Music News

ONE MAN'S DREAM TAKES CENTER STAGE

2008-12-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

ONE MAN'S DREAM TAKES CENTER STAGE
By Tim Wood

Mitch Trupia is one of those folks in town you just need to meet. These days, you'll find him living at his "second home," the new Rock City nightclub on Persimmon Street. This is a man who has packed a lot of living into his years. He has the crow's feet and bags under the eyes to prove it. Yet, he goes about his business with the boundless energy of a teenager. He emotes passion in every action. The cigarette he unapologetically smokes is puffed to the butt, which only enhances his Springsteen-esque raspy voice.

He didn't just work as a production manager. He worked with Madonna, A Tribe Called Quest and Ozzy Osbourne. When he gravitated toward Ground Zero in the days after Sept. 11, he worked the recovery effort for 21 straight days – ending up in the hospital from exhaustion. He is New York through and through, has shacked up in Staten Island and has a clearer recall of Bayside's Bell Boulevard than Google Earth. Nonetheless, Mitch is an equally perfect fit for the Lowcountry. He is as well-versed in yoga and meditation as he is in old-school Metallica (before the corporate sellout).

Life near the tides better suits his soul. An unflappable, undeterred believer has emerged from this combination of Marlboro filters, life experience and Zen fundamentals. The uninitiated might associate his sideburns, reversed cap and mullet-in-the-making more with a stoner comedy sidekick than a community builder. Then he talks. "This town deserves a scene. The musicians deserve a home. The fans deserve the music," he says. His bleary, sleep-deprived eyes come alive with vision. "This space was meant to be a rock club.

More than that, I want this to be a place where anything creative thrives." Some of his critics say it all sounds a bit hokey, like something out of James Earl Jones' mouth in "Field of Dreams." Criticize all you want. Mitch is a tortured artist who has beaten himself up more than others ever could. "That doubt can eat you up. I've learned the hard way that you just need to admit your greatness and believe in it to make the dreams come true," he said. Mitch opens the doors to Rock City this weekend. Silicone Sister rocked last night, Souls Harbor takes the stage tonight as the grand opening celebration continues. Come on out, hear some great music and buy in to a dream for a night.
-Tim Wood, reporter Bluffton Today HILTON HEAD, SC

Interview with Mitchell Trupia: Blue-eyed Angel or Red-hot Devil?

2008-07-18T08:14:00.000-07:00

Interview with Mitchell Trupia: Blue-eyed Angel or Red-hot Devil?

By Joyce Shafer, Author/Weekly Columnist - New York

The Green Street Band takes position on the stage. Some in the audience know what to expect. Others are there for their first wild ride. Blue eyes and a quirky grin capture attention. Chords blast then are followed by a graveled voice that punches holes in the air with intensity. Lyrics are offered with equal jabs to the senses. Each line is food for thought to chew on, savor, spit out, or swallow.

I interviewed songwriter, guitarist, and lead singer Mitchell Trupia from Brooklyn, New York.

JS: Many of your song lyrics have a level of "rawness" to them -- sometimes cryptic, sometimes blatant. What motivates you to put it all out there for listeners?

MT: To be honest, I write for myself. Whether it is a song like "Only You
and Me" or "The Vampire Song," the motivation comes from real or
imagined life experiences, dreams, hopes, and desires. David Prater, a
past producer of mine once said, "You have a certain desperation in your
songwriting." Well, these are desperate times. Each week I try to figure out
how to buy enough gas to get to my next show!

Seriously, I tend to write from the heart. I hope to keep it real and be
true to myself. If, what is in my heart resonates with someone, that's
great. It is genuine that way. I do not like mental chains or restraints. There appear to be restrictions in society about how we are supposed to behave, what we are
allowed to say, and how we are supposed to present ourselves in public. I would rather not hide what I feel. I think the listeners relate because I am being honest and open. Someone came up to me after a show recently and said my lyrics touched them profoundly. After thanking her, I walked away almost in tears. Songs like, “Straightjacket,” “Biological Net,” and “Give Soul Love” are so personal that I did not think anyone could relate. Glad to know I was wrong.

JS: Which song or songs do you feel a particular affinity or intensity about
and why?

MT: Shortly after working at Ground Zero as a recovery volunteer -- after
9/11 in NYC -- I began writing "Give Soul Love." This was just before my
mother passed away. It was near the holiday season, but I didn’t get a
chance to finish it until over a year after she was gone. I call it one of my
soul-gifting songs. Another song is, "5 Roses." It is my gift to the Lord
Death. Death takes so much, yet gives us something back, proving to me --
there are no endings. The lyrics are, "5 roses, 5 stories, my worries
subsiding I can breathe again." The roses are the gift. 5 represents humanity; human life. The 5 stories nearly fell on my head and killed me during a partial wall collapse at Ground Zero. The stories also relate to the different truths we have regarding a shared experience.

