Vintage Trouble are putting a new twist on a trusty old sound

Ed Power, talks soul, segregation and sense of family to Vintage Trouble’s front man

TY TAYLOR has a complicated relationship with the past. The frontman of proudly old-school blues ensemble Vintage Trouble naturally adores the music of the 1950s and ’60s. But, as an African-American, he understands it would be foolhardy to romanticise the era. It was the age of Otis Redding and Sam Cooke — but also of institutionalized segregation and state-sanctioned racism. Taylor wouldn’t go back even if he could.

“I couldn’t dive into those decades and feel comfortable,” says the singer, from his home in Los Angeles. “The music that my parents grew up listening to — back then, I would have had to go in by the ‘back door’ to listen to it.”

“Retro is a word people may have negative connections with,” says the animated and articulate Taylor .”But it’s true — our music IS retro. We’re not overly sensitive about that. I’m happy to called blues or soul. ‘Blues rock’ is something I maybe have problems with. I feel people bandy that around out of lack of knowledge.”

Vintage Trouble are on the brink of the big time, with a fast growing international fan-base and an enviable resume of support slots, including AC/DC, The Who and The Rolling Stones.

The group have had a see-saw career, emerging from the ashes of Taylor’s previous band, Dakota Moon (he also featured on an MTV reality show in which hopefuls vied to be hired as the new frontman of INXS). Taylor is reluctant to play the martyr yet it’s clear Dakota Moon went through the music industry grinder. They signed to a major, were dropped, then fell apart.

“What I really learned is that I wanted to do music more. With Vintage Trouble we didn’t sign with a label for our first two years. We proved that we could do it on our own. So when a label did approach us, we were in a stronger position.”

That label was Blue Note, the beloved jazz imprint that has counted Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane among its stable of artists.

“We love all those old Blue Note records. It’s kind of amazing that we’re now signed to them. What’s really cool is that we’re in there as partners, a relationship of equals.”

Though the group came together in LA and Taylor hails from suburban New Jersey, Vintage Trouble are often assumed to be from the American South — even when playing in their home town.

“There’s a sexy, sweaty music scene in LA not a lot of people know about — all these cool like juke joint places. You walks in and, yes, it feels like you’re in the South. However, our music seems very LA to us. We’re drawing on a side that outsiders are not necessarily familiar with.”

He admits to coming down with goosebumps ahead of Vintage Trouble’s tour with AC/DC over the summer. Fans of the hard-rockers are notoriously unforgiving towards support acts. A troupe of dapper California soul-men seemed like just the thing to raise their ire.

“How could you not be nervous heading in to that,” says Taylor. “I was soon swimming over the top of the audiences and they were singing our songs back to us.”

Vintage Trouble’s own supporters don’t exactly lack for passion either. The self-proclaimed ‘Troublemakers’ are a tightly- bound community who, by Taylor’s telling, make a point of looking out for one another.

“If people can’t afford to go to the shows, others buy them tickets. People have come together to help buy Christmas gifts for fans in financial distress. People have fallen in love and got married through Vintage Trouble. I don’t care how many YouTube hits we get or who likes us on social media. It’s not about numbers — it’s about the fact our fanbase is a family.”

Vintage Trouble play Academy, Dublin next Monday