Blitzen Trapper's catching buzz
It's been one wild ride
By Kevin W. Smith
KSMITH@AZSTARNET.COM
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.27.2008
Blitzen Trapper's Eric Earley had just finished sound check in Baltimore and was talking with a reporter about the band's upcoming show in Tucson.
Ten minutes into the conversation, the band's singer and main songwriter paused.
"Are you the guy that called earlier?" he asked. "Wait, you're not the guy who called earlier and my phone died?"
Eh, no.
Earley's confusion is forgivable. He's been on quite the ride recently.
Blitzen Trapper performed for a national television audience last week, and earlier in the month Earley watched the election results in Nebraska while chain-smoking with Stephen "Malk" Malkmus.
In September, the band released "Furr," its debut for the storied Sub Pop Records and its fourth album overall. The Portland, Ore., group has since been on the road, opening up for acts such as Iron and Wine.
The band played NBC's "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" Nov. 17, joining comedian Brian Regan and rapper Snoop Dogg — who had quite the aroma coming from his dressing room.
On "Conan," the band played the new album's title track, an acoustic singalong about turning into a wolf, joining a pack in the woods, and howling at the moon for five years or so before meeting a girl, morphing back into a human, readjusting to society, making babies on a farm and then feeling nostalgia for the past — or something.
The song "Furr" is more or less about growing up, and it seems to be resonating with fans.
Earley describes the album "Furr" as more accessible than 2007's self-released "Wild Mountain Nation," and it's hard to disagree.
Where "Wild Mountain" was a genre-jumping roller coaster, "Furr" is more straightforward '60s classic folk-rock with chunky, distorted guitars, vocal harmonies, piano, harmonica and Earley's vocals, which can channel Bob Dylan as easily as Robert Plant.
Nature is a favored lyrical theme for Earley, an outdoorsy sort who can go on about the different landscapes in Oregon, from brushy desert to lush forest.
Earley said he loves the Southwest, has family in Bisbee and Phoenix, and prizes a pair of cowboy boots he bought at a Tucson thrift store.
And the boots aren't just for show: Earley's been riding horses for the past couple of years in Oregon.
"It's just nice, the proximity to these large creatures," he said of climbing into the saddle.
Read the Star's stories about safety concerns at Solar Culture at go.azstarnet.com/solarculture
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