There’s a well-known saying that can make a lot of bands uncomfortable while embarking upon their second album: Musicians have their entire lives to write their debut, and a year to complete the follow-up. But in the case of Company of Thieves, the Chicago outfit couldn’t wait to record its sophomore full-length, Running From A Gamble. Even though Company of Thieves’ famously feverish fanbase is exponentially larger than it was when the band released its first album, the only pressure felt during the making of Running From A Gamble was due to the explosive nature of the songs themselves. And the tremendous results are a testament to how far the band has come in such a short period of time.

The past few years have been busy and fruitful for Company of Thieves, which is now rounded out by drummer Chris Faller. Founded in their teens, Company of Thieves’ members already conduct themselves like veterans, even though they’re still just in their mid-20s. The band’s first record, Ordinary Riches, originally issued independently in 2007, was re-released in early 2009 by Wind-up Records and debuted at #5 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The band toured nonstop, hitting the road with groups like Annuals, OK Go, and The Hold Steady, and along the way played Lollapalooza, Last Call With Carson Daly, and Live From Daryl’s House.

When the time came to start writing the new record, Walloch and Genevieve found that ideas were already flowing out of them. Inspired by their diverse influences—including The Beatles, Billie Holliday, Fiona Apple, Radiohead, Elliott Smith, and Nirvana—they inject their triumphant, catchy music with their own energy and soul, making for a deeply dynamic sound that can turn from sweet to searing on a dime. All the time spent on the road not only gave them plenty of opportunities to play around with melodies and chords in the van, hotel rooms, and backstage, it offered a new perspective on America and, ultimately, life in general. That’s when Genevieve began to form the narrative that drives Running From A Gamble, a 13-song coming-of-age story about a girl who, if you listen closely, sounds like she has a lot in common with her creator.

Having recorded in L.A., toured the country numerous times, and played overseas, the members of Company of Thieves are certainly a worldly bunch. But they also know where they came from and aren’t about to lose sight of what got them here.

With a line up that includes musicians from bands as varied as URGEHAL, PANTHEON I, UNTIME, MELCH, HALLUCINATIONS, POWERSWORD and SARKOM, TROLLFEST’s members bring with them not only a wealth of experience and the skill to make use of instruments like the accordion, the banjo and the saxophone, but also a sense of diversity that allows the band to create a sound that is distinctly its own.  Whilst “True Norwegian Balkan Metal” goes some way towards describing the TROLLFEST sound - hinting as it does at the extreme end of metal, with a good pinch of local traditional folk - it doesn’t really go the whole way towards capturing the sense of fun and sheer exuberance with which the band tackles everything it does, whether it involves playing in the studio or performing live.  

Formed in 2004, in Oslo, Norway, when a bunch of musicians became bored with the selection of party music that was available to them, and, helped along by the consumption of large quantities of alcohol, the soon-to-be members of TrollfesT decided to take matters into their own hands. One website and six songs later, a German label, which at the time was called Solistium, recognised the potential in the madness and got in touch. With the immortal words “what the heck, let’s give it a go” TrollfesT agreed to a deal and started writing new material.  By 2005 “Willkommen Folk tell Drekka Fest!!” hit the streets.  And life as we know it was never the same again. 

Containing a selection of sounds and comments, many of which you would not necessarily come across if you only frequented polite parties, “Willkommen…” displayed some unique qualities that caught people’s attention and consequently sold rather a lot of copies, so a deal for a second album was signed and in 2006 the story of Brakebein the Troll was released. “Brakebein” (not a bad choice for a title really given its subject matter), appeared in two versions - one that included a cartoon illustrating Brakebein’s voyage, and the other that included the lyrics.  

During the first years, TrollfesT never actually played live, but nevertheless the two albums succeeded in making the band a sought after addition to festivals, and the first foray beyond the planning stage occurred in 2007 as one of the headlining bands at the Ninth Barther Metal Open Air Festival.  TrollfesT then went on to headline and play various festivals and concerts around Europe during 2007/08 including the Ragnarök and Riedfest festivals.

January 2009 saw the release of TrollfesT’s third studio album “Villanden”.  A much-anticipated underground album according to feedback from the fans, “Villanden” was quickly acknowledged as one of the craziest albums to have been released in a very long time, mixing, as it did, European Balkan music with extreme metal, and spread rapidly through the viral networks like YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.   

2011 saw TrollfesT sign with NoiseArt Records for the release of the new album “En Kvest For Den Hellige Gral” which is due to hit the streets in April, and with Rock The Nation for world-wide booking. With several live and Festival appearances already set, the Trolls are up and running towards the future. 
 
So how would anyone, in their right mind, or otherwise, dare to define TrollfesT?  The closest you would come is probably True Norwegian Balkan Metal, but even then you would need to include influences from lots more genres.  The best way to put it is that this band is all about alcohol, joy and music, three subjects that draw in fans from all ages and genres, eager to listen to TrollfesT’s records and witness the exuberant and skilled live performances.  
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Web Site: http://www.trollfest.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/trollfestofficial
ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/trollfest 
Band Contact: trollfest_@hotmail.com 
Management: david@firebirdindustries.eu
Booking: laudi@rtn-touring.com


SIRSY is an indie-pop/rock duo with lots heart, soul, and sass! Melanie is the lead singer & drummer. Rich plays guitar and bass with his feet.  They've shared stages with Maroon 5, Grace Potter, Train and more. Their music is featured on Showtime's hit tv show "Shameless"

These are a few of the (somewhat?) listenable songs I have written over the past 10 years or so. I like writing songs, singing, and playing instruments... I am just not that great at any of them in particular. 

I recorded 4 different sets of songs recorded on 4-track from 1998-2004: Instruments of Choice (1999), Devil Music (2000), Uneasy 8 (2001), and Reasons for Starvation (2003).These records have been heard by very few people (probably for good reason).I have decided to release a few tracks here for fun in these times of rampant social networking.

In 2006, I made up a project called My Survival Kit and roped friends <a href="http://in.It" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">in.It</a> started off as a weird public access collage show and morphed into a weird band that eventually actually played some shows in and around Troy, NY.These songs I actually like and still play all the time.Come over sometime and play some with me!We never released any recordings, but nonetheless, I made a lot of 4-track 'sketches' to demo songs to the band, and many songs were recorded in the expectation of putting something together some day.



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