Band of the Week: Trash Angels

(Credit: Courtesy of the Trash Angels)

About the band:
Judging by the schedule on their MySpace.com page, Trash Angels are the busiest band in Springfield. They don’t even take off Thanksgiving (Daily Pub) or Christmas (Cody’s South). On top of making us all look like slackers, Trash Angels are easily among the most talented bands in the area. They’re bound by neither ability nor genre – even if they get mislabeled as a straight-up blues band. 

How do they do it? I went to singer and booking agent Tiffany René for answers.

How many songs do you guys have in your repertoire?

Tiffany René: A lot! Probably close to 300 between us. Donnie (lead guitar player) is a jukebox of older songs. Blues are pretty easy to pull off because of the chord changes, as well as some rock. But there's always the person that seems to walk up and request nothing but songs you don't know. A lot of the songs that typical cover bands do, we try to stay away from. But for the right tip, hey, we're here to make money too. 

Do you consider Trash Angels Springfield's hardest working band?

TR: I don’t currently know of anyone else booked as much as we are. We play, minimum, Thursday through Saturday every week.  Some weeks we have more shows, but we’re currently booked solid through July, with about half of most months filled through the end of the year. 

Do you think there are any misconceptions about the Trash Angels?

TR: Because we play so many different clubs, we have a lot of different "styles" or "sounds" to fit into. So some people who haven't heard us in a couple years think we're strictly blues. Some think we're rock. Some think we're all covers … we're trying to go away from that. We actually have one full CD of originals, which we play on a regular basis. So no real misconceptions … just different viewpoints. 

Are there any plans for a new CD?

TR: Yep. Booking flights now to record in July in Atlanta. 

Do you guys have any unlikely influences?

TR: They're mostly unlikely I'd say. We're all from very different backgrounds, which gives us an interesting mix. Donnie may be into White Stripes, then Coldplay, The Cramps, Elliot Smith, and North Mississippi Allstars. I've got Etta James, Elton John, some of the newer girl pop and Aerosmith as my favorites. 

Trash Angels recently got some national press in Guitar Edge. How did that come about?

TR: Apparently Adam St. James (the author of the article) saw one of our websites and called. He heard the music on our site and liked the originals as well as the number of shows we do a year. His article is on "Workin' Bands". 

I’ll name a bar and you tell me your favorite thing about playing there.

Daily Pub.
TR: Bill Daily occasionally sitting in on the toy guitar and vocals. It's like home! We can get away with so much there that we can't anywhere else…musically and otherwise!

Whiskey Holler Roadhouse.

TR: Cheap beer. New ventilation system that rocks! I'm a non-smoker.

Just One More in Republic.

TR: $3.50 giant margaritas that are actually good! Great wait staff and a huge dance floor.

Springfield Brew Co.
TR: Alex, Shannon or Frank behind the bar. And Frank making awesome shirts!

Archie's.

TR:  Super comfortable chairs, good dance floor, one of the better stages around.

Fusion.

TR: Totally redone! Good food, great people, great specials!

Cody's .

TR: Beth.Great pours! And it tends to be packed!

Harlow's.

TR: They're actually there to listen to music! One of the only places they tell you to turn it up instead of down!

Roadhouse.

TR: We love this place -- the waitresses, bartendresses, great stage and always a fun crowd!

Anything else you want to add?

TR: For those that have seen us in the last year or so with a fill-in lead guitar player, Donnie Ray is now back full time. He was traveling with a casino band for 11 years, but is now focusing just on Trash Angels. It was just time that we really start putting some effort towards the originals and focusing on the growth of our band.  We played Nashville in December, have been out of state a couple times recently, and are ready to travel quite a bit more!  We're excited about what's to come!