Nashville-based touring guitarist and in-demand session cat Guthrie Trapp will release his star-studded second album, Life After Dark, March 9. The disc features contributions from blues master Jimmy Hall, the McCrary Sisters and bluegrass legend Sam Bush, not to mention actual country-music royalty—Vince Gill and Paul Franklin.
“I’m super fortunate to be able to make music with people of this caliber—and even more grateful to call them my friends," Trapp says. "I know it will always be a fun hang as well as great music. That energy translates directly to the music. If you put on ‘Got My Mojo Working' while you're in the car, you’re probably going to start driving faster.”
Besides rollicking covers of “Got My Mojo Working” (the blues staple made famous by Muddy Waters) and George Jones' “You’re Still on My Mind” (which features Gill), the album includes six original tunes, including “Commodity,” a mighty instrumental jam piece that shows why Trapp is tapped—time and time again—to play on A-list sessions. You can check out “Commodity” below.
“I play by feel and by ear, and I believe the music on Life After Dark reflects that," Trapp says. "My playing has always been very 'shoot from the hip' and cliffhanging. Music is meant to be taken extremely seriously without being overthought; I think good music has a life to it that you can feel and be truly moved by. We’ve recorded an album that sounds spontaneous because we recorded it in the studio like a live performance. Everybody was in there playing all at once.”
Trapp earned his Music City stripes in his early 20s performing nightly at Robert’s Western World on Nashville’s Lower Broadway. Robert’s, a honky-tonk in the shadow of the Ryman Auditorium, has—for ages—served as a launching pad for singers and musicians.
Since arriving in Nashville in 2002, Trapp has worked with scores of top artists, including Garth Brooks, George Jones, John Oates, Steve Cropper, Alison Krauss, Earl Scruggs, Phish's Mike Gordon and Dobro master Jerry Douglas. And that's just scratching the surface.
For more about Trapp and Life After Dark, visit guthrietrapp.com.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
