Trash Talk

“This is one of the only things in the world that I know I’m good at,” laughs Trash Talk drummer Sam Bosson in between mouthfuls of eggs Benedict. “Like, I can’t do math. I’m not a very good writer. This is the only thing that really makes me happy.”

You might expect the four Californians to be a little downbeat. We’re sitting having breakfast in a gaudy American-style diner in London and tonight is their last show of the year. The hardcore four-piece have been running circles around the globe with their new self-released record Eyes & Nines – produced by Joby J. Ford of The Bronx – and have spent little more than a week in their native “best coast” since we last hung out in August.

“We get tired but it’s fun,” says bassist and songwriter Spencer Pollard. “We get to travel the world as four best friends who have kind of become more than best friends…” Sam chips in: “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do – be in a punk band and tour the world. It’s like the coolest thing ever.”

And tour the world they do. From California to Boston, Germany to Japan, Australia to London and everywhere in between, Trash Talk have slept on floors, pissed-off stage managers and inspired kids from every corner to lose their fucking minds. “I think it’s a release,” reflects Spencer who says his lyrics are inspired by sci-fi imagery and the end of the world, which is “cool to think about”. Sam explains: “When we get on stage it’s like everything is pushed aside… The mood changes one hundred per cent… For me, it’s kind of primal.”

At the show later, singer Lee Spielman frontflips off speakers, hangs like a bat from ceiling beams and mounts the bar while his fans fly like rockets into, onto and off of everything. “It’s like, ‘Let’s go as hard as we can,’” says Spencer. “Whatever comes out, is what comes out.” Their frenetic energy is infectious and they inspire the crowd to tap into their own latent frustrations with Lee growling, “The thing about fear is, most of us don’t feel it enough.”

They may insist “we’re not doing anything extraordinary,” but they’re definitely not your average hardcore band. As individuals they are distinctive – Spencer met Lee “jumping off beds and shit in a hotel room” and says if you met guitarist Garrett Stevenson on his own “he probably wouldn’t say anything” – and as a collective they’ve garnered an eclectic fan-base, with aficionados transgressing scenes, ages, ethnicities and gender.

“I don’t think we’d be what we are if it wasn’t for the kids who come and lose their minds with us,” says Sam about the motley crowd of supporters that turn up at each show. “When it’s a good show, we feed off that. We go crazier.” And with plans to tour Mexico, South America, China, Iceland and Southern Asia in the near future, shit is about to get a whole lot crazier indeed.

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