The Nü-pop/punk: A look at Trxvis

The current landscape of popular music is changing. Genres and artists that have dominated the past decade and a half are quickly becoming out of style. And a new set of emerging artists are starting to lay their musical roots down to establish their sound. This is seen throughout genres, from electronic music to rock music to rap music. However, one of the most notable resurgences that have happened in the past few years is the rise of pop-punk music. This has been elevated by people like Travis Barker, MGK, Olivia Rodrigo, and more. But the telling sign that the genre had a hold on the current youth was Blink 182’s massive return when they played the closing set at Coachella last year. But while a lot of these established artists have dipped back into pop-punk, a crop of newer, younger artists has started to emerge from the scene. One of these artists is Trxvis.

Trxvis hails from LA County, the South Bay to be exact. Growing up in Manhattan Beach and attending Mira Costa, Trxvis comes from a culture that is entangled with the pop-punk genre. This includes So-Cal skate and surf culture, SoCal punk music, and the influences of the Orange County and Los Angeles music scene. This is what’s notable about Trxvis coming from the South Bay. It’s an area that is a mix of Orange County and Los Angeles, positioned in between Long Beach and Santa Monica. Great punk bands like Black Flag and The Descendants came from the South Bay. The area is a breeding ground for punk bands. Trxvis is proof of that.

Interviewer: Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach are historically important areas for punk music with bands like Black Flag. When you were in high school were kids into bands?

Trxvis: To be honest man, not really. From what I knew there was maybe one, but they didn’t do a whole lot. It’s weird. In my high school, there wasn’t many kids involved in that. It was a lot of surfer kids who were into rock, but no one had bands. Looking back, I wish I started one, but things happened the way they did.

I went to concerts with my dad growing up. We went to punk shows; I started going at ten years old. But high school for me was having fun, surfing and playing sports, but music for me really came after high school after I matured and realized what I wanted to do in life.

Interviewer: That makes sense. It’s different than it was 15 plus years ago.

Trxvis: But look what’s coming back now. We have rock and punk/pop-punk starting to have a massive resurgence. I really think it’s here to stay. There is such a large market for live rock and pop-punk bands. There are festivals every single month. Thousands of people want to see this shit. Good live rock, that’s never going to leave. Obviously hip-hop has been ruling for the past 20 years but I’m telling you, it’s back. Rock is coming back.

And the genre is. I’m seeing it firsthand in Los Angeles. Bigger, established bands are selling out shows and are having newer bands open for them. DIY shows and venues are becoming huge. The college circuit is getting hot. The pot is bubbling and there ain’t no telling when it’s going to blow.

But these artists need to make an income.

Trxvis: It’s tough man. It really is. No matter how talented you are, it’s hard to translate that to make an income. A lot of these older, established bands are able to tour and make so much money because of either their known brand or deep fanbase. That’s why for me, I look at myself as a brand. I’m not some kid who’s just on stage, who’s just trying to play pop-punk. It’s an entire, marketable brand. For me, Trxvis is the surfer/skater kid who grew up in the South Bay in Los Angeles who has this visual aesthetic, and he has this character who’s eager to get into the punk rock scene. There’s this marketable aspect that I’m trying to convey to everyone who’s listening to the genre. It’s not always just about the music, there’s more than that. There’s a brand, an image, an aesthetic, a character and a personality behind it. That’s why I take my visuals so seriously.

Trxvis is an artist that truly takes his brand serious. He currently has 52.8K followers on Instagram and climbing. His social media is filled with impressive photos and promotional content that backs up the type of music he plays. This is something that bands have done for decades. Bands like Aerosmith and The Stones made brand logos that become cultural icons throughout rock history. Blink 182 and Limp Bizkit having their own iconic imagery in magazines. Artists who are able to capitalize on their music in the modern age succeed. An age where image is quite literally, everything.

Trxvis: Being a touring musician is always something I wanted to do but I didn’t really know I could do it until after high school. My parents both worked in the music industry, so I had that around. But I surfed and skated, played soccer and just did dumb shit with my friends. Once Senior year rolled around and everyone was leaving for high school, I really started thinking about music. It was always there but I never thought it I’d actually pursue it seriously.

A few years after high school, I met my manager (MJ) who was basically like “Yo, you got the look. You got the aesthetic. You got the vibe. I’m managing artists, you wanna try something? Shoot me a demo.” So, I shot him a few demos where I worked with a guy named Reed who produced them. We kinda went from there, from these crappy demos to these well produced, catchy pop punk songs.

For me, pop punk is who I am. I don’t have to try to be something I’m not. If the music could speak volumes to the type of person I am, I think the imagery and vibe just fits me as a person. This process has been the most amazing journey I’ve ever done, the past year and a half with MJ, and tackling these live shows. We are just getting our feet wet with all this. So much music is going to come, so many collabs, and I’m excited for what’s in store for it all.

