Music on the Half Shell: Trampled by Turtles

Borne from the Superior shores of Duluth, Minnesota, Trampled by Turtles have gained tremendous momentum since their inception as a band back in 2003.  Like a snowball rolling down a hill, with each new show and each new album, the fan base grows exponentially. The band now ventures far beyond the Midwest, playing shows in wonderful venues all across the United States, Canada and even Europe.  But no matter where they are, Trampled by Turtles does not forget their humble beginnings in Minnesota and the fans that helped them attain their success.
Original members Dave Simonett, Dave Carroll, and Erik Berry started Trampled by Turtles as a novelty side act to their respective rock bands, but as circumstances would have it, Trampled by Turtles wasn’t ready to play second fiddle to any band.
Singer and guitarist Dave Simonett, explained the origins of the band in a recent interview, “Well three of us started the band, that’s Eric Berry, Dave Carroll and myself.  None of us had ever really played bluegrass before, or this style of acoustic music but we were really getting into it.  We’d been playing rock music before, and this band was started as an acoustic side project to those bands.  But as time went on, all those bands split and this band was all that was left. I was dead broke and left with just my acoustic guitar, after someone stole my electric guitar and my amp while loading our gear after the last show with my previous band. And like I said, the other bands were gone, and all my gear was gone, so this just naturally happened.” An escalating amount of fans across the country are grateful for that.
One of the most memorable moments for the band this last year was playing the main stage at the seventh annual 10,000 Lakes Festival in Detroit Lakes. Their growth at this fantastic festival precisely represents their evolution as a band and the direction they are headed in the future. After starting on the small saloon stage in 2004, then growing into the festival’s barn stage in 2006 and 2007, they finally played for fans as far as the eye could see on the main stage in 2009.  “That was a blast!” Simonett said proudly. “That was really something that was so exciting for all of us.”
With a new management team on board, they have a tour schedule full of larger venues including the recently announced Stagecoach Festival next April in California.  But don’t expect these larger shows to start going to their heads. “We spend enough time packed into a little van and staying on people’s floors to stay grounded,” Dave said when asked if there was a definitive moment that made him realize the band was getting big.  “As far as making a career out of it, that was something that I knew personally before I even made my first dollar. Playing music is what I always wanted to do.  Before we even started touring or selling any albums, we made that decision, to see if we could do it.”
The quintet from Duluth has come a long way with their unique take on bluegrass music. Seated in chairs, the band bangs out enough raw energy to part the sea and if a listener is brave enough to stand in their way, the music will surely shroud every last bit of their being. Their music is as much rock as it is folk, as much metal as it is bluegrass, but one thing it definitely is not, is lacking in sheer power. When asked what part of the country gets the rowdiest at their shows, Simonett responded with a laugh, “Probably the Midwest, but it really depends on where we are playing.”
With four albums under their belts and a new and currently untitled release due out next April, Trampled by Turtles are on a mission to spread their music far and wide. Currently they are doing just that, one unassuming step at a time with fans ever-enthusiastically holding on in the wake of the flood.

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INFO:

Who:  Trampled by Turtles
Where:  The Aquarium
When:  Friday, November 20th
How much:  $15, 21+