Photographed & Written by: Matthew Terry
ABOUT THIS SERIES:
Over the past year I’ve focused on the local haunts that musicians, musicals, and music fans call home and fill with the warmth of audible expression. In 2025 I will begin delving into the musicians who fill those haunts and leave memories like ghosts in the structures that represent the local scene. Much like these venues, each musician possesses their own personality and motivation, and I think it’s important to speak of that motivation because artistic expression allows us to explain ourselves in ways that extend beyond our own subjective experiences.
As a creative person who often unearths inspiration from outside of the medium I am utilizing at the time, I have always been intrigued by what causes someone to tick. What moves their mind? What must be torn down to rebuild something beautiful? And what keeps us progressing forward when so much of our reality seems set in old habits? Expression seems easy in the days of the social media blitz, but to truly connect with others in a world run on separation – especially when that connection is formed from something that only exists because of an artist’s hand, mind, and the electric space between the two – it’s nearly worth worshipping…or at the very least is worth attempting to understand better.
As someone who grew up with an older brother, I fully understand the connection that comes from having a sibling, and its mix of revelry and rivalry. So when I met The Tripp Brothers towards the end of May, I already felt like I related to them, even though their unique take on what they have dubbed “Electronic Funk” is a new sound experience for me. It’s so easy to get caught up in the comforts of whatever music scene you call home, but genres are limiting and being stuck in a single style is equally limiting, so I’m thankful to be in an area that not only presents a truly diverse range of musicians but also always provides me a means of connecting with those musicians and bringing them to the attention of new audiences. I sat down with this duo earlier this month to discuss the electronic music scene, how it has shifted in recent years, and what it takes to keep persistent and productive as musicians who have been birthing beats and breathing into brass before many in the local scene took their first breath.
Let’s start off with some introductions. Who/What makes up the group known as The Tripp Brothers and how long have you been playing together?
Sean: I’m Sean Tripp, and he’s Jimmy Tripp and we’ve been playing together probably since I was 18, so 27 years about. We started DJing together, and then the Tripp Brothers kind of evolved from there as a DJ group between the two of us. We always played horns back in high school through college, but didn’t incorporate that until much later on.
You kind of answered this, but what is it like playing music with a family member? Is that something that just came together naturally?
Jimmy: For the most part. We did a band, and everyone started arguing, like about money and what we’re playing and where we’re playing. I got tired of it, and I said, it’s much easier to just have my brother as a bandmate than anyone else. So, that’s kind of where it came from.
I know doing any type of business with family can have its issues. Do you think the added family connection is beneficial for your art? Does it makes things easier?
Sean: You know, we’re more focused on trying to just do the music instead of trying to make money or trying to fit everything in.
Jimmy: It’s like… I always say that with the band, it’s really hard to keep everyone in line in a band. And when you have Sean and me, even if we argue, we still have to go to Christmas dinner together.
You play music that blends live instruments, notably horns, with pre-recorded beats. You said that the live instruments came in later. What brought that on to evolve into your present sound?
Sean: It was Patrick Rifley. So he does a lot of the lighting at shows and various events. And he’s like, come do my birthday party, but do it as the Tripp brothers and have Jimmy play a saxophone. And we’ll call it two turntables and a saxophone.
Jimmy: He’d been asking for this forever. Begging and begging me. And I kept saying, no, I don’t really want to do that. We finally did it and it went over really, really well. And the crowd loved it. So then we continued doing it.
Sean: So it was his doing. He brought it together. His idea, anyway. 2001 or 2002, somewhere in there.
Speaking of sound, I know genres can be limiting/a bit unnecessary, and art is often better experienced than explained, but how would you describe the music you make?
Jimmy: Funky dubstep.
Sean: I call it electronic funk music for the most part. I mean, when we do the Trip Brothers now, I spin house music, drum and bass, jungle, dubstep, glitch hop. I will cycle through many genres in one set.
I do think cohesion in art is important (to a point). Do you feel like you try sticking to a singular sound or are you more open to an expansive sound that bends the space between genres?
Jimmy: It really depends on what kind of event we’re playing. We do a lot of the city events too. When we did something like the Moline 150-year celebration two years ago we played a lot of remixes of seventies funk music, but as electronic stuff. We did that kind of thing for that crowd specifically. Whereas if we play a festival or electronic event, we might stick more to a harder dubstep sound. So kind of let that drive what we’re going to play.
