Credit: Ruby Sky Photography
The Steel Wheels
Billy's Lounge, Eastown
March 17, 2010, 9 p.m.
$5
billyslounge.com, (616) 459-5757
Riding 300 miles through the mountains of Virginia may seem reasonable to avid bikers, but completing the task with a number of guitars strapped to your bike and a trailer of band equipment pulled behind is another story.
That story belongs to Trent Wagler and Jay Lapp of the Virginia-based band, The Steel Wheels.
Being environmentally conscious, Wagler was aware of the toll touring on the ecosystem and joked that throwing all of their equipment onto the back of bicycles would be a healthy solution. After looking into the idea, Wagler found his "joke," wasn't too uncommon. So, as a trial run, Wagler and Lapp strapped up a special long-tail bicycle. The bike had a rack hitched on the back of one, and a trailer to the other. Once the two were setup, they took off for a tour through the terrain of Virginia.
"Spending all that energy getting [to the concert locations] made you feel like you accomplished something, but then you still had to go out and perform. It was exhausting but an overall great experience" Wagler said.
Even before Lapp and Wagler's epic adventure, The Steel Wheels has always been a band of a "go big or go home" mentality. In the early stages, Lapp's pre-Steel Wheels band had asked Wagler to open for its show. Although a strong solo musician, Wagler invited Lapp to join him onstage. It didn't take long to see the two's spark as Lapp's improvisational skills complimented Wagler's playing.
Just a mere four days after the show, Wagler and Lapp had completed their first recording together.
From there, The Steel Wheels has grown and produced multiple albums with one goal in mind: to tell stories through music that will be able to connect to other people's stories.
"Even a melody can transport you to another place" Wagler said. "That is what I really love about the work of being a musician; the ability to change a room with the stories that you tell."
Wagler's songs reveal the storyteller in him as he composes lyrics about stories from his personal life and of matters that are really important to him.
"If I'm not out there getting into fights in bars and jail I'm not going to write about being in the jailhouse. It seems dishonest to me. Instead I want to write songs that are honest and that is something we strive to do," he said.
The sound of the band also has a story of its own, as three of the four members have a background in genres of music outside the group's primary folk Americana identification. Wagler started out performing in the punk and rock genres, as did Lapp and upright bass player Brian Dickel. With this history, The Steel Wheels bring an intensity and energy to traditional music that has grasped the ability to walk the fine line between a new energy and the raw flavor of an old medium.
"We take traditional music, start there and end up with something original," Wagler said. "We play original Americana music that truly is pulling out the deep roots of the blues, old gospel music and Irish tunes, but we definitely spin it, play with it and twist it into our own new style."
As the group continues to grow in album numbers and fans, the bars of expectation are not set too high.
"Nothing seems to explode like in the movies" Wagler said. "But who knows. We'll see, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised and one of those big shots will call us up and give us a great deal that will change our lives. But I'm happy with the way things are growing in a manageable way ... and we will hopefully be in this business for a long time."
Although The Steel Wheels will not be riding bikes to its' St. Patrick's Day show at Billy's Lounge, Wagler and Lapp are planning a duo bike tour through Michigan in May.
