Bio: A native of Washington, DC, Lissy Trullie grew up a shy kid, splitting time between parents. From 3 years on – that is to say as far into the past as ... (more)
Bio: A native of Washington, DC, Lissy Trullie grew up a shy kid, splitting time between parents. From 3 years on – that is to say as far into the past as she can delve into her memories – she spent early summer mornings glued to her dad’s expansive record collection as he schooled her in the ways of Motown, Surf Rock, Folk, Soul, and Classical. She’d take cassettes and make mix tapes to leave the house with, a habit that in her teenaged years fueled and developed her insatiable appetite for discovering new music, an affliction she describes as “lethal.” Alternately she would sit afternoons running a needle over her mom’s copy of Tommy till it was unplayable. Her musical journey developed further as an early teen, when she spent her time running around DC going to see the punk bands that thrived in the city.
Listing to music growing up, it wasn’t long before Trullie started making some of her own. It was at the age of 10 that she began playing instruments, and she started with the xylophone no less. But at 11, following years of pleading with her parents for one, she picked up guitar and truly found her calling. Though she began playing in bands and writing songs for friends to sing at the age of 14, it would be many years before she started performing her own material. The shy kid still held fast, content to let others stand out front.
In high school she and her mother moved to New York, where Lissy began to soak up the history and atmosphere of the city, learning from the people and experiences she encountered. Like most New Yorkers, she held a lot of odd jobs to get by. They spanned the gamut from dish washing and janitorial work early on, to the “only in New York” story of being scouted randomly on the street, leading to a very brief stint at professional modeling during College. Most recently the occasional DJ gig and odd freelance job helped her earn cash as she dedicated all of her spare energy and time towards advancing her career as a musician.
Performing her own material however was not a natural instinct for the bashful young lady. It took a friend to sit her down and convince Trullie that she herself should be singing the songs she was writing for other people. Though she had been slightly embarrassed about her voice from a young age because of its unique tenor, Trullie found that many enjoyed listening to her sing. It was time to kick the shy kid to the side and get up on stage. As an art school graduate who had friends that mostly worked in the visual and fine arts, she found herself on the outside looking in when it came to the music scene. At the start it made it hard for her to find other musicians who were serious about being in a band with her. She’d play solo acoustic shows or cobble together a group of friends who would back her up for a couple of gigs here and there, but getting a solid unit working was a battle to say the least, and kept her from gaining any momentum in the beginning.
Constant persistence eventually paid off though, and through mutual acquaintances she met some talented musicians that would help her finish putting together the pieces. Finally it all began to click. The songs that Lissy Trullie had been writing were finding a new life in front of live audiences. Towards the second half of 2008 it was apparent the band had something going for them. Playing gigs on a regular basis around New York City, their labors were bearing fruit in the form of a steadily growing fan base. With those same fans requesting music to take home with them, the next step was clear. It was time to put the songs down on tape for a release.
The main question would be how. Having entertained a few different paths, they decided to put out their first release via an upstart indie label out of Brooklyn called American Myth. The move allowed them to retain great control of their own development and recording early on, a step they considered vital to the natural growth of the band and their fledgling fan base. In December of ’08 they spent a few run and gun marathon weekend sessions recording and self-producing the six songs that would make up the Self-Taught Learner EP. For Trullie it was a labor of love a few years in the making. Finally she and the band had something they could present to the fans and critics alike.
In 2009 they came out of the gates running, embarking upon their first national tour as they worked towards the release of the EP in February. Encouragingly their hard work was met with praise across the board as Self-Taught Learner garnered positive reactions from the likes of Spin, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Stereogum and many others. On February 11th they played to a sold-out crowd at the Mercury Lounge, where a visibly emotional Lissy Trullie thanked the fans and the people who’d supported herself and the band up to that point
Over the next months there have been some exciting developments for Lissy Trullie. They have gone on further national tours of the United States, and spent time playing gigs in Europe. This summer they are spending time in the studio recording their debut full length to be released early 2010 on Downtown Records, and have plans to tour the UK and US in the fall.
(less)
