Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with members of the popular Bree band Troll Finger. Playing their Songs From Another Age every other Sunday Night at 9:00pm server time, fans are treated to a cornucopia of styles and genres. I hope you enjoy their answers below.
Q. Let us get the most obvious question out of the way first. How did you choose your band’s name?
Kordy: Way back when the band originated, one of the founding members had an IRL studio band called Gorilla Finger. “Troll Finger,” just struck me as the perfect Tolkienization of that.
Lore: Back in the early days, one of our original members often tossed severed troll fingers out to the audience, but that had a mixed reception depending on whether we were playing a day or night show.
Oona: I’ve argued for band t-shirts, but apparently t-shirts aren’t a thing in Bree.
Q. Have you had the same band name from the start, or has there been a change?
Kordy: For about one hour we were Doctor Mayhem’s Symphonic Orchestration, but that didn’t really capture the quintessence of the band, so we’ve been Troll Finger ever since.
Q. Of any of the locations in Middle Earth, is there a special spot you love to play, and why?
Kordy: We always feel really honored to play Winterstock—it’s a great festival location, and the show is run so beautifully. We also enjoy our sojourns out to the Greenfields, but home for us is the stage outside of the Prancing Pony.
Lore: Before we started the band, I used to farm in Bree. So the Prancing Pony was always sort of a central location for us.
Q. What would you say is your most requested song?
Kordy: Well, not so much requested as it’s become expected that we finish our sets with Rush.
Cardemom: Also, my cake songs get requested a lot.
Kordy: Oh, that’s true. We sometimes do “lyrics by Loredondal,” –
Oona: —who’s obsessed with pie—
Lore: I’m not obsessed. I just really like it.
Oona: It’s all you ever sing about.
Cardemom: —But I like CAKE. So I had Lore help me write a few songs about that, instead. And because cake is so much better than pie, they get requested a lot.
Lore: That is not why.
Cardemom: Oh, yeah? Prove it.
Kordy: Ladies, please… we talked about composure…
Q. Do you have a favorite of all the songs you play?
Kordy: That’s like asking which kid you love more… I’m not sure I can answer that.
Lore: I really love the melodic, groovy old soulful hits, like “Saturday in the Park,” “Sir Duke,” or anything by Earth, Wind, and Fire. I just love the way they sound on our instruments.
Cardemom: I like the songs where I get to sing about cake.
Oona: I’m a rocker chick at heart, so I get into the stadium anthems. And I also like it when we do sets that don’t require me to change instruments too often.
Q. What would you say is your favorite style of music to play?
Kordy: Obviously, we’re big Rush fans, but really it’s just anything that gets the audience excited. We love connecting over a shared love of classic rock, prog rock, funk, pop, hard rock… anything that gets everyone dancing.
Lore: We get great dancers at our shows! The back-fence and front-row synchronization is so much fun to watch.
Q. You call your shows, Songs From Another Age, and I have heard you play many genres, what would you say is the trickiest style of music to play?
Kordy: Well, we play a good deal of progressive rock and we have a few Songs that Last an Age. Those can be challenging to arrange with just seven parts. But in terms of style of music that is tricky, maybe Funk… yeah, probably Funk. We love it, but sometimes the timing signatures don’t translate as well…. and I say that fully aware that we play a lot of Rush, so timing signature translation should be our jam. But for whatever reason, Funk is a challenge for me to get right in Middle Earth.
Cyrrol: ::mumbles something unintelligible.::
Dolewin: He said time signature changes are tight.
Q. With more and more bands forming all the time, do you get asked for advice often?
Kordy: We haven’t much yet, but we’re very approachable—
Lore: Well—
Kordy: –very approachable if we’re downwind from you, let’s say. My point was just that we’d be happy to be asked.
Q. What one piece of advice would you give new bands on Landy?
Kordy: I think that you can get a lot out of watching and even participating in one of the regularly scheduled round-robins that happen throughout the week. They give you a chance to hear how others arrange songs and to try out your own arrangements.
Lore: I’m really impressed with how Kordy arranges the music, so I’d say, spend some time with the source material. Don’t assume the suggested arrangement is always what’s going to sound best. Play with the instrumentation and pitch. You can make magical things happen.
Cardemom: My advice would be to make sure your bandmates aren’t obsessed with one single food item. Lunch can get really bleak.
::Loredondal rolls her eyes::
Q. Last Question, what do you see in the future for Lotro music and what would you like to see done for the music community? Is there anything else you would like us all to know about Troll Finger?
Kordy: While it’s always great to get some sort of official support, I am vastly more impressed with what we, the LOTRO community of music fans, have accomplished and brought to the game using what is available. And I’m excited for it to continue. I hope to keep seeing and participating in great concerts and events. And I look forward to more bands bringing a continued diversity of songs to the server for all of us to enjoy.
For ourselves, we continue to perform Songs from Another Age every other Sunday, and this year we’re attempting to play our entire Rush catalog of songs in alphabetical order. We’ll pick up with part 2 of that at our next show.
Lore: And I’d just like to add that we’re very grateful to all the wonderful players and bands who have supported us along the way. Le Beau Chapeau, for example, sponsored us very early on, inviting us to play in their Sunday show and helping us with our wardrobe. They gave us free hats! And you, Aedon, helped us get our musician titles, which we so appreciate. And of course, we’re eternally beholden to our loyal fans, who cheer us just by appearing at our shows and dancing and having fun. They’re why we keep doing this.
Richeleu: Wow, I can’t believe we got through this whole thing without being asked about the smell.
Kordy: Thanks, Richie.
Oona: We’re still on the record, Richie.
Richie: Oh, uh…oh…well. My work here is done.
Lore: You might as well explain it, Kordy.
Kordy: It’s like I always say: you try roaming through the ages of music collecting songs and see if you don’t pick up a thing or two.
Oona: Honestly, we’re glad we just came back stinking. Some of the founding members didn’t come back at all!
Lore: We may see them again someday. You never know. Plus, remember, Keel had that stinky hat from day one.
Kordy: Ugh, that hat….
Lore: I guess we’ve always kinda stunk.
Kordy: Fortunately, our hardcore fans have learned to deal with it. I sometimes suspect they’re actually kinda into it now…