Trout Fishing in America

t may still be impossible to tell you what kind of music Trout plays but after attending a show you’ll know exactly what you’ve witnessed: two guys who still love what they do and are excited to share it with you.

Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet formed Trout Fishing in America in 1979 as a means of survival. They traveled to California as a part of the Texas-based five-piece band St. Elmo’s Fire with hopes of being discovered and signed by a major record label. When no such opportunity arose and the promising tour dissolved Keith and Ezra peeled off from their bandmates to fend for themselves. Busking on the streets of Santa Cruz with an acoustic guitar and an upright bass the pair quickly learned that engaging listeners instantly was the only path towards dollars and coins in the open guitar case. When entry in a music contest required them to have a name for their act they chose Trout Fishing in America as an homage to Keith’s love of writer Richard Brautigan and Ezra’s love of fishing. They returned to Texas and continued performing as a duo landing gigs in the southeast United States.

For a band composed only of a guitar a bass and two vocalists Keith and Ezra could sonically fill whatever space they played. Trout’s genre-defying musical style and unique stage presence did not lend itself to standard marketing strategies so their following developed through word-of-mouth recommendations from fans and club owners. No one could explain what kind of music Trout played but would also tell you that theirs was not a show to miss. Rather than waiting for a record label’s attention they formed their own Trout Records label in the 1980s and released two vinyl albums and two cassettes.

Host or Publisher Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center