We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Discography

by Troublemake

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

1.
Woke up and found that my tongue had turned black Looked up the cause, it's smoking cigarettes by the pack And poor oral hygiene, drinking too much coffee, And too many nights spent with drugs and an IV But also by bismuth, which you can find In shit like the peptol-bismol I chew up sometimes So that's what I think I'm gonna blame it on
2.
tried to go out and have some fun, but ten minutes in, and i'm pulling off the road withdraw the keys from the ignition, leave my car and my friends sitting there, and walk two hours home now my phone won’t stop ringing and i’m hanging it up every time to spite myself, i’ll sit in this dark house alone with my gas station wine
 rocks through windows in my head why am i so hell bent on losing all of my friends? everyone knows I don’t get it, I’m so miserable, pathetic I should probably just go to bed
 the sickness of regret keeps me from sleep on this torture rack I toss and turn counting on tomorrow to be a clean slate I’m starting to notice a pattern emerge

3.
maybe I could live in Sarasota until the day I die so long as I got out on tour every now and then, I don’t think I’d mind with the mattress here i've got no qualms sleeping on the living room floor and if it's still cheap i won't mind to eat every meal at the shitty pizza place next door what’s my plan b anyway - chasing after a future on easy street? complacent and safe in a boring place doesn't sound so great to me but I’m such a fucking coward, I already know what I’m gonna do, I’ll go to school, hate myself, and just talk shit the whole time sometimes I feel like waiting on time to pass is all i do through the nights, through a lease, through these endless years of school I feel so paralyzed to make up my mind, though I know I could make the choice that's right for me, but so far no good having something to lose is not something I’ve ever been used to and now it’s making me hate each day holding on to all of this seems more trouble than it's worth i'd rather build my life with the shit that other people throw away I do what i hate everyday 'cause i'm piss scared of regret but either way, I’m pretty sure that’s what I’ll get if i could pull myself together maybe i' could just up and quit maybe i need a boost or maybe i'm just full of shit
4.
Sometimes I feel so hopeless Thinking how a corrupt elite Has such a tight grasp On the reigns of this country That boxcutters start Looking pretty good to me I won’t lie; it’s crossed my mind They merged the right with the left To replace dissent With their glorious Rational consensus Why’s everyone clamoring For corporate sponsored unity? Like the fake left isn’t already Plenty busy Throwing in towels Laying down arms in defeat Is this it? Swallowing shit? I’m not represented Let’s not pretend Democracy in this country’s Anything more than a fiction Battles fought; brain cells lost It kills you to go on When you can’t win I think most people disagree With this asshole future scheme But they can’t connect A to B The candidates they praise Policies the same They’re digging their own graves Are the only ones to blame I can’t commiserate If they’ll forever marginalize Anyone that challenges their lies If honesty precludes success Maybe I’ll play fake patriot like the rest And never let slip, what I believe A flag pin can say all that I need
5.
we took turns around the room exchanging wisdom faking gratitude when everyone got quiet and looked at you "it's never too late to drop out of school" you were just trying to be witty but it really struck a chord with me this whole process has worn me down ground me up and spit me out every miserable ugly day everytime i played and lost their games without these i don't know who i'd be it's better to be angry than complacent it gives us an excuse sometimes to get wasted as long as we're aware and never satisfied we might keep our lives form slipping by the future still scares the shit out of me i see scores of collections agencies and i've got this funny feeling that no degree can save me from the forty hour week today a dreadful year came to a close and i've only got one more to go as awful as i know that time will be fuck it 'cause for three months i am free i second guess myself think i've done nothing right think i'd be happer with another kind of life but i know i've got to think i know i've got to set a plan into action but i can't yet
6.
we drove up to the show on the rain-slicked road i was thinking about all the books and songs i never wrote is it my state in life or my mentality is my brain too slow or is it too busy i go to school and do well but i feel dried out why am i only good at the shit that i don't care about so i sit in car wash parking lots and scratch out my contempt i camp out behind strip malls and scream until i'm spent fuck all of the people with their faces in jars fuck anyone who ever wrote anything at all if it didn't mean something if it was just to sound cool if you ever even had a choice then fuck you too but maybe i'm ungrateful at least sometimes there are people even in this town less recognized for their bands for their songs but what's fifty cds mailed with my own stamps to strangers for free maybe that's still something still maybe it's not maybe it just proves that i don't know when to stop but still i sit in car wash parking lots and scratch out my contempt i camp out behind strip malls and scream until i'm spent
7.
the last body on the blacktop falls under the streetlight we sang our songs thriving on chaos and dying each night self-destruction never felt so right what is it exactly that you condemn is it what we used to represent my downfall keeps to a righeous path ears to the ground for my last laugh windows smashed and blaspheming happy in my depravity ex-friends idle are all fucked but me i'm not giving up ex-friends idle collect dust as our monument does rust and now there's no more trust between us knocking on the door but no one comes around the music's up way too loud you know they'll never let you in 'cause they've learned their lesson they bring to the table anger and lies and you your violent crimes fistfight midnight dress code black so you won't see them creep up to stab you in the back this is the end and i never said that i wanted to be anything
8.
