Men's Fall Fashion: Here Comes Vintage Trouble
“I fucking love this outfit,” says Vintage Trouble bassist Rick Barrio Dill as he fixed the lapel on a vintage velvet blazer. The outfit was definitely dapper — evoking a retro 1960s flavor that jibes perfectly with Vintage Trouble’s old school rock n’ soul sound.
Dill — along with his three band mates Ty Taylor, Nalle Colt and Richard Danielson — recently returned from a four-month stint in the U.K., where the one-year-old group opened for the likes of Bootsie Collins and became a Twitter trending topic after a dance-fueled performance on late-night British TV. But their signature style of vintage suiting, ascots and shiny shoes didn’t come courtesy of England. But rather the most laid-back locale on this side of the pond — their native L.A.
“The studio where we rehearse is in Laurel Canyon,” said Taylor, Vintage Trouble’s charismatic front man. In 2010, after working as a touring musician for the likes of Tina Turner and Eric Clapton, Taylor was ready to work on a project that allowed him to update the sock-hop sounds of the ‘60s. So he teamed up with acquaintances and fellow tour hounds Colt and Danielson, along with Dill who was fresh off a stint with Adam Lambert, and started writing songs.
After just three weeks of rehearsals, Vintage Trouble played their first gig at Harvelle’s, the legendary Santa Monica blues club.
“After the show we went and partied at the Stronghold in Venice and played until the sun came up,” Taylor explained. “So that first night we spent 14 hours together. It felt like a relationship. We fell in love right away.”
Without a Clapton-sized touring budget, the band was forced to stay close to home. So they booked residencies at Harvelle’s, The Edison downtown, Vermont in Los Feliz and La Brea Avenue’s Tar Pit — all bars that have a polished vibe that feel about as far away from standard "SoCal casual" as you can get.
Not unlike their retro, albeit grown-up, style.
“Back in the eras that would inspire us, it was actually fun to go to work and put on your suit and make it about something,” said Danielson, the group’s drummer. “It’s also great to see a band who looks like a band.”
According to Taylor — who has an affinity for wearing peacock feathers in his lapel — the group never fails to polish their shoes and straighten their ties before ever stepping foot on stage. “It’s formal. It looks like something’s about to happen.”
And by the looks of Vintage Trouble’s fans — affectionately known as “Troublemakers” — something does happen. They dance like it’s 1965 to juke-infused songs such as "Nancy Lee," the best known cut from their debut album, “The Bomb Shelter Sessions.” And after the show, both the audience and the band are drenched in sweat. As Taylor puts it, “They come dressy and leave messy.”
Just don’t call them sophisticated.
“People always seem to associate the word sophisticated with adult. But it shouldn’t have to be,” said Taylor. “We’re adjusting and illuminating a sound and adding who we are today. We’re not doing our mother’s version of 1960.”
Danielson agrees. “We’re allowing sophistication to be fun and sexy.”
Catch Vintage Trouble at the Edison downtown: Saturday, September 17. 9:30 p.m. $10. vintagetrouble.com
