A Talk with Triathalon

By Caroline Janes
Music Journalist

New York-based dream-pop group, Triathalon, are on the road with The Marías for their fall tour. Although the tour just began, the guys of Triathalon are already having a blast from rocking out at Tropicali to receiving a big bag of mushrooms, it appears this tour will be one for the books. The band recently relocated from Georgia to New York and their sound has also taken on a new vibe to match the move. Frontman Adam Intrator talks tour, inspiration and Ariana Grande.

Caroline Janes: Let’s start from the beginning, your first album explores surf themes both lyrically and musically that are usually associated with the West Coast. Being from Georgia, where did the inspiration for this vibe come from?

Adam Intractor: I was listening to a lot of Girls, Surfer Blood and the Smith Westerns at that time. Very influenced by those bands first records. I had never surfed or even been to California yet. I just wanted to be from the West Coast so badly.

CJ: Do you think the sound from the Lo-Tide/ Nothing Bothers Me era is gone for good or do you think you’d ever go back to it?

AI: It’s gone forever.

CJ: I know you have mentioned your move to New York was the main inspiration for the new direction in sound that began with the release of Cold Shower and that was heavily explored in Online. How are y’all liking it up there so far?

AI: I love it. So much. More than most people I feel like. Everyone has their own life there and we all have a lot of our close friends there too. Everything you need is in NYC.

CJ: I understand y’all were living in New York while writing Online, so why did y’all decide to record the album in Georgia?

AI: I (Adam) was only living in New York at the time. Chad and Hunter were living in Georgia still so I flew back to record it there.

CJ: Under Online’s description on your BandCamp, Homeshake, Childish Gambino and Frank Ocean are mentioned as sources of inspiration. When did you start getting into these guys? How have they influenced your sound?

AI: Probably, I was 22 when they first came out. It changed everything for me. No one had expressed that vibe and vulnerability in the music I was listening to at the time. I really gravitated towards that. I would say lyrically and vocally I was motivated to explore my sound more and to just chill things out. I was always rushing our songs and thinking they all had to be super fast and aggressive and that’s just not what I wanted to sound like anymore. It felt childish.

CJ: Some of the lyrics in Online explore the struggles of being in a band. Are your families pretty supportive? Do they like your music?

AI: They’re all super supportive! Always putting us up on tour and making sure we are well rested and fed. They are always at our shows whenever they can as well. I’m pretty sure they like our music.

CJ: How’s the tour been going so far? What’s been your most notable show so far?

AI: We are only on our fourth show but everything’s been really chill so far. We just got a free bag of mushrooms so everyone is really excited about that. Best show was Sacramento for sure. Best crowd yet and it was a really great way to start our tour off.

CJ: Also, how was Tropicalia? Anything crazy go down in California? Did y’all get to see quite a few bands/artists you like or wanted to see?

AI: It was really fun! A lot of weed, but we got to see all our friends which was amazing. We saw The Marías (at Sunsets), Clairo, Michael Seyer and SZA. Best night ever.

CJ: I saw y’all are touring with The María’s this time around. How’d y’all link up?

AI: I basically started listening to them on our tour with Inner Wave a couple months ago and fell in love with their music. We eventually started talking and all of a sudden we had the same booking agent.

CJ: I saw your bass player forgot his bass in New York during the tour. At what moment did you realize it was MIA? Any luck finding a replacement on Twitter?

AI: This is my favorite. He realized like an hour out I’m pretty sure, and actually, Fender hooked us up with one in Los Angles, but very appreciative of those who reached out.

CJ: Is it true y’all are fans of Ariana Grande? How do you feel about the big breakup?

AI: I don’t know about everyone else, but I love her. She’s so talented and her voice is so insane. I’m glad it’s over between her and Pete [Davidson]. She’s about to make so many better songs now that they broke up. I’m team Ariana.

CJ: I saw y’all were in McKinney the other day. What brought y’all up to Northeast Texas?

AI: Chad and I are from McKinney. We grew up 15 minutes away from each other.

CJ: What have you been listening to lately?

AI: I’ve been loving the new Matt Ox album. Trippie Red and Toro Y Moi’s discography.

Featured Image via Triathalon’s Instagram.