By Brent Thompson

After years of fronting bands and seeing record deals come and go, Jim Troglen landed on an idea: Create a platform that would allow a collective of veteran, trusted musicians to take part in an ongoing project as their time and interest permitted. So, in 2012, Troglen – a.k.a. Johnny Blade, Woa Hahne Bla’de, Kevin Almost – formed The Ladies Of… with an all-star lineup of like-minded players. The names of the project’s revolving cast of participants – James Hall, Roman Glick, Jack Massey and Mark Patrick among others – will surely ring familiar to anyone who has followed the regional music scene over the past 30 years. On Saturday, November 11, The Ladies Of… will perform at Trim Tab Brewing Co. Recently, we spoke with Troglen by phone as the band prepared to embark on its upcoming run of Southeastern dates.

Birmingham Stages: Jim, thanks for your time. If you will, discuss the origins of The Ladies Of…

Jim Troglen: It’s a contradiction because this thing is not even a band. When you and I were younger, we always resisted anybody telling us what to do. Fast forward to now, I want people to tell me what to do because I don’t want to do a damn thing. You do the work and I’ll show up. So I do the work and they show up. I’m by no means a dictator in the sense of how it is executed. It’s like a softball team – bring your glove and be at the field Thursday at 7 p.m. I’ll bring the balls, bats, jerseys, beer and sodas. I’ll have everything.

Birmingham Stages: You’ve experienced the highs and lows of the music business. If you will, talk about how that experience translates to this project.

JT: The thing that’s changed between then and now is, back then, you had to work harder in a different way to expose yourself. It was based upon word-of-mouth, phone calls and mailing lists with stamps and now you get hit in the face with so many options. There’s nothing really precious or special about music anymore. What we’re doing isn’t precious or special, but it’s the best-composed music I’ve ever been a part of and it’s a substantial group of people with extraordinary accomplishments under the belts.

