You didn’t have to be a Deep Ellum regular in the 1990s to know Tripping Daisy. “Trip Along” remained in rotation on The Edge for as long as the station existed. They got airplay on FM stations in other cities and states, too. “I Got a Girl” made it to MTV’s rotation during a time when the music channel could make or break a career. They were on 120 Minutes, Beavis and Butthead, Late Night With Conan O’Brien (twice), and toured with Def Leppard. When North Texas music experts list their Mount Rushmore of 1990s music, it’s almost always Pantera, Toadies, Erykah Badu, and Tripping Daisy.
The band almost made it a decade, forming in 1990 and disbanding at the end of 1999 following the death of founding member and guitarist/keyboardist Wes Berggren. Since then, they’ve played a handful of reunion shows. Those shows were especially nostalgic, having seen them more times than I can recall.
While still in college, the band hired me to photograph their record release party for Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb and I became the band’s quasi-official concert photographer during those last couple years.
Hearing that Delaughter planned to start recording new music with the band and tour in 2025 was like hearing Nintendo planned to revive the NES. It was like hearing My So Called Life was being rebooted with the original cast, or finding out Andy Kaufman really did fake his own death. For me and countless other Tripping Daisy fans, this was huge news. So I decided to ask Tim some questions about this resurrection. The interview below has been edited for length and clarity.
Tripping Daisy play Saturday at the Factory in Deep Ellum. Tickets are available here.
I see that you’re planning to record again with Tripping Daisy. This will be the band’s first new studio recording in 25 years. What made you decide this was the time to create new music?
Believe it or not, it was playing a last-minute Tripping Daisy show at the Kessler that spawned the idea. Up until that point, I had no real interest in the idea, but something happened during that show that would forever change my mind. We started to improvise during the set like Tripping Daisy used to do back in the day, where we’d put ourselves on the spot and actually write a song or an idea in front of the crowd. I always loved that element of the band, where we put each other on the spot, exist in that space until a connection was made. After that night at the Kessler, I remember saying to myself, “I want more of this.” I love the songs and the spiritual essence of connecting musically, and that’s all I needed to entertain the idea of doing Tripping Daisy again, recording and all.
I’m sitting here in my music room listening to “The Tops Off Our Head,” because I hadn’t played it in a while. I was originally going to play my favorite Daisy album as we chatted, but then I realized it’s like picking a favorite child. I can’t pick just one. Do you have a favorite Tripping Daisy album, or a favorite song?
I hear ya. I think for me, it would have to be Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb, for many reasons. I think it symbolizes a group of guys that were ready to explore in ways we hadn’t previously, and the safety of the space with the folks we had around us—Eric Drew Feldman and Andy Baker—made the experience of recording perfect for fostering our adventure.
When I listen to that record, I think about what it was like recording it. There’s life in those recordings that are time capsules for me; they’re fond memories and probably the happiest of times recording an album I’ve ever had. Another reason I lean toward that album is it’s the birth of a more mature approach to songwriting. We were growing up musically and really becoming who we were going to be as songwriters in the future.
Tripping Daisy Over the Years
I’ve heard some Polyphonic Spree music that sounded like an orchestral Tripping Daisy tune. Same thing with your Preteen Zenith album. Do you think the new stuff will be singularly Tripping Daisy or is it impossible to keep other influences out of your creative process?
Honestly, Jason, I have no idea. It’s gonna be an interesting process that’s definitely rooted in the world of Tripping Daisy, but with a whole lot of know-how behind the construction.
Tripping Daisy toured the U.S. and several countries. They had a radio hit with “I Got a Girl” and they appeared on MTV and a number of television shows. But the world has changed a lot over the last 25 years. Do you have any expectations for today’s Daisy? What are your goals and what accomplishment would make you say this was the right time?
I have no expectations for Tripping Daisy. I just wanna share these songs with the people that were there back in the day and perhaps a newer audience. The band ended abruptly so we never toured our last record (the self-titled Tripping Daisy) and we barely toured on Jesus; the only two records we toured extensively on were Bill and Firecracker. Wes always said “you can’t plan a good time.” I tend to agree.
How do you compare Tripping Daisy to The Polyphonic Spree? Besides the obvious band size difference and the outfits, do you find your role is different in each band? Do you find that you interact, react, and create differently in each?
There’s no comparison to me. They live on their own and have their own space and identity. I see them and experience them differently; one is technicolor and the other is electric.
What’s going to happen with The Spree while you focus on Daisy?
The Polyphonic Spree has a tour that starts in August, showcasing Salvage Enterprise. I’m excited for the opportunity to share that record, it’s very special to me. We’re also debuting our Planetarium experience called Atmosphere this summer, it’s a project we’ve (Scott Berman and myself; Scott is the one who did all the visuals back in the day) been working on for the past year. It’s an immersive experience consisting of animation and live action that weaves the audience through a storyline based on the album. This will play in planetariums across the nation.
We’ve taken the touring “listening experiences” I was doing outdoors inside for an immersive experience, using animators from all over the world. Atmosphere will have a life of its own, it will travel all over the country as well as overseas. This year belongs to The Polyphonic Spree and the birth of Atmosphere; 2025 will be for Tripping Daisy.
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