Behind the Soundtrack with Trial & Error
Cyclovia Remix brings you a specially-curated soundtrack to each route. This month, we explored the Lost Barrio and Sunshine Mile on a ‘Bungalow Roll.’
patricia spoke with members of the Tucson-founded Trial & Error Collective —Parisa, Alex & A. Iwasa—about their exclusive Cyclovia playlist of TRANSPORTATION SONGS! The playlist moves in themes of biking, walking/running, buses, trains, subways, skating, planes, and general songs of rides, highways, etc. Let's get movin'!
Trial and Error (T&E) is a collective dedicated to sharing their love for music. The collective consists of writers and artists across the country that publish music articles, podcasts, artist interviews, concert photography, as well as a seasonal DIY zine that is distributed in Tucson, Phoenix, Oakland, Sacramento, Albuquerque, Seattle, and Chicago.
Visit the Trial & Error website or check out one of their zines for more!
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your music style, how you got involved with Trial & Error and what you do with the collective?
Parisa - Hi there! My name is Parisa. I’m the manager of T&E Collective. I started the project after graduating from the UofA and wanted to stay connected with my friends from KAMP Student Radio, the University’s student-run, free-format radio station. It’s now been over six years, and the collective has published countless articles and photo galleries, eleven zines, multiple podcast episodes, and so much more. Rock ‘n roll!
A. Iwasa - I like all kinds of rock music. I suppose I’m still a recovering musician, and had started contributing to then doing ‘zines while playing in bands in a west suburb of Cleveland, Ohio in the 1990s. I was distributing a few ‘zines I did in 2019 in Tucson when I happened upon a copy of Trial and Error, then started corresponding with Parisa.
Alex - I’m a Bay Area native who graduated from U of A. I became good friends with Parisa when we did KAMP Student Radio together and when she started up T&E, I was immediately interested. KAMP was an outlet that I really missed after I graduated and moved back home to California so I’m grateful that I can contribute an article or monthly collab blog. I’ve spent most of my life in the punk, metal, and hardcore scenes but lately I’ve been spending more time at EDM shows and events, and I like a fair amount of indie and hip hop, too.
What are your favorite things about being a part of Trial & Error?
Parisa - Being connected and working alongside so many like-minded music lovers! I am extremely grateful to know such talented writers, photographers and artists, and it’s an honor to be able to publish their work. I’ve also discovered so much incredible music across genres that I definitely wouldn’t have been able to find in any sort of generic Spotify playlist. Plus, sharing and connecting over music in a non-algorithmic, human way is something very sacred.
A.Iwasa - getting inspired by other folk’s work and getting asked good questions in the editorial processes.
Alex - It’s a great creative outlet to have! Getting cool music recommendations from real people who truly love it, and being able to return the favor with my own picks is always a pleasure.
Describe your inspiration for songs chosen for the February Cyclovia playlist. What makes a song good to walk to anyway? Bike to? Skate to?
Parisa - For our “Songs about Transportation” theme, I was very inspired by KEXP’s Transit Operator Appreciation Day programming they did on March 18th of last year. For the entire day, they played songs about buses, trains, etc. while splicing in interviews with local Seattle public transportation workers and stories submitted by listeners about their memories and thoughts on public transportation. It was so fun to see the way the music and the stories all came together for a cohesive feeling of community and shared experiences.
A.Iwasa - I started with a couple of songs that play in my head when I ride my bike. But then when I looked at the lists other people had gotten together, and I thought, duh! And went on to the songs that would play in my head when I would hitch hike, or wash dishes at work and fantasize about hitchhiking, and the floodgates were open. To me, it’s about being either hyper focused, like “Pump the Breaks” playing in my head while I bike, or transported into another place like in the video for “A New Wave” by Sleater-Kinney.
Alex - Have you ever gone for a walk while listening to “Walk” by Pantera? It’s hard to not feel determined about whatever it is you’re about to do. Skate music has to be some kind of punk, of course. Tyler, the Creator has a few cool songs about biking so I had to throw those on. Finally, I also had to throw in a couple of classics from the Bay Area’s Hyphy Movement - I was in high school during those days and people weren’t just ghost ridin’ the whip, they were ghost ridin’ EVERYTHING, especially heavily modified, candy-colored scraper bikes (which helped keep kids from disadvantaged backgrounds in East Oakland from falling into dangerous lifestyles during that time, by the way). Look up the video for the Trunk Boiz song when you get a chance. It’s life changing.
What are you looking forward to about Cyclovia this Spring?
Parisa - I’m excited to walk along this route as it covers a lot of grounds in Tucson I’ve never walked before. I generally stick to my same route of walking around the campus since it’s a more pedestrian friendly-area, so it’ll be a real treat to have the streets blocked off during Cyclovia and be able to explore without having to walk alongside car traffic!
Alex - I live in Sacramento now but I looked at the planned route and it’s through a part of town that I never really explored when I went to U of A. I’ve popped through there a few times the last few times I went to Tucson, though, and that area is awesome! I bet it’ll be fun to explore with the streets blocked off.
Who are some of your favorite local Tucson bands/artists? Or shows you’re excited to see this Spring?
Parisa - There are so many great bands/artists out here that it’s hard to mention ‘em all, but currently I’ve been listening to the brand new album from Trees Speak, Vertigo of Flaws, Emancipation of the Dissonance and Temperance in Irrational Waveforms. Experimental synth/space rock released on Soul Jazz Records. Daniel Martin Diaz is also an incredible visual artist, a true gem in the Tucson creative scene.
A.Iwasa - The Exbats, NCNS, Stripes. There was a part of me that wanted to go see Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons tonight, the same part of me that wanted to go see Napalm Death semi-recently, but I suppose those ships sailed for me a while ago. The Exbats were the runaway best band I saw in 2021, and they along with NCNS and Stripes are some of the best bands I saw in 2020. All local bands, which is the way I’ve leaned since I went to high school in a metro area with a ton of great local bands.
How can folks plug in if they want more T & E!?
Parisa - Surf on over to our website www.trialanderrorcollective.com! You can subscribe to our podcast, The Melody Feed, on any of your favorite podcast apps. Follow us on instagram and facebook @trialanderrorcollective or twitter @trialyerror. We’re also about to publish our next zine, you can stay up to date on drop-off locations on our socials or www.trialanderrorcollective.com/zines. You can reach out to us on the Contact Form if you’d like to have a zine mailed to you directly, or if you’d like to get involved!
Also many in the collective have other great projects you should follow. For example, Brian Denton’s Yogurt Culture Zine, Ronny Kerr’s San Francisco music blog and radio show White Crate, and A. Iwasa has a great zine about Clevo hardcore that was published through Mircocosm…just to name a few!
