Trigger

Trigger has a song called “Rockin’ Cross the U.S.A.,” an autobiographical song that supposedly recounts the band’s rise to stardom. There are references to getting “together one night,” starting “up a rock and roll band” and playing in front of people that “can’t sit still in their seats.” The group eventually makes it to the west coast via Boston and Detroit, ultimately establishing the mantra of any hardworking band: "Sorry we can't stay." Wishful thinking perhaps, for record sales indicate a touring schedule that probably didn’t veer far from the band’s native New Jersey. That’s not entirely fair, of course, Trigger’s 1978 self-titled debut falling through the cracks at an already stumbling Casablanca Records. Delivered to Neil Bogart’s label via Kiss bassist Gene Simmons, Trigger’s lone record is an irritatingly catchy collection of late ‘70s hard rock. “Somebody Like You,” “Gimme Your Love” and “Beware of Strangers” best represent the band’s penchant for irresistible hooks, memorable melodies and heavy guitar licks, while “Baby Don’t Cry,” an early variation of the soon-to-be-everywhere power ballad, incorporates some impressive vocal harmonies. The lyrics at times lean towards the mundane—“I got a deadly weapon and I’m aimin’ at you/deadly weapon so you better talk through”—but the group’s musical energy is infectious. The last song on the album—the painfully ironic “We’re Going to Make It”—reveals a confident if naive band, a group unaware of the business pitfalls that lay in wait. The band didn’t make it, of course, its brief trek rockin’ across the U.S.A. over after a series of demos for a second unreleased album.

Notes: Trigger has its own web site (http://www.triggerrocks.com/) and MySpace page (www.myspace.com/triggercasablanca).