who was a big Steve Earle fan. He serenaded me with Earle's "Down the Road" and at that very moment I fell in love, both with this young man and the idea that a simple song sung and strummed on guitar could shake the core of my very being and change the entire course of my life.

It's been 14 years since I wrote my first song and now, I am confident when I say I know I will always be a songwriter. For me, songwriting is as intimately and naturally tied to my being as my eye color. It’s a necessary accessory to my identity. And I know it may sound like a cliché, but inspiration as a songwriter/singer comes from all my life’s experiences. It can be as momentous and moving as the birth of my son and all that comes along with parenthood or as random as the title of a book. Mood and timing have a lot to do with it too.

Q: Trigger Gospel has not only taken Chicago by storm with some of the most consistently amazing live shows of any locally-based act, but you’ve also enjoyed a great reception in Austin and parts of Europe. What is it that you personally get out of a live performance that makes it worthwhile for you?

AF: Mostly the joy I get from performing with the musicians I have the honor of sharing the stage and my music with. My current line up is, for lack of a better word, killer. With Paul Bivans on drums, Michael Krayniak on bass, Grant Tye (Robbie Fulks) on guitar, and Scott Ligon (Kelly Hogan, Nora O’Connor) on keyboards and guitar, I am consistently blown away at the musicianship and chemistry we’ve cultivated. It’s really rewarding. And of course, when I’m able to connect with the audience on an emotional as well as a musical level, that’s the icing on the cake.

Q: If I were introducing someone to their first Anna Fermin/Trigger Gospel song, which one would you want it to be and why?

AF: That’s a tough one. Mostly because I write in various styles of music it’s hard to hear one song representing my “sound”. But I guess if I had to pick one it would be “Northern Lights”. This was the first track on our first full length CD, produced by pedal steel extraordinaire Lloyd Maines (Dixie Chicks, Uncle Tupelo, Richard Buckner), and has become sort of a signature song for the band. We always get a big cheer when we start this song at a local show.

Q: What are your top 5 Desert Island Discs at the moment?

AF:
Son Volt, Trace
Over the Rhine, Trumpet Child
Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise
Coldplay, X&Y
Teddy Thompson, Up Front and Low Down

Q: Apparently, you favor working with producers named Jay. What was it like working with Jay Bennett on “Oh What Stories” and Jay O’Rourke on “Go”?

AF: Two very different experiences. Jay Bennett in 2003: genius bordering on madman, manic and I have to say, it was almost scary to be in the same room with him. You also have to know he was just coming off the big WILCO "divorce" as well as a marital divorce AND his mother was very sick at the time. So all these things had everything to do with his state of mind and physical body. Not to say he wasn't being productive during all of this. Shortly after we worked with him, he released like six albums of music nearly simultaneously. Ultimately, in my eyes, he is an artist in the truest sense.

Jay O’Rourke on the other hand is also a genius in his own right. A true master of engineering in the recording studio, he also has a way of making you feel taken care of while under his guidance. He’s a real professional, and when he gets on a project he believes in he works his ass off to get you to your vision. Probably the most dedicated and honest musician/producer I have ever worked with. Paired with Scott Ligon, Jay helped to produce some of my most favorite TG tracks to date on our latest CD, “GO”. I’m also working/collaborating closely with him on another yet to be named project, which I believe easily to be some of my best recordings yet.

Q: Trigger Gospel has such a unique sound that its hard to classify where TG fits on the musical landscape. What other artists/bands do you see as like-minded musical compadres.

AF: The one band that stands out is “Over the Rhine” as they too are an Americana band that delves into the influences of jazz, blues, rock & cabaret.

Q: To my ears “Go” is a very different record from previous Trigger Gospel efforts. Was there a specific goal to mix things up a bit when you set out to make this record?

AF: Not really. They were all just songs I had written and/or were performing currently with my band and had never gotten around to recording properly in a studio. We actually attempted to record a couple of the songs on “GO” with Jay Bennett for the “OH, the Stories We Hold” CD, but for some reason or another we didn’t get around to finishing them with Jay. So they were hold overs.

Q: So, what’s next for Anna Fermin and Trigger Gospel?

AF: I’m not exactly sure at the moment. But I will keep you posted…

Q: Bonus question: Why Chicago?

AF: I spent my childhood in Wisconsin, but grew up in Chicago. This is really home for me, the center, the constant, the setting of all things wonderful and heartbreaking in my life so far. It’s hard for me to see myself rooted anywhere else. Although Paris has been a serious contender.