Trueblood discusses their family unit, creativity, and internet fame

Trueblood is, in many ways, a family band. Since beginning to make music together in 2023, the brothers have quickly built an audience for their indie-alternative sound, pairing their music with creative, often unconventional music videos developed in collaboration with their dad. Their online presence has become a defining part of their early career, helping them turn a shared passion for music into a rapidly growing platform.

With the oldest member of the band just 18 years old, I wondered how they were navigating fame, particularly the level of virality they have achieved on TikTok and the opportunity to sign with a label like Mercury Records at such a young age. As their career continues to develop, how do they balance the expectations that come with a growing audience with the creative freedom that brought them together in the first place?

To better understand their progression, I sat down with the band during a conference hosted by 1824 to discuss the growing pains of navigating the internet, developing creatively, and figuring out who they are behind the scenes as their careers advance.

Q: Millions of people formed their first impressions of Trueblood before you released original music. How did you navigate re-introducing yourselves to fans who were only familiar with your covers through this new EP?

Trueblood: The majority of people found us through covers on TikTok. It has been a process directing fans to dig deeper and find our original music. With these five songs, we wanted to introduce ourselves and show that we make our own music.

Q: What do you think people still haven't understood about the band?

Trueblood: A lot of people don't know that we're brothers or that our actual last name is Trueblood. People also don't realize we've been playing music together for years before finding an audience on social media.

Q: Your parents are deeply involved in operations. Has growing up with your creative and family life in the same room shaped how you make decisions together?

Trueblood: Since we grew up together, it's rare that we disagree, especially when writing songs. When disagreements arise, we figure it out because we live in the same house. We balance being a band and a family, remembering that family comes first.

Q: When a song isn't working, what usually has to happen before everyone agrees it's a Trueblood song?

Trueblood: It has to be unanimous. If one of us doesn't like a song or video, it doesn't go out. A Trueblood song is defined by whether we all like it and feel proud of it.

Q: How did performing at street fairs, festivals, and local shows prepare you for playing to audiences who first met you through a screen?

Trueblood: Our approach to performing didn't change much; our goal has always been to play a good show. What changed was who was showing up and the scale of the audience. Knowing people were specifically there for us made us focus on playing original content rather than covers.

Q: What bands and albums have influenced your music?

Trueblood: Growing up, our parents played classic rock like Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Guns N' Roses. As we got older, we listened to '90s and 2000s alt-rock like Nirvana, Bush, and Radiohead. Our current sound is a culmination of all those influences.

Q: Was the guitar intro on "Paint a Picture" intentionally designed to establish the EP's overall identity?

Trueblood: We weren't thinking about that while writing it, but when creating the tracklist, putting that instrumental guitar intro first set the tone nicely.

Q: What was it like watching "Make It Out" blow up, and what was the idea behind filming on a roof?

Trueblood: Filming on the roof was our dad's idea. Many of our older TikToks were filmed there, so it tied back to what fans were familiar with. Visually, being on the roof also symbolized trying to get away from everything.

Q: How has your relationship to songwriting changed as you've gotten older?

Trueblood: We pay much more attention to lyrics now. Early on, we fell in love with the music first and made up words for melodies, but now we write about our actual experiences as our lives change.

Q: How do you preserve your DIY roots after signing with Mercury Records?

Trueblood: We still start our songwriting in our garage and film videos ourselves. The label allows us to take those raw ideas to professional studios and collaborate with incredible producers, letting us do what we were already doing on a bigger scale.

Q: Is there anything specific you want to protect as the band continues to grow?

Trueblood: Our relationship as a family. We are a family first and a band second. Even if all of this went away, we would still be playing music together in our garage.

It was refreshing to see how the brothers have remained true to themselves through everything they are beginning to discover, not only about who they are as creatives but also about what it means to work together as a family. 

As their audience grows and their career continues to take shape, that connection seems to remain at the heart of what they do. Their DIY beginnings haven't disappeared with their newfound success; instead, they are finding ways to build on those roots while exploring what comes next. With the band heading straight into the studio after the conference to record more music, fans have plenty to look forward to as Trueblood continues to evolve.

Trueblood is currently embarking on its biggest tour to date, giving fans the opportunity to experience the band's music live. You can catch them onstage as they bring their sound beyond the screen and into venues across the country.