Trapper Schoepp Takes You Track By Track on 'Bay Beach Amusement Park'

​Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter Trapper Schoepp follows up his two critically acclaimed full-lengths [Run Engine, Run and Rangers & Valentines] with his latest EP, Bay Beach Amusement Park, which was released June 2nd. The self-penned outing, named for the cherished Wisconsin park (which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year), offers wildly original, well-crafted story-songs that salute six classic rides, each taking the listener on a detailed, imaginative journey while incorporating romance, fear, and excitement in ways that are distinctively unique and flat out fun.

Schoepp relays the idea for the project which began with one particular ride, “If you haven't been to an amusement park in a while, it's a bit of a sensory overload. It's the sights, sounds, and that feeling deep in your gut when you're on a big twisting piece of machinery in the sky. Bay Beach is everything the big corporate amusement parks aren't, and it's not pretending to be anything it isn't. The Zippin Pippin is what drew me in initially, but I fell in love with the park a little more with each visit.”
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Further capturing the nostalgia of a day at the park, Schoepp grounded the project with a 50’s feel from the carefree beach party vibe of the opener to the darker, smoky flavor of "The Scat" saying, “Like the rides themselves, I wanted the songs to be a throwback. I was thinking of it as a period piece but had no delusions that we could make it sound that much like those early rhythm and blues records. There are a multitude of technical and artistic reasons why those records sound the way they do and you'd be a fool to think you could capture the same kind of lightning in a bottle in those Chuck Berry and Buddy Holly records. The record is a nod, not a replication.”

Read on as Schoepp takes you on a musical ride, giving a glimpse into the story behind the songs, track by track.

Album Cover Art by Gabriela Riveros.

"Welcome to Bay Beach!"
-I wanted this to be an invitation and theme song for ​Bay Beach​. It shares some bits of the park's history and a folk legend about a boy named Eddie. As the tall tale goes, little Eddie wasn't tall enough to ride the rollercoasters so his parents put him on the giant slide. He flew off the slide into the bay, never to be seen again​.​ The ghost of little Eddie can be seen floating above the Zippin Pippin in the album art.
Watch the "Welcome to Bay Beach" lyric video HERE.
 
"Tilt-A-Whirl"
-The music and lyrics here​ ​have that​ ​feeling​ ​of​ ​a​ ​first crush. The​ ​boy​ ​in the song is infatuated with the Tilt-A-Whirl’s operator.​ ​He's​ ​too shy to ​actually ​talk to her, so he​ just​ rides over and over until he gets sick.
A​ ​guy​ ​named Herbert W. Sellner invented the Tilt-A-Whirl in his basement in Fairbault, MN. He got the idea by setting his son on a chair on their kitchen table. He’d then move the table around until his kid started laughing. Midwestern ingenuity!
 
"Zippin Pippin"
-I wrote the lyrics while waiting in line to ride the Zippin Pippin. I listened to the clickety-clack of the​ ​rollercoaster​ ​and set the words to that rhythm. The rollercoaster is known​ ​for being​ ​Elvis Presley’s favorite ride.​ ​He​ ​rented its old home, ​​Libertyland,​ ​on August 8, 1977 from 1:15 a.m. until 7 a.m. to entertain a group of​ ​friends. He was wearing​ ​a blue jumpsuit with a black leather belt, huge belt buckle with turquoise studs and gold chains, the King rode the Pippin repeatedly during a two-hour period.​ ​This late night joyride was his last public appearance​ ​before passing eight days later.​ ​I'm sure it was quite the site to see.
 
"The Scat"
-I was on this spinning gravitron ride and the boy across from me appeared to be having the worst day of his life. He kept saying over and over, “I feel weird, I feel numb, I wish that this would end." In an album full of good times, I wanted to have a dark song in there to show how some people don't have fun at amusement parks.
 
"Bumpers Cars"
-All your favorite pop culture rivalries are going at it here in bumper cars! To name a few, we have the Jedi and Sith, Jerry Seinfeld and Newman, and Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. I wrote it after the election this year in the midst of all the divisiveness.
Watch the video for "Bumper Cars" HERE.
 
"Ferris Wheel"
-This is a careful-what-you-wish-for tale of two brothers riding the ferris wheel. They scream out in unison “we wish this never ends” and it makes the ferris wheel become an anthropomorphic, unstoppable ride. In the last verse, the ride appears to ​stopping ​but starts back up in a fury of flashing lights and changing speeds. It triggers all the other rides at the park to ​light up and ​start moving​. T​he record ends with ​this ​chaotic supernatural scene under the night sky.

Already a seasoned road warrior, Schoepp has crisscrossed the country sharing stages with The Wallflowers, The Jayhawks, The Old 97’s, and most recently Ha Ha Tonka. This summer he and his band are playing throughout Wisconsin and Minnesota with more dates to be added.
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To keep up with Trapper Schoepp visit hisofficial website.
Find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and You Tube.
Purchase Bay Beach Amusement Park HERE

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