i woke up today feeling mean it's strange how a bad dream can root me up and make obsolete all that's happened since i was sixteen folded up into my seat claire reaches in to play music to cover the sound of crossing the skyway i never felt so sick in my life as i did riding home that night i couldn't look in the backseat without it sweeping over me but i don't care about any of that anyway i'm not going to let some shit from five years ago ruin my day forgive this jumbled mess what i'm trying to say is that sitting now in this room with you everything seems okay i take you for granted there are plenty of times when i'm less than excited about being alive but please don't ever be fooled into thinking that's anything to do with you i argued with cops and got you tickets i go out and come home with yellow limbs i'm just an idiot who doesn't know how to act right i'm an overdramatic addict who can't see the bright side forgive this jumbled mess
9.
if you don't have any proof to offer me / than i have no reason to believe / that there are little red monsters in the core of the earth / or valid reasons to worship a carpenter / if you're asking me to operate on faith / then i'm asking some questions / to see if i've got this straight / noah's ark, every creature, one pair / tropical lizards and polar bears / well, how exactly did he manage that? / i don't remember reading about noah's thermostat / there's never been a book dictated by a god / western religions are based on fraud / moses never parted the red sea / dinosaurs are not a conspiracy / how fucking stupid do you have to be / to buy into christianity? / i'd rather live in uncertainty / than with a slave mentality / staying poor, making others rich / resisting temptation, not scratching the itch / leaving things just the way they are / and just keep workin' real hard / no, we can't have our reward just yet / but they promise we'll get it when we're dead / how can you accept such stupid lies? / do you really think there's a white robe and harp waiting for you in paradise? / there's no paradise / so get your shit together and start living your life / while there's still time.
10.
it takes money to make money / and i fuckin' hate money / insurance, repairs, and gas / employment is a pain in my ass / i thought it'd be cool to have some stability / some extra money in the bank, a little security / fuck this company, they're ripping me off / fuck this city, county, fuck this country / they're taxing my ass off / fuck money, fuck it all, i'm out / now i remember why i haven't worked in two years / i'd rather be poor than miserable and just a little less poor
11.
for so long now i've wanted to share / but the kids in my town, well none of 'em cared / they said i couldn't sing and on stage i looked dumb / i just accepted it all, i took it all like a chump / i got beat down, i didn't get back up / i got pushed down, i wasn't strong enough / to keep doin' the things that i wanted to do / to keep living my life the way that i choose / my band broke up and i quit hanging out / but i still had frustrations that i needed to push out / and i still had a need to be a part of the scene / to give to it like it's given to me / i heard some kid say that cometbus blows / i read that twain hated the things he wrote / criticism and self-doubt never leave my mind / i don't know if i have talent, but i have a good time
12.
they don't work for their money / we give it to them / on the condition that they'll use it / on what's best for us / a trillion dollar never used submarine / is just one of countless violations of trust / we've got people starving / we've got people dying of cancer / but here at home our calls for help / are too expensive for them to answer / democracy in the middle east? / how 'bout at home? / (we got) a system so fucked and useless / that nobody votes / if our foreign policy wasn't drafted by assholes / if their sole consideration wasn't greed / than there wouldn't be so many people that hate us so much / and i'll our wasted defense money could be spent on the things we need
13.
our nation's built up the nuclear might / equivalent to ten tons of dynamite / for every man, woman, and child / on the whole god-forsaken planet / more americans live in poverty / than have in the last quarter century / but all i hear about on the news / is shit about the fucking avian flu / just the other week i was unlucky enough to stumble into a room tuned into fox news / they were asking americans how they felt / about the latest national tragedy / it was their quote unquote big story of the day / about some beloved horse who broke his leg / now maybe you disagree with me / but i place more priority on things / like our nation's rekindled romance with imperialism / gossip, rumors, and idle chatter / instead of the things that really matter / our news is a joke and i cannot cope / feeling like the only one who seems to notice / the average ceo of a large american corporation / makes more than 400 times the worker's ration / and people on the other side of the globe / are suffering from our actions but what do you know / if you were to turn on the news today / all you'd fucking hear about is jonbenet / i guess to talk about the little iraqi girls that we've killed recently wouldn't be as safe
14.
she said "everything you say sounds like him" / i said "everything he says sounds like me" / but in my head i wonder if maybe she's right / i was almost seventeen you were two years younger than me / when we started hanging out after school / when you looked up to me and still thought i was cool / i can't believe all the shit that's been thrown at you / i can't believe that you've made it through / it's hard to believe you're the same shrimpy kid / i used to smash fish-shaped mailboxes with / and i know how bad you miss those days / but last night when we picked up spillane / didn't it feel a whole lot like the way it used to? / you say you miss having fun without having to get drunk / or having to get fucked up in one of a dozen other ways / and i know that nights running from police / make for really good funny memories / but those times weren't always as great as they now seem / and lately we haven't really needed drugs / well certainly not as much / as we did for a long time there / and on those nights when you're feeling blue / or you're bummed out or there's nothing to do / call me up 'cause i'll never tire of hangin' / so long as it's just you, me, (maybe chris), and madden

about

Everything Troublemake released between 2006 and 2009.

Sequenced relatively chronologically.

Recorded in July/August* 2008:
Dirt Cult Mix Tape, Vol. II [cassette] (track 1)
Dangerous Intersections V [four band split 7-inch] (track 2)
Turkish Techno / Troublemake [split 7-inch] (tracks 3-4)
*["Rhetoric of Hope" recorded March '08]

Recorded in August 2007:
Feral [CDEP] (tracks 5-8)

Recorded sometime in Spring or Summer 2006:
Staying Afloat in Florida [CDEP] (tracks 9-14)

credits

released March 30, 2013

All of this info is also listed in the credits for each track, but...

Brent Henson (guitar on 4 songs; 2007)
Chris Hembrough (drums on 3 songs; 2008)
Dave Dillon (guitar on 1 song; 2008)
Noelle Stolp (guitars on 4 songs; 2008)
Pete Scheip (guitars on 10 songs; 2006-07)
Pete Stolp (drums on 7 songs; 2006, 2008)
Ryan Switzer (drums on 4 songs; 2007)
Sammy thrashLife (bass and vocals on 14 songs, guitar on 1; 2006-08)
*In 2008, Alex Heil sang some parts on 1 song and Brett Wensel recorded drums for 1 song that Pete ultimately did the drums for, but I mixed in some of Brett's cymbal tracks.

Lyrics by Sam.
Music by...
Brent (1 song)
Brent w/ Sam (1 song)
Noelle w/ Sam (1 song)
Sam (7 songs)
Sam w/ Brent (1 song)
Sam w/ Noelle (1 song)
Sam w/ Noelle and Chris (1 song)

And regarding the six shows that Troublemake's played (June/July '08)
Chris (bass), Noelle (guitar), Pete (drums), Sam (vocals)

I forget some of the other bands that played, but...
Brooklyn w/ The Steinways, Full of Fancy, and Peelander-Z
Minneapolis w/ Banner Pilot, Strait A's, The Manix, Amen and the Hell Yeahs, Rational Anthem
Indianapolis w/ Dear Landlord, Off With Their Heads, The Copyrights, Rational Anthem, Kepi: The Band, Flamingo Nosebleed
Hayesville w/ Rational Anthem
Atlanta w/ Rational Anthem, Die Benny
Tallahassee w/ Rational Anthem, Saint Sweetheart, Best Friends

A note on "influences"...
Sometimes I hear something that I like enough to want to rip it off. Since I have no musical ability though, the best I can do is fumble around until I find something KINDA similar. It's never close enough that anyone can tell that I'm a thief though. Cool, right?
If I ever made any money, I might owe some of it to Rivethead (#2), Shorebirds (#3), Environmental Youth Crunch and The Potential Johns (#6), Green Day (#13).

There were other bands that I (at the very least) got ideas from, but I don't remember at the moment. I know I tried to kind of imitate a North Lincoln song at one point, but I couldn't figure out how to make my instrument sound a god damn thing like theirs and I gave up.

And if you're looking for anyone to blame for my doing any of this in the first place, I'd say it's mostly the fault of Operation: Cliff Clavin, though Crimpshrine and Aaron Cometbus definitely owe the world an apology for it as well. And so long as I'm pointing fingers, let's add Minor Threat, 7 Seconds, Snuggle, and Dillinger Four to the list. Although all of the bands mentioned in this paragraph would be better described as "inspirations" than as influences, insofar as I wasn't trying to sound like any of them. In 2006, I wasn't really trying to sound like anything because it was all I could do to string three or four chords together to write a part. From 2007 on though, I think I was going for something along the lines of Rivethead, Ringers, and just a little bit of Chinese Telephones. As noted though, I've never had the ability to actually pull any of that off. Especially in 2007, since those kids had never (and probably still haven't) heard any of those bands.

****************
In 2008, a fifth song was recorded that's yet to be finished. The music was written by Drew Fleming, who played lead guitar on it as well. Pete Stolp played drums, I played bass and wrote the lyrics.

In 2009, I decided that Troublemake should record a 7-inch called "Wohl Whips," which would be covers of songs by bands Cometbus played drums for. I chose one song each from Crimpshrine, Pinhead Gunpowder, Redmond Shooting Stars, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, and Astrid Oto. After drums were recorded though (but before anything else), we decided that instead of a Troublemake EP, it'd be a split with No High Fives to Bullshit. We kept our Pinhead, Cleveland Bound, and Oto tracks. They decided to do Crimpshrine, but chose Sweet Baby instead of Redmond. I can't remember how far along they got before their band (and my entire life) fell apart and the plan was scrapped. Troublemake, on the other hand, got everything recorded except for the back-up vocals. For that yet-to-be-finished record (which exists only on my hard drive), the line-up was: Dave Dillon (guitar), Jim Gies (drums), Kyle Wolak (bass), Noelle Stolp (lead guitar), and Sam North (vocals).

***************
Just for fun... members of Troublemake band connections/nonsense!

Chris and Noelle have played together in Rational Anthem since early 2008. Alex, Dave, and Pete Stolp never played together, but have all also been in Rational Anthem at different times (Pete still is).

Pete Scheip, Chris, and I played together in Extra Day For Riots in 2003 and 2004. Chris quit in the summer of '04, and was replaced by Brett. Brett also did the cover art for the Dangerous Intersections V 7-inch.

Kyle played in Like Bats until fall of 2010. Their next bassist was Dave. Kyle has also played in Grown Ups.

Pete Stolp and Drew have also played together in Saint Sweetheart and Cassolette.

Jim used to play in Goat Bell, but is now in Boilerman.

Noelle also plays in Weaknights.

With the exception of their debut LP in 2012 - all of Rational Anthem's records were on my label, Traffic Street.

In 2009, I sang all of the back ups for one song (and most of the back-ups for three others) that went on Rational Anthem's sides of their split 7-inches with Strait A's and Apocalypse Meow.

In 2010, Noelle was sick the day of their show in Manhattan. Though my last tour with them was in 2009, I was in New York for the summer, so I got to sing their whole set that night (which was pretty awesome!) They've also let me sing "You Tell Me" at a few of their shows, "Slightly Used Girlfriend" at (at least) one show, and on a few occasions they've spontaneously started playing "Dammit" by Blink-182 while I was still holding the mic, so I've gotten to sing that with them too.

Just like Rational Anthem, all of Like Bats' records (except for their debut LP in 2012) have been on Traffic Street.

In 2009, I put out a split 7-inch for Saint Sweetheart (with Unwelcome Guests) on Traffic Street.

In 2010, I released a CDEP for Boilerman on my other label, Moonquake.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Troublemake Sarasota, Florida

My name is Sam. I had a band between 2006 and 2009 that was really just me and whichever friends were around and wanted to record or play shows with me. These days, I paint stuff. Look me up: Sammy thrashLife

contact / help

Contact Troublemake

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

Troublemake recommends:

If you like Troublemake, you may also like: