Trapt Is Headstrong

Trapt singer-guitarist Chris Brown had an uncommon choice facing him as his high school graduation approached in 1998: Continue jamming with the new-metal band he had formed at Northern California's Los Gatos High School, or give it up to play college football. "Most rock-music guys weren't sports players in high school," he says. "They were the outcasts. But I was definitely the keg-stand guy, and I'm not crying about how I was mistreated by life."

Despite the group's lack of teen alienation, Trapt's core members -- Brown, bassist Pete Charell and guitarist Simon Ormandy (drummer Monty joined in 2002) -- were inspired by the darker tones of bands such as Korn and Soundgarden. They were quick studies, too. After their second concert -- while still high school juniors -- Trapt were asked to open for Papa Roach.

In late 2000, their aggro live shows and a demo that included the current Number One modern-rock song,"Headstrong," caught the attention of Korn's label, Immortal Records. Then things got rough -- the label thought Trapt "didn't sound enough like Incubus," says Brown. "We just wanted to make a record we could call our own." The contract they scored with Warner Bros. guaranteed full creative control, and they co-produced Trapt, their 2002 debut.

The album's gradual rise may be due to its hard-to-classify sound -- Brown croons far more than he screams, and Ormandy's grunge-lite riffs give the album a mid-Nineties alt-rock feel. But "Headstrong" finally broke six months after its release, and the album has gone gold. It's a slow journey that the band appreciates, as it emulates the path of another role model: Dave Matthews. "He built a fan base grass-roots style," says Ormandy. "That's something we're starting to do."

ZENA BURNS
(June 17, 2003)

Watch the "Headstrong" video