Imagine a band with Social Distortion’s catchiness, Rancid-esque basslines, and a sneering anger that’s all their own. You might be listening to your new-old favorite punk outfit, Trouble Bound.
Hailing from the Hudson Valley, New York, Trouble Bound’s story began in the summer of 1999. The band released several albums between 2000 and 2013, but then went quiet…. Until putting out a single in 2023. These punks weren’t done making noise!
Now with the October 2024 release of Broken Ribs & Blood Clots, featuring new and classic material, the band is *bound* to get old fans off their middle-aged couches and make plenty of new fans along the way. Vocalist/guitarist Johnny No-Keys and bassist Dan Szeli shared some thoughts with Alternative Control about the band’s comeback…
I discovered Trouble Bound about a year ago, maybe from Instagram or picking up a copy of Outsider Magazine at a show in Connecticut. But you have albums going all the way back to 2000! Can you tell me a little about the band’s history?
Johnny No-Keys: Sure. I started the band in June of 1999. Played our first show in July. Dan saw us play at a show when we had no bass player. He said that he thought I wrote good songs and asked to join the band — that was November of 2000. We went through some different lineup changes and hiatuses over the years, but Dan and I started to play again after I was encouraged to put our albums up on streaming by Holly from Outsider Magazine in early 2022. We asked Brian to join when we decided to make a comeback after a long hiatus. Trouble Bound has played a lot with Brian’s bands over the last few decades. So it’s not like he was some stranger off the street. Haha.
How has your songwriting process and inspiration changed over nearly two and a half decades?
Johnny No-Keys: More of our different influences have bled through into our writing. Dan and I have always sort of read each other’s minds when it has come to developing and putting together songs. A very kindred spirit, almost telepathic. Brian also brings a lot to the table and is a very talented songwriter. So, we really have 3 attackers now when it comes to songwriting, not just Dan and I. The thing that makes it so kinetic is that we all have a strong core of common influences but also some very different influences individually. And they all seem to mesh well together. I think the result comes out pretty well. Unique.
Johnny No-Keys: I think when I had stopped playing, it wasn’t really my choice to stop. Things kind of just fell apart with the Unfinished Business lineup. [Editor’s note: that album was released in 2013.] I thought I could just live my life and forget about playing guitar and singing my songs. But to me this is like breathing — I HAVE TO DO IT. It felt like a giant part of me was missing for so long and I was just getting by. When Dan and myself reconnected, it was like we hadn’t lost any time. The first day we got together to hang out we talked about playing again. We wouldn’t have it any other way now, except maybe to have done it sooner.
As far as the old and new fans go… I’ve heard a lot of people say that they were glad we were back playing again. Some have even made a point to message us directly or come up to us at a show and tell us. It’s a great feeling. We have also gained a bunch of new fans that have reached out from other states and even other countries that we’ve never been to, to tell us they like what we do… Which is incredible! I’ll always be a physical media man, but I will give credit to the streaming — it has exposed us to so many different listeners around the world. Especially places we haven’t been to yet and that’s pretty damn cool. The amount of support from all over has been truly great.
To continue in that vein, local bands generally have a “scene” of other local bands they like to play with. How much of your old scene is still active? And how are you making connections with listeners that might not even have been alive when your first album came out??
Johnny No-Keys: It’s crazy, I don’t know of any that are still around. When we were back playing again and rehearsing for the comeback show we were kind of at a loss for who to ask to play it. Brian has stayed pretty connected to the music scene and has been playing in all different bands for the past two-plus decades. So we took a few of his suggestions but also just started going to local shows and finding out what bands and venues were out there and we made some great new friends and found new bands to make noise with.
Now that you mention it, it is pretty wild to realize that some of the fans we have gained were not even born when our first or even second album had come out! But I know, when I go to a show to see my favorite bands play, it’s very touching to see the younger fans into bands like Bad Religion and Rancid and Social D, etc., that I first discovered when I was a young scamp just getting into this music. So, it’s very flattering to see a younger generation that relates and identifies with our music. It really hits home.
Despite playing guitar and singing in Turkey Vulture, I’m actually a bass player. (Albeit a bit out of practice these days except when we go to record…) I love bassist Dan’s playing and to my ear, he is a big part of Trouble Bound’s sound! Dan, can talk about your gear and influences?
Dan Szeli: Lately I have been playing my Fender P/J Elite. I play a Mesa Boogie 750 Big Block. I use an MXR compressor and an Aguilar Agro overdrive pedal. In the studio we used a Ampeg SVT which was my old rig. And the first album I used my Ampeg and played my Rickenbacker 4003. My influences- Lemmy, Matt Freeman, Ramones, The Damned, Avail, The Specials, The Slackers, and the list goes on and on from reggae to soul. I try to pull from it all. And I love playing and making music with my good friends/family, Johnny and Brian and sometimes Holly back when she was our drummer. Haha.
Now that you’ve released Broken Ribs and Blood Clots, what is next for Trouble Bound?
Johnny No-Keys: We’re kicking off 2025 with our record release show for Broken Ribs & Blood Clots at Quinnz Pinz in Middletown, NY on January 4th. It is an Outsider Magazine show. We will have the CDs, limited edition cassettes, and vinyl versions of the album available at that show. There’s a bowling alley and pinball machines and stuff there so it should be a lot of fun.
The plan is to make some music videos for some of the songs off of BR&BC. We have a bunch of ideas and it’ll be a blast to do. We want to branch out and play some weekends out of state. Try to get to as many cities out of town as we can do. Possibly the UK for Rebellion Fest in August if we can make it over there this year.
And, actually when we released BR&BC to streaming on Friday October 18, we went into the recording studio that following Monday to record a whole new full-length album. We went in for a week and came out with 11 brand new songs, no covers, no re-records… ALL NEW. So we hope to get that out, at least on streaming, hopefully in the Spring 2025. Also, we got some new merch coming as well, so keep an eye out at our shows and our Bandcamp page.
Who knows… a show in Connecticut with Turkey Vulture perhaps. 😉
Ye Olde Editor thinks that’s something Connecticut’s Alternative Control readers should look out for…
Find Trouble Bound on bandcamp, Instagram, Spotify, and all the rest!
Photos courtesy of the band.
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