Eve J. Boyd - Terrestrial Troubadours & Dogma Dance Off Interview
You're originally from Murfreesboro, correct? What was your childhood like growing up? When did you first begin to fall in love with music and what was it that initially fascinated you about it, more specifically the guitar? Was music relevant around your household growing up? What would you and your friends do for fun growing up?
Eve of the Troubadours: Oh yeah Bucket City, USA is where I was born and raised. Murfreesboro is simple and suburban and these days blown-out. There wasn’t much to do but play in the woods and get into trouble. When our friends got wheels we started driving up to Nashville to catch the garage wave that was prominent in the 2010s. We got wrapped up in all of those bands like Jeff the Brotherhood, Ranch Ghost, Savoy Motel and all that. It was a really exciting time to be a teenager. Just as important, Murfreesboro has a dedicated and crusty DIY scene. It’s all house shows baby. Borofondo was a yearly event where all the punks would bike, scooter, and skateboard across town for a weekend catching shows at different houses on this mega loop. Between these two heavy scenes I quickly got into playing guitar and drums to party and spend my creative energy. As for how I got into guitar specifically, I really didn’t start playing until I was 16. I was a marching band kid, so I was, (and still am), playing the trumpet. Like most Middle Tennessee homes, we had a beater acoustic that I started learning on with my friend Ben Arroyo. My musical trajectory changed when I bought a seafoam green Epiphone Les Paul from a pawn shop in hopes to make weird electric music like the Flaming Lips or any of those regional Tennessee bands I would see live. I can’t say that the guitar is an instrument I’m specifically fond of. I see it as a tool to compose, and I happen to come from a background where it’s the most accessible instrument for that.
When and where did you see your first concert and what kind of impact did that leave on you? Who were some of your earliest influences?
Eve of the Troubadours: My first show (that wasn’t seeing a church group or c-list pop country singer at a NASCAR rally) was at a short lived Murfreesboro DIY space called TFG On the Square. It was the inaugural show, I believe, and there must have been 6+ grindcore/crust punk bands playing the most destructive music I had heard at that point. People were kicking holes in the wall in thistiny armpit of a venue. I was floored.
I understand that you started your own music festival called Dogma. Can you tell me about that and what initially inspired you to launch this? What goes into starting/funding/billing and handling something like that?
Eve of the Troubadours: Yes, the beloved Dogma Dance Off. It just started off as a way to get bands to play and raise money for a soup kitchen in town. I thought it was a good way to spend my energy. It started off as a one day festival at this lovely outdoor space at the Murfreesboro Little Theater (rest in peace) and blossomed into a 3-day traveling carnival that would stretch down I24 from Nashville, Murfreesboro, and Chattanooga raising money for whatever charity we decided to partner with in that town. Dogma, to me, often felt like part art festival, part ren-fair. It attracted all sorts of strange characters. My main role in making something like that happen is the administration work. When you organize an event like this, the fun tasks such as theming, stage design, and line-up get given to other members. The one year we had a budget we got a loan from Mark Making to rent venues and pay bands and in the end doubled that money which was a good haul for the charities. The pandemic halted us big-time though. I still have Dogma in my heart and back pocket, but have no active plans for one this year. It ought to happen though. I want to jump ahead a bit to you moving to Chattanooga, TN (where we first met).
How did you end up here exactly? You were initially Ethan Terrestrial, correct? Walk me through the various incarnations of the Terrestrial theme. How did you meet your bandmates and was that initially chemistry like when first getting together to jam/rehearse?
Eve of the Troubadours: I moved here for school, but stayed for the people, scenery, weather, cost of living, the creek, and art scene. The terrestrial theme has certainly followed my musical output from the beginning. I started off playing solo shows as Ethan Terrestrial because I knew no one to play with when I moved. My dear friend Julia Hill and I found each other and connected over our shared love for the Nashville bands we grew up on. We went from playing as Duo De Terrestrial to forming the infamous Planet Terrestrial. Planet Terrestrial was a blast to play because we were after a cosmic and heavy strand of stripped-back rock’n’roll. We had dumb bits like having an imposter band take the stage and then out of the back the REAL Planet Terrestrial, adorned in army helmets and coats, would usurp the stage from the heel group of Planet villains. The chemistry between myself, Julia Hill, Caleb Boese, and eventually Ben Arroyo was playful and sweet. It wasn’t about taking something as silly as playing in a rock'n'roll band too seriously, which has certainly stuck to the Troubadours. The Troubadour era is when we started playing with our friends Samcha, Hannah Rae, and more recently Meagan Tyler and Danny Foster. Throughout this time I was still referred to as Ethan Terrestrial for obvious reasons, but as I started my transition I realized I couldn’t be some character anymore. I made an intentional point of keeping my “artistic output” name, Eve Jean Boyd, the same as my pedestrian name. It’s not easy having a trail of names follow me around, but it has been worth shedding to live an honest life that I hope is clearly read in my writing.
When and where did you guys play your very first gig together and what was that experience like? I know you're very influenced by the great Gram Parsons/Flying Burrito Bros, Blaze Foley and TVZ. What is it about the guys that resonates with you the most? So much it's truly impacted your music and your approach to songwriting.
Eve of the Troubadours: Our first gig as Terrestrial Troubadours took place at Exile Off Main Street (the scene for our studio album artwork) during the first Main-By-24 festival back from the pandemic. That day was wild. Playing that realm of music felt drastically different from the rock n’ roll I was used to. I fell in love when I noticed the difference in how the audience celebrated and centered the show on themselves. The way people danced and kissed on each other, and how they felt more inclined to yell stuff at us or carry on joyously whether we were playing or not. People love to drink and party to this music. I enjoy the bacchanal aspect of music and the Troubadours seem to create a good ambiance for that. Those writers you mentioned are a few of the folks who got me listening to songwriters as poets and composers. Those guys especially were on the cosmic hunt for those perfect songs that are waiting to be found and fished out. Something inside me flipped and now I want to write songs more than riffs. It’s a shame really.
Tell me about writing and recording the songs that are featured on the first TT’s release “Live At Exile”. How did you approach some of the tracks such as “Momma Nantucket”, “Mexican Gold” and “Slide Off Of Your Satin Sheets”? What is the band’s approach to writing and creating music?
Eve of the Troubadours: I thought it would be cool to record our first ever set as the Troubadours, and it turned out good enough to release as a live album. Our approach was, then and now, all by intuition and often naivete. We pick songs that are fun and go from there. For covers we just play a song someone brings to the table and it naturally gets that terrestrial sheen. When it comes to originals, I have tended to write most of the songs but the arrangements will easily get a makeover, while the solos and individual parts are player preference. We often play songs in different keys, at different tempos, with different singers, and a new attitude depending on where our lives are that week / month.
The band released their debut studio album, “Six Pack Of Hits” in ‘22. Tell me about writing and recording that record at Strangers Branch Studios in Nashville, TN. What was that experience like in the studio compared to recording a live set in front of an audience?
Eve of the Troubadours: Recording at Strangers Branch was a survival situation. We turned our beloved pal Tennessee Juba’s east Nashville shotgun shack into a makeshift reel-to-reel studio with the help of Johnny Hopson. After playing dollar beer night enough at Cherry Street Tavern plus some other gigs in Chattanooga and Red Bank, we had enough money for a record. So we went in to cut our originals. We all slept there, either on the floor, where we’d be tracking the next day, or outside on a hammock. In the mornings Samcha would cook a big breakfast and then we’d play all day, drinking beer and such. In the evenings Juba would grill, maybe have people over and then we’d keep at it. There was certainly some chaos magic flowing through the project. Playing alone in a studio is certainly different from the rush of playing at a rowdy bar. We still kept to tracking our songs live because the feelings and conversation we create in these songs happen best together instead of separate. Playing these songs tucked away together gave our record an introspective gaze I don’t think is intuitive at a gig. More candle lit than spilt beer.
You're a very dedicated artist and the few years I’ve known you, you have a strong desire to create and to not let things knock you out of focus. What have you been up to more recently? Anything new on the horizon for 2023? Is there anything else you would like to further share with the readers?
Eve of the Troubadours: Thank you Dakota, that's sweet to say! All in all I’m just trying to stay sane, and the best way I’ve found is focusing on my friendships and playing music, which these days is primarily the Troubadours. So we’re gearing up for ‘Season 2,’ if you will, with more songs, more members, more shows, and another record. I’m not one to give advice, so I just wanna thank all my friends I’ve made going down this road. It’s strange out here and ya’ll keep me alright.
With love,
Eve
