Journeys with uplifted guitars

Conversation with Tó Trips in May 2021

Abstract

Tó Trips was born in Lisbon, in the parish of Castelo, in 1966, and is registered in Benfica, where he lived during his childhood and youth, in a street between Praça de Espanha and Sete Rios. Tó has rock'n'roll incorporated from an early age, much because of Rock Rendez Vous and Johnny Guitar. Tó Trips is clearly one of the most interesting Portuguese musicians of the last decades. He started in the 1980s with Amen Sacristi and participated in Santa Maria Gasolina in Teu Ventre!; in the 1990s, he lived intensely with Lulu Blind; in the 2000s, from the happy meeting with Pedro Gonçalves he created Dead Combo, participated in Ladrões do Tempo and has made constant solo incursions. Talking to Tó Trips is like taking a trip to contemporary Portugal with stops in punk/hardcore, no-wave, jazz, Carlos Paredes' guitar, noise, world music. It's also a journey through the world (of rock), not only because of its sounds, but also because of its images, artefacts, scenarios. In this conversation, which is part of the podcast Sons Pe(r)didos e Achados, coordinated by Paula Guerra and produced by Casa Comum da Reitoria da Universidade do Porto, we get to know a little more about his life story.