The Greyhounds’ July release “Primates” delivers an expansive, neo-soul sound drenched in 1970s disco and African Jazz. Recorded at songwriter and guitarist Andrew Trube’s East Austin studio, the material has embraced a new purpose in the wake of Coronavirus culture and a halt to live performing.
Trube and keyboardist Anthony Farrell worked with Los Lobos’ multi-instrumentalist and producer Steve Berlin to take a chance on co-writing material and experience a different creative process than seen on their previous albums.
“It’s definitely our heaviest record,” Trube said. “It’s the one we let go the most on. Steve was able to take us and help lift us up sonically, musically… A lot of this album was about letting go and being open to ideas.”
Due to uncertainty in the music industry, many artists have postponed release dates for material that would typically coincide with record store signings and promotional tours. When the Greyhounds were faced with the cancelation of East Coast and European dates, they decided to go ahead with the release in solidarity with the artistic community.
“If anything people need music and art to reflect on,” Trube said. “It’s made us kind of reflect and look at things that take that energy that we would use, which is a big piece of energy like touring, and be able to focus on some other things.”
Trube has seen the longest break in his career since his first performance at 14 years old. The unexpected break has lended time to songwriting and rehearsal for the material on “Primates”, which marks the 20th anniversary of the Greyhounds conception. “It’s pretty fascinating to navigate this time right now, especially as an artist. It’s kind of had the rug pulled out from under us,” Trube said.
“Everybody’s figuring out a way to keep moving forward, and I think a big renaissance is going to come out of this.” Trube found an outlet for creativity through producing live streams at Bud’s Recording Services, a historic motorcycle shop that was converted into a studio and mixed-use development space for themselves and fellow artists.
“There’s just nowhere else to perform or get your music out, you have to do it all online,” Trube said, “but you have to keep it fresh and keep new things happening.”
While venues and artists have coexisted in creating an experience for concert goers, the equipment needed to produce an atmosphere and professional sound for live streams is something many groups do not have access to. Trube added multiple cameras to their studio and quickly learned how to produce live online content for their Youtube channel Bud’s Records.
“It’s really made us look at every aspect of our performance, from making the right sounds, to what it looks like, because it’s the only way for us to reach out to our fans,” Trube said. “It’s been a real weird transition for everybody.”
Over the past two months, Bud’s Recording Services has hosted live streams for Tameca Jones, The Marshall Hood Band and The Last Jimenez, with future dates scheduled for fellow artists and non-profit organizations. Trube has seen some weather the storm by applying for unemployment assistance and finding work with restaurant delivery services.
“Everybody’s trying to find a Band Aid to be able to help the hemorrhaging a little bit,” Trube said. “The flame is still lit, you know, there’s still hope. People are going to need entertainment when we come out of this, more than ever people are going to need that energy.”
– Andrew Blanton