Heee Haw, Honeybees! Step right up and take a gander at the newest humdinger to add to your playlist: ‘Cowboy Mama’ by Trophy Wives. With their unique fusion of sun and country, you’ll believe you’ve d*ed and gone to paradise! ‘Cowboy Mama’ has quickly become one of our favorite new discoveries of 2023, and we got the chance to talk to them all about ‘Cowboy Mama,’ their style, and much more!
Meet Trophy Wives
We’d love to know more about Trophy Wives and your beginnings! How did you meet and come together as artists?
Rock: Okay, try to follow me here! A good friend introduced me to Dan Reynolds because he thought we would get along well, and his intuition was correct! Luca was friends with Dan, and so Dan introduced Luca and me. Dan is also in a little band with Wayne, and they are best friends, so we all just started hanging out a bunch. Obviously, creating music is a big part of their lives and has also been a part of mine, so sharing music started to become a natural part of our friendships. Luca and I then decided we wanted to start making music together under the name Trophy Wives. Dan and Wayne loved the project, so we all just started collaborating together, and the rest is history!
Luca: Rock and I ran into each other years ago in our shared neighborhood, Virgil Village, when I stopped them to talk about their vintage motorcycle. A year or so later, Dan, whom I’ve known for years, had a party, and Rock happened to be there. We hit it off immediately. Over time, we shared creative visions and music we were working on individually, and there was this strange alignment of crossing Western and tropical sounds. Dan and Wayne were intrigued and became collaborative partners in creating this cinematic sound we were all interested in vibing to.
What motivated you to get into music? What aspirations did you have growing up that you’ve taken with you now into your career?
Rock: To be completely honest, I have no idea! It feels like it found me or was just part of my soul from the very beginning. My parents, who are not musically inclined at all, say that from the moment I could talk, they knew two things… that I was definitely a lesbian, hah! And that I wanted to continuously be in and around music and perform in front of people. Growing up, I played and quit somewhere around ten different instruments, but I always went back to the piano, where I would sit for hours to write and sing.
Luca: I started playing guitar and writing embarrassing teenage angst songs around 13, thinking I would magically transform into Kurt Cobain. I used music to escape reality, and it gave me a sense of self-growing up. I really aspire to create music and moments for others to get lost in, connect, and just feel something bigger.
All About Trophy Wives’ Music And ‘Cowboy Mama’
Your sound is something we can only describe as a hoedown in Bermuda! We love the tropical tones matched with the Western spirit. What inspired you to create such a dynamic blend? Who have been some of your influences?
Rock: I LOVE this description! I studied world music in school under Dr. Jason Bruns for a few years, and so for me, the tropical elements come from there. This world has so many cool sounds and instruments that we in America have not even scratched the surface of, and so it was a goal of mine to bring some of those elements to this project. I’m a massive fan of Khruangbin and Polo and Pan, who are all total legends at incorporating world sounds into their music, so they were very inspiring to me in beginning this project. The southern elements for me come from the fact that my mother and our whole family are from Louisiana, so visiting my southern family at least once a year my whole life, there was just no way I could escape country music! Luckily for me, my grandparents listened to cool stuff like Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, and Tammy Wynette. And let’s be real… pop music rules, so that aspect will always just be a no-brainer for me!!
Luca: Haha, I feel seen. I grew up watching Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns with my grandfather, and I was obsessed with the scores. I remember hearing Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood’s ‘Summer Wine,’ and it felt, texturally, like a tropical spaghetti Western. I love French house, so the idea of mixing genres with similar feelings in unexpected ways got my mind racing. Rock has a background in world music and southern roots, so the ideas between us were countless.
‘Cowboy Mama’ – Trophy Wives
I think calling it “tropical western pop” is just the most basic straight forward way to describe it. But I also like to say “if Palm Springs (tropical desert) and Joshua Tree (western desert) had a baby!”
Rock from Tophy Wives on their sound
Your single, ‘Cowboy Mama,’ is such a vibe! Can you take us through the songwriting process and how the song came together?
Rock: The process of writing this song was pretty straightforward and came very quickly. It was the first song we ever wrote all together, so we kind of just thought about what elements we wanted to add, and then it just turned into this song. We actually wrote it the literal day after we decided to be in a band at like 7 a.m. We were obviously really excited to get the ball rolling!
