The cultural heritage of Texas is impossible to ignore, especially if
you happen to call it home. “There’s a cowboy fantasy that everybody has
here,” muses Sam Bryant, bassist with Austin trio, Crypt Trip. “It’s such an
easy thing to latch onto, because there’s such a broad group of people who
claim that aesthetic. We see ourselves in that too, because it’s what
we’ve been surrounded by. A lot of people are really proud of
being from Texas, not least for its musical history.”
Formed in Dallas in 2013, Crypt Trip are the latest addition
to a vast and varied legacy that includes everyone from Buddy
Holly, T-Bone Walker and Willie Nelson to Doug Sahm, ZZ Top
and Butthole Surfers. New album Haze County is a battery of raw
eclecticism, sparking out into heavy psychedelia, country blues,
riffy groove-rock and prog. It’s diligently styled too, powered by
the kind of melodic song structures and blasted jams that recall
a vintage era of double denim and buckskin jackets. “We like to
keep ourselves spread out in terms of where influences go,” says
singer/guitarist Ryan Lee. “We all look up to The James Gang, but
we also like jazz and the country rock of The Byrds and The Flying
Burrito Brothers. And then there’s Homer, a pretty obscure band
from San Antonio whose 1970 album, Grown In U.S.A., played
a huge part in what we set out to accomplish with Haze County.Some of it’s progressive, some parts have steel guitar and there’s a balance
between soft and heavy. I just love dynamics.”
After a self-titled debut in 2014, Crypt Trip began to sharpen their
sound with last year’s Rootstock. The album marked the arrival of drummer
Cameron Martin, whom Lee and Bryant had met after making the journey
south from Dallas. Haze County is a different beast again. “We were still
building that chemistry with Cameron when we wrote Rootstock,” explains
Bryant, who started out in bands with Lee while both were at high school.
“After we’d taken a break and played more shows, we had this new
mentality going into Haze County. We’d moved out to live in a cow
farm on the outskirts of Austin and discovered some inspiring new
music that allowed us to pump that album out. It all happened so
fluidly, because we had time to get into a different headspace.”
More recently, Lee and Bryant returned from a tour as part
of Roky Erickson’s backing band. The one-time 13th Floor
Elevators chief is another homegrown legend that serves as both
an inspiration and, at least in his early days, spiritual guide. “Roky
was unique back in the 60s, but still had this Texan tinge to him,”
Bryant says. “On stage, he was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt
with boots. He never really gave a fuck about being a rock’n’roller
and I guess that’s what we relate to the most. We want to be
authentic in what we’re doing. It’s about letting people know
exactly who we are.” RHHaze County is out on March 8 via Heavy Psych Sounds.The Texan trio found their heavy, psychedelic
mojo after moving out to live on a cow farm...Crypt Trip
German heavy psych
outfit Epitaph had
a major impact. “They
mix so many influences
on Outside The Law,”
offers Bryant. “They
sound Southern with
elements of proggy
stuff. But then they
have straight-up,
thoughtful songwriting
with amazing vocals.
They’re one of the
bands I’ve thought of as
the full package.”FOR FANS OF...“We all look up to The James Gang, but we also like
jazz and The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers.”
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