Tyler Trotter

Tyler Trotter
Background information
Birth Name	Tyler Trotter
Born	1979
Occupation	Musician, Live Sound Engineer, Entrepreneuer
Genres	Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock, Experimental, Post-Rock, Dub
Instrument(s)	Guitar, Synthesizer, Keyboards
Years active	Early 2000s - Present
Labels	Temporary Residence Limited, Drag City
Associated acts	Watter, Om, The Phantom Family Halo, Strike City, The Children, California Guitar Trio

Tyler Trotter is a musician, live sound engineer and entrepreneuer based out of Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Active since the early 2000s with several Louisville bands, Trotter is best known for his experimental post-rock collective known as Watter, whom has been active since 2014. Along with his tenure with Watter, he has been active with Om as a multi-instrumentalist since 2019 (Though handled their live sound for years prior.).

Trotter is also known for owning several businesses in Louisville, notably The Louisville Beer Store (2009 - 2021), The Holy Grale (2010 - Present), Gralehaus (2014 - Present) and Grale Goods (2022 - Present).

Biography

Early Bands

Trotter's earliest known band would be the improvisational dub band known as The Children, who were active largely throughout the 2000s. The Leo Beat would describe the band as follows: "In their own words... The Children are a fine mix of instrumental groove music and rock music. At the root is the deep reggae bass attached to a tight danceable rhythm. Woven throughout this are layers and textures provided by hypnotic guitars, thick organ vibratos, and sax lines that you could imagine Maceo Parker playing if he was floating through Space lost in some other Universe. If you haven't been to a Children show yet, do yourself a favor and check them out. The live show is the only true way to experience and feel the power of the music."

Trotter would also be involved with a progressive rock band known as Strike City with numerous musicians in the Louisville scene. Louisville Hardcore would describe them as follows: "A dynamically apocolyptic band with huge amounts of short delay and clever crescendos. Powerfully and provokingly beautiful. They were usually pretty fucking dark and mind-bending. Unfairly compared to Slint and Rodan. Early on they covered "Prophecy Theme" by Brian Eno from the film Dune and later "Back in New York City" by Genesis from "the Lamb Lays Down on Broadway" album w/ Shelby McDowell III on vocals and Pete Petersen on organ. A free CD recorded by Kevin Ratterman was given away at the door of their last Show.".

Trotter had also ran live sound for several touring bands such as The California Guitar Trio (Whom Trotter also contributed to some studio recordings), Grails and Om. Trotter would also notably be an occasional contributor to The Phantom Family Halo.

Watter

• For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Watter.

While Watter officially formed as a band in 2013, it was initially conceived as a project between Zak Riles (Grails) and Tyler Trotter (Phantom Family Halo, California Guitar Trio) with as many guests as they could find. Two performances as “Trotter/Riles” happened in 2012 with a sound closely resembling the sound conceived later on. The first show was at The Bishop in Bloomington, Indiana (28 November alongside Sitar Outreach Ministry, Daniel Higgs and Om) and the second at Astro Black Records (29 November alongside Daniel Higgs) in Louisville, Kentucky.

At some point Britt Walford (Squirrel Bait, Maurice, The Breeders, Slint) was approached to join in on the project but instead joined full time as a member. The first performance of this lineup (Billed as “Trotter/Riles/Walford”) was at Zanzabar on 24 April 2013.

Watter's first official shows would follow in 2014. Two tours of the United States (Both with Om) were largely in support of their debut album This World released that year. The album featured fellow musicians Rachel Grimes (Hula Hoop, Rachel’s), Cheyenne Mize, Dane Waters (softcheque, Sapat), Todd Cook (Crain, Parlour, Shipping News) and Tony Levin (King Crimson) as guests.

Watter followed with a European tour in 2015 with Holy Sons and Lilacs and Champagne. Later that year a collaborative 12” was released with Will Oldham (aka Bonnie “Prince” Billy) and Van Campbell under the name “Bonnie Stillwatter”. The name of said release was The Devil is People.

On 30 August 2017 after a time of dormancy Watter announced their second album History of The Future, composed by Trotter and Riles featuring the following guest contributors: Britt Walford (Slint), Dahm Majuri Cipolla (Phantom Family Halo, Torres), Rachel Grimes (Rachel’s), Bundy K. Brown (Tortoise), and Todd Cook (Shipping News, The For Carnation). History of the Future was released on 20 October 2017 via Temporary Residence.

