John Jacobus, an Atlanta native, has been releasing music for over a decade. Returning to his hometown, and playing under the name Tricil, he is part of the lineup for Hijacking Music Festival this weekend at 529. Tricil took some time to talk with us about his one man band. Check it out!
How did you come up with your band name?
When I was a kid, I was obsessed with garbage trucks and other bits of machinery. I used to open the yellow pages to the rubbish removal section and look at the illustrations of the garbage trucks. Tricil was a now-defunct rubbish removal company. Fast forward to 1997. My high school industrial metal band needed a new band name as we’d already gone through three names that week. I was on the phone with my drummer at the time, glanced over to my dresser I’ve had since a kid, saw “TRICIL” scrawled on it and suggested that, and have been making music under that name ever since.
What is the strangest thing a fan has done for you? or at your show?
While nothing exactly strange has happened, fans have created remixes, album covers, music videos, and I’ve even received a painting of the girl from the Emancipation video as a Christmas present. This crowd-sourcing has filled in some of the gaps in lieu of a label.
What is your favorite gig you have ever attended?
August 23, 2009. Webster Hall NYC. Nine Inch Nails played the Downward Spiral in its entirety to a sold out crowd of 1,500.
What was the best gig you have ever played?
Nophest 2007&2011 are definitely on the shortlist, but my all time favorite gig was on my birthday, 3/11/2006 at this Snellville skateboarding arena in a strip mall called the Avenue with Whiskey Shit Vomit. It was a trip to play my abstract electronic music on my laptop in the middle of the afternoon on my birthday opening for a punk rock band and seeing the teenaged kids who’ve never even heard music like this before “get it.” That was priceless.
You are a one man band. How does that change how you make music?
Well, it’s mostly electronic so anything I can’t play on my guitar I compose and lately it’s inverted to where I add and disguise my guitar in my compositions. Live, I’ve run the gamut from DJ set to guitar and vocals with laptop backing to improv Live PA. Saturday’s show will be a throwback to that 2006 birthday show – all my music, remixed on the spot. I might even imagine kids doing tricks instead of folded arm chin scratchers 😉
Tricil rocks! Jacobus is one seriously talented musician with his own distinct sound. Definitely does not sound like anyone else. No cookie cutter music here!