Punk rock group Power Trip is not messing around when it comes to bringing intensity to their music and their upcoming performance at the Norman Music Festival.
Lead singer Riley Gale brings that intensity to everything that he does. He got into the punk scene naturally, living in San Diego during the hardcore punk renaissance.
"I had a cousin who was a couple years older than me," Gale said. "He liked all that kinda early Fat Wreck/Epitaph scene. He got me into NOFX and Stung Out. I could download an MP3 overnight of a new band, so everyday I would go home from school and and download one MP3 on like a 52k connection. Then the next morning, I would get up early and listen to it."
Ever since those fateful middle school years, Gale has been heavily invested in the punk scene.
"I had a band in high school that was just like a crappy punk band that played like backyard birthday parties and then about the time I was 17, I was able to start my first band that actually recorded and played around," Gale said. However, Power Trip didn’t form until 2008.
Gale knew guitar player Blake Ibanez, whose band would occasionally open for one of Gale’s earlier bands.
"I had been sitting on this idea to start this band that had this specific sound," Gale said.
Gale posted about it online and Ibanez responded.
"Our parents lived in the same neighborhood, so I was like, 'The next time that I'm in town visiting my parents, maybe we'll get together and jam,'" Gale said. "I was pretty wary because I was 22 and he was only 16. Then, as soon as we got together and started jamming, we wrote like three songs that day."
Meanwhile, Ibanez was still in another band, called Reality Check.
Gale said that was an easy problem to fix. "They just kicked out their singer, changed their name, and that was Power Trip."
Rhythm guitarist Nick Stewart and bassist Chris Whetzel, were part of the deal. The band’s drummer, Chirs Ulsh, is the newest member, but also the drummer who has been around the longest.
Together, the band has an impressive touring schedule, just coming off a tour with Lamb of God and Anthrax.
Power Trip’s songs draw from a variety of sources. Gale likes to write about "where we’re heading as people, because that’s what hasn’t been written yet, and that’s what let me have something interesting to talk about — rather than writing the same songs again and again," he said
Gale admits he’s heavily influenced by science fiction, but also draws from Michel Foucault’s "Discipline and Punish," writing songs about medieval torture. Specific torture devices, executioners taxes and the development of the prison system all make appearances in songs.
"All metal songs can’t be rainbows and sunshine, so sometimes it’s some kinda grim stuff, but usually I try to make it feel empowering," Gale said, laughing.
Gale sometimes draws from his own reading, which is varied and voracious. Currently working his way through "Autobiography of Mark Twain," he highly recommends Anne Garréta’s "Sphinx," a novel written on the French experimental group Oulipo.
Gale also reads a lot of comics.
"It’s easier to read in the van," he said.
With Power Trip in the middle of a massive tour spanning two continents, having played with some heavy-hitters like Foreseen, Death Side, Gag and Lower Species, it doesn’t seem like they’d have time for anything else. Gale even let loose that they have "something for the U.S. that we haven’t announced yet," coming up this summer.
As for their set on Friday, "So much depends on the crowd," Gale said. "I know that we’re going to come out there and we’re going to play hard and fast. Since it’s free, I expect basically any kid who likes punk and hardcore in Oklahoma to be there."
Power Trip will be playing at 11 p.m. on Friday on the Fowler Honda Gray Street Stage. Check out their latest album below.
