Comprised of multi-talented creatives and best friends, Rock and Luca, these LA natives are brought together by their mutual love for Western cinema and potent women. Fueled by their shared passions and unwavering commitment to authenticity, the dynamic duo embarks on a sonic odyssey aimed at inspiring others on their paths to self-discovery. “Cowboy Mama”not only marks the dawn of their musical journey but also encapsulates the very essence of Trophy Wives. Produced by friends and collaborators Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon from the multi-platinum selling and Grammy® Award-winning band Imagine Dragons, the airy tones of tropical instrumentals layered with the cinematic elements of an Italian Spaghetti Western over a vibey pop melody make this musical tale of difficult to woo women a standout.
Your music features many different elements. How did you come up with such a unique mix?
Rock – Because most of my family is from the South, I’ve always been fascinated with Southern culture and country music. My grandmother, being a big Dolly Parton and Tammy Wynette fan along with the likes of Hank Williams, is what inspired the country-side of the project. When it comes to the tropical elements, I studied 6 years of World Music under Dr. Jason Bruns, which introduced me to a vast array of instruments and sounds that totally fascinated me. I thought it would be really fun and interesting to combine the two because I felt like it had never really been done in the way I was hearing, and boom, lo and behold it actually sounds pretty rad!
Luca – I grew up on an eclectic mix of music and was always drawn to cross-genre sounds. One of my favorite memories is watching Spaghetti Western films with my grandfather. I was impressed by the soundtrack’s sonic textures and big cinematic sounds. Rock and I both love world music and our curiosity to mix the elements took us to a place that felt more at home than we could have imagined. We wanted it to feel nostalgic and new all at once.
What inspired the name Trophy Wives?
Luca – Rock actually came up with the name and I of course agreed; loving the idea of being two dykes called Trophy Wives.
Rock – The name Trophy Wives came to me in a dream about two years ago. I held onto the name until a project came along that felt right because I thought it was so clever. I’m really not sure why it came to me, but I do know that being a butch lesbian with the band name Trophy Wives is pretty funny – Am I the trophywife? Am I looking for a trophy wife? The world may never know!
How did you decide to start this project?
Rock – I have always been in and out of different music projects, singing and producing music, and concocting bands in my mind that never really came to fruition the way I wanted them to, but to be completely transparent, after having my heart completely broken by a girl, another musician I might add, I decided I wanted to give it another go. I already lost the girl, so what more could I lose? Let me try for my dreams again and give it all the blood, sweat, and tears I got this time around!
Luca – One day we were driving around in my truck listening to music and sharing collaborative ideas. We realized the music we were both interested in making was this cross of country western and world music. It felt kismet that we had dreamt the same dream even before it existed. We couldn’t find this style of music anywhere, so we knew we had to make it together.
Tell us about your debut single “Cowboy Mama”. What inspired it?
Rock – “Cowboy Mama” is inspired by that woman who is just out of reach. The one who is unattainable, but you got a taste and are unfortunately wanting more. The sounds are inspired by tropical French House music combined with a few touches of Western flair.
Luca – “Cowboy Mama” is about the one who’s just out of reach. That unrequited love of a wild woman that has you pinning to be near her, but she never lets you get close. The tropical electro-house beat mixes perfectly with our Western ways to get people swinging.
How is working with Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon? What did they bring to the mix?
Luca – We could not ask for better executive producers. They both fostered the sound with us and really brought it to another level. Wayne is such a master instrumentalist and adds so many layers of arrangement and texture. Dan brings an insane instinct for production that gives Trophy Wives the cinematic qualities you hear.
Rock – First, I just want to point out that Dan and Wayne are some of the greatest and most kind humans in the world and I am so thankful to have the chance to work with such brilliant minds (musically and beyond)! I feel like I won the lottery getting to work with these two. Dan is a total mastermind when it comes to understanding a vision and of course lyrics and melody! So when it came to working on “Cowboy Mama” with him it was so shockingly smooth and came out exactly how I had dreamt it would. Wayne is a total beast on all things instrumental and it has been so fun watching him play instruments he may have not before thought to learn and play, like the lap steel. Basically, it’s just been a real pleasure to work with both of them and I feel extremely lucky to get the chance to.
Photography Andy Chavez
What can we expect from Trophy Wives in the near future?
Rock – We have been building a pretty exciting catalog of tunes that I cannot wait to release into the wild. Patience has been a tad bit tricky for me in this project, hah! It’s only because I really love and believe in everything we are working on so I want to immediately just share it! So, definitely more releases are in our near future, as well as a few live shows we have lined up with an awesome band that consists of some of my very good and talented friends. And you can definitely expect me to be dancing and singing my ass off! LOL
Luca – A lot more bangers coming your way. We’ve written the soundtrack to your sexiest summer. Definitely some fun shows starting with Oct 19th at Resident DTLA.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Rock – Just that I am so excited to be able to finally share this project with the people who may dig listening to the music, and also to be able to connect with those people so we can all enjoy the tropical western ride together!
Luca – I’m so stoked to share all the love that has gone into this special project. I can’t wait to see people connect to it, feel good and dance their asses off.
