The Road to Innocents

Tris Munsick and the Innocents will be performing at the Parco- Sinclair Theater on Saturday, April 13. The band is from Sheridan Wyoming and plays a combination of honky-tonk and country music.

Munsick and his band have been traveling on the road for the past 10 years and are preparing to drop a new album they have been working on over the winter while taking it slow on the road. They have been together as a band for 12 years. Munsick and his band will be having a busy summer schedule where the band will be traveling to six different towns in Wyoming, four different towns in Montana and a stop in South Dakota.

Munsick said this will be his first time playing in Sinclair and is looking forward to performing at a place he has not played before. Munsick talked about his music career and how it started. He said music is part of his family tradition.

“I grew up on a ranch south of Sheridan, Wyoming,” Munsick said. “My dad is a rancher, songwriter and musician. I have two younger brothers, Sam and Ian, both of whom play music and write songs.”

Munsick said he and his brothers grew up together playing music. They performed together as the Munsick Boys but eventually each went a different direction when they got into high school.

“We grew up playing music together just in the living room or by the campfire,” Munsick said. “When we got into high school we kind of branched into our own style of music. (We) stayed in the country lane but we all had different sounds in that wheelhouse.”

Munsick later lived in Texas, which turned into a great experience. He said his stay in Texas helped him to understand how to appreciate the opportunities that would come in front of him.

“I moved to Austin, Texas fresh out of college,” Munsick said. “I was working at a couple of ranches around the state and I was shoeing horses and riding colts. I would play music at night, which is a great life for a single man of 22 years old getting by on minimum wage.”

Munsick said his time in Texas was all about living and learning. He said it also allowed him to meet other songwriters who have taught him different things in music.

“It was a real learning experience living in Texas,” Munsick said. “You’re just immersed in so much talent and artistic creativity and if you keep your eyes and ears open you just can’t help but learn some stuff and I sure did. I was able to be around great songwriters, performers and learned how to perform solo songwriter shows.:

Munsick later moved to Houston and had the opportunity to work with country music songwriter and actor Lyle Lovett. He said he worked with Lovett for a few years before moving back to Wyoming.

“I moved to Houston and I worked for Lyle Lovett for a couple of years,” Musick said. “Lyle is a great performer and an icon in country music, especially in that part of the world. We toured coast-to-coast. I was an assistant tour manager for Lyle and I really learned a lot about the business side of the music industry and how it is done from the top down. Lyle is such an inspiration as a band leader and a person in general. He really treats the people around him well and has had a long successful career because of that.”

Munsick said his time in Texas was not only a great experience but a humbling one. He said it was the people he had the chance to meet who made it all happen in building his career in music.

“My time in Texas was pretty much spent with my eyes and ears open and keeping my mouth shut.” Munsick said. “It was so humbling living in Texas because you are around so much talent that are so good at what they do and are hungry for success. What I learned is that you are a small fish swimming in a big pond and it’s an important lesson for everyone to learn in the music industry.”

Munsick said success in music is a lot of work especially when you are writing with some of the best song writers. He said it is all about giving it your all when you perform on stage and to attract your audience.

“More specifically, in music itself, you are writing with people who are great songwriters,” Munsick said. “You are in a line up and going on stage at 1 a.m to six people out there who are trying to keep their head off the table and you pour your heart and soul out to them. I think all those experiences are what music artists should go through so you can appreciate when things start going your way.”

Munstick and the Innocents have had some turnovers over the years. Munsick said to have four or five guys go into the same direction at the same speed is a hard thing to do. He said he has had different members in the past and remains good friends with all of them. Munsick said his current line up is the best version of the band he has had. All of them are natives of the state, which is great to Munstick as a native himself.

The Innocents recently dropped their first single “QuickSand” off the record “Big Baidson Moon.” For more information on Tris Munsick, visit his website at https://www.trismunsick.com/.

Munsick will perform at the Parco-Sinclair Theater at 8 p.m. on April 13. Doors open at 7:15 p.m.