Combining his love for 80’s hardcore, 90’s hip-hop and early 2000’s pop punk, Omar Zehery has created a true passion project with Trophy Girls. The brand new solo endeavor from Hit The Lights guitarist and founder, Trophy Girls began as a side gig in his parents’ basement, written during down time in between hectic touring. Now, Zehery is ready to share those songs with the world, and it’s safe to say that they’ve been worth the wait. Kicking things off is Trophy Girls’ debut single, “Trouble”, a high energy track that perfectly sets the tone for the EP to follow.
With “Trouble” out now and more new music from Trophy Girls’ debut EP, Beginner’s Luck coming soon, we caught up with Zehery to talk about his goals with the new project, his growth as an artist and the new EP. Listen to “Trouble” and read more now below.
Prelude Press: You just announced your new project, Trophy Girls this month! Can you tell us a little bit about the project?
Omar Zehery: Hey Dom, thanks for having me! Trophy Girls is new music for old souls. Or maybe it’s old music for new souls? I haven’t quite decided yet. Regardless, it’s blown out, basement dwellin’ tunes that I’m stoked to share with the world!
Going into this new project, what goals did you have in mind for what you wanted to create? How does Trophy Girls differ from what you’ve done in the past?
Ultimately, Trophy Girls was a way for me to rethink my songwriting and appreciate what I loved about music that moved me. I had just spent some time hanging with incredible producers and songwriters, talking about honesty in lyrics and how to funnel your vision into your music. All of that came together in this “right place/right time” intersection of inspiration and motivation. Prior to this, a lot of my music making was done in a room with other people filling in the blanks when I’d fall short. This project was more about self-reliability.
Whenever anyone steps into a new project, they bring with them the experience and lessons they’ve learned from previous bands and projects – is there anything that you’d like to accomplish or do with Trophy Girls that you maybe haven’t done before?
Before I started working on these songs, I was a little creatively plugged up so to me, the biggest accomplishment was just being able to capture and articulate the thoughts and feelings and sounds I was hearing and to put in the work to get it out of my head and into the ether.
You just released “Trouble”, your first single as Trophy Girls. What made this track “the one” or the first song that you’d want people to hear from you?
It’s a strange task deciding what’s your first foot forward when releasing new music. Trouble made sense in part to the music video my partner David and I made for the song. I never really intended to be a front person for a project, so my first thought was to hide out in ridiculous costumes. So to answer your question, insecurity is what made this track “the one”!
What inspired “Trouble”?
The song “Trouble” came from an incident on tour when I woke up in our van screeching to a halt on the side of the highway. I heard someone yell “the van is on fire!” and for a split second I thought it was a joke until I smelled smoke, opened my eyes and watched everyone running away. I remember thinking “if this is my time, it’s been real!” as I slowly started collecting some of my belongings and met up with the rest of the dudes. What happened was, the brake pads got super hot driving through the mountains and started smoking. Pretty sure someone peed on them to put them out. Crisis averted. The song is a reminder to myself that time is precious but not to take life too seriously.
The new song is taken from your debut EP, Beginner’s Luck, out later this year! What are you most excited for listeners to hear on the EP?
That’s hard to think about since different people react to different things so I’m looking forward to hearing what people will connect to about music that I’ve kept to myself for a while. That is the coolest thing about doing this is interacting with people and the community it creates.
What was the most exciting or rewarding part of working on the EP?
The most rewarding AND nerve-racking part is being the captain steering the ship. If you crash, it’s all on you baybee! Most of the excitement comes from creating the whole universe where this lives with the different videos and the artwork. Also, collaborating with creative people I love and respect has added depth and dimension to something that started as make-em-ups in my head.
“I’m looking forward to hearing what people will connect to about music that I’ve kept to myself for a while” – Omar Zehery
How do you feel you’ve grown as a musician with the creation of Beginner’s Luck?
As a songwriter, I’m constantly battling resistance in any aspect of the creative process. It’s what has kept this project from being released until now so just the simple task of putting it out it has felt like a growing experience. Now that the band-aid is ripped off, I can’t wait to rinse and repeat the process.
What is the rest of 2022 looking like for you? Could we expect to see some shows as well?
It would be an absolute BLAST to play these songs out live but I’ll have to put a band together first. So, if you’re reading this and you’ve checked out the tunes and like what you heard, hit me up! Maybe we can jam them together. Aside from that, the rest of 2022 will hopefully be filled with recording and releasing killer projects from some really talented folks on our label, Rustgaze Records.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Huge thanks to Sam Guaiana, David Entinghe, John Wehner and his lovely family, Greg Altman, Will Noon, and the 333 Wreckords Crew without whose help, this project never would have gotten off the ground! Also, check out “What A LIfe” by Jasmine Goare as well as “Ghosts, Myths and Me” by Logan Ross, out now on Rustgaze Records!
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