Has anyone out there ever heard of a band out of Atlanta called The Lost Trailers? If you were familiar with them prior to 2005 and liked them, then you and I have something in common. If you’ve heard their latest album and still like them, leave this site immediately. You’re in the wrong place.
The Lost Trailers were one of my favorite bands when they released such exceptional albums as The Story of the New Age Cowboy in 2000, Trailer Trash in 2002, and Welcome to the Woods in 2004. Former frontman, Stokes Nielsen, not only had a cool name, but he also wrote about cool things. Topics included small towns, drinking booze, and smoking Winston cigarettes. And the accompanying music matched the quality of the lyrics. Back porch acoustic numbers that harkened Wille Nelson, driving guitars that evoked memories of the Allman Brothers Band, and the occasional backup gospel singers that made you wish you were sipping on a sweet tea somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Since then, they’ve decided to go mainstream country. Sadly, Stokes Nielsen is now taking a backseat to Ryder Lee, the type of guy that wears a bandana underneath a cowboy hat. If you’ve never heard my theory on guys that wear bandanas, here it is: Guys that wear bandanas are either bald, short, or are douchebags. 99% of the time they are a combination of all three. The Lost Trailers have now signed with RCA records, are writing songs that sound worse than my homemade adolescent Fart Tape, and started playing shows with no-talent assclown Kenny Chesney. Their latest album, which is self-titled, is a complete disappointment. It makes me want to pee in my hands and rub my eyes with it.
The wheels have completely fallen off the Lost Trailers. I encourage you to uncover the musical treasure they once were. Unfortunately they don’t offer any free MP3’s anywhere now that they suck. But older songs like “Dougherty County” and “The Battery” are well worth your $0.99. Not surprisingly, their newfound country fans aren’t even smart enough to post recent live footage on YouTube. Hopefully someday they’ll get back to their roots and start making real music again.
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
I didn’t really like their early stuff all that much but their new stuff does positively blow.
Hey Drinking Buddy, I definitely hear ya on this one! Well written article and let’s hope they start playing a little more of the old stuff!
Thanks, Jason. At least I can still throw on a little “Dougherty County” for old time’s sake.
It’s too bad, really. You read the interviews about how they wanted to follow in the footsteps of Willie Nelson and how they believed that if they kept creating good music people would find them, but it seems like they ended up just going for the easy money. It would be interesting to hear exactly what happened from the inside.
I don’t think the money will be that easy with the garbage they are playing.
We (me and my boys) loved the old Trailers sound. We’ve played their songs to death and couldn’t wait for the new cd. Bought it without reservation and played it and then threw it out the window. What happened? We thought they split up and started a new band. The same lead singer on every song with some chick singing back up. Sounded like every other nickle and dime country band. Dissapointed is not strong enough words!
Amen,
I can’t begin to tell ya what the old stuff meant.
It was mean, raw, articulate, tragic and bold. Corporate country will never match up.
Whoa, Dudes, much too harsh…
Can’t address the corporate country complaints, but can assure you that Ryder Lee is neither bald, short, nor a douchebag; he’s beautiful, inside & out, a kind southern gent with brains and class. He’s got a great voice (sang lead on the best song off the 2004 album) should definitely be doing co-leads minimally. (When the band’s gifted with two singers, I kinda like a trade-off myself.) Stokes is still writing, they’re still evolving, give them a little break, Jeez it’s tough out there.
This band is one of the hardest working bands in the business; they’ve got the ethic & they’ve got the talent, and a well-deserved fan base earned the hard way. There’s no easy money being settled for here, no selling out, that’s so bs. I’m thinking they’re coming back some the other way when they get the power & the dough to produce themselves again…
I appreciate the other viewpoint, Lisa.
The pot shot at Ryder Lee was unfounded – that’s just been my personal experience. The bandana aside, he’s still up there in a tank top trying to look like Kenny Chesney. Listening to bands that have a lead singer that wears a tank top to show off his hot body is not at the top of my list of things to do. I’m sure he’s a nice guy. I just wish Stokes would grab the microphone out of his kung fu grip every once in a while.
You mentioned they are hard working, and built their fan base the hard way. Unfortunately, they’ve turned their back on the fan base that they’ve worked so hard to build. Their old fans listened to them because they were different than anything else out there (read previous comments). I can listen to any 1 of 1000 bands on my iPod. Why would I listen to The Lost Trailers when they’re feeding me canned corporate country that sounds like everything else out there? I might as well listen to Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, Brad Paisley, and every other cookie-cutter country act.