Luca: This was the first song we wrote together in the early morning hours at Dan’s studio. We wanted it to feel sexy, vibey, and cross-genres of old western and tropical-French-house, give the feeling of both old and new, and really make you bounce. The song is about a wild crush that’s just out of reach and came easily as we mutually understood the tension of unrequited love. We were just playing with ideas, and it kind of transformed before us into something really special. We were dancing and screaming by 10 a.m., so we knew we had something fun!
Fun In The Sun With Trophy Wives
Speaking of vibes, your music makes us want to take a vacation to paradise right now! We have to know, what would be your ideal vacation?
Rock: Oh, this is a fun question! And I think, as of right now, my ideal vacation would actually be one that is not about seeing any sights but just about chilling, so a really rad Air BnB in Joshua Tree with a hot tub, grill, and microscope sounds beyond perfect to me.
Luca: Oooh, great question! Right now, I’m in the mood to cruise through Italy on a motorcycle from north to south and end up on a beach off Puglia for a few weeks.
We also can’t help but notice your impeccable style is as unique as your music! Do you feel you use fashion as another form of self-expression? Does your musical taste ever influence your clothing choices?
Rock: Well, you must be referring to Luca because my style usually means t-shirts, sweatshirts, and joggers that I end up cutting way too short, but wear anyway! With maybe some random patches sewn on here and there to make it “custom,” lol. I absolutely believe that fashion is an important form of self-expression, and for me, it’s always been very intuitive. I cannot help but be exactly who I am, and that definitely includes what goes on in my body. I just let whatever comes to me be me, and I have never been one to wear what may be “in.” And I have always loved a good Hawaiian shirt and cowboy hat combo, so I guess that’s pretty much as tropical western as you can get!
Luca: Awe, thanks 🙂 My clothing is definitely an extension of my imagination and expression. As a teen, you could tell exactly who I was listening to and looking up to for reference, but now I think it’s about giving myself a feeling for what I wear.
We’ve got another random one for you. We can’t get the visions of the Wild West out of our heads. So, we’re going to give you a tough one. If you were stuck in the Wild Wild West and could bring three items, what would they be?
Rock: I live for the random ones! If I got to bring three items to the Wild West, I’d bring a solar-powered record player with some vinyl; definitely, ‘Simply The Best’ by Tina Turner would be one of them. I would also bring a tricked-out golf cart that had a lifetime battery supply because that would be a pretty epic way to get around, especially since I’m allergic to horses, LOL. And if my family weren’t with me, I would bring a picture of them because I am obsessed with them. And if they were with me, I would bring an endless supply of flavored sparkling water; I am, unfortunately, always craving one.
Luca: I’d need a fast horse, a guitar, and Zoe Kravitz. I feel like everything else would come easily from there.
What’s Next?
We know this is just the beginning for Trophy Wives! How do you see yourselves growing as a group? Do you have anything upcoming you can share with us?
Rock: I genuinely have no clue what the future holds for Trophy Wives, but I do know that we have been building a pretty awesome catalog of songs that I hope to be able to continue to share! That and in the very near future, we have our first show at Resident DTLA on Oct. 19, which I am beyond stoked for, so hopefully, live shows will continue to be a part of our future plans as well!
Luca: I think the juiciest parts of life come from the unknown, so I try not to look too far ahead. Expectations can kill the dream 😉 That said, we have some really wicked songs coming to the world soon, and we are pretty geeked about it and think you will be, too. We also have some interesting collaborations underway, so stay tuned…
And lastly, as you continue to put your art into the world, what messages do you hope to convey in your music or emotions to evoke in your audience?
Rock: I could say a million things here and go on forever, but to sum it up as simply as I can, I just want to convey to people that finding your authenticity and having the willingness to support and celebrate other’s differences is invaluable and what our world needs. Essentially, I just want to be able to spread the message that real good big ole LOVE is truly the answer.
Luca: This project was birthed from love for music, love for each other, and a love for ourselves, and more than anything, I hope that’s felt and inspires the listener. The message is to stay connected, be your truest self, love freely, and dance with us to show you mean it.
So, what are you waiting for? Grab your cowboy hat and a fruity drink and stream ‘Cowboy Mama’ by Trophy Wives right now! We bet you’ll be line dancing in no time!
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