Listening to OTTTO reminds one of bands like Motorhead, Metallica, Pantera going for it with all they’ve got. With little fluff and a lot of fun.
The band consists of Triko Chavez on drums, singer Bryan Noah Ferretti on guitar and Tye Trujillo holding it down on bass.
OTTTO is getting known in its own right, a process eased by Trujillo’s own fame. Son of current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, the kid played on stage with Korn at age 12 and has toured with Suicidal Tendencies. Last summer, he recorded live guitar tracks for the now famous “most metal concert in the history of the world!” scene from season 4 of Netflix’s hit show, Stranger Things. He got the part thanks to the recommendation of a teacher who recognized the depth of his passion for heavy metal music. Trust a teacher to see.
The band’s debut album, Life Is A Game, was released in late March. None other than Revolver magazine called the album “a punky thrasher.” My 15-year-old son, Leo, and I have it on high rotation around the house when mom is out.
During a recent phone interview, there was a sweet moment after I picked up where my hard rockin’ son talked with Tujillo, himself a teenager.
Giotis: You guys play a really interesting brand of metal, and a lot of people around here are metalheads, so we can talk at any level of music geekery you want to, like how you guys write music, what kind of riffs you love. My son, Leo, himself a bassist, wants to ask about tips and tricks. Then just a little background on the band and a little bit about the tour. Those are the sort of three questions today. Is that cool?
Trujillo: That’s cool. It’s cool with me.
Giotis: Rad. Tips and tricks. Let’s geek out first.
Trujillo: All right. Yeah, bass-wise, music-wise, riff-wise, we all really enjoy catchier riffs, with catchy hooks. So, we try to incorporate some technicality into it a little bit, so it’s a little challenge for us to play, you know, a little challenge and twist to it. [But it is always] something that sticks with me, something that just gravitates towards me, and that’s how we kind of come up with riffs.
Giotis: What’s it like being in this band?
Trujillo: Our writing is a really collaborative process, like we’re all in it together. In the moment, enjoying it in the state of flow. That’s [been] our writing process ever since the formation of the band. We’ve been writing [together] ever since we were little kids. We just jam shit, and like when there’s something in the moment that just sounds amazing to us, we will make it a song and, like, build parts off of that.
Giotis: That’s what I love most about playing. You know, one person lays it down, someone picks it up, adds something and it just goes around the room.
Trujillo: Yeah. That’s how it is. It’s like the creativity just goes around the room. It just floats like a shadow.
Giotis: Whoa.
OTTTO play Friday, June 16, Phoenix Theater, 201 Washington St., Petaluma. Doors at 7:30pm, show 8. Tickets online or at the door, $10. All ages.