I’m not trying to be mean to the band or you. The problem is I still want to like them.
Let me put it a different way. Have you ever had anyone cheat on you? You can quickly go from loving them one second to hating them the next. That’s how I feel about The Lost Trailers. I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread until they released their most recent album. I felt betrayed, and it angered me a little bit.
You also said that them selling out was “BS”. But then you alluded to the fact that they are going to change back to their old ways once they make some money and can produce their own records. That’s like saying taking money for sex isn’t prostitution if it’s only temporary. It doesn’t matter if you sell out for 6 months or 10 years…it’s still selling out in my book.
We can agree to disagree. Thanks for reading and we can both hope that they get the power to produce themselves again someday.
hi, drinkin buddy
here a message from belgium//yes, I also liked the old band and I get sick about their new music : nothing real, just commercial priorities…Geofrey Stokes Nielsen sang about not being turned on the radio in one of that old songs..must be a real trauma…Hope he will be cured once
the healer
Why is everybody so hung up on “selling out”?? This is friggin’ America that’s kinda the point dude!! To make a living(hopefully a good one)doing what you love to do right!!?!? Anyway I just got into the “Trailers” because they sold out as u say I heard them on Sirius satellite radio….if not for that I wouldn’t have even found this forum and realized they had older music. I will check out their earlier stuff as well. So check your tampons guys and chill the fuck out!!
Keep on Truckin’ Bitches!!
Thanks for the comments, fellas. I do appreciate the readership. Big Daddy – I’ll be curious to hear what you think about the older stuff. In the meantime, I’ll be sure to check my tampon.
Finally I found this site. The Trailers were the favorite band of my friends and I. Travelled to Boston to see them play after the first last Dispatch show and it was one of the greatest shows ever. I never liked Ryder’s songs but I was willing to put up with it to hear Stokes’ genius.
I’m not one to use the phrase ’selling out’ lightly but these guys have completely turned their back on their old fan base. Instead of trying to help us understand the transition they decided on, they redesigned the website, put out a schlock country album with Ryder as the cheesy front man and pretended that’s how it’d been all along.
Their new image is so calculated it’s disgusting. The new video ‘Hollerback’ made me puke a little in my mouth when I saw it. I just want the old Stokes back.
Well put, Averly Jane. I just watched the entire Hollerback video – there appeared to be some choreographed dancing at one point during the video. Just a complete abomination.
Anyway, you’re in the right place now, so have a look around and enjoy the good music.
Drinkin Buddy! I’m glad I found you my friend. I was drivin yesterday and Lost Trailers came up on my ipod. I only have the old albums, like Trailer Trash. Anyway, I came back to my house and wanted to learn some of these songs on guitar. So i began searching the web for tabs. Well, I found their new website,saw their youtube videos, heard their ‘new’ songs and immediately thought to myself: WTF!? What happened to the good ol’ stokes!? I agree with this page. I miss their acoustic stuff like the good ol’ days. YMCA, Battery, Longfall, and Averly Jane! I miss all of them. Bring back the trailers!
Thanks for your post my friend.
Thanks for tracking us down, Clay. It’s always nice to know there are other people out there feeling the same way.
I actually heard their new song “Hollerback” on the radio this morning when I was flipping through stations. What a dumb song. The irony is if you listen to the lyrics of “West End” off their Welcome to the Woods album, it’s almost as if Stokes saw this coming…
Holler Back ya’ll!!!
Add me to the list of folks dissatisfied (to put it politely) with the new incarnation of the Trailers.
I fell in love with this band back in 2002 after catching them at a festival in Pensacola. The guys passed out a burned copy of some of their songs and after listening to it, I was hooked. I bought up all of their albums and caught every show that I could. Stokes’ songwriting was inspiring – music & lyrics – and the live shows were energetic, engaging, and a whole lot of fun.
In ‘03 or early ‘04 (can’t remember), the band added Manny on rhythm guitar and that was cool. I was skeptical at first, but I got to know the guy and he was nice and a lot of fun. Nothing could turn me away!
Then, the guys stopped touring for a while and I lost track. 2006 rolls around and I catch word of their new self-titled album. I rush out on release day, snatch it up, and give it a spin. What garbage!
