Changing the Los Angeles music scene one step at a time, the country-rock trio TruckerBomb releases their latest wavy and hazy single entitled "Light of Jesus."
Mixing a dash of grunge and the up-tempo swing of honkey-tonk, TruckerBomb and its members consist of the musical stylings between Troy Richardson, Salty Rose, Ursula Lari, and Dave Rodway. While the band continues to make waves throughout our city with their unconventional songwriting approaches and dynamic Americana/country-rock tunes, it's only a matter of time until they land their tunes in film/television soundtracks.
When listening to typical country-rock, existential dread isn't usually a topic that's touched on, yet singer-songwriter Troy Richardson is never one to shy away from deeper and more personal issues like this. Primarily within their recent single, "Light of Jesus" Richardson and his accompanying bandmates bring us into the depths of despair while losing the light of God's child.
Listening to "Light of Jesus" the venture begins with TruckerBomb's entire instrumental breakdown with Troy Richardson's heavy bassline, Salty Rose's bright electric guitar, Dave Rodway's mid-tempo drums, Mike 'Slo-Mo' Brenner's groovy lap steel guitar, and Fernando Perdomo's anthemic B3 organ.
Diving deeper into the song, TruckerBomb, and lead vocalist Troy Richardson takes us through a personal and emotional story of walking through the darkest days while seeking life's light once again. Feeling down and out, Troy Richardson and his accompanying background harmonies float us towards the outro while leaving us in an introspective state of mind.
Find TruckerBomb's latest single, "Light of Jesus," on all streaming platforms, and be sure to keep track of the ever-changing band as they continue to challenge the norms of modern country-rock music.
We're excited to chat with you about your recent reflective single, "Light of Jesus." What inspired the saddening yet relatable lyrical concept?
Hmm … is it saddening and relatable? I'm still trying to figure out what the song is all about myself. I had bought a Jesus nightlight to be funny. Maybe it's the Midwesterner in me. It was a cheap one and quit working. I said, "Well, we lost the light of Jesus," and thought that sounded like a song.
As I started it, it was very literal. I bought it from eBay or something, so there was no warranty. When I wrote, "we're going to get it back again, but they say we gotta pay," it was because I literally had to buy another one. I brought the demo to a songwriting group that I'm a part of and, from the feedback I got, it seemed to pull people in a lot of different ways. I went back and added a bridge, with the lyrics, "Turn on to see the world as it is," and some others to drive the point home a little more. I don't know if it worked, but at least it made the song into an ABACAB song structure. I've been at this for a while and funny enough never used that one.
What was your band's creative/recording process like when creating the instrumentals for "Light of Jesus"? What kind of feel or atmosphere were you aiming to achieve?
This was our third single produced by Fernando Perdomo at Reseda Ranch Studios and I think we've got a great groove going. First, I pre-produce the hell out of our stuff at my place, Only Child Studios. Or, I try to. I started playing when there were just 4-track recorders and stuff. It was easy to blow hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in the studio if a band wasn't prepared. The closer I can get to a final arrangement with everything, the better. There's never any chance of killing the studio magic because Fernando always comes up with great ideas on top of whatever I have. I hoped to bring a moody vibe that complemented the uncertainty in the lyrics. I think we got everything I hoped for and much more in this recording.
Regarding Troy Richardson's songwriting for "Light of Jesus," did you face any challenges when looking back into your memories to find such personal and emotional stories?
Every time I tried to be more literal with the lyrics, they got more evocative. I know full well there's plenty of stories where non-believers have a religious spirit flow through them, and they create something with deeper meaning. I'll just leave the song as it is, and people can figure that out for themselves. I don't know if it's about a nightlight anymore. I’d welcome any listener to tell me what it’s about after it’s released.
How does "Light of Jesus" contrast your band's recent releases? Does the song deliver different themes or instrumental atmospheres?
Very much so. The sort of spacey feel at the beginning was inspired by some stuff I had recorded on the demo. To make up for my limitations as a guitarist, I had reversed a single note I had played and added a bunch of reverb. I just kinda fell in love with that sound. Since our first two singles were firmly grounded in the Americana style, I wanted to branch out. The band has some diverse influences and I'd like to show them off. Plus, I really hoped people would hear the first couple of seconds and think, "What the hell is this?"
What has been your favorite music release of this year, so far?
It's kinda crazy to think the year is almost half over and I've paid so little attention to it. Towards the end of last year, I heard Jason Isbell's "Reunions" album and it may have changed my life. The lyrical themes ran so deep and so much of it spoke so directly to me, I almost wondered if he had been following me around. I was inspired to dive deeper both musically and lyrically with my own stuff after that.
There's an artist named Sierra Ferrell I really like. She may only have two official single releases, but she posts some video of her stuff online that I try to catch when I can. She's really great. I hope she has an album in the works and makes it big.
There's a guy out of Texas named Aaron McDonnell who released a single this year. I just randomly happened across him and think he's criminally underrated. He has two albums out that are just amazing. Hopefully that single was a precursor to a new full length that's coming.
I guess Aubrey Sellers' latest album was last year too. Did people not release much music this year? She's a great songwriter who blurs the lines between genres. I really enjoy her stuff.