As I tried to find my way to the rooftop of the Schmidt Artists Lofts in St. Paul, I ran into my good friend, Chelsea, whom I hadn’t seen in almost a month. She looked at me flustered and said “I need a hug”. As we hugged, I tried to find out what was going on. I was there for a rooftop EP release party for her band, but The Von Tramps’ plans abruptly changed when the building’s security informed them that they couldn’t play music on the roof. Of course they waited to pass that information along as soon as everything was set up. That’s the nature of the industry right? Impromptu changes. Just minutes before the show was scheduled to start, we had to move everything.
Flash forward 30 minutes later. All the gear and decorations are set up in the new location. Thanks to the team effort of all the friends and family, everything was moved down seven floors in a timely manner. The Von Tramps were ready to start their acoustic performance of their very first EP.
This wasn’t your typical release show at a venue with multiple bands. It was an intimate, exclusive, acoustic show, where only the band’s closest friends and family were invited. I immediately felt like I was a part of something just as amazing as Tegan and Sara’s Grammy-nominated “Get Along”, which was an intimate, acoustic showcase of their 12 years of work.
Back on Halloween of 2015, The Von Tramps played their first show as a Misfits cover band, just shortly after meeting each other on Craigslist.
Fittingly, they opened up with “Hybrid Moments” by The Misfits. They then dove into playing every song on their EP. But what really drew the crowd in, was the banter in-between each song. The girls took time to share all the crazy stories of how the band came to be and then opened the floor up for questions.
The EP titled “Fast and Loose” fits the band perfectly. Back in October, they didn’t hesitate to become full-time bandmates. Suitably, the title track was written in about 30 minutes. The pink and black theme of the album came from the front-woman’s compulsive habit to chew bubble gum while working on their music. After being surrounded by empty, pink bubble gum wrappers, they had the idea to make that the theme of the album.
To close out the party, the girls played their personalized rendition of “So Long, Farewell” from the Sound of Music. Get it? The Von TRAMPS? All four members have a weird obsession with the Sound of Music. Imagine four punk chicks sitting on a couch together, drinking beer and reciting word for word, the whole movie. Sounds like an awesome night in my book.
All in all, The Von Tramps are the funniest and most charming all-girl punk band around.
Check out their Midwest tour. Oh yeah, and listen to their EP! So long, farewell.
https://www.facebook.com/TheVonTramps
Photos by: ylimephotography
MIDWEST MUSIC COLLECTIVE 