I’m still in the same frame of mind now that the “Holler Back” album has been released. The guys played a FREE show here in Jacksonville, FL last Friday and so I figured I would go out to support their efforts and hopefully catch a good show with the energy and some old tunes (even if I had to suffer through new stuff).
I arrive at the show to find that Ryder is the full-fledged front man. No more keys for him. Stokes has taken a backseat (although he’s still highly entertaining on stage). Manny is on bass and Andrew is on keys…?
WTF?! As stated above, this is far too calculated and something that I never expected from these guys.
The show started with “Holler Back” to get everyone in the mood and then they proceeded to hammer through about an hour of generic mainstream country songs with predictable/cheesy lyrics and uninspired music.
Ryder spoke in between songs…but that was unnecessary. All he does on stage is regurgitate the same stories that the band’s publicist releases. Rather than personalizing the show and making it a wonderful memory for the audience, it is like watching a press/promotional kit come to life! I’m sure he has his spiel down word-for-word: “We used to play tailgates before NASCAR races,” “we are on the road a lot but it must really be tough for those in the military,” “we met Willie Nelson,” etc. Read any of their recent press clippings; it is all there.
Finally, to top it off, they closed the set with…you guessed it: “Holler Back.” Yes, again. They played the same song TWICE!!!
I left in a rush of disappointment.
This is a long comment, but I just need to get this off of my chest to people who understand. My wife can only take so much of my griping – especially about a topic that she cares so little about! Ha.
So, enjoy the old albums from here on out. I can only hope that they return to what they are best at in the future, but I’m not holding my breath.
The Lost Trailers, R.I.P.
Great comment, Kane. I feel your pain. I can’t believe they opened AND closed with Hollerback – what a joke. Might as well just play an entire set of Hollerback a million times in a row.
And to your final comment, Kane, I can no longer enjoy the old albums. They’ve done too much damage and it’s tainted the old stuff in my eyes.
What do John McCain, Ryder, Potter, the Nielson brothers and I all have in common?
The answer is well all attended Episcopal High School, an elitist, soouthern boarding school in northern Virginia. From there Ryder and Stokes went on to graduate from Vanderbilt and Andrew was a frat star at Georgia. What I’m trying to say is the Lost Trailers you see on stage today are a complete facade.
I’m not knocking it at all. Once you’ve entered into a career and reach a certain age everybody sells out, that is unless you’re one of the very few people who have their life’s dream work out exactly as they had imagined it would.
That being said, the new music blows and I’d be willing to bet that Stokes gets nauseated every once in a while when he hears Holler black playing over the radio and realizes he’s responsible for one of the gayest song of all time. He’s the real deal, and sooner than later he’s gonna crack. Once that happens the band’s gonna fall apart.
Ryder on the other hand is a natural bullshitter and is about as “real” as Michael Jackson is white. He was a great actor in high school and if anybody is suited to convince the world that The Lost Trailers are a a genuine group of good ole boys born in Sunnyside trailer park then he’s the guy. Unlike Stokes, he could really give a shit about the music and is eating up the new lifestyle of a B league country music star.
The Trailers of old are gone for good, but once Stokes can’t take anymore he’ll go back to putting together good music.
this band is awesome and the singer is sexy and ten times better than my friend’s boyfriend love ya
i am the biggest fan of lost trailers cause over all the country videos i watched this is the best one of all!!!!!!!!!! and hey the singer i just want him to e-mail me cause he is sooooooooooooo hotttttttttt and i hope he asks me out love ya
i love you guys…………….. and i hope you guys don’t get hurt on the trip
Hi everyone,
I agree that this is one of the saddest things I’ve seen happen in my lifetime. I thought there was “gold under FM waves”….what happened?
My brother and I are sitting here trying to figure out what happened to the Trailers and we read Kane Harrell’s comments. This is pretty much the same stuff that happened to us.
I first saw them in St Louis in like 2002 or 2003 opening for a yet-to-sell-out Pat Green. The Trailers stole the show. I remember Stokes, with a yellow light shined right in his face, belting out Yellow Rose. His stage presence was incendiary. Much too the “Well Hungarians” (opening act) dislike the band brakes into “Horse,”……you get the picture. We barely even paid PG any attention, the Trailers had arrived.
To make a long story short they basically SOLD OUT and here we are.
It’s hard to believe that a band with so many songs about not selling out proceed to do just that.
I emailed Stokes recently, as I have his email address from before they crapped their pants, voicing my concerns. To my surprise I never heard anything back.
