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Hearing Through the "Mindfuzz" With Trillium Groove

Writer's picture: Jennifer PatinoJennifer Patino


Photo by Tyler Franz



On April 5th, indie alternative pop trio, Trillium Groove, released an absolutely stunning music video for their new song “Mindfuzz”. I was given a special opportunity to ask them a few questions about their band and I’m so happy to introduce our readers to these lovely ladies.


Trillium Groove are Ruby Bardenhagen on piano and vocals, SkyeLea Martin on guitar, ukulele, and vocals, and Keagan Kalbfleisch on percussion and vocals. They met in the Audio Tech program at Northwestern Michigan University and formed their band in February of 2023 after collaborating at NMC’s first ever Gala to Give which they also performed together at on the release day of their new song. The band is most comfortable performing their own music and are very excited to continue their journey of experimenting and finding their own sound.


I was entranced by the new track and the video’s production. The song speaks to me on so many levels about escaping the noise of the world and our own destructive thoughts. The video perfectly captures the return to the serenity of nature. It is filled with feminine imagery and features beautiful scenes of our great state of Michigan.


Trillium Groove has been involved in music for as long as they can remember. Bardenhagen has been writing songs since she was 5 years old and has been studying and performing on the piano for 12 years. Martin has also been singing since she was a child and began playing the ukulele in the 7th grade. Once she picked up her mother’s guitar in high school, she’s been writing songs ever since. Kalbfleisch taught herself to play piano at the age of 7 and also has been singing for her entire life. “Writing and playing music has been a huge part of my life forever,” she says.



The Jam Files: Tell us a little about the writing process of the new song.


Ruby: The writing process seemed to come so naturally, even though it was the first song we had ever worked on together with writing and arranging.


SkyeLea: I began writing this song solo, in my best friend’s living room, with the intention of never sharing it because it made me feel so vulnerable. After hearing about the New Moon Songwriting Challenge, and knowing that Ruby and Keagan wouldn’t judge me for the raw and personal lyrics, I brought it to them to help me finish it as a collaborative project. Best. Decision. Ever.


Keagan: The writing process, once Skye showed us the song, was very smooth. It was so strangely easy once we all got together to brainstorm on it. It basically wrote itself after that point and became what it is now.



The Jam Files: What was the inspiration behind the song?


Ruby: The inspiration for me with the piano part was to build it up throughout the song, to help back up the lyrics “you don’t know how loud it gets here” and “this is the noise keeping my mind awake” in the bridge and ending section.


SkyeLea: A dumb boy who’s dumb, and not important.


Keagan: For me it was the “fuzz” aspect of “Mindfuzz” that was the driving force when coming up with melody and harmony stuff, especially in the ending. I wanted to help create that feeling of having so much going on in your head at the same time. It was like a sort of beautiful chaos.



The Jam Files: What does music (both performing it and listening to it) mean for you all?


Ruby: What I love about music is the versatility of it. Music has the ability to encapsulate any emotion, story, or experience you can think of.


SkyeLea: Music is quite literally my life. My mom is a singer/songwriter, and my dad and grandparents have been in the dance and performance industry for years. I grew up in recording studios, backstage of productions, and in dance classes with a variety of music. I don’t know a life that isn’t musical.


Keagan: Music means everything to me. It really is hard to explain that to its fullest extent but it’s true.



The Jam Files: Who are your musical influences or inspirations? What keeps you creating?


Ruby: Quitting the creation of music doesn’t even feel like an option to me. It’s one of the few outlets I have to truly express what I feel. As long as I am a human with emotions, I’ll be writing. I am inspired by a lot of different artists musically and lyrically, composers like Debussy and Ravel, Stevie Wonder, Laufey, and the band Half Alive.


SkyeLea: My top musical inspirations are Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson, and Stevie Wonder. They all are amazing composers with timeless repertoire, and spread the message of love through their music. What keeps me creating is the strong feeling that I need to, and that I have ideas and experiences worth sharing. I’ve heard lots of music that makes me feel seen, some of which was written by my bandmates, and it’s such a powerful thing! I continue to create music as an outlet for myself, but also in hopes I’ll make someone else feel understood or seen in the way others’ have done for me.


Keagan: What really keeps me going is music, and I just want to help people feel things. If someone feels like they have a voice because of something I wrote, that’s all the motivation I need. It’s a way to express thoughts and emotions that is truly unmatched. Some inspirations for me have been Ben Platt, Adrianne Lenker, Hozier, and Lizzie McAlpine, among others. And honestly, my bandmates have inspired me the most to keep going and to keep playing music in general. So many of my songs are about them.



The Jam Files: What is your favorite part about performing? Any particularly memorable shows or performances?


Ruby: Performing brings a unique energy to music. Connecting with an audience and my bandmates through music is such a beautiful experience that doesn’t really compare to anything else. A show that is quite memorable to me is when we played at The Alluvion, opening for Dixon’s Violin. The set we played was the first set of all original songs.


SkyeLea: My favorite part of performing is the unexpected moments that we can’t help but look at each other and share a smile. It happens most when Keagan and I are singing together, or when Ruby is playing her embellishments and fills. I call those little moments “jazz”. One memorable performance for me was at our “Mindfuzz” release party, the room had amazing acoustics, and it seemed like all of our biggest supporters were there.


Keagan: I love that we get to communicate without words so often. It’s so cool to be able to look at each other and know what to do, or just feel it out together through the music.



The Jam Files: What was shooting the music video like? How was the concept for it born?


Ruby: Shooting the video was an awesome experience for me. The production team knocked it out of the park.


SkyeLea: Shooting the video for “Mindfuzz” was very surreal, and the entire time I was just so excited that we were doing it. Creating the concept was a collective effort between the band and our production team. They did such a good job of making our ideas turn into a story. Shoutout to Sander Breneman, Camden Douglas, and Mike Rowe!


Keagan: We all worked together to make a kind of storyboard for the music video. I think we really got deep into the more metaphorical side of things, so the video may seem a bit abstract. Shooting it was amazing though! We had a lot of cool adventures in a very short time it feels like, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.



The Jam Files: What's next for Trillium Groove? Do you consider yourselves a “supergroup” like Boygenius?


Ruby: We are definitely going to keep performing and writing music!


SkyeLea: I don’t think any of us know “what’s next”. I’m just excited to continue performing with these girls. A little tour around Michigan could be cool. 


Keagan: There are a lot of girl trios doing cool things and if we remind people of Boygenius, I think that’s sick! We are just going to keep putting in the work and making music and hopefully continue to grow in our sound. I’m really looking forward to all the new opportunities that are coming our way!



Trillium Groove is going to be performing a show with Pug Loop and John Piatek at Eugene’s Record Co-op on May 4th. Be sure to check out their new song “Mindfuzz” wherever you stream music and give the video a watch on their YouTube channel.



Follow Trillium Groove on Instagram and check out their merch store through Sandbox Alliance!



Jennifer Patino lives in Traverse City and loves music. Visit her blog at thistlethoughts.com


Tyler Franz is a Traverse City photographer. Check out his website at tylerfranzphotography.com


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