Ecelectic hard rock band TRASH PANDAS is a unique band, who have gone on to release not one but two full-length albums, with a lot of new music in the works currently! They are always playing shows, with the band wanting to travel, continue to write and release more music, music videos, and get themselves out there! See what the band says about all of this right below.
1. Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that?
The band name was not really planned, I just mentioned it at practice one day when the band was new because I thought it sounded kinda punky and fun. Everyone liked it so it was an easy pick.
2. Why did you want to play this genre?
That's an interesting question because we are considered different genres by different people. Some call us punk, some call us hard rock, some call us metal, etc. Human expression is so vast. There’s multitudes in every person who’s ever been on the earth, and it feels disingenuous to limit one’s self to just one genre as an outlet of this phenomena. Sometimes life is pretty and genuine and awe inspiring, sometimes it’s shit caked in shit with a side of shit. You can’t get both those sounds in one place, so we've always wanted to combine and distort genre lines.
3. Did you know each other before the band was formed?
Nope! We've had some lineup changes over the years but no one really knew each other before the band started, except for our first drummer and bassist.
4. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
We are from the Green Bay/Fox Cities area originally. We have members from Chicago area and West Bend as well now. The music scene in Green Bay has amazing fans, promoters and bands, but we would really like to see it grow more. A lot of people are really stuck on cover bands here and do not take the time to check out original, local artists. I do feel there is a stronger music scene in Appleton/Oshkosh than Green Bay, but it would also be cool to see that continue to grow. Some acts I would recommend include; The Coves, The French Irish Coalition, Radio For Pets, Errors of Humanity all from Green Bah area.
5. Who or what inspires you to write songs?
Small things. Trying to find inspiration from grand ideas and philosophies feels like looking for a drop of water in the ocean—there’s plenty there, but how will you know you’ve found the right one? Jackie states: I saw a bathroom tile once with an engraved leaf that was old and chipping at places, with color bleed and ware leaving these reflective oil pastel shades that shone off of it. There was beauty in artificial nature, in deconstruction, in the way this mass produced decoration was truly unique—but the only way I can tell you how cool those ideas are is if I tell you about the leaf first. So truthfully, inspiration can come from the tiny things, that really can only be seen a certain way by you as an individual.
6. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Our songs tend to be pretty dark, but easily relatable. For instance, Rising Up From A Downward Spiral is about closing the door on a long term relationship that was very unhealthy. Ashes to Ashes is about the fear of growing old and losing people you love along the way as they age. The helpless feeling you get watching your parents age, or when someone young has an untimely accident and passes. It's all about the fear of losing people to death.
7. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
We do write our own songs. Usually the process starts with one of our guitarists coming up with a riff or structure to a song, recording it, and then all of us listening and writing our own parts to it. We then physically practice it together and make changes as we go along to make it work fluidly for all of us.
8. What have you released so far and what can someone expect from your works?
We have released two full length albums, although the first one really doesn't feel like our album. The members were so different then, it definitely strikes as a lighter/Alternative rock feel. Our second album, Rising Up From A Downward Spiral is much more punchy, with aspects of punk and metal throughout without really conforming to either genre mold. We plan to continue to make music that has an overall heavy style to it, but with our own twist. To understand what sound we have, you just have to listen to our latest album and watch for new releases.
9. Do you have any new music in the works?
We have lots of new music in the works right now. We have a few completed songs and many partial songs that are currently being written that have not yet been recorded. We can't wait to show you!
10. How about playing shows and touring, have anything planned out?
We play shows nearly every weekend, although we are slowing that down in 2025 to actually take time to tour outside the Midwest. We've gone throughout the Midwest on several long weekend runs, but this year we are planning to go further south and even get to the west coast within the calendar year.
11. What plans do you have for the future as a band?
The future holds a lot of writing and a lot of traveling to play live shows. We will continue to record songs and music videos and take advantage of any PR we can. We are really planning to use social media more this year with things such as reels that are like short music videos to introduce people to who we are, as you saw on TikTok.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We are on all Streaming platforms including the big ones such as Spotify and Apple music. Make sure you look for Trash Pandas with an "s" at the end, as there are a few groups just called Trash Panda or The Trash Pandas these days as more and more independent artists are popping up. Typing in the album name, Rising Up From A Downward Spiral will guarantee you find the right one! You can buy merch from us by visiting trashpandasrock.com and going to the shop tab, or just coming out to a show! You can keep track of our shows by following the band on Facebook, Instagram @trash_pandas_rock or just following our website closely. You can also keep up with us on TikTok at @trash_pandas_wi
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