We had the good fortune of connecting with Troy Richardson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Troy, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
It’s probably important to define what success means to everyone in every industry, but it’s particularly important in the music biz.

Chasing money, fame, attention and all that will make a person crazy. Also defining where you’re at in your career compared to another artist is going to be an endless road of sadness.

I define success as how happy I am doing what I’m doing. I enjoy seeing how well it’s connecting with an audience but that’s not measure of success. There are, I’m sure, many great artists that just didn’t find the right audience.

So, the most important factor in my success is my creative happiness. It may sound arrogant, but I need to create for myself. I think every artist does. Also, I think we are our own harshest critics. I know I am. So, as I’m working on something, I’ll ask myself if this music is interesting. Does it have a unique viewpoint? If I’m not doing something that adds to the body of art in the world, I shouldn’t be doing it. When I gave up writing to please other people, or try to win over audiences, my songs greatly improved. The more I wrote for myself, the more it seemed to resonate with other people.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I don’t think any musician will say they had it easy. Almost everyone has to essentially work two jobs — one “real” one and one as a musician. And today, a musician is their own producer, social media manager, PR person, booker and record label.

Some struggles are unavoidable and some we create for ourselves. Being an independent college student with no support from my family, I graduated with a degree from the best contemporary music school in the world, but also with crippling debt that still follows me today. Most musicians can work their way up with little gigs for short money, building on that as they make a name for themselves. For someone with student loans, you need a real job, pretty much right after graduating.

Like my grandpa, I developed a problem with alcohol that followed me throughout most of my adult life. You’d think it wouldn’t be hard to have a music career and keep drinking, but it’s a lot easier to just drink. Rehearsing a band and writing songs is time-consuming and difficult. Planting yourself on a barstool and drinking is easy. I don’t feel I was committed to my craft until I got sober in 2011.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, my friend would want to see what I’m up to, so we’d go to Michael Dova Studios, where TruckerBomb rehearses. We’d probably have one of our famous TruckStock parties in honor of my friend being in town.

I like old school Chinese restaurants, so I’d probably go to Twin Dragon on Pico on the westside. I’d take my friend to Greco’s in Hollywood to dispel the rumors of the city not having any good pizza. They have huge slices that are excellent and reminds me of east coast pizza a lot. No LA trip is complete without Mexican food, and El Compadre on Sunset is a classic. Maybe get ice cream at Mashti Malone’s afterward. We would hit Canter’s at some point as well.

We could see some bands at Maui Sugar Mill Saloon in Tarzana. Probably Hotel Cafe as well. A newer favorite is Hollywood American Legion Post 43, depending on the time of the year. They have two rooms and always put together good shows. Perhaps we’d finish a night with some karaoke at the Moose Lodge in Reseda.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My partner Ursula Lari deserves a lot of credit. She’s always ready to rehearse new music and she pushing me to constantly improve. I’ve taken on things I’d never thought I’d be able to sing because of her. I still can’t believe she stuck around for the week or two of rehearsals when any reasonable person would agree that I couldn’t sing them, but she did. And she was right. We pulled the songs off. She’s always ready to work on anything I come up with, no matter how strange it may be. She has a great gift for finding place where a song vibrates, too. The music has a great energy when she gets involved.

My voice teacher Mark Baxter has been a lot of help and for as adding control and depth to my singing. I took lessons with him many years ago in Boston and now through the magic of the internet I can do it while I’m in Los Angeles. He’s great at talking me off the ledge every once in a while too.

My most recent favorite book is “How to Write One Song” by Jeff Tweedy. I’ve read a ton of songwriting books and his is really the most straightforward and entertaining one. He’s got a conversational style that’s quite engaging. It feels like talking to some band dude that happens to be your friend that writes good songs.

Website: truckerbomb.com

Instagram: instagram.com/truckerbombband

Facebook: facebook.com/truckerbombband

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@truckerbomb

Other: https://linktr.ee/truckerbomb

Image Credits
Pierre Robert, Britt Lari, Ruth Kim, Roy Kim

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.