- Introduce us to the band! What are your names and what do you do in the band?
The Trousers are made of myself, Zoltán Kőváry (vocals, guitar, songwriting), Peter Locke (Guitar), András Lázár (bass), and Samu Antal Gulyás (drums)
Where do you call home?
We reside in Budapest, Hungary.
- How long have you been together as a band and how did you find each other?
The band started in 2005, but the real story started around 2010. I had known Peter from the Budapest rock underground, he joined in 2011. Bassist Bandi used to work at the place where we had rehearsals, he is originally a drummer and he replaced our original drummer for some concerts in 2015. Then in 2016 he joined as s bass player, cause he is a musical multi talent. Samu was recommended by one of our friends when we were looking for a new drummer in 2017.
- Do you have a special songwriting recipe you follow?
In this band I am the songwriter. I always write ten songs in a 1-2 months session, usually in the summer break in every two years. In between I don’t write songs. I write them on acoustic guitar (even the riffs), so they are real “songs”, they are not coming from jamming, I don’t believe in that kind of composing method. My life experiences and my new musical influences always very important during this time. For example the songs of “Freakbeat” which was released in 2013 I was after a break up and listened to a lot of Monster Magnet and Hellacopters. Before “Animal gun” (2022) I got deep into the catalogue of Thin Lizzy and 70’s Cheap Trick. The songwriting usually starts with a riff or an interesting accord progression. Then the song writes itself 😊
- How would members of your family describe your music to someone that hasn’t heard it?
It’s hard music, with classic roots from the 70’s, but very catchy at the same time. Not fully retro, I has some modern aspects as well. Timeless music.
- What do you have on your (Spotify) playlists you would be embarrassed for others to see?
Basically I am a rock and metalhead, I listen to very different things from The Supremes to Chicago, from Waylon Jennings to John Coltrane.
- Do you have any pre-show rituals?
When we got on stage we put our fists together and say “Let’s show them what Chines box is about!” It is coming from an old Bruce Lee movie.
- Who have you met that has left you starstruck?
One of my main heroes is Nicke Andersson form The Hellacopters. He played on one of our songs, “Real Deep Grove”, in 2013, but we haven’t met personally until 2024. It was uplifting, to have my vinyls signed and making a picture together. He is a very down-to-earth person, very kind.
- What do you consider your greatest achievement as far as a band?
Besides having Nicke on that track we managed to open for bands like Black Stone Cherry, Dirty Honey, MC5, Tygers of Pan Tang or Atomic Bitchwax. We did a good job. Formerly our song “Too tough to tame” almost featured in “Hawaii 5.0”, but the musical producer’s letters went to spam in our record label’s mailbox, so finally it didn’t happen ☹
- What key elements do you believe makes up a successful song?
In this king of music: a killer riff, a good accord progression which is not schematic, memorable vocal melodies and good orchestration.
* When writing, how do you know when it is finally done?
When every part is fully written and the composition is balanced. After that we have to elaborate the particular musical parts in the rehearsal room, and I have to write the lyrics. The final version get born in the studio, during recording.
* What song of yours are you most proud of?
“I get around”, “Hysterical Route”, “You got me rolling”, “My kind of business” and the new one “Second hand suicide”.
* Is it possible to be on the road and not eat junk food? How do you keep it leveled out?
Sometimes we go to McDonalds or Burger King, but after some days we always start to look for real restaurants. We usually stop at supermarkets where everyone can have what he wants. In Czeh Reupblic its especially good, because you can buy the best beer in the world there for very good prizes.
* Are you able to write while on the road or do you need a calm familiar space like home?
Only at home… But the road experiences are also necessary for collecting inspiration.
* What’s the most embarrassing thing to happen on stage or on tour?
When we were in Prague once everyone got very drunk of the excellent Czeh beer. We returned to the house of our friend where we slept. One of us, Peter was sleeping in the bed where our friend would sleep with her girlfriend, so later when the guy went to bed where Peter slept, he started to hug him because he thought it was her chick. Peter screamed what the hell was going on but after a while everybody started to laugh.
- What can BleachBANGS do to help you in any way?
It’s a nice homepage, so I hope everyone will read this interview with pleasure, and more people would know about us.
* How can everyone keep up with everything you have going on? Where can they get albums/merch?
https://thetrousersband.com/en
On this page you can find direct links to Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and iTunes, but you can also find music on Deezer, Apple Music, etc. For merch contact us on thetrousersbandofficial@gmail.com