Interviewer: I see you have some singles out. And on your bio, you recorded an album?

Trxvis: Yeah, we recorded 20 singles and the release of it all is kinda tricky because we want to do a collab. I’m actually working with a really cool pop punk band out of Canada called Sucker Punch, which is awesome. They’re unbelievable. So, we’re working with their songwriting team to make some stuff. We work closely with Spotify and those singles were recorded for them. They back our singles.

Interviewer: What does it mean to work with Spotify?

Trxvis: My manager knows some top guys there and essentially; we recorded a bunch of singles and when it’s ready for release they get the singles and run them through their system to get on some of the editorial playlists. Helps with the streaming and helps with the engagement.

Trxvis currently has six singles out on Spotify and Apple Music and is featured on Spotify’s “The Scene” playlist. He has also played several local lives shows at venues like the Whiskey Go-go.

Trxvis: To record label executives, it’s all about if you can build a fanbase. I started with a decent following on TikTok (600K) and knew that having more than that would be important. You gotta be active 24/7. My visual aesthetic is so important for my music and for me as a person. I want to get the image right; I want to portray myself how I am seen with other people. I love it. I shoot 2-3 photo shoots every week. I do a lot of video work with all my buds in LA who tour with bigger bands. Shout out to my brother Juan! Juan Flores is my closest homie and he’s always on tour. He was on tour for Blink 182 and Beauty School Dropout and other big bands. He’s a great touring photographer. Like I said, my Instagram and aesthetic wouldn’t be anything without him. He’s taken my visuals to another level and he’s one of my best buddies. I have a photo shoot tomorrow and Thursday. It never stops.

Interviewer: You see that a lot with older pop punk bands like Blink and Sum 41. The goofy, fun brand they had through their music and music videos.

Trxvis: Those are one of the biggest influences for me. It’s just so fun for me to be an artist and try to do what they were doing. I’m eager to see where I can go. 24/7 I’m just thinking, “what’s the next thing I can do? What’s the next video I can shoot? The next gig I can play? The next song I can write?” For me, my mind moves at 1000 miles per hour and there’s only so much I can do because of budget but I save up as much as I can to do this. My manager and I sacrifice so much, and I spend literally all my time trying to perfecting my craft.

The end goal for me is that I want to tour the world, I want to open for a bigger band, I want to play festivals, I want to do all of it. I want to travel the world and play for thousands while I live out of a fucking suitcase. I want that life and I want that experience and see how far I can go.

Interviewer: And that’s all you can do, try your best. I saw you did a small tour…

Trxvis: I like to say we toured LA. It was just a small thing, we played around the city and as a solo artist, one of the hardest things is finding reliable musicians out there. Things are really expensive and you gotta figure out schedules, but we made it work and got four or five shows under our belt. We got a lot of amazing content, and I met a lot of amazing people, so it was a great experience. But for right now, we’re taking a little pause on live shows and working on so much new music.

We had to prioritize what we wanted to do and come up with a perfect setlist so we can tour next summer, that’s the goal.

Interviewer: You touched upon it, but I know it’s hard to find permanent band members and I’ve noticed your lineup has changed. It looked like you were a three piece but now you are a four piece.

Trxvis: It’s insane. At the end of the day, I need musicians who are going to back me fully and understand the assignment and are willing to put in the time and effort. I’d love to go on tour tomorrow and tour the UK or something, but we have to put together a perfect live show. Unfortunately, people come and go, that’s how it is and it’s a learning process. But we’ve found some reliable guys and were stoked to have them on board.

But our focus now is keep shooting content, keep working on new music, and make the visuals. That’s our goal for the next few months. Put together the best music possible and once we’re happy with it, get it out there and get it on some playlists.

Interviewer: Is there a particular band you’d want to tour with?

Trxvis: I’m not going to say Blink or some big band. Realistically, I’d love to tour with Neck Deep. They are a great punk band from the UK, and I think it could happen in the next few years. I love their music and I think they are very similar to me, artist wise.

Interviewer: It sounds like you really want to go to the UK.

Trxvis: I’d love to go to the UK or just Europe in general. I mean, I’ll tour anywhere but the scene in Europe, the punk scene, I think might be better than in the states. I think it just fits the type of music and I just love Europe. I just want to travel and play at new venues and meet new people.

Interviewer: I know Australia is having a big punk moment.

Trxvis: Huge! The guy who masters my music is based in Australia, so I know that there is a big thing going on over there with punk and rock music. He knows some people so maybe I’ll be able to make it out there.  

Trxvis is an artist to watch out for. He seems to have a road map to what he wants to achieve and is hungry to achieve it. His unique take on social media, his music, and even his cartoony poster art he has artists make for his shows help set him apart from other artists. He is literally displaying his personality with Trxvis that blends all the elements that have influenced him as an artist and person.

Listen to Trxvis on Spotify and Apple Music.

Follow him on Instagram/YouTube @Trxvis.