{"id":31738,"date":"2026-10-14T05:30:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T09:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=31738"},"modified":"2026-06-23T15:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:41:33","slug":"george-terry-mcdonald-here-comes-trouble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/14\/george-terry-mcdonald-here-comes-trouble\/","title":{"rendered":"George Terry McDonald: Here Comes Trouble"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes art and music merely coexist. In special cases, they can complement each other. There are few artists with a mastery of both forms, individuals who can draw from the best of both creative disciplines. And fewer still can forge a bond between the two. Asheville-based George Trouble<\/a> is such an artist, and his latest album Entanglement<\/i> showcases his skill at doing so.<\/p>\n

As George Terry McDonald, he\u2019s a celebrated visual artist who creates vivid, dense and evocative works with paint on canvas. Leading George Trouble and the Zealots, he writes and sings songs that have a similarly resonant quality. And he admits that there can be a connection between his work in two very different creative disciplines.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes an idea for a song will happen while I\u2019m painting,\u201d McDonald says. \u201cOften, the painting process might have some conceptual, allegorical stuff going on.\u201d He explains that the \u201cspillover\u201d can lead him to put down his paint brush and pick up the guitar.<\/p>\n

It works the other way around as well. \u201cSong ideas engender visuals,\u201d he says. McDonald believes that for him, the two artistic forms \u201ccan\u2019t help but influence each other.\u201d At the root of all of it, he asserts, is \u201cmotivation and conception: what I feel compelled to say, and how I say it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much has been made of the supposed left brain\/right brain divide and how it figures into humans\u2019 creative (and ostensibly non-creative) expression. McDonald suggests that\u2019s a largely false construct. \u201cI agree that there are two different brain functions going on,\u201d he concedes. \u201cThe physical activity of painting requires you to draw on the right side of the brain. Or\u2026 is it the left<\/i> side?\u201d he asks with a self-effacing laugh.<\/p>\n

McDonald believes that the human brain works best when those two sides interact. \u201cAnd that has to do with why I call the record Entanglement<\/i>,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt refers to the wonder I have about that interaction.\u201d He suggests that because there\u2019s so much interchange between those parts that we don\u2019t understand or even know about, we end up worrying about it. And that causes internal turmoil.<\/p>\n

Previewed with three singles, set for official release July 7 and being promoted with live solo and full band dates throughout this summer and fall, Entanglement<\/i> features 11 songs that showcase a variety of musical styles yet work together as a unified whole. From the country blues of \u201cDie in Your Smile\u201d to the Parisian jazz-flavored \u201cEverybody is Crazy But Me\u201d to the wry and rocking Dave Edmunds pastiche \u201cHidin\u2019 from the Hippies\u201d to the soulful, exuberant \u201cSupervision,\u201d the album serves up a bounty of memorable, musically engaging songs.<\/p>\n

George Trouble\u2019s lyrics on Entanglement<\/i> express a worldview that\u2019s equal parts weary, seen-it-all jaded and \u2013 most significantly \u2013 hopeful. One of the album\u2019s ear-candy highlights is \u201cLove Still Matters,\u201d a tune defined by its upbeat sentiment, hit home with sublime vocal harmonies by Dulci Ellenberger.<\/p>\n

McDonald says that he loves most every style of music, though some of them in smaller doses than others. \u201cI love reggae for a few songs,\u201d he says. \u201cI love ska, polka for few songs; bluegrass, even.\u201d He says that over the years, he has sharpened his ability to write songs that move beyond the traditional boundaries of what a rock \u2019n\u2019 roll band might do. \u201cBecause,\u201d he quips, \u201cyou don\u2019t have to scream every song.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when it comes to making his original music, there\u2019s a limit. \u201cI can only play what I know how to play,\u201d McDonald confesses. And that fact is part of the creative glue that holds Entanglement<\/i> together in brilliant fashion.<\/p>\n

Happily, McDonald long ago came to the realization that when making a record, \u201cyou don\u2019t have to depend [solely] on the strength of your pipes, or your limited guitar skills. You can imagine things, and get people to help you.\u201d Other music luminaries featured on the album include Band of Heathens guitarist Ed Jurdi, bassist Zach Page, drummers Evan Martin and Lee Allen, singer Chlo and McDonald\u2019s longtime friend and \u201cright-hand man,\u201d keyboardist Aaron Price.<\/p>\n

Like many in WNC, McDonald witnessed firsthand the effects of tropical storm Helene. \u201cWe knew nothing for four or five days; what we were getting was rumors, because there was no communication after Helene happened,\u201d he recalls. A few days after the flooding, McDonald drove to Charlotte to stay with some dear friends. While there, he caught up on news via TV and the internet. \u201cAnd I started hearing the chatter,\u201d he says, \u201cthe lies about FEMA and the Trump propaganda.\u201d He says that he descended into a \u201cspiral of information processing,\u201d with its sense of unreality.<\/p>\n

His next painting was a visual representation of that turmoil. A detail from the intentionally cluttered, disorienting and ominous work would become the cover art for Entanglement<\/i>. \u201cI added these chimera subjects in the water \u2013 gargoyles, devils \u2013 because I have art history, Albrecht Durer and Hieronymus Bosch in my head,\u201d he says with a chuckle.<\/p>\n

But Entanglement<\/i> balances its cover\u2019s unsettling imagery with lyrics that betray hard-earned self-awareness. Offering the example of \u201cEveryone is Crazy But Me,\u201d McDonald makes an important point: \u201cYes, that\u2019s the title of the song. But hopefully you\u2019ll get the snicker that I\u2019m laughing at myself\u2026 and everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes art and music merely coexist. In special cases, they can complement each other. There are few artists with a mastery of both forms, individuals who can draw from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31739,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,9,39,41,42,49,62],"tags":[3623,5422],"class_list":["post-31738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americana","category-blues","category-indie","category-interview","category-jazz","category-new-release","category-rawk","tag-george-terry-mcdonald","tag-george-trouble","cat-6-id","cat-9-id","cat-39-id","cat-41-id","cat-42-id","cat-49-id","cat-62-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31738"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31740,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31738\/revisions\/31740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}