We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lance Batton a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lance thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you have any key partners or vendors – if so, how’d you find them and start working with them?

This segment covers the lineup changes of the band The Head Trips, how those changes have been made and navigated, and some reflections on the process as a whole.

Over the course of the band’s history (starting in 2018), we have gone through several lineup changes. I (Lance Batton, vocals and bass) have been the one consistent member from the band’s inception, and I started the band with my good friend Chris Vivo (drums). We went through a few different guitarists in a short time span before connecting with Ethan Milford (guitar and vocals, sound engineering). Ethan helped us complete our self-titled debut album in 2020, providing guitar and vocal contributions, as well as being the sound engineer for the record.

Ethan and I stuck with the band following the Covid pandemic, but Chris decided to step away for some time due to his work and personal life commitments. Upon this lineup change, we worked with several different drummers in preparation for our next official release. Chris did have a brief stint with the band again during this time, but he left again before we could get back in the studio to work on new music. We then stuck with Ian Chovan on drums as we completed our EP “Dualism” in 2023. Ian provided drums and conceptual contributions to the record, while also providing some help with sound engineering. However, about 5 months after the EP was released, Ian decided to step away from the band due to creative differences. Chris returned to the lineup immediately after Ian’s departure, and we continued with this lineup until Ethan finally decided to leave the band in early 2025. Ethan’s reasoning for leaving the band was generally based around creative and personal differences. In the wake of Ethan’s departure, however, Chris and I had already decided on his replacement: our good friend Emory Shrock, who gladly decided to join the band.

Chris leaving the band at different times was more challenging than losing other drummers because Chris was a founding member, and he made meaningful contributions to the creative vision of the band as well as recording drums on our first album. Similarly, losing Ethan was more of a challenge than other guitarists leaving because he had recorded on both the album and the EP, as well as his sound engineering contributions. However, we have adapted over time, and having Chris in the lineup now along with Emory is quickly proving to be a comfortable and effective grouping. Chris and I have always had really great chemistry; we have gotten to develop our musical connection over a long period of time, effectively starting as Chris and I both started playing music. We have both also known Emory for a few years now, both as a musician and as a friend, and Emory has been eager to catch up with us in the band, learning our music at a relatively fast pace, and even making his own contributions to the band. There have been changes over time, some of them sudden, but I and the others who were with me at different points in the band’s history have done our best to adapt and grow with the times.

Going through these lineup changes has certainly added some extra challenges to both the band and the personal lives of the remaining members at any given point in the band’s history. We have had to make adjustments with not just lineups, but also scheduling, practice spaces, gear, band chemistry, and the progress of the band itself; effectively, we have had to reset and even “start over” in some ways. While this cycle has obviously lent itself to some setbacks, it has taught my band mates and I a lot about growing and adapting with changes over time. Further, some of these “reset” opportunities have allowed us to reimagine our sound creatively and make adjustments to the band that have been meaningful and beneficial overall.

Lance, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I (Lance) started The Head Trips back in 2018 with my friend Chris Vivo. The band really established itself in 2019 when we started playing music with guitarists, landing on Ethan Milford to play guitar and contribute some vocals as well as being our sound engineer. We have gone through several lineup changes over the years, with Chris being in the band at different points and Ethan playing in the band for over 5 years. Now, it’s Chris and I with our friend Emory Shrock on guitar.

Our sound has been described as “Youngstown Punkaledic,” which speaks to our sonic blend of grunge, punk, and psychedelic rock with Midwestern flairs, primarily. We have been playing in the music scene since in Youngstown, Ohio since our inception, with a notable “second home” presence in Kent, Ohio. We have also branched out regularly to other local areas like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Akron, as well as heading out to State College, Pennsylvania on several occasions.

We have released a self-titled album and an EP entitled “Dualism,” and we are currently working on our second album. Our music is available on all major digital streaming platforms, as well as on CD.

One thing that we have always enjoyed and taken pride in is the sense of community that we have developed with the band. We have been involved with a great network of other amazing local bands and acts, as well as meeting a lot of special people who are musicians and/or fans in the areas we have played in. We have shared our joy of making and playing music with our family, friends, fans, and even to those who are unfamiliar with who we are and what we do. Music is communal by nature, and we have always made it a priority to embrace that and to build up the people and communities around us.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

We have built a reputation in the local music scene over years of making connections with bands/acts, venues, and others who are involved with local music in some way. These are relationships that have mattered to us on both professional and personal fronts to varying degrees, and we have made it a point to let others know that our intentions are to treat these connections in such ways with the care and attention that they deserve. This hearkens back to the “community” aspect of making music and being musicians that we prioritize and cherish. Similarly, we have carried ourselves in a way to make personal connections through music with our family, friends, fans, and people who are new to our music.
We have also built our reputation through our social media presence, and of course through the music that we make. We have developed certain standards of what to expect from us at shows and on recordings, and we do our best to meet and exceed these standards whenever we record or perform live, and even when we are sharing content and connecting on social media.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Consistency, even in spite of lineup changes, the Covid pandemic, and other factors, has helped us to build and maintain our reputation over time. While balancing out other personal and professional life priorities, we have been consistent in our presence, imagery, and overall musical performance as a band for the most part. This has helped us to develop our brand, build and expand our fanbase, and make meaningful connections with others in the local scene through our music.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/theheadtrips_band
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theheadtrips_band/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theheadtrips.band
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc1jTBSrpCit4HGYdG7uHXg
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4T3Qj4qg4bIX7DgREpbdOu

  Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/the-head-trips/1536903222

Image Credits

Main photo: Quentin Leland

Additional photos: Stephanie Sheronovich (Sheronophoto)