“big bands are only big because other people support you, your show only sells out because people care enough to spend money to come see you. be grateful an humbled by that. cause if you fall off an youve jus been attached to this image of yourself, youre gonna fall fuckin hard.” — Tripp LaFrance
Self-labeled as country folks—and referred to in the press as young guys playing old music—Say Brother has danced, hollered and jangled in the Columbia music scene since 2010. In that time, they've toured the East Coast and as far West as Texas, but thankfully, they still call Columbia home. We talked with lead vocalist and guitarist, Tripp LaFrance, about how things are going and what has and hasn’t changed in the last 12 years.
JASPER: What the heck have y'all been up to?
LAFRANCE: well like erbody, the pandemic kicked our asses musically. it was great for some much needed self reflection an improvement though. i feel like erbody in the band came out the other end a lil more put together. were finally gettin our new stuff down an pickin up where we left off. feels good to be back at it.
JASPER: Has the pandemic had any impact on your music, creativity or process?
LAFRANCE: oh absolutely. like i mentioned, it obviously brought musicians to a standstill. not bein able to play live an get them wiggles out was frustratin to say the least. it has shown me not to take it for granted though. im throwin all i got at it now, instead of bein a perfectionist who releases a new song once every two years haha.
JASPER: What does life look like now vs. 2019 when you were playing Hopscotch and the Fair?
LAFRANCE: life looks...more organized an completely confusin at the same time. i sobered up an thats been great, but my trajectory is all over the fuckin place now. its near impossible to say where or what ill be in a year.
JASPER: You guys have been a band now for over 10 years – woah! How has the band changed in that time? How has Columbia and the music scene changed?
LAFRANCE: the band has had a pretty revolvin door lineup. some people left and came back, left again, came back haha. but we have what i think is the perfect squad now. weve lost people along the way, but its never felt better.
an yeah i feel the music scene has changed. its hard to put my finger on exactly how though. could also be a result of the lockdown an erbody comin back out as changed people. who knows. im in my lane.
JASPER: In these last 10 years what’s your favorite show you've played?
LAFRANCE: tanglefest 2021! that was the first real show we came back out an played. jus felt like community an love. lydia worked her ass off to put that festival together, an is doin it again this september on her farm. i seriously cannot fuckin wait. its jus a sloppy, happy, beautiful local fest full of awesome food, people, campin, an good times.
JASPER: What makes you want to play music?
LAFRANCE: its jus such a release. i swear, an i feel like most musicians would say this, the only time i feel at peace an my mind shuts the fuck up is when were on stage. everything else melts away an i am 100% in the moment soon as the first beat drops. honestly its more necessity than desire.
JASPER: What does your writing process look like?
LAFRANCE: there isnt much to it. i grab the guitar when the mood strikes, an usually run through a couple of chords an sing jibberish tryna find a melody i like. if one clicks ill record it an start to layer the rest of the instruments over it in garageband that are ever changin as the song progresses. its prolly not much different than most peoples, but damn man theres no better feelin than when you know you have somethin sick an youre jus listenin to it on repeat tweakin lil things here an there. thats a high like no other.
JASPER: Do you have a favorite lyric or song you've written, and if so, what is it?
LAFRANCE: damn thats tough. i think “comfort me” might be my favorite? i wrote it in a total hurry under pressure cause we had a video shoot booked for it before it was even written, an i kinda thrive under that pressure. theres not much time to overthink anything, an i think that jus leads to more honest writin. i tend to pick apart everything i write to the point that i hate it. which is also why weve released only a handful of songs, an ive written hundreds. its a quality of mine im always tryin to get rid of. its incredibly fuckin frustratin.
JASPER: How do you know when something is done?
LAFRANCE: i dont haha. when the rest of the band tells me so i guess. i tend to wanna go back an rework shit, but its only cause ive heard it a thousand times. once we all get together an play it at practice, we can tell if we got a banger or not pretty immediately. im blessed to have a group of brothers at my side who all have a similar ear an direction. theyre also all creative an write their own music separately so that really helps when you present somethin.
JASPER: What are you listening to these days? Are there any newer musicians local or otherwise you are into?
LAFRANCE: currently as i write these answers im listenin to sarah shook and the disarmers, theyre a sick sorta country rock an roll band thats gainin crazy traction right now. ive found myself listenin to a lot of instrumental beats these days. like the low fi almost hiphop shit that is jus raw an relaxin.
JASPER: Have you or anyone else in the band ever ridden a horse?
LAFRANCE: i did when i was younger, i think thats prolly the truth for the rest of the band as well. haha i can imagine now that experience would be painful bruh. we in our 30s if i bend down to pet my cat wrong it takes me 17 seconds to stand back up all the way straight.
JASPER: Having been playing for a while, what freaks you out most about the younger generation or encourages you and why?
LAFRANCE: the musicians arrogance. thats not jus attached to the younger generation of course, but maybe attached to the younger age we all go through. our generation remembers life before instagram an shit. but everybody is a celebrity now. there seems to be this feelin of self importance that in my opinion has no place in music. big bands are only big because other people support you, your show only sells out because people care enough to spend money to come see you. be grateful an humbled by that. cause if you fall off an youve jus been attached to this image of yourself, youre gonna fall fuckin hard. an it happens. im a human, ive struggled wit the ego bullshit of course, i was a lil shit for a while, so im definitely not hatin on anybody. jus gotta work to keep yourself in check.
but i am encouraged by how open these kids are. destroyin stigmas around mental health, bein themselves without holdin back, fightin for what they believe in. theres a lot to like when i get a glimpse into their narrative.
You can see Say Brother with The Josephines at New Brookland Tavern on August 13th and hear their music on Bandcamp.