The God Star Social

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"Reverie" Live_4/29/2008



The God Star Social is the work of singer/songwriter Jason Trout, who gave birth to the project in late 2001 when he emerged from his Austin, Texas apartment and his 4-track and began playing solo gigs under the moniker. After over 7 years of recording and touring both solo and with different line-ups of the band, releasing 2 EPs, two full-lengths and several singles and B-sides, Trout and his wife are currently celebrating the birth of their first child and have officially relocated to Dayton, Ohio. He has just released a new album, THIS IS OUR TIME TO BE ALIVE, the follow up to The God Star Social's 2006 full-length THE HAPPIEST SAD SONGS IN THE WORLD.



"A review of the new record calls it definitive and I agree with that statement," Trout says, "in the sense that it does define who I've become as a songwriter and a recording artist with regard to this bunch of songs. When I released the first God Star Social CD (2002's JAM ECONO EP) I, just like with this record, had played everything on it. The primary difference would be seven years of experience, and just plain living, which inevitably has allowed me to improve as a musician and a songwriter and gain a stronger grip on what I'm trying to do with this project and the release of each individual album. I'm sure I'll take a different direction with the next CD. THIS IS OUR TIME TO BE ALIVE is as much of a departure from HAPPIEST SAD SONGS as HAPPIEST SAD SONGS was from DECIDEDLY LO-FI.," Trout says referring to 2003's DECIDEDLY LO-FI/REVOLUTION AND STATIC SKY, The God Star Social's critically acclaimed debut full-length and the contrast between its swirling, almost chaotic guitars, alternate tunings and time signatures and THE HAPPIEST SAD SONGS IN THE SONGS IN THE WORLD's acoustic intimacy. "I started The God Star Social with the direct intention of it being a creative entity for me to write and play and record what ever I wanted, when I wanted, no matter what ideas or sounds I might be into experimenting with. So many bands inevitably end due to creative differences between the people in the band, among so many other things, and I just needed the security of knowing that The God Star Social would always go on regardless of who I might be playing with, or not playing with, at any particular time. One week, it may be a six-piece, the next week a solo thing, but it's always The God Star Social. I find that quite comforting. Our listeners might find it quite confusing, but I find THAT comforting, too."



It is that approach that has directly influenced the band's five independent releases and the vast difference between the comparisons the band has received in the press which have varied from Lou Reed, Daniel Johnston, Sebadoh, and Elliott Smith to Sonic Youth, Wire, Nirvana, and Television. "Of course, that is to be expected. Each of the records was recorded in different ways with different ideas and different combinations of people. This band doesn't have one particular sound. I find that mundane and ridiculous. Evolution, baby. I couldn't care less about fitting into a specific genre."



After constant and consistent touring from late '03 to early '06, Trout and The God Star Social have been off the road for almost two years, playing only regional shows in the midwest and a handful of local shows in Austin in support of the current CD. "I'm actually in a situation very similar to when I started the band in that I have spent a good deal of time holed up at home, doing a lot of writing and experimenting and I've stockpiled a wealth of material, and I'm just looking forward to getting back out on the road, playing shows, and turning these songs and ideas into some great records. In a lot of ways, I look at this record as The God Star Social's debut. A debut preceded by four other CDs, but I'm just getting started, proper, dig?"



So, after a dozen different members, three full-lengths and two EPs, and a countless number of shows in a countless number of cities, The God Star Social is just getting started. Dig?