The Troys stopped by Elektra recently to talk about a few things. Here's what they had to say.
As aggressive as it is melodic, imbued with the edgey discipline of folk/punk, charged with the raging sensitivity of alt rock - delightfully sassy and incisive - all this and more describes the soul searching new music from the Troys. What makes their endearing brand of musical alchemy even more amazing is neither of the two sisters has even reached their 19th birthday.
The debut Elektra album from the San Diego natives, Massaging Your Ego, is a blustery blend of teen age angst and in-your-face musings on the state of things from the perspective of two young artists whose gift for musical depth and lyrical wordplay belies their young ages. "We've been taking piano lessons since we were four and a half," says Anna. "So we almost feel like veterans even though we're still in our teens." Music was a seminal part of the girls' lives growing up. Their father - a self proclaimed dead-head who has written books on the legendary band and personally knew Jerry Garcia - instilled in them from the very start a love and appreciation for the transformational power of music. Not to mention the fun of turning a sly phrase now and then. "Our dad was taking us to Grateful Dead shows when were six years old," says Lindsey. "We've met Jerry Garcia. Some of my earliest memories are sitting on my dad's shoulders just watching all that magic happen. We were always encouraged to approach music with sort of a free spirit."
That free spirit abounds on Massaging Your Ego. Whether it's the catchy, kaleidoscope chorus of "What Do You Do," or the girls' plucky new wave kiss-off to a clueless ex on "Sorry Song," the Troys' debut disc is a buoyant reality-check on growing up female from start to finish. Produced by acclaimed knob turners such as The Matrix, Oliver Leiber and David Gamson, Steve Thompson and more, the album hinges on Anna and Lindsey's perceptive songwriting skills, which they say were also honed at a very young age, and a knack for a good hook when they hear it. "As long as I can remember Anna and I were always writing poems, or lyrics I guess you could call them," says Lindsey.
It was during their middle school years that Anna took an interest in the guitar. The combination of their talents (along with their brother's deft bass playing skills) eventually found them writing songs together. "We kept doing it in our free time, after school, whenever the mood hit us," says Anna. Eventually they got brave enough to try an open night at one of San Diego's more fertile watering holes for new talent, Java Joe's, a now renowned coffee house that has given many a young artist their first boost. "We started out doing stuff acoustically," says Lindsey. "Very folk-based. Everyone was very supportive. I guess because of our age they didn't want to be too harsh," she jokes.
It wasn't too long before the girls became a regular at the San Diego hang out, which despite their inexperience, was another dream accomplished. "Our heroes are singers like Ani DiFranco, who is so empowering, and Edie Brickell," says Anna. "We love the idea of just getting up their in front of a microphone and showing what you got." Those influences come through loud and clear on the new album, on songs like the caustic "Superhuman", which takes on our over-homogenized pop culture, and "Unbreakable." The latter points an accusing finger at those who create false expectations about growing up 'normal,' '/Don't tell me cuz my little ears have gone bad/And I like when it hurts/Don't sell me your stupid games/Cuz I'm sick of your flowery words/' "That song is personal but also very political. It's about being the total opposite of what females are traditionally supposed to be: well mannered, submissive, agreeable and virginally beautiful."
Massaging Your Ego is a testament, of sorts, to that self-discovery. But make no mistake, the humorous side of the Troys' dual personality is front-and-center as well, like on the aforementioned "Sorry Song." "Lindsey based the idea on a guy she used to have a huge crush on who paid her no mind. A year later he started coming around and she was like 'Sorry. Ha Ha. Now you want me but you can't have me.'"
Adds Lindsey: "We took the truth and kind of stretched it to really get the point across." Another song that reflects what Lindsey calls: "Our funny, crazy side" is "Clean." "On a song like that you don't know if some of the lyrics are true or some are made up or just what's going on. And we aren't telling." A quick sample of a verse - 'It's quite simple really/We have an hour let's take a shower' - doesn't leave too much to the imagination.
"One of the things the album does is talk about real issues that are going on in kids lives in hope that it can influence others in a positive way," says Anna. She talks about how the growing-up process in the U.S. seems to have been sped up in recent years, with the scourge of drugs and school shootings becoming almost standard front page news. "We've had a lot of the same problems in our school district. We've had to deal with classmates committing suicide and trying to beat drug problems and all that. And there was a school shooting at a school just a couple miles from our own. Those experiences can't help but influence your writing."
The girls also profess a love for bands that successfully fused a harder edge into their music and still packed a lyrical wallop, like Nirvana and Led Zeppelin "and a lot of bands from the whole riot grrrl scene," says Lindsey. Fans of the girls' coffee house days might be a little surprised to hear more of their rocking side emerge on their debut disc. "That was one of the great things about working with all the talented producers," says Anna. "I got to experience how fun the studio can be when you are sharing your creativity with so many other talented people and I learned so much."
Lindsey's rippling voice, however, is also perfectly suited for poetic ballads such as the fragile "Circling The Sun." '/I'm spinning in this merry go-round/Finding answers already found/Swimming through life's history unwound./'
Pretty fatalistic for a couple of teenagers? "We're still optimists," says Anna. "But with both eyes open," adds Lindsey.