The band's first announced show of 2018 is an appearance at that edition of Roadburn Festival. On 1 March 2018 the band would finalize a European tour in support of History of The Future, with an initial date in Louisville at Zanzabar on 1 April (With Parlour, One Beat Off).

Om

• For more details, feel free to view the Riffipedia page on Om.

Prior to joining Om as a live musician, Trotter would be the band's live sound engineer since at least 2012. On 6 October 2019 the band would make their debut appearance in Mexico at Hipnosis. Notably the lineup was different, with Trotter performing synths and keyboards rather than Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. 2019 would see initial show announcements at DesertFest London, DesertFest Berlin and Hostsabbat along with recording sessions happening throughout the year. Ultimately 2019 would prove to be the band's most productive on the live stage in years, with alternating North American and European tours. On 9 October 2019, Drag City surprise released a double 10" of their live performance on Radio 1 BBC that May, their first release to feature the lineup of Cisneros, Amos and Trotter.

Om would play their first shows in 2021 in Australia, as part of Dark Mofo and the band's first performances in the country since 2013. The band are slated to tour Europe and North America in 2022.

Business Endeavors

Tyler Trotter, along with his partner Lori Beck, has founded several businesses in Louisville, Kentucky.

The first business the two would found would be The Louisville Beer Store on Market Street, founded in November 2009 and one of the first notable businesses in the then-developing NuLu area. The Louisville Beer Store would be a craft beer store hosting a wide variety of beers from around the world, along with beers from several local breweries. The Beer Store would close on 31 October 2020 after nearly eleven years of business, due to uncertainties from the CO-VID19 Pandemic.

The duo would follow up with opening Holy Grale in late 2010, establishing in a former Unitarian Church built in 1903. Inspired by trips to Europe, the space would host a rotating series of taps from around the world along with bottled beers, food, an upstairs loft with an entirely different tap selection and an outdoor garden known as The Gralegarten. The space is also notable for having no television of any sorts.

Gralehaus would open in 2014 on Baxter Avenue, across from the courtyard of Holy Grale and essentially two businesses "back-to-back". Gralehaus would be a breakfast eatery with a small, cozy atmosphere and a selection of rotating beers along with various coffees. The upper rooms of the space can be rented out like a hotel.

Both Holy Grale and Gralehaus would go through renovations and remodeling in 2020 and 2021 during The CO-VID19 Pandemic, officially re-opening in the Fall of 2021. The duo would also announce they purchased the space next to Holy Grale (Previously a record store and all-ages venue.) to be opened known as Grale Goods, a winery and beer store. Collectively, the three businesses would be known as The Grales.

Bands

• The Children - Drums, Dubologist (Early 2000s - ?)
• Strike City - Keyboards, Guitar, Samples (2005 - ?)
• California Guitar Trio - Live Sound, Effects (2000s)
• Watter - Keyboards, Synthesizers (2012 - Present)
• Om - Live Sound (2012 - 2019); Keyboard, Synthesizers, Guitar (2019 - Present)

Discography

• City of Ghosts - Ikiryoh (Extended Play; Engineer) (2001, Self-Released)
• The Children - Live on WFPK (Live Album) (2004, WFPK)
• The Children - Ghost Lights (Studio Album) (2004, Division 68)
• California Guitar Trio - Whitewater (Studio Album; Effects Throughout) (2004, Inside Out)
• California Guitar Trio - Echoes (Studio Album; Contributor, Mixing, Producer) (2008, Inside Out)
• California Guitar Trio - Live (Live Album; Engineer, Mixing) (2008, Self-Released)
• California Guitar Trio - Andromeda (Studio Album; Effects, Engineer) (2010, Inner Knot)
• Watter - This World (Studio Album) (2014, Temporary Residence)
• Bonnie Stillwatter - The Devil Is People (Collaborative 12") (2015, Temporary Residence)
• Watter - History of The Future (Studio Album) (2017, Temporary Residence)
• Om - BBC Radio 1 (Live Album) (2019, Drag City Records)

External Links

• The Grales
• Discogs
• The Children on Bandcamp
• Watter on Bandcamp
• BBC Radio 1 by Om on Bandcamp
• Interview via Never Nervous