I feel like I am rambling a bit, but there is a lot of emotion built up in me regarding this fall from their “Rock Band” days. Speaking of the album “Rock Band”, I dare you all to try and find any remnants of that album on the internet. The band, and all info about them, never speaks about that album.
Also, I was just looking at merchandise on thelosttrailers.com. They are currently selling a “hand-made Lost Trailers Christmas stocking.” Now I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think they are made using cut-up Rock Band tee-shirts. That’s just my guess, but I remember (before the Chesneyfication) they sold that shirt on their website.
Anyway, thanks to you Drinking Buddy for giving me a place to rant about this. Too much to say, but it seems as though most of you feel me.
Holler back
(LOL)
PS – “My hero’s are not cowboy’s their the ones who (USED TO) sing about them, not caring if their PAID or have a place to lay their head.”
LONG LIVE STOKES NIELSON AND THE LOST TRAILERS
I not much of a talker on these because I work “all of the time” and just don’t have the time to do them. But after searching for days, I finally came across this blog who talks about the band. I have read every response from start to finish and have subjectively come to the conclusion that none of you, either disapointed with them or love them to deaeth, here could call anyone in the band a friend. I grew up 3 streets over from Stokes. Ryder isn’t an asshole he’s very down to earth, Andrew is just a crazy fool that can always make you laugh. As for Manny and Jeff, I guess their pretty good guys too.
I have been listening to their music since 1996 back before all this other bullcrap that they don’t tell you about online or in interviews, If you truly like them (more especially =- The Story of the New Age Cowboy). I have some bonus tracks and various other rantings, poor attemtps to play drums and other jibber-jabber that just Stokes and I wrote ,played and recorded together in my upstairs music room between a few fishing trips to the pond and in between ‘98 and ‘00. I haven’t even look or listend to those tapes in son long. However, I do remember that alot of those songs went on to become very popular, although they changed considerably. Some songs were so vulgar, I don’t think we could have released them. I will did through that old box tonight and If anybody is interested, let me know and I would be glad to play them for you or let you download them. These songs are true to the original band called “Ryder Stokes” It wasn’t until late 1999 that the name The Lost Trailers was solidified. I have recordings dating back to the mid ninetees. Some never made to mass CD but if you like the old Trailers let me know and I let you have a listen. These songs are what I always go back to when I need to room to breathe and clear my head. “Ever heard of The Road , Green River, Angel, or Don’t Be Late “? Just let me know, I goota go know apparrantly I hve had 2 many whiskey and cokes. Just ASk for SoApY and I’ll find you.
SoApY…..I must listen to these recordings. I would love to download em or I can send you some blanks and a SASE. Please let me know!
Peace,
Zack
SoApY…..email me at zbelfour@hotmail.com
Hey guys, I have never posted on a blog before, but I just feel the need to right now. My buddy just called me up on the phone, yelling at me to turn the TV to CMT…. That was my first “holler back” experience, and I almost fell out of my chair! These guys are so far from the band they used to be, it should be copyright infringement for them to use the name!
For the few of you “defending” the trailers, I just want to point out something…. It’s not that they “sold out” that bothers me. Hell, they’re getting paid MUCH more than they were 5 years ago, and I’m sure that’s hard to pass up. The thing that bothers me is that they built their name and reputation as being the BIGGEST advocates AGAINST the the “canned” Nashville sound (via songs like ‘little Suzie’, ‘Under FM Waves’, ‘Longfall’, etc). This would be like Willie Nelson coming out and speaking at a drug awareness rally or a petroleum conference! (FYI – Pat Green did the same damn thing… He used to be good, too, before the record companies got a hold on him)
I used to listen to these guys all the time in Baton Rouge. I had some friends that were in a fraternity at LSU, and the Trailers used to play for them often. They used to spend the night at one of my good friend’s house when they played there, and I remember a few nights staying up till dawn playing guitar with them on the back porch. The point is that I KNOW they are nice guys, and I’m not attacking their character. People liked them because they were DIFFERENT, and because they claimed that they were “in it for the music and not the money”. Now, they sound like every other mickey mouse country singer on CMT. They have really disappointed EVERYONE who supported them in the beginning and helped them get to the point they are today.
Also, to Soapy, I would REALLY like to hear that early music you have as well! Please let me know how to get it!
i completely agree- when i heard “holler back” i thought it was a completely different band that had somehow won the rights to the band’s name.
disappointing.
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