Metal man

Ben Trout gets amped on grass

By Sherie Dyer

Trout play the Skinny, March 22, at 9 p.m. Call (207) 871-8983.

TROUT DELUXE: serve with a couple of Boneheads and a light conga dish.

What happens when you have classical training and you fall in love with Rock ’n’ Roll? In Ben Trout’s case you learn how to plug in. A musician by the age of five, playing the violin, as he got older his taste obviously changed. When he got into his teen years, he picked up a guitar, and one day while listening to Led Zepplin, he got an idea.

“I taped an electric guitar pick-up to an old mandolin we had,” he says. “The mandolin is tuned the same as the violin, and it has the same scale length. I just starting playing that way.”

In order to fully appreciate what Trout does, a little background information is helpful, at least it was with me.

A traditional mandolin is an acoustic instrument with eight strings; four different strings doubled up. The two mandolins that Trout plays he had custom made. One of them was made in 1980 by a man named Howard Needham from Washington D.C. It’s a four-string, hollow-bodied electric, flying V. The other one was fashioned by local craftsman Joel Eckhaus. This one has a double neck and combines the best of both worlds. One neck is the traditional acoustic style, and the other offers a five-string electric. The double neck allows him to freely do an acoustic/electric mix in any song he chooses. Both mandolins are extremely unique and hard to find in your average music store. And it’s these instruments that Trout uses to play what he calls “metalgrass.”

Trout describes metalgrass as: ”A blend of acoustic and raw electric. Not all one type of music. It has a wide range. It’s instrumental, structured, but there’s a lot of spontaneity. You know we take it out.”

Where Trout is concerned, the “we” may vary. He sometimes plays with guitarist Charlie Schmitt, a singer/songwriter he’s been working with for years. The duo has taken turns backing each other up in various endeavors. From an occasional radio or television spot, to more intimate gigs at Gritty’s.

Or he’ll play in a three piece with Scott Elliot on bass and Dick Hollis on drums, both of the rock/comedy band the Boneheads. He’s done full-length recordings with these guys, and the three can be heard once a month or so, again at Gritty’s.

The greatest version of Trout’s metalgrass, however, is displayed in the five-piece.

“It’s been a while,” he says, of the last time they got together, “since the Mainefest. We don’t get together like this all that often. It’s a bonus.”

The five-piece combines Schmitt, Hollis, Elliot, and adds Lenny Hatch on congas. Although they will practice only once before the show, Trout seems happy and confident things will go well.

“They’re all so good,” he says. “They’re real players. Sometimes I’ll send them some stuff I recorded in the mail, and they’ll listen and add their own touch. Other than that, they don’t need much.”

After 20 years of playing, Trout has become a “real player” himself. His last band in Portland was in the mid-’90s. Remember Pchycosky? In the highlight of their existence they managed to play 100 shows in six months.

“We were definitely a hard-working band,” he says. “But when you’re a full-time musician the music becomes the smallest part of it. There’s travel, van repair, and all the promotion. I mean really, the music is five to ten percent of it at the most.”

Aside from his band experiences, he’s played with locals such as Elizabeth Ross, Lisa Gallant Seal, Darien Brahms, Reverend Groove, as well as the Boneheads. Schmitt and Trout have also teamed up to do two soundtracks for HBO documentaries.

At this point, however, Trout has no desire to be a working musician. After reminincing about the time he tried, he quickly adjusts himself and says, “Hell no!

That’s the beauty of it. I get to play when I want, where I want. It’s all the joy. It’s all about having fun and getting better. You work hard to write the music, and you want people to hear it. I have a home studio and lots of material, within the next year it would be nice to do another CD. But I’m not in a hurry.”

Trout plays his metalgrass through an overdriven amplifier, a delay pedal, and a wah-wah. The music is unlike bluegrass because it’s a different beat; less 4/4 flatpicking, more hard-driving solos. Although the mandolin automatically lends itself to a certain mountain-esque sound, electrified it is a whole new rock-infused style.

“We actually play very little bluegrass,” says Trout. “I guess that’s my schtick, blending the two styles together. It’s only been in the last five years that I’ve even started to add an acoustic element to my music. And as I’ve gotten older, my amps have gotten smaller. I used to play through a Marshal stack, now I play through a little tube combo.”

The upcoming performance at The Skinny promises three different sets. One will be primarily acoustic, including some songs penned by Schmitt. Another will be a balance of the electric and acoustic. And the last will stress the metal in metalgrass.

“I’m really looking forward to this event,” says Trout. “The five piece is more varied, a real treat.”

Sherie Dyer can be reached at sheriedyer@netscape.net