Tri-County Liquidators performed their first acoustic set in the KCOU live studio on April 13. Matt, Marielle, and Spencer from the band performed, without their drummer Anthony for an unplugged setting. After the performance, the band joined KCOU DJs Kenzie Ripe and Luke Duffy for an interview discussing the band’s musical influences and their songwriting process.
They performed songs Spillinghead, Walk By the Water, and Like I Do from their 2024 EP, Shining Through. They also played Arm’s Reach from their alternative rock album, Cut My Teeth.
The stripped down version of their selected live songs were unlike the recorded editions in their particular high energy nature, but not much different in their consistent alternative/rock musicality.
When asked about their musical inspirations Matt named alternative veterans like Alex G and friends of the band, Hotline TNT but also local artists like Laika.
Marielle said, “It’s my friends. The local bands in Columbia are big inspirations for me.”
When asked what artist they would like to collaborate with, alive or dead, they answered similarly; “I think I would just play with my friends” Later with thought they mentioned James Brown and Yusef Dayes.
The band also talked about developing their songwriting process from individual recordings.
“We’ve kind of adapted to this workflow of like kind of recording just like we practice,” they said. “We just like play basically live and then mix it later and add stuff. I feel like it’s more efficient and it kind of captures what we sound like live better.”
The band used this mentality when recording their music in studio, explaining: “We just went to the studio instead of recording it on our own, and we just recorded it as a live band.”
Their newest songs, Protect Your Peace and Polish add even more layers to the band’s growing discography and individual sound.
Fans can look for them on instagram for updates on new music and tour dates /@tri_county_liquidators/ and be confident in their final sentiment; “We’re recording all the time.”