The Obelisk Questionnaire: Sean Durbin of Troy the Band
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Sean Durbin of Troy the Band
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I play bass and write the initial song outlines for a band that I started in 2021 called Troy The Band. In the most immediate sense I came to do this through two intertwining events. One is that in late 2018 my partner and I moved to London from New Zealand, in part so I could continue to pursue my academic career, and by mid-to-late 2019 we were finally feeling settled after getting jobs and finding a place to live. I had been itching to play more music and I found a fun MC5-esque band to play with. Then COVID came along and shut everything down.
So with the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, I had a lot more time to sit down to write and play music and just sit with my instrument and try new things, which was an enormous boon to my creativity and musicianship. I also resolved to make more time for things that I wanted to do rather than just things that I thought I ought to do. With that, I began taking a lot of the riff ideas I had been recording and transforming them into songs and then in April 2021 when the last lockdown ended I started advertising for others to form this band with me. We finalized the line up in September last year and then very quickly recorded our debut EP about six weeks after that.
There is another part to this story though that is also very important. I grew up in San Jose, California, and as a very unhappy teenager in high school around 2001, one of the bright spots I have is working as a line cook at a small, barbecue restaurant called Malibu Grill. One of the co-owners was a guy named Erik who was about 15 years older than me and basically became my mentor/big brother/best friend all in one. Erik was and is an outstanding vocalist. In the early ’90s he sang in a band called Dear Deceased with High on Fire’s original bassist, George Rice, and the vocalist from Operator Generator, Mitchell French. When I met Erik he had started another band called Woodshed and they would open a lot for High On Fire and Operator Generator, and other stoner bands around at the time like Greenhouse Effect. Erik took me to a lot of shows and quite literally introduced me to the above bands, and thus the broader genre. After I finished high school I moved New Zealand and I really missed Erik a lot so I am sure that also played a part in me really getting into this style of music as well because it was a nice way to remind me of him I guess, and it’s just always been with me since then.
Describe your first musical memory.
Tricky to pinpoint exactly, but I recall seeing Peter, Paul and Mary as a very young kid, and singing Raffi songs.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
This is also tricky. 1) Playing a show with King Buffalo, 2) Playing a show with Unida and Hippie Death Cult, and 3) having people enjoy the music I have helped create.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
In the past I was good at doubting myself, so when I did or achieved things that I didn’t think I could do I guess those were firm beliefs that were tested by outcomes I hadn’t expected.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
For me artistic progression (and intellectual progression) can lead to two mutually exclusive places that can nonetheless exist at the same time. One is satisfaction, and the other is frustration. I find creating things very satisfying, and progressing as an artist and musician is a very satisfying thing. But the more you learn or progress, the more awareness you get in terms of how much you don’t know or how much more there is to learn. That awareness can lead to frustration. This is what I try to remind myself of when I get frustrated, which is that it’s part of my own artistic or intellectual development.
How do you define success?
I feel successful if I am able to do the things that make me happy without being overwhelmed by financial or other pressures.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
A Donald Trump presidency.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
Full length Troy The Band album.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Creating and consuming art is satisfying and ideally also pushes you intellectually and creatively.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I am getting married [in 2023] which I am really excited about.
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