"White Trash" Never Sounded So Good

A CD review by Dave Tanner of

 "The X Entertainment Magazine", 12/1/05

Trampled Under Foot is a stampede of the blues. The sibling trio's latest CD, "White Trash," is a showcase of traditional and modern blues with a common theme: heart, soul and the family tree.

Recording the disc live at The Trouser Mouse in Blue Springs, the Schnebelens returned to the club Nov. 12 to release it to the public. And people lined up 20 deep in between sets to snag it.

"There's 78 minutes of music on it," says Nick Schnebelen, who wails on the guitar and splits vocal duties with his bassist sister Danielle. "There's tons of great songs on it."

Joined by their middle sibling Kris on the drums, the Schnebelens display their talents and knowledge of each other's every move on stage, taking turns with solos and letting the music breathe where appropriate. "The music is easy," Danielle says. "We definitely know each other."

Nick is the oldest at 27, followed by Kris, 25, and Danielle, 23. Despite their relative youth in the blues circuit, the Schnebelens are no strangers to performing. Their father, the late Robert Schnebelen, and mother Lisa Swedlund played blues, getting their children involved in the 1990s with Little Eva & The Works. Their grandfather and great aunt also played in a traveling ensemble.

Trampled Under Foot, or TUF, has evolved from years of family members being together and apart. Nick left Kansas City at 18 to pursue a career in blues on the east coast, landing gigs and rave reviews in high circles. Kris and Danielle moved to Philadelphia a few years ago to join him and form TUF.

"We conquered a lot of what there was to do out there," Nick says, "and we thought maybe since we're from KC, we should be based in KC." The siblings moved back to Kansas City earlier this year, and instantly landed regular gigs at some local hotspots.

Nick explains where "White Trash" comes from. "We called it that because we were trying to do a roots thing on it," he said. "The cover has a picture of the house where we grew up." On the inside, the siblings used grade-school photos of themselves instead of a modern band photo.

Make no mistake. The Schnebelen family pours every ounce of heart, soul and history into the disc and into their live performances.

Watch for TUF in a club near you, and try not to get trampled.