AN INTERVIEW WITH TRC

1. I want to say that I’m extremely excited for this interview! I’ve been a big TRC fan since I discovered you guys on one of the many blogs in the late 2000s with The Revolution Continues EP. Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself and what you do in the band?

Sure thing - Chris - vocals.

2. I think the best way to do this—and also honestly just because as a fan I’m interested—is to start at the beginning. What was it about hardcore that attracted you to it in the first place? What bands were foundational influences on you?

It all started when Ant (other vocalist) and I used to go to this metal and rock nightclub when we were like 15 years old. We were into nu metal at the time which I guess is pretty standard, and every now and then the DJ would play what we soon discovered to be a 'hardcore' tune. Stuff like Hatebreed, Madball, E Town Concrete. It just had a different vibe. From there we'd get chatting to people who knew those tunes and they exposed us to the London Hardcore scene. We got to know the likes of Knuckledust, Ninebar, BDF and it totally transformed how we saw heavy music. It wasn't just about long hair and teenage angst. The London hardcore scene was more urban - more gritty - and we felt like we had found a community. In terms of influences - hard to pin em down because each member is different. But definitely the aforementioned London bands. Also Arkangel, Sworn Enemy, Born From Pain. That was the foundational stuff we formed our sound to. But then there's the UK stuff outside of Hardcore - Oasis, The Streets, Dizzee Rascal, Skinnyman, Kano. It was all just a big melting pot that ended up influencing us and that's why we sound so unique.

3. Tell us about the band’s formation and the split with Prowler.

We started as a graffiti crew. Not me though I was shit lol. But TRC was originally a bunch of painters from North London. Our original vocalist and guitarist - Tich and Jaber - were into the more punky sound. We went to school together so we thought let's form a band based around painting, London and hardcore. I was originally the drummer. Then we roped in Ant, two other school friends and some guys we knew from the London scene. Ended up starting with 8 members (4 vocalists). It was chaos but somehow it worked. Prowler used to practice at the same studios as us but we had no idea they were into hardcore. We just ended up chatting and clocked we had the same inspirations. We saw ourselves as the new blood of London hardcore so a split just made sense. 3 tracks each. Everyone too high to record properly. It was awful. But it was perfect.

4. The incorporation of rap and grime is part of TRC’s DNA; two questions on this front: 1) was this something you grew up with and it just seemed logical that it would be part of the band? and 2) has this been a source of hate from people who seem intent on disliking the band? You guys have always done your own thing and that really seems to rub some people the wrong way for whatever reason.

Same answer as earlier. Our tastes were just so eclectic - and being influenced by both hardcore and hip hop we thought fuck it, why not try? So we brought in a rapper (that's not me on the early stuff btw). It kind of worked but we knew we wanted a slightly different sound so I ended up switching from drums to vocals. To be honest, the hate has never come from us including rap or grime into our stuff. I don't think anyone has a problem with that to be honest because let's be honest, it sounds great. It's more they couldn't pinpoint our sound. Plus we thought we were the best band (still do) so that kind of arrogance / confidence rubs people up the wrong way. And don't get me wrong - we loved playing on it. But you can't argue with it. It worked. I'd much rather that than just be some wallpaper HC or metal band that no one really cares about. Golden rule of marketing - have to be loved and hated in equal measure. No one cares about the stuff in between.

5. Following the Prowler split, you signed to Rucktion Records. How did that come about? What would you say were some of the band’s major highlights from this era?

The Rucktion era was great. Just printing that first North West Kings EP and seeing it come to life was special. It meant a lot to put out our first CD on a label that housed so many of our favourite releases. And it's great to see that they're still doing their thing today. Genuinely great people dedicated to putting bands on and spreading the London sound.

6. What would your highlights be from the Thirty Days of Night and Siege of Amida eras?

The drugs. Honestly that was a whirlwind of an era haha. We were high for most of it but it was when we really felt something was clicking! We were playing bigger shows outside of just the HC scene. The TDON fests in Leeds were a stand out. But just the fact we were finding our groove, putting out videos - something that not many HC bands were doing and seeing the comments - good and bad - build on the YouTube pages. Plus London’s Greatest Love Story was like nothing else. Still think that tune is unmatched. By us and everybody else!

7. 2012 and 2013 were big years for the band with the signing to No Sleep Records, the EP’s reissue, being nominated for Best UK Band at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards, and then of course the release of LP number three in Nation. Take us through this era if you would be so kind.

Mate your history of the band is better than mine. I'm appreciating the memories! I guess this era was when we went more 'mainstream'. To be honest, I felt like the gap between Bright Lights and Nation was too short. And even though Nation went down well, I think it had too many fillers. Anthony wasn't on every song as he was getting very busy with his career so he wasn't sure if he could play many shows. So it was a weird time. We did lots of shows with fill in musicians and Nathan from Prowler would cover for Ant a lot so it never felt quite right. At a time where we should've been thinking about taking over the world, it all kind of fell off! I think the singles off Nation were bangers - “10,000 Hours”, “We Bring War” and “#TeamUK”. But the rest of it was a bit meh...

8. After that, you had The EP (Part One) in 2016, the Lifestyle EP in 2018, and then we’re up to 2025, which I want to ask about shortly. What happened with the band over this time period?

Well after Nation, Charlie and Lasselle decided they wanted to do another project so they left. Ant, Ben and I knew we wanted to continue on a "regular part time basis" but we were under no illusion and knew we wouldn't be as big if not taking it too seriously. This period saw Ben become our only guitarist and step up and become the main song writer for the first time in the band’s history. He wrote some hits. We also had an amazing drummer - James Cook - who now plays in Urne. “Same. But Better.” and “Moaner” always go off live, and even though they might not be as well recognised as some of our bigger tunes, we were just happy to still be putting out tunes and EPs on our terms. It was a really fun period of the band. Ollie our bass player then moved to Australia so we roped in an old school friend, Sam, to fill his spot and he's been with us ever since. 

9. In February of last year, you had your 20th anniversary show at The Dome in London. How did that come together?

After taking a hiatus around 2023 which saw James leave the band to focus on Urne full time, we thought it made sense to bring the OG gang back together and invited Charlie and Lasselle to join us once again. We knew we wanted to mark the occassion so we booked downstairs at the dome with a view to put on a little show. That sold out within 24 hours so the promoter suggested we upgrade to the larger venue which we then also sold out. Honestly, it was so special. Seeing old faces, new faces, people flew in from all over Europe to be there. It was our longest ever set and we were absolutely fucked by the end of it but it was one of my favourite shows ever. We probably should've played a warm up gig beforehand but sometimes you've just gotta go for it!

10. The single “Pressure” followed later last year with at least one more show—so are you back to killing it on a “regular part-time basis,” or is it on a full-time basis now? What’s next for TRC?

We played quite a few shows last year but yeah it's definitely a regular part time basis. Most of us are married now, careers, mortgages, kids etc... so we can't be going on month long tours anymore - even a weekend of shows feels like a world tour! But it's still a buzz to get back together every now and then to bang out some tunes, win over some new fans and remind people we've still got it! And yes - “Pressure” is huge. It had to be. Couldn't come back with a half arsed tune that had people saying “eh... it's OK”. People seemed to love it so let's see what comes next! Definitely some shows. Got some fests booked for this summer but in terms of new tunes... we shall see…

11. Last question: Is it really cocky if you know that it’s true?

Apparently so! Cheers for taking the time with these questions bud. Appreciate your interest in TRC and thanks for being a long time listener. Nice one!