Biography
The strangest stories are always the true ones. Eight years ago, Kevin Palmer (vox, guitar) and Jason Singleton (drums) started making music together in Montgomery, Alabama. Montgomery has no track record whatsoever for cultural productivity in American history, and to hear Trust Company’s music today is to understand the desperate frustration born out of eight years of toiling in abject obscurity. Aching melodies soar over an even mix of chord changes and riffing reminiscent of the Deftones, Tool, Sunny Day Real Estate, and even Led Zeppelin. Backed by a velvet wall of saturated guitars, heavy-handed drumming, and a bottomless low-end, Kevin‘s longing vocals boil from the soft and breathy into the occasionally voracious.
Over the years, Josh Moates joined in on bass and James Fukai was added on guitar. During this time, the band was called 41down, and after years on the road laboring from Houston to Orlando and selling through their first two self-released albums, 41down finally achieved the attention of record label DCide. After witnessing the band and their rabid following during a November, 2000, performance on an opening slot in Birmingham, AL, DCide jumped at the chance to uncover this dusty diamond. The band was hustled into the studio with producers Jeff Blando (guitarist for Slaughter, Saigon Kick) and Will Hunt (drummer for Skrape, Tommy Lee) by the following February, only 2 days after a record deal was reached. The finished album, “True Parallels”, was to be released in January of 2002, but the band’s story began accelerating at a blistering pace.
Radio stations in Florida and Georgia picked up tracks from the band’s unreleased CD and began playing them in August, 2001. Listeners responded, and the band was added to WTKX’s radio festival in Pensacola with the likes of Godsmack. This caught the attention of major labels, and when they got hold of the music the feeding frenzy began. In the meantime, 41down had the meager tour support of an indie label, and collectively pooled their resources and debts to buy a van and trailer so as to tour full time. Kevin sold his home, Josh sold his jeep, and whatever the 4 members couldn’t fit in the van was dropped off in the homes of parents. Whenever opportunity has presented itself, the band has always made every possible sacrifice to move their collective career forward.
By October of 2001, the game was on. In a three week period in the middle of their first national tour, the band made three separate trips to New York and two more to LA in order to showcase for major labels. During this time, they hooked up with manager Jeff Rabhan (Michelle Branch) at The Firm, and Jeff was instrumental in securing a deal with Jordan Schur at Geffen. In keeping with their breakneck speed, the band was in the studio with Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Eve 6, Lit) by the end of November, remaking their debut album for Geffen. As the rough mixes reveal, Don and the band worked together beautifully, and we eagerly await Andy Wallace’s (Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine) mixes.
Reborn under the name Trust Company, the band is already out on tour with Puddle Of Mudd, only a year after signing with DCide and less than 6 months after moving to Geffen. Nothing is supposed to happen this quickly in the music business, but few bands bring a work ethic and a willingness to risk everything in order to succeed. By bringing this attitude to the table, the gracious members of Trust Company inspire the people around them to do the same.
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