Interview: Trophy Jump
What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?
I guess music itself got us into music. We have picked up instruments really early on, and we have been playing in bands since we were kids.
On the second part of the question - actually, the majority of the band earns its bread working our 9 to 5s, where we are three computer guys and one electrical engineer currently in doctorate degree studies (hi Dominik). Only our drummer Cimi is trying to make a living just by being a musician.
We dream of being able to earn enough for a living just by being musicians and doing what we like the most and we hope our dreams will once come true.
What do you like to do when you're not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?
Dominik records and mixes a lot of music but lately he also indulges in video editing. Antun books tours, organizes a lot of stuff, manages some bands and plays in some other bands himself too, as well as Cimi.Tvrtko has a youtube channel where he and our dear friend Denis absolutely own this online game called Geoguessr and it is crazy fun. And I, Marko, currently really enjoy cooking, I take care of my million plants and I love nerdy stuff like board games. But then, I think we all do.
I think that not having enough time to create and play music as much as we would like to influences our creativity more than the stuff which we actually spend the most of our time on. Nevertheless, anything we do always influences our music in some way.
How long has your band been around?
Since the summer of 2014.
Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?
We are a band from Zagreb, Croatia. We love our hometown but I wouldn't say it really influenced our music, as in our sound. We do have a song about our hometown called "Remete Hills", though...
What I think it did influence is our DIY spirit and our love for good music and good people.
How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you.
I don't remember. It could be a freeze frame of a winner jumping, holding his trophy up in the air. It could also be a sick skateboard trick. Who knows?
What it means to me is best buddies and joy!
Tell me about the best and worst shows you have played.
Most of the shows we have played were great so I really can't choose between them. I like when shows go crazy and people start hanging from the pipes on the ceiling and shit like that, and that stuff did happen a couple of times so that was awesome.
Worst shows are the ones where the audience are too stiff and do not move out of their place the whole show. Or they drink too much beer and yell some redneck shit at you in between the songs. That also happened!
Tell me about your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you haven't already?
I don't think we have "a" favorite venue, at least not me personally. There are some local places we like. We still haven't been to a lot of European countries, as well as the US so that's a lot of area yet to cover.
If you could play any show with any lineup who would be on the ticket?
Snoop Dogg.
What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band?
No advice, just rock and roll.
If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?
Spend your time wisely. Write honestly. Don't worry so much. Have fun. Book a tour ASAP.
Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?
Honestly, I don't know. I like the songs off of our album "feels". I think that "Sharing is scary" is a really nice closer and a wrap-up of the whole LP. There are also some not yet released songs that I like very much.
Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?
Usually the newest songs are the ones that we enjoy playing the most at any given moment. Cimi loves
playing "Wake up, fool" so we have to play it every gig. For the most requested one, I am not sure. Probably also "Wake up, fool" haha.
What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?
Sometimes the riffs just happen while jamming, other times someone brings a riff or an idea and then we build on top of it. But most of the time, Antun already has a blueprint for the whole song as he is hyperproductive and then, when we all get together, we try to arrange it as a band and add our own personal flavour to it.
What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?
I guess we just want to send our vibes across the globe and see if someone vibes on the same frequency level as us. It makes us happy to hear people say they dig our music. If someone can relate to our songs and feel something while listening to them, that is the best reward for our work.
Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?
Almost never. Sometimes we argue about random shit, but when it comes to important stuff and questions, we basically function as a single entity, we mostly agree on everything.
What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that's coming up?
"feels" is out 22/02/2022, listen to it!
A small break from recording to tour a bit. We will be playing our first Copenhagen show at the beginning of April along with some other EU dates and a local album promo gig in the same month.
In June we're playing Bristol Booze Cruise along with a few other UK dates.
And in October it's finally time to go on a US tour.
After that, it is back to the studio to record some new stuff :)
**Please consider using the following links in the feature**
Pre-save the album here: https://bfan.link/feels-1
Pre-order the album using the links below:
Nasty Cut Records (EU):
https://nastycutrecords.bandcamp.com/
We’re Trying Records (US):
https://www.weretryingrecords.com/
Horn & Hoof Records (UK):
https://hornhoofrecords.bandcamp.com/
Trophy Jump’s Bandcamp: