Trey Bledsoe

Name: Trey Bledsoe (aka "The Guy With No Real Good AKA'S").

Age: Never reveal your age after 30. Make 'em guess. But I miss the days when I'd get carded and ppl would genuinely need to see it. .

Instrument: Drums (and can provide some of the worst backing vocals of all time for an extra 20 bucks).

Band/Former Bands: I honestly don't know where to start with that. I'll preface by saying I've never really been a traditional band guy. If you've seen the movie Bull Durham and paid attention to Kevin Costner's character Crash Davis, I feel like Crash Davis w/ drum sticks. I've had so many damn stops - in so many areas - I honestly don't know how many different acts but there's nothing big or anything that has a "wow" factor in terms of name recognition. Opened for a shitload of established and known names but never directly played for any of them. Cover bands, tribute bands, solo acts, quartets, trios, Blues bands, Country bands, Country solo artists, original acts, development deals, wedding gigs, worporate gigs, gigs with DJ's, hell I would've showed up and played the shit out of a triangle for 100 bucks if anybody asked. But I've had the absolute privilege to sit behind some players who absolutely deserved so much more than they ended up getting in music. In KentucKentucky, I was with an original act called Twist and that was probably my one time trying an actual band deal but that was 200 years ago during the Nu Metal phase (Actually, it was a lot of fun. Good friends made during that time). In Louisville, my friend Pat Bareis is the person I would thank for the initial friendships and connections I've tried to maintain in the area. I was never "the" drummer for his band Crazy Train but I was honored to step in when he was willing to have me. The vast majority of the time behind a kit, I've been for hire and not become overly attached to situations. I'm incredibly thankful to anyone who's been kind enough to provide work and opportunity along the way. Mean that. But in recent memory, I've done shows with Grimsley Rose, sat in with an act called Bury the Rest a few years back, Lexington based Gotcha who has a great permanent drummer now, my buddy Tim Hellard and I did a project called Damrell featuring Kelvin Damrell of the Steeldrivers, James Powell from Berea, Kentucky and was slated to include Dave Moody on bass. It doesn't look like that project will get off the ground but James did his best work in my opinion. Just good blues based rock and roll. And I just had a ball doing a reunion show with Pat and his original guitarist Scott Gravil in Crazy Train. What a player. Not to mention how incredible Reuben Sandoval is as a bassist. I was honored to play a small role in that show. And to this day, I'd still gladly audition for an up and running, established act looking at drummers if I had the inside track on something unique and could balance the opportunity with life in general. I've been told no before. It stings for a minute but really doesn't hurt that bad. And you can still make friendships every time you check out a new circle even when you're not the right fit.

How long on instrument: Technically I've been playing the wrong way for 25 years or so but I completely quit for an extended period somewhere in the middle. Very much loved baseball and basketball but by 15, I got the memo they didn't love me back. So, I'll guess I was 16 when I actually started practicing with purpose daily and a lot of ambition. By 17, I was doing gigs taking time off from school secretly hoping girls would dig that (they didn't). And while I wouldn't trade the experiences and friendships that came from that time, I often wonder what it would've been like if I'd slowed down a bit and gone anywhere to study drums. I truly wish I knew more about what I love to do. And after a certain point, the brain is very hesitant to bring in new information - especially on things like polyrhythms or re-learning limb independence so that stuff would've all gone down easier in the beginning stages. But I'm thankful for what I've figured out on my own and I've learned in phases. By the time a real job came into the picture, I felt like Forrest Gump when he quit running. I was pretty tired and hung it up. I knew by then that if I couldn't truly support myself with music, I needed to move on and thought I did. In 2013, I lost a dear friend named Huston Barger, Jr. He was one of my absolute best friends. That loss took me back to the kit in its own way. About a year after that, I was back behind a kit at the request of another dear friend James Powell from Berea, Kentucky and for the first time, I didn't have a goal other than to make the other players feel comfortable and have fun. I played to have fun and I'm still doing that with no delusions of grandeur.

Equipment: DW Drums / Zildjian Cymbals / Vic Firth Sticks / DW Hardware and NONE of them send me free shit. Now that I'm Playmate of the Month - I expect one of those fuckers to get up with me. If they don't, I'm blaming it all on you Eddy.

Influences: Tommy Lee is the first one I saw who made drums seem possible but in hindsight - Tommy Lee came attached to a lifestyle of being in a huge band. I was damn near 20 before I realized the chances of forming a huge band with big money were slim and none - but being a not so glamorous working drummer was entirely possible. Then I got into Eric Singer, John Tempesta, Jimmy Degrasso, Randy Castillo, Sean Kinney, Vinnie Paul, Alex VH, Jeff Porcaro, Clyde Stubblefield, Carmine Appice, Tomas Haake, Morgan Rose, Brian Tichy, went back and really listened to guys like Bonham, Ginger Baker, Bill Ward and I keep stumbling onto players I truly enjoy. I'll study them a bit and incorporate elements I can understand or that make sense. And beyond the national stuff, there are so many fantastic players region to region. One that always comes to mind is Chris Leathers from a band called Supafuzz. Chris is an incredible player and an even better guy. But I'm still always moved by a song, a pocket or a vibe much more than a blistering lick at the end of the day. The players that moved me proved they could do that over and over again while simultaneously showing how skilled they were overall in subtle and tasteful ways.

My first gig: Can't remember an actual band or anything like that which I would consider to be my first gig but I do remember my first real circuit / paying gig which was to be a Wed - Sat five sets a night thing. The band was fired the first fucking night before their last set and deservedly so for being bush league. That drove me insane but it was an excellent lesson in "Act like you've been there before" and learn you only get one shot at a first impression. And by that point, I was setting off to play in order to eat. All other options - in my mind anyway - were out the window. .

Hobbies: I LOVE recording and I actually enjoy doing the YouTube thing. It's another creative outlet and a new audience. I offer and provide drum tracks to a range of acts as long as I feel I can be beneficial and help them attain the sound they want. I can paint some sick stick figures. I also continue my quest to be a 145 lb. body builder with no real stunning physical attributes. I'm not holding my breath that I'll find myself in the Arnold Classic. (I do like staying active as much as possible).

Favorite movies: Godfather II, Goodfellas, Airplane, Kentucky Fried Movie, Pulp Fiction, basically anything with Leslie Nielsen - the new Deadwood movie was awesome. Fantastic writing and acting. Better be a Breaking Bad movie.

Favorite food: Rare steak from a reputable place or fixed myself. Strangely, I still eat terribly risky Kentucky gas station sandwiches. That'll get me again.

Favorite place: If it's humid and has a beach, I'll make it work.

Favorite sports or team: UK Basketball to a degree and Boxing. I'll watch boxing on any channel any time and if you're into Boxing - please support Louisville Select Boxing. Sean and Nicholas Bareis are helping change kids lives at that place. And I love football, NBA, MLB, etc. Unfortunately, I had to stop going to underground cock fights. I kept showing up and holding a John 3:16 sign and eventually was blacklisted.

What I'm listening to nowadays: Like everybody else, a mixed fucking bag. 12 Ft. Ninja, Motionless, Periphery, Bring Me The Horizon, Meshugga, While She Sleeps, Steve Vai, Sevendust, still listen to Black Sabbath for fun, fair amount of driving EDM and various remixes, I love 90's hip hop, I'll get on a Southern Rock kick (SKentuckynyrd's One More From The Road is still a massively bad ass album). Mind bending stuff is Oceans Ate Alaska at the moment and I never stop listening to Motown on and off. But I wake up and listen to some of the blandest shit. This morning I fired up Starship's "Sarah" and just quietly sang along because I'm a nerd.

Coolest thing I've done: This is HORRIBLY uncomfortabl... LOL! Man, I don't know. I'm not that cool. Musically... I could throw out some gig or do the "I played in front of X number of people"...but those are all shared moments with the other musicians when they go well. They're all fun moments to be a part of. Just getting back behind a kit was a proud moment. Hardly anyone there that particular night but it didn't matter. In my time away, I'd fallen completely out of shape, looked awful, felt worse and I'd been eaten head to toe by anxiety. So it wasn't as simple as riding a bike. It was a full on undertaking to enjoy life and reinsert drums into the mix. Physical components, mental components, had to regain some confidence from scratch and claw my way back to enjoying what I loved. Why I shared that is beyond me. Other than that, I think my bar fight record is officially 1-3. That one was epic.

Most embarrassing moment: I've bit it in one way or another so many times on stage I can't even remember what stands out so I'll go with something that has nothing to do with music. Years ago as a young whippersnapper, I took an Exit that didn't exist, flipped my car and it caught on fire with me in it. Very fortunate to escape that heaping mess with nothing major. But, it taught me a valuable lesson. Now I look to make sure that I'm taking Exits that don't have big ass signs that say "CLOSED".

Bad Habits: Smoking and having hookers snort blow off my ass. I also walk around with my shoes untied. Two out of three are true. (I lied about my shoes being untied).

What was your first concert ever: Technically Kiss even though I was too young to remember the whole deal. It takes a cool ass Mom to take a four-year-old to a Kiss show in a Gene Costume she made.

If you could meet a Rockstar (past or present), who would it be, and why: Prince because he ruled, and because he was Prince, odds are something weird would've happened. In the same breath, I would've LOVED to hang out with Charlie Murphy.

Who do you love: My family, my little brother, the ol' ball and chain Lindsey Owens, who's tired as can be of me, but she still lets me in the door and anybody who's been kind enough to be a friend. And I respect the people who still come to see shows or offer support. The roles were reversed a long time ago - it's the musicians privilege to perform on any platform. I owe effort to the people who offer support. They owe me nothing. Just my two cents on that anyways. .