Eric
Continued from page 10
putting that white metal label on us.
Actually I think it kind of hurt more than
it helped in a way. They should have just
left us alone and let everybody make up
their own mind what they were listening
to. We were just exploring our lives, we
weren't trying to save anybody or anything.
IE: What was the vibe like with Trouble
after Simple Mind Condition? Did you
leave on a sour note in 2008?
Eric Wagner: It was the same kind of
thing as when I left before in the late '90s.
I just didn't feel like we were growing
anymore as songwriters. It almost felt
sometimes we were doing it because we
had to; make another record, go on tour,
play those same songs. I always like trying new things, exploring news things
and going forward. So after Simple Mind
Condition and that tour, I just felt like,
‘Are we really going anywhere?' I had a
bunch of songs I was working on and
wanted to do my own thing again and
that's when I started working on the
Blackfinger record. Then The Skull came
about. We never tried to write in a certain
way, or at least I didn't; whatever comes
out comes out. And now it's 2014, not
1984-85 anymore. Sometimes Trouble got
stuck in that little box where we had to be
Trouble. The Skull is not in that (box), we
01•2015
can do whatever we want .
IE: I believe the majority of longtime
Trouble fans will be more than pleased
with For Those Which Are Asleep.
Eric Wagner: I think it helped to go out
and play those first two records to get
back into who we were. I don't regret
anything we (Trouble) did. I like all the
albums equally and they're all a little bit
different. By going out and playing those
first two albums, it kind of brought us
(The Skull) back to our roots. We just
went in and played. The thing I like
about this record is that everybody contributed. It made for a nice little variety
on there. Even though there's a lot of different people, we sound like a band. And
it was really on purpose, that's just who
we are.
14 illinoisentertainer.com january 2015
Kelley Simms
Trouble, circa 1985