Interview with Jon Strader of No Trigger

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Seeing local bands play around town and being involved with skateboarding at a young age totally got me into the music scene. If it wasn’t for music, I might be either playing soccer still or possibly skateboarding.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Chill. Kayak. Chill some more. Definitely helps creatively when your mind is at a clear spot where you can think and write music how it really comes to you in those moments.

How long has your band been around?

No Trigger has been around since 2000.. so we’re into about 22 years as a band currently. Wow.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

No Trigger is mainly from Worcester Ma. We all grew up together in the Worcester County area. Our drummer jono resides in Flint, Michigan.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

No Trigger and the name were originally conceived from our guitarist Mike “Pippen” and singer Tom “Teach”. We mainly associate the name with having a “no catalyst” reasoning pertaining to certain topics we would typically write about.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Some of the earlier show moments were when we were out with the Aquabats.. Their shows are just pure entertainment. We even got to dress up as some of the stage characters / villains and be a part of the show.

Groezrock 2011 in Meerhout Belgium was a pretty gnarly festival show for us as well. We recently had a YouTuber diagnose every single stage diver with a particular name and title. Worth checking out.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

To give some hometown love here, we always enjoy when we get to play Ralph’s. It’s a tiny street car bar with a venue attached to it and all being from the worcester area, it just holds a special place in the no trigger camp. It’s seldom when we play it but it’s insanity when we do.

Red Rocks would be sick af!

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

Check out our upcoming gig in our hometown of Worcester. Punk In Drublic. Couple bands on the bill. Descendents & NOFX. & No Trigger. It’s actually happening.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

Enjoy the music you create. Tour with buds. And just never break up. It’s how we did it! #vacationcore

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

We’ve noticed that having more time with the writing process and developing these new songs was what really made the album what it is. It gave us more of a “completion” feeling once the songs were done. There’s a lot of fine tuning that can happen when you have the time. When it comes to creating your art with music, time and being able to listen back and make edits here and there can play a vital role with the outcome of the finished product.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

The Dr. has songs that were all a collaboration of each members influences and ideas over the writing process. One of the songs I had fun concocting would be Take Your Time. I envisioned something a little different than what NT was used to and the outcome became one of the punkest songs ever written.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

Our album Canyoneer has been with us for like 16 years now… we always get the best reactions and still love playing songs off that album. We wrote those songs basically as teenagers. It’s wild. Neon National Park holds up real well.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Typically the way no trigger used to operate would be writing a riff, putting together the song, and off to Teach to put the vocals to it. We still can develop some solid songs by doing it this way, but Teach has also stepped into a world of writing songs start to finish on all instruments as well as the lyrics now. It’s refreshing.

You can say we indulge in the finer things of life such as the acid lord and some WEED. Also, current affairs and real life situations would be inspired lyrically.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Paying attention to what is actually happening all around us. Teach has a way of getting a message across that’s actually concerning and needs to be spoken about.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

Honestly. We’ve been at this for so long now, we just all get it and know what the band wants and needs and that’s that. Nothing matters.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We’ll be playing Riot Fest in Chicago IL on Sept 17th. Punk in Drublic w/ descendents & nofx in Worcester MA on Sept 24th, and we’ll be in Brooklyn NY with the Lawrence Arms on Sept 30th.

Dr. Album is out everywhere 8/26/22 !!

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

Our Instagram is loaded with all the things. @notrigger