The microphone was not ready for Trapper Schoepp.
We went through all the usual paces for Wednesday’s Studio Milwaukee Session. Schoepp and his crew did their soundcheck. Our audio guru Lodi dialed in the board, as he always does. Everything was all set for the artist whose own website is littered with mentions of “folk rock” and “folk music” and “folk singer.”
Then Schoepp stepped on our stage with a Flying V guitar slung around his shoulder. It was Dylan at Newport, six decades later.
The driving force behind — or end result of — this electrification is Osborne, Schoepp’s new album that practically crackles with the spirit of rock and roll. It’s a project whose foundation sits in an unfortunately familiar location for many musicians over the years: rehab.
Schoepp is upfront about his experience (he made an album about it, after all) and took us inside the Hazelden Betty Ford treatment center during the mid-session interview.
“Many other rock-and-rollers had passed through those doors, including Ozzy Osbourne,” Schoepp shared. “The unit was [named] after a guy named Dr. Osborne, but if you walked into it, it was more Dr. Ozzy vibes for sure.”
Amid heavy-metal themed artwork and The Osbournes DVDs and at least one guitar from Eric Clapton, a few non-folk tendencies found their way into Schoepp’s songwriting, which served an additional purpose at Hazleden. With staff emphasizing the importance of journaling on his road to recovery, Schoepp pivoted slightly and emerged on the other side with an album — eventually.
“I brought this big notebook and filled it up, and when I got out of there, half of it was like, ‘OK, this is absolute garbage. What was I thinking? Oh, I was out of my mind,’” Schoepp recalled. “Then half of it was like, ‘There’s some good stuff in here.’”
That “good stuff” required another change of plans from the country album he was going to make, resulting in a very different record — the release of which he'll celebrate this Saturday with a show at the Vivarium — and a very different Studio Milwaukee Session.
So, when you hear a few pops on the recording via the player at the top of the page, remember that the microphone wasn’t the only one who didn’t expect a hard-rock project from Trapper Schoepp. He didn’t expect it, either.
Studio MKE: Trapper Schoepp set list
- “Wildfire”
- “Loaded”
- “Kentucky Derby”
- “Satan Is Real (Satan Is a Sackler)” (non-broadcast performance)