Since the music you make is not a style I am familiar with, on a personal level, what is the songwriting process like for you two?
Jimmy: I mean, it’s basically the same as you would do anything else. You’re going to come up with a concept of kind of what you’re looking to do. And then with this type of music, it’s really sample-based. You’re going to find certain samples that you want to use as like the core of the song in a way, and then you build the rest of it around there. With electronic music, it’s always about the drop, you know. The buildup and the drop. So you got to make sure that that’s your key point. But yeah, I always start with a drum beat and then I kind of go from there. Build from that..
Sean: Yeah, or you know we might hear a sample or a melody and be like, okay, that’s nice, and build it from that.
Why did you become a musician, and/or what or who initially got you passionate about music? Who are your biggest inspirations currently?
Sean: We were basically born into it. Our dad was a one-man band and a musician. He recorded music in the 70s as a trumpet player and a keyboard player in Florida. Then he did the one-man band stuff. He actually hated DJs with a passion, then both of his sons became DJs. But he hated top 40 DJs because he did a lot of music in the clubs, like live music. So DJing kind of took his job eventually. But that’s how we got into it. He was in church on Sundays. So we were in church on Sundays. He was a choir director. Grandpa was a minister. So we were ingrained in music.
What/Who else inspires your music, either in or outside the world of music?
Sean: Just seeing other people play and going to shows, seeing live music. I like going to electronic shows and seeing an artist that I’ve never heard before, never looked them up or anything like that, because it gives a nice new kind of idea of what they’re about.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another musician? Is there any insight/advice you’d give to aspiring musicians?
Jimmy: The best piece I ever got was from an electronic artist named Phil A Buster. He says, everyone is trying to get a piece of the same pie and you’re all trying to get to the same point. So don’t hold each other back because if you can, the better you can collaborate and talk and network with other artists, the faster you’re going to get where you want to be.
Sean: Yeah. I’d say the best piece of advice I have is to not stop with what you want to do. I mean, we’re older, but we’ve been doing this since, you know, I’ve been 16 and he’s been 19. So if you want to do it, just do it. Cause you never know when something’s going to happen.
Jimmy: You never know what that next show is going to bring or that one person may see you. I mean, we’ve gotten so many shows where one person sees us and then they go tell their friends, and then we’re playing in Wisconsin or Michigan or Colorado. So that’s kind of how we started, but it took a long time.
What is your favorite local venue to perform at? Are there any spaces, either still going or no longer in existence, that you’d love to perform in?
Sean: I say my favorite one to play is Redstone Room. I like the venue and the sound there.
Jimmy: We’ve pretty much played them all. The Capitol’s probably the best venue. I mean, since it’s been revamped and redone. Now our friend, who was our drummer in our band, Buddha, runs the sound there. It was ridiculously loud for New Year’s there. I actually played there years and years ago before they closed it down. It was literally months before. That was a different sound system though.
You are a group with some history, so of all the shows you’ve played/groups you’ve played with is there one performance that stands out above all the rest?
Sean: There’s a couple, but the one most recently would be our 2021 Summer Camp performance by far. That was probably the coolest because it was so big.
Jimmy: My most memorable one by far is when we played in Omaha, Nebraska during COVID. Because they didn’t have any regulations there. Sean’s wife was pregnant at the time and he was really nervous about getting sick, as he should. But we needed money. This is October, so, you know, we’re months into not playing any shows, and it was really good money. They said it was going to be 500 people in a 2,000-person warehouse, and we would have our own little area and little walkway to get to the stage because we were so worried about it and we show up and it’s like 2,000 people in a 2,000-person venue. They had to part the seas to get us to the stage. There were people hanging out in our little area where we’re supposed to warm up and Sean looks at me he’s like I am not playing my trombone.
Sean: Yeah I played it once or twice
Jimmy: I obviously can’t wear a mask or anything because I’m playing saxophone and I’m out on the stage in the front on my knee playing saxophone, there’s all these girls like right in the front and all I can think was that I’m playing right in their face, and if I got covid then everybody’s getting sick. Then we’re getting ready to leave and they’re like we need to escort you out of here because this is really not a good neighborhood. I thought we were fine when we got there because it was behind a gate and then they had five people walk us out. I mean obviously if it wouldn’t have been covid that probably would have been one of the best shows. It was insane, the crowd was absolutely bonkers because everyone just wanted to party and they were just letting loose.
Jimmy: The Summer Camp show was large. We played in front of probably four or five thousand people I’d say. Tropidelic got covid right before summer camp, and they played during our time so they canceled and only two stages were going on during our set which was us and Yonder so it’s either you went to see bluegrass or you went to see us. I mean they do pull a lot of bluegrass people there, too, but this was all the shaded area, which is nice when it’s hot out. I remember walking up and I was like, “Hey Sean come here.” He hadn’t looked out the front yet, and there’s already like 1500 people just sitting there and I’m like oh my god they’re waiting for us to start playing and within I’d say like five minutes there were thousands.
When it comes to the local scene, what do you see as the strengths of the QCA? What areas do you feel could use improvement?
Jimmy: I think that right now the strengths are that everybody is actually working together as far as the electronic music scene goes. Before there were a lot of people just doing whatever they wanted, not really talking to each other, throwing multiple shows in a month, and different things, and it killed stuff real fast. But everybody lost money so now there’s only like one or two people doing it, and they talk to each other and they’re kind of growing it from there and they’re not taking it too big too soon. I think one of the problems with the QC is that it’s a hard area because all the big artists go to Chicago or Des Moines, Iowa City, or Peoria, and they have radius clauses, so you can’t come here and you’re going to get a bigger production in Chicago anyways. Since Covid, people aren’t willing to take a chance on a little rinky-dink show. I’m not sure they’re worried about cancellations, but they’re like, “Oh I can just pay ten dollars more and go to a bigger show that’s better.”
Sean: Yeah, I mean, there was a lot of infighting in the Quad City scene. I guess you get that with a lot of different music and we’ve seen a lot of scenes and people/promoters come and go, so the biggest problem is that a lot of them didn’t like working with each other or around each other, both in the jam scene and the electronic scene to be honest with you. We’ve watched it go up and down.
Jimmy: Sean and I just kind of got an “in” because we got big kind of on our own without a lot of help, because we pushed ourselves outside of the scene. I grew up in the Chicago area too so I know a lot of people up there, and we can kind of pull at different spaces and stuff like that, but the electronic scene here is weird. It just fluctuates. Even the jam scene. The other thing is that the things that do well in the Quad Cities are cover bands that cover 80’s/rock tunes and country.
Sean: We get a little bit more because we do live instrumentation. So we get booked for more things than just a regular electronic DJ. We can appeal to a little more diverse crowds. I mean after the Moline 150th Anniversary show this 80-year old woman came up and she’s like, “That was the funnest thing I’ve been to in years.” I love that, and her husband’s just smiling. She was out there dancing the whole time, and I was like don’t fall, please don’t break anything, but she was smiling ear to ear, and she was out there just having a great time.
In closing, what else do you have on the horizon for 2025/what would you like readers to know about?
Sean: We do have some shows coming up. We are playing Wisconsin in July. We haven’t played Milwaukee at all so that’ll be nice. It’s a nice venue for us. We’ve played all over Wisconsin but never actually right in Milwaukee. We’ve done Green Bay, Madison, and all these smaller shows. I don’t know if it’s the same in the jam scene, but the whole electronic scene in the Midwest just kind of slowed down. You wouldn’t think that because after COVID everybody wanted to go out, but with everything being so expensive, attendance is down.
Jimmy: Yeah people save money for the big events, and then they travel to either Chicago or down to St Louis or Des Moines. They’ll spend the weekend and make it like a little vacay for the show.
Sean: This time last year we had four festivals already booked, and it’s not the same this year. A lot of the festivals that we played aren’t around – 80/35, Summercamp, 515 Alive…
Jimmy: Cosmic Kingdom was another one we used to play every year that’s no longer around, and these are all major festivals. It comes down to the point where those festivals go too big and they end up losing money, 515 lost like 35 thousand one year, and they couldn’t recover from it. I think they did it one more year after that, but it wasn’t nearly as big and the venue changed. It was a whole fiasco.
Sean: We’re working on writing music this year. That’s gonna be our main focus. Try to get a full four tracks or so done for some semi-album release. That’s where it’s at when the music is slow or the events are slow and you don’t play live. You start recording. It’s the only way you’re gonna get more shows. You can’t slow down, that’s for sure, because music is always out there, and it just takes one person to listen to and like it, and invite you to come play other places with other people.
Frozen Fructose Laundromat
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