Teens in Trouble
It’s been a busy year for Teens in Trouble, releasing a new album and hitting the road multiple times -- including en route to FEST 22.
The project began with Lizzie Killian solo, growing into a band. We caught up with Killian to hear how things are going and who will be playing with her at Fest.
Scene Point Blank: First, how many times have you played The Fest? How many times have you personally attended (if that # is different)?
Lizzie Killian: This will be our second time playing Fest! My first time playing, and first time attending, was last year at FEST 21.
Scene Point Blank: What festivals have you played? What makes The Fest stand out?
Lizzie Killian: We have focused on festivals a lot this year, and so far in 2024 we've played Belltown Bloom in Seattle, No Earbuds Fest in Pomona, MidWest Friends Fest near Cincinnati, Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, and Bridge City Fest in Portland. We have also played Pouzza Fest last year in Montreal. Fest stands out to me in the way that it feels like a huge summer camp of punks, where you can easily run into someone you know, even as a first-timer last year. Last year, we toured to Fest with Sweet Gloom and Tiny Stills, so it was fun to hang out with them all weekend and see different sets together.
Scene Point Blank: What are your memories about playing Fest last year?
Lizzie Killian: I enjoyed seeing our friends and familiar faces out in the crowd during our set! We played at The Wooly, which was a really cool venue.
Scene Point Blank: Who is a band/artist you discovered at Fest last year?
Lizzie Killian: I saw Audio Karate play for the first time -- I knew of them through mutual friends, but it was cool to see them live! I think this was also the first band I saw at Fest overall.
Scene Point Blank: Share a random memory from Fest, be it seeing a favorite band, running across an old friend, or just some weird thing you saw in the crowd.
Lizzie Killian: It was my first time having a Hard Mountain Dew Baja Blast and I still think about it to this day. I also loved seeing Suzie True at How Bazar.
Scene Point Blank: Teens in Trouble is you and a rotating, supporting cast -- is that correct? Is your Fest set full-band or solo (or both)?
Lizzie Killian: Yeah, Teens in Trouble started as my solo project, and when I started playing live shows as Teens in Trouble a couple years ago, I had to get a band together.
Scene Point Blank: When you write a song, how quickly do you know if it will be stripped down or a full band?
Lizzie Killian: I think I tend to gravitate toward writing songs with a full band in mind. The only stripped down song I have recorded with only acoustic guitar is "I Wonder What You're Doing Now" on my debut EP from 2022. But I mostly start off writing all my songs on acoustic guitar, so when I've played solo sets a lot of the songs translate well in a stripped down setup.
Scene Point Blank: Because so many bands already travel to Fest, is your backing band at this show in particular much different than shows at home? Do you play with different musicians at Fest than at "your average show"?
Lizzie Killian: We are touring to Fest again this year with Teenage Halloween and our band lineup will be different! While I try to keep the backing band consistent, it really often depends on people's availability. For this run, we have Jaake Margo on bass (from Sweet Gloom) who has played with us a couple times already and rocks. We will also have Avery Okamura from (One Armed Joey) on lead guitar and Henry LaVallee (from Naked Giants) on drums.
Scene Point Blank: What's Mine came out in the spring. How has the release cycle been going for you? What songs are the most meaningful or fun for you to play at this moment in time?
Lizzie Killian: It's been a really exciting year with the album out and playing these songs live and focusing on touring. We just wrapped a tour in August with Bat Boy and The Dreaded Laramie along the East Coast and Midwest and it's been cool to see people in different towns know these songs and get excited about their favorites.
I've really enjoyed playing "You Don't Want To Mess With Me" live -- it has so many little fun parts and takes all my full power to perform. "Autopilot" is also just so fun to play live -- it's hard for me not to dance when we're playing that song.
Scene Point Blank: Have any of the songs taken on a new meaning as you play them live? I imagine the rotating band breathes new life into "old" songs?
Lizzie Killian: All I know is that "Playlist" keeps getting faster and faster, haha.
Scene Point Blank: What are you working on next?
Lizzie Killian: This tour to Fest is our last run of shows for the year, and I've already started slowly writing new songs again. I'm back in the studio again in January and planning a few shows already for the spring, though I'd like to focus more on writing next year. I also started a label with friends in Dog Party called Sneak Dog Records, so we have a few of our friends' releases in the pipeline!
Scene Point Blank: Since you also work in PR, in conjunction with your sound straddling so many styles of music -- how do you feel about genre labels, as people apply them to your music? I imagine that working both sides of the biz gives you a unique perspective.
Lizzie Killian: I like rock music and I like writing rock songs. But sometimes I like to write slower, sad songs, and then they sound less rock. Does it then make it indie? Folky? Singer-Songwriter-y? I honestly have no idea. Our Instagram bio says "rock music for dog people," which I remember coming up with maybe last year when asked about our genre. Felt kind of meaningless to say "indie rock" or "indie punk" or whatever Teens in Trouble is. "Rock music for dog people" doesn't say much either, but at least it's fun.
Scene Point Blank: Anything you'd like to add?
Lizzie Killian: I also like cats.
