It’s our pleasure to introduce you to HOLE TRIPPER.
Biography
Hole Tripper make gloriously unfashionable rock music.
The band are from the South West, and the first album was recorded in two separate studios, a hundred miles apart, with the band never playing a note together in the same place. The band’s debut album was named Hundred Miles Out of Time as a nod to the geographical separation when recording the album, that some of the songs were written way back, and as a reference to the singer’s comical timing challenges when trying to sing and play the guitar at the same time.
The brothers spent a couple of decades in the real world doing normal things, but bad things happen, and they were thankfully shunted out of the comfortable hole they were dwelling in. Now, with the taste of musical blood in their mouths, they are embarking on a quest to make a lot of music.
One of the benefits of being a hole-dweller and waiting so long to produce any music is that they have tons of songs already in the can of all different flavours.
Hole Tripper is a remote band, ludicrously out of their own time zone, laughing at life and making music. The band is influenced by early ‘90s alt-rock, and whilst they would love to discover time travel, if you’re not going forwards, you’re going backwards. The music sticks to its roots but also wants to push forward the genre, one riff at a time …. making gloriously unfashionable rock music for the chosen few.
Band Members:
Ben Hartley – Vocals
James Hartley – Guitar / Backing Vocals
Ben Kent – Bass
Dave Rickword – Drums
Where are you from? / Where are you based now?
Bristol & Exeter.
The band is officially based in Bristol.
Musical Influences:
We are pretty firmly stuck in an early 90s rock hole – we tripped, fell and landed on our butts when tracks like Bullet in the Head, Smells Like Teen Spirit, and Even Flow kicked us in the head and made us understand what music could be. Here are some of our favourite bands (in no particular order) and why.
Alice in Chains – Enough said …
Pearl Jam – this was the first band we obsessed over – tracking down the early Green River, Mother Love Bone stuff and reading every Kerrang article we could. In the early days, getting hold of secret tracks like State of Love and Trust and Black, Red, Yellow felt like a full-time occupation. Loved that they did acoustic tracks and really heavy stuff without it all sounding out of place. Ain’t gonna lie, particularly as they were the first true love; as they evolved, we drifted apart – sad but true.
Nirvana – Remember the day you first heard Teen Spirit? I do – in the back of a best mate’s VW Beetle (first and only time admittance permitted), and it came on through these massive speakers and blew my tiny mind away – every time that song is is played, I’m transported back to that car ride.
Audio Slave – What.a.band. The combination of Soundgarden and Rage is just the most amazing thing and their first album remains in my all-time top albums to play at any time and still sounds new but the same.
Rage Against the Machine – The first intro to Bombtrack, and I was this band’s bitch. Even though the angry politics of the music was totally lost on me (the number of drive-by shootings in my neighbourhood was limited to attacks carried out with water pistols) …nothing more needs to be said about the sheer power and longevity of that first record.
Reef – This was our local band, mad tunes, and surfing culture. I’m unsure if they can surf mind, but neither can we, so who cares? We loved this band – saw them live more than any other band by some distance – including one legendary dribbling incident at a gig on Fistral Beach (sorry dude – whoever you were, but I needed that shoulder to lean on during Choose to Live as I lost the ability to support my body weight).
Helmet – This band never got the recognition they deserved. Some unbelievably heavy guitars, but they sang songs and didn’t start growling or screaming – the heaviest guitar band that sang actual songs.
Grant Lee Buffalo – is one of the favourite bands ever. The CD was bought on a whim on the same day as Helmet’s Aftertaste. Judged a book by its cover and it was just a great decision. Amazing acoustic guitar and songwriting – you just have to be crazy, right?
Bush – First heard the band in the US when they were just taking off. Heard Little Things on MTV in a motel in Nevada and thought how does the US keep knocking out these bands and then went back home ….
Incubus – Ain’t gonna lie but I haven’t bothered to find a single track this band have done for about 20 years, but tracks like Make Yourself and Pardon Me are imprinted in our crania.
In your own words:
Here is a summary of all released songs and what they are about in album order:
A song about being freezing cold and crap at surfing
A song about self-loathing
A song about kicking cancer in the lungs
A song about wanting TOTAL CONTROL OVER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING!!
A song about self-harm
A song about accidentally starting a fight and then trying to stop it, but you can’t
A song about not liking sand but loving the beach
A song about how people behave around money
A song about chasing away time
This song is a prequel to another song …..
A song about the elimination of toxic people
A song about punching death in the face
A song about having a poke inside your head and not liking what you find
A Song about resisting change until it is too late
About the latest release:
Most people dislike change, but some are better than others at dealing with it…. This track is a rebuke for those who refuse to adapt to changes in their environment, even when they see the writing is on the wall until it’s too late … and only then do they start running, blind as bats scrabbling over each other. You can’t hold back the sun or the sea, so open your eyes.
What inspired the latest release?
A guy we knew who never opened his eyes.
Sound Bites
If you’re on the road...
The absolute essential item for us on tour is...
Extension cables … never enough.
Our most challenging journey for the least payoff led us to...
Taunton.
Keeping fit on the road requires...
A lot of squats.
The coolest pit stop worldwide is...
Sedgemoor services near to Junction 26.
A must-have in our tour survival kit is...
Nice loo roll.
The weirdest gig we've ever played happened at...
Taunton.
The place with the best bathroom graffiti is..
Cant remember it was that good.
The best part of performing live is the feeling of...
TOTAL CONTROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL.
The silliest thing ever said onstage was...
“I just smacked myself in the face”.
How we prepare for a show...
Singer – grumpy and won’t speak to anyone.
The rest of the band – be really nice and friendly to everyone!
Tell us about an independent eatery in Exeter you love...
Never had a bad pizza at The Old Firehouse which is always the mark of gold standard.
Shout out to a local business in Exeter, and why...
Tazma Studios – this recording and rehearsal studio run by Tom is an amazing place – best quality rehearsal space ever and he’s sound and also in a great band!
What’s the best attraction/place to visit/hang out in Exeter?
We love Bomba in Exeter – we have played a couple of shows there and each time has been great fun. Its nice milling about on the Quay beforehand, people watching and drumming up interest for the gig with a few beers!