Other songs I've written, years after the 9/11 experience, include "What
Do You Need?" I rarely play that one live because it is a song about
necessity, and oftentimes I see the excess surrounding everyone -- the
materialism, the consumer mindset. I just can't play the song if I hear
someone bragging about their latest new car, designer handbag, or i-Pod that
day.

I tend to feel sorry for people who are obsessed with filling their
lives with soul-less material goods. I feel their emptiness. Why not
make something for someone you love? Write a song. Draw a picture.
Prepare a sacred meal. Anything. Do something...instead of shop.

A lost carnival of souls
Some things You will Never understand

Now I'm Standing on the Road
With the Answer in my Hand

I've got to Break on Through
To the Promised Land

I've got a burning need to know...

Why?

I've got a jigsaw soul

If you want to take a bite of something edgy, check out songs and lyrics at http://myspace.com/MitchellTrupia or better yet, see him live. Just wear rubber-soled shoes if you want to stay grounded. Performances and audience responses are known to get electric.

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When the Boss Steps Down..a New One Takes His Place

2008-06-11T15:18:00.001-07:00

When the Boss Steps Down..a New One Takes His Place
NewsBlog by Gary Hill (Columnist/Songwriter/New York)

About three to four years ago, I went to a place called "The Muddy Cup" in Staten Island where I've done performances from time to time. This one particular evening, it was an open-mic karaoke and decided to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" by Simon and Garfunkel.

Well, right after I stepped down I went to get a hot chocolate when suddenly, I hear someone in what sounds like Bruce Springsteenish start singing "I'm On Fire". He was very rockerish with a boyish grin and most of all, he had the vocal stylings of a cross-between Springsteen and Dylan, that guy is Mitchell Trupia.

Afterwards I met this guy and we became friends even sitting on each other's sets during a Songwriter's Live performance.

During this particular time, I took the time to listen to some of Mitch's original material. The angst of break ups and even the anxiety of 9-11 shows up in his body of work. Songs like "Give Soul Love" and "Straight Jacket" shows the range in his capturing the true moment of feeling and "I' Would Do Anything" can easily take you back and remind you of early Springsteen... think the "Nebraska" album.

His raw vocals gives him the hard edge that every folk rocker dreams about and his melodies are so catchy that you will end up singing it hours after hearing it.

Now, Mitch has moved south to South Carolina where he slowly builds a following and his music gets much coverage from local media outlets. He has started to build a fan base with the locals and now will be heading back north to bring his music to us as he and his band, 420 Green Street, will be doing some performances.

Although I miss seeing my friend and brother, I feel like I've kept totally in contact with him through his career and I can not be more proud.

When Bruce Springsteen decides to step down as the Boss, the next in line to fill his shoes would definitely be Mitchell Trupia.

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See: Mitchell Trupia - Live in Concert .
The Grassroots Tour - sponsored by unsunghero

The New American Songwriter: Mitchell Trupia

2008-06-06T15:33:00.000-07:00

The Fire. The Passion. The New American Songwriter: Mitchell Trupia
By Kristine Johnson / Savannah, Ga.

What an awesome show. How do you do it each night?

"I try to meditate before each performance. Whether I am going to play in a bar or at a concert. I am going to bring my best each night. I try to tap into a higher part of myself in order to escape this reality."

It seems to work, you become something else on stage.

"Still, bad nights may happen now and then. Mistakes, sound problems. All kinds of things can distract me and the boys in Green Street...like wild women getting on stage with us!," he laughs out loud. Mitchell's smile, like his music, is infectious.

The rock and roll clown...
Mitchell Trupia is funny. His smile lights up the room. Piercing blue eyes startle me. He seems shy at first. It takes a few minutes before he is able to relax. He fidgets a lot. Keeps mentioning how he needs new guitar strings. Trupia laughs about a lot of little things going on during the interview at the cafe in Savannah, GA -- the waitresses hair, my designer bag, the reason he began writing, how his work has recently been published in a book. The interview lasts an hour.
We got nothing accomplished. We talked a lot. I listened a lot. We laughed out loud a few times. I asked Mitchell to stay a few more minutes and talk about the songs. He smiled and said, "We just did. Everything is about -- a song to me."
I asked about the infamous "V song." the Vampire song. He just smiled. "Is any of it true?" I asked. He paused and flashed that grin again.
Symbolically, it appears to be a song about craving the feminine. But I wanted to hear it from the author himself. This new American songwriter.
"I know what the song means to me. I would rather know what it means to you," Trupia replies. He stays ten minutes longer and I realize -- I am being interviewed by him!
All in all, a great show and a great time. I go home blasting "Biological Net" on my car stereo and try to figure out how to explain this (lack of an) interview to my editor. My answer comes while driving, and I feel relieved when Mitchell sings, "But, I hear a 50's station in the background." I think the lyric is about spacing out. That pretty much sums it for me, but what does it mean to you?
-KJ

Listen:
Myspace.com/MitchellTrupia