Angel Du$t vocalist Justice Tripp says Baltimore is a weird, cool place — and ‘endlessly inspiring’

Justice Tripp saw how the local punk and hardcore scene was blooming when he moved back to Baltimore.

Black and brown people who make up a majority of the city’s population were putting on shows in new alternative spaces, said Tripp, the vocalist for Angel Du$t and Trapped Under Ice.

The buzz for Baltimore hardcore band Turnstile — which received critical acclaim, including three nominations for Grammy Awards, for its third album, “Glow On” — was obvious. And other local bands, including Jivebomb, were getting the respect they deserved, he said.

Tripp said young people are active in the scene, and there are no rules. It’s made up of “freaks and weirdos being whatever they want.”

“We’ve got a cool thing. And I love it,” said Tripp, 37, of Baltimore County. “It feels like home to me.”

“I hope young people in Baltimore have this place to go express themselves and just watch how it changes the world,” he added. “That kind of acceptance changes people, and it changes communities.”

The Baltimore Banner recently spoke with Tripp on the phone while he was in Oklahoma City on tour with Angel Du$t, which on Sept. 8 released its fifth album, “Brand New Soul.” The following Q&A has been edited for length and clarity.

What effect, if any, does Baltimore have on your music and creative process? Or do you think people who write about music tend to overblow the importance of place in influencing art?

I think where you are is the most influential thing which you’re going to do. I talk a lot about that with songwriting. I change my environment as much as possible. Because it’s going to be a different song, it’s going to be a different feeling.

I think what makes Baltimore significant is it’s kind of cheap. We have a lot of poor people and, more so, we have a lot of weird people. And it’s a place you can just be a weirdo.

It’s endlessly inspiring.

What are other Baltimore bands that people need to check out, if they haven’t already?

There’s so many cool weird bands. And people doing completely different things.

Obviously, we’re known for some of our bigger indie bands and, in context of hardcore, the world truly recognizes Turnstile. And bands that I play in have gotten a lot of recognition, which is really cool. I’m very grateful for it. But there’s a really cool hardcore scene. I like this band Sinister Feeling a lot. There’s a band called B.R.A.T.

Specifically, I think, End It is kind of in line to be the next hugely influential band — hardcore band — in the United States.

There’s a lot of artists that kind of exist without a specific scene in Baltimore. There’s producers and stuff. There’s a guy named notcharles.

There’s a band called Roxy 2 that I think are kind of like a new band building their own lane. Peach Face, I think, is really cool. Jeff Draco is a young singer who I’m fond of. He just does all things pop and rock. I don’t know if there’s a specific lane or scene for him. He’s just an artist expressing himself, and Baltimore’s a place where you can do that.

(Tripp later mentioned Posmic, Truth Cult and Praise.)

You mentioned Turnstile (which features friends and bandmates). What has it been like for you seeing how much the band has blown up in recent years?

It’s cool, man.

Above all, I want to see everybody winning.

When somebody in our world is winning, we all win. And I’ve gotten to see that firsthand.

Shows are better for everybody. I see every band with guitars getting more recognition than they did before, you know?

At the same time, it’s surreal and confusing sometimes. I forget what they mean to the rest of the world. And it’s my friends that I’ve been touring with and doing the thing with for a long time.

We played a show, and the security guard is like, “Man, you guys got a cool sound. You should check out Turnstile.” And he’s trying to put me onto Turnstile.

I thought he was joking. I thought he was being sarcastic. And then, kind of later, the realization of like, “This is a normal guy who likes Turnstile, has no idea I’m associated with them, and was actually trying to tell me about them.” And you see that all the time.

It’s been so inspiring. And I think it’s been inspiring to other people in our community.

Do you have a favorite Ottobar story?

Oh, man. I love that place.

It’s the building I’ve probably spent the most time of my life in. I moved a lot when I was young, and I moved a lot in my grown adult years.

I was there for a show kind of recently. I’m like, “Man, this is the most consistent building in my life. I’ve just spent more time here than any house I’ve lived in.”

So to pinpoint one story would be kind of tough. I mean, I’ve had a lot.

I was banned from there twice when I was a kid.

How’d you get banned?

Once for fighting and once for — I jumped off the little balcony, which is inappropriate. But, in all fairness, I was probably like 110 pounds at the time.

But it was funny, you know. I was in L.A., and Angel Du$t played the Ottobar, right post-COVID, completely different lineup at that point.

So we play the Ottobar, and Tecla [Tesnau], the owner — I’d never properly met her in the time that I was in Baltimore and, again, I was pretty young most of the time I was there, and she’s been a part of the Ottobar for a long time. But she was like, “Hey, guys, welcome to the Ottobar.”

And I was like, “I’ve actually been banned from here twice. Like I grew up here. And, you know, spent most of my life in this room.” And, you know, she thought that was funny. But cool to be able to say that, I guess.

Can you take me through the lead-up to the Disturbin’ the Peace festival in 2023 at Baltimore Soundstage?

Yeah, I was in the hospital all day. But I got out, essentially just in time.

I was talking crazy and gibberish. And, when it was over, everybody’s telling me about it. But I didn’t know what they were talking about. And then I had a really bad headache.

So I went home and went to sleep, which was stupid. And then I woke up, and my head was hurting me. I was telling my partner, “My brain is killing me. And last night I was talking gibberish.” And she was like, “That’s crazy. You need to go to the hospital.” And I’m like, “I’m not going to the hospital.”

We live by an urgent care, so I was like, “We’ll stop by the urgent care, and I’ll let the doctor show you that I’m fine.” And I went to the doctor, and I explained my symptoms, and she was like, “You had a stroke. You need to go to the hospital now.” She called the ambulance.

I denied the ambulance because I’m, again, thickheaded, I guess, and just drove over to the hospital. And then, when I got there, that’s when I started to be like, “Oh, this is serious. Because everybody’s freaking out.”

So they ran all the tests and everything and then they came back and were like, “Hey, there’s no evidence of you having a stroke. And, based on your symptoms and everything, we think you had a mental breakdown.”

We all struggle sometimes. I was dealing with a lot. Just moved. And getting everybody ready for the Trapped Under Ice show, and it’s a lot of pressure. And everybody has their image of what they want you to be as an artist.

But it’s kind of beautiful, man. It was literally right before the set, the doctor was like, “I think you’re good to go, man. Go do your show. Have fun.”

So we drove straight to the venue, got onstage. I felt so much love. Got to get the whole thing out of my system. Got to perform, which is the most fulfilling thing to me — and sing these songs that are therapeutic.

And I felt like a million bucks that night.

Dylan Segelbaum

dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com

Dylan Segelbaum is the courts reporter at The Baltimore Banner.

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