The Trapps to debut at Bullfrog

New-York based Americana-roots band, The Trapps, will play at 10 p.m. Friday at the Bullfrog Brewery, 231 W. Fourth St.

According to guitar player and singer Sean Schenker, The Trapps' latest CD, "Cheap Seats," recently landed at No. 74 of the Top 100 Americana-roots albums on the Americana Music Association charts and is being played on more than 100 radio stations around the world.

"We've received the most response from the song, 'Hope', probably from the title and also the tempo," Schenker said. "The message of the song is about trying to find that ray of hope we're all looking for."

According to Schenker, no matter what side of the fence listeners are on politically, the band offers a slew of material for everyone.

Schenker is a self-taught guitar player and singer-songwriter and said he started playing at a young age.

"I lived down South for 10 years, playing in a band (Mishap) in Athens, Ga., then moved to Brooklyn while my wife was finishing school," Schenker said.

Schenker's childhood friend, Jason Sarubbi, plays electric and stand-up bass with The Trapps, while also providing back-up vocals.

Band members, all in their mid-30s, include Warren Gold, who plays lead and slide guitar; and Seth Moutal, who Schenker said plays with a traditional drum kit, but also likes to play the rack tom, dabbles with percussion and enjoys playing the hand drum to Mideastern and African sounds.

"I have a daughter and a child on the way," Schenker said. "The guitar player has three kids, the bass player has two and the drummer is single. But this is very much a full-time thing for us. We find very few people in our age group who are still doing what we're doing." Because of the family ties, Schenker called The Trapps "weekend warriors."

"We take the gigs that make sense," he said. "As fathers and husbands who hold down day jobs, the long tours don't really happen unless they make sense."

The band formed eight years ago and has been standing on two solid legs a good long while, Schenker said, and the new record is helping to "take us to a new place."

"It's ("Cheap Seats") has been garnering some nice accolades and acclaim from radio and press nationally and oversees," he said.

The group's first CD, "Good Luck or Goodbye," also did well on the radio. The songs, "I'm Through" and "Alright Now" each share a bluesey, commercially accessible sound.

As far as hearing himself on the radio for the first time, Schenker said, "I think after I stopped screaming by myself in the car, I called my wife and then my mom. It's pretty amazing to be in the car and hear a song that you wrote. It made me realize the songs that we all like - what you're listening to - all is part of a whole world that existed before that song was put out for public consumption."

"There's stations in Woodstock (New York) that have been supporters of us since we started," he said. "They play us pretty regularly now. Being self-produced and making both of the records independently, we sort of put our own blood, sweat and tears into the recording and getting it out, so to hear it was a huge thrill."

The Trapps have been compared to the sounds of The Band, The Jayhawks and The Black Crowes. While its involvement in rootsy Americana is a good fit, the band also tangos with jamming at festivals, as well.

Schenker prides himself in the honesty portrayed by The Trapps.

"We've been working well at radio, but in terms of a live band, we realize that there's people that like it and some that don't and that's fine," Schenker said.

Music, Schenker said, is like a lost art form.

"You're gonna get a lot of classic artists that you can hear direct ties to in what we do," he said. "In some form with some of the younger generation, there's a lot of that that's lost. Since we're all original, our songs are story-driven. There's a sense of integrity and honesty in art and in the music. It's important to us, as human beings, that we put that out there. An audience knows that and can easily see when the band isn't doing that."

There will be a $3 cover charge for the show.

For more information, visit www.thetrapps.net or www.bullfrogbrewery.com.