Cupcakes and Coasters meets: Trapper Schoepp
Weird fact about me: I'm pretty dense
about music. Give me some 2007 pop punk albums and I'm pretty good to go, but
that's as far as it gets. So when Trapper Schoepp got in touch about checking out
his concept album inspired by Bay Beach Amusement Park I didn't know where to
begin - but I knew somebody who would!
For this interview I got in touch with
my good pal Serena Cherry - coaster enthusiast and also one of Kerrang!
magazine's most influential women in rock, so you're in pretty good hands for
this one with someone who has a much more in depth grasp of music than I will
ever have. I'll hand you over...
You’ve just released an EP about an amusement park!
What inspired you to do this?
The Zippin Pippin rollercoaster at Bay Beach, which Elvis rode 8 days
before dying in 1977. I started with a bluesy song about that ride and realized
how ripe amusement park rides are with metaphor. That served these songs well.
What's that old cliche? Life is a rollercoaster. It sure is.
The record is themed to Bay Beach Amusement Park in
Wisconsin. Is the park fairly close to where you grew up? Do you have any
childhood memories of trips to Bay Beach?
I actually grew up on the other side of the state in Ellsworth, WI where
I worked every summer at the county fair. I sat outside the park all day taking
tickets and falling into this sun induced mania. You'd have the sounds and
sights of the fair in your peripheral but could never go in. That may
contribute to my romanticized view of fairs and rides. I've always just wanted
to get in. To me, Bay Beach represents that innocence and longing of childhood.
It has that small town charm, too.
You’ve named each song after a different ride in
the park “Bumper Cars” “Ferris Wheel” “Zippin Pippin”. How did you encapsulate
the experience of each ride musically?
By going on the rides, of course! I had a new song idea after each trip
to the park. "Bumper Cars" was written during the chaos of our
election cycle. There was so much political mudslinging and this line came to
me, "You can choose who to hit, not who hits you." That informed the
rest of the song. The drums have that big chugging Buddy Holly feel, which I
found appropriate for a song about a stampede of bumper cars running into each
other.
When it comes to writing lyrics inspired by an
amusement park, what was your mindset - did you ride the ride then think of the
words afterwards? Or did you have the songs written first
then match them accordingly to each ride?
Yes! The lyrics are all fairly specific to the rides. I think each ride
has a personality of its own and I tried to convey that in the music and
lyrics. "Tilt-A-Whirl" has that sweet doo-wop vibe while "Ferris
Wheel" has a trainbeat and country feel like "Wreck of the Old 97."
Let’s talk about Zippin Pippin in particular. The
Zippin Pippin at Bay Beach is a clone of the Libertyland coaster that Elvis
Presley reportedly rode for 2 hours one night, before he passed away 8
days later. Could you still feel the spirit of Rock n Roll in the Zippin Pippin
when riding it today?
If you have a deep appreciation of Elvis, I think riding it transcends a
usual rollercoaster experience. It's a piece of rock n roll royalty, even if it
is mostly a "clone." There's an appeal in having that same thrill and
rush that Elvis had in riding the coaster.
How did you capture the pace and excitement of
riding a wooden coaster in your song Zippin Pippin?
There's a
rhythm and sound to an old wooden coaster like the Zippin Pippin. I wrote the
lyrics with that in my head. I scribbled most of the song into my iPhone while
waiting in line to ride again. It came quickly with that rush
of adrenaline from the ride before.
In comparison to big parks like Six Flags, places
like Bay Beach have a classic, quaint feel to them. What differences do you
notice when riding an old wooden coaster at Bay Beach, compared to the latest
massive steel contraption in a huge amusement park? Is there more magic /
character in these small-town lakeside amusement parks?
Yeah, there's so much more character and uncertainty in a park like Bay
Beach. They strap you in so tight at those big amusement parks you can hardly
breath. I'm not saying those safety precautions aren't called for, I'm just
saying it's a more spontaneous experience at Bay Beach. The Ferris Wheel for
example is cable operated, meaning the operator has to balance the weight of
the riders just right to make it spin. There's an art to it. I went to the
massive Cedar Point amusement park this summer and spent 2 hours waiting in
line for a 2 minute ride. I know that comes with the territory but it's nothing
like what you'll experience at Bay Beach.
Lyrically, did you find Bay Beach and its rides
symbolic at all? For example, on your song ‘Ferris Wheel’ there appears to be
an underlying metaphor about wishful thinking…
Like I said, there is so much symbolism and escapism at amusement parks.
With "Ferris Wheel," it's wishing thinking and a bit of Stockholm
syndrome. You wanna ride that high of being at the top, but it can't last
forever like in the song. The boys say in unison "we wish this
never ends" and the wheel takes on this supernatural energy and can't be
stopped. The boys fall for their captor and their mother isn't all too thrilled
that her sons can't be retrieved. Like the other songs, it be interpreted in a
lot of ways.
The music itself also has wistful tones of
nostalgia, is this something you associate with amusement parks like Bay Beach?
Definitely! I've spent a lot of time with that Great
Twenty-Eightcompilation by Chuck Berry. The rides are all very much of that
time period, so it seemed obvious to go in that direction.
Would you ever consider performing your EP live at
Bay Beach Amusement Park?
We are August 8th at 7pm! It will mark the 40th anniversary of Elvis's
last ride on the Zippin Pippin. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches will be
served - Elvis's favorite!
Finally, what is your favourite rollercoaster of
all time?
THE ZIPPIN PIPPIN!
Beach Bay
Amusement Park by Trapper Schoepp is out now on Xtra Mile Recordings. https://soundcloud.com/trapper-schoepp
Thanks so much
for reading and a million thank yous to Serena who did this interview more
justice than I could ever hope to! I hope you enjoyed reading this, I
appreciate it's a little different to what I usually post on here.
Talk later xoxo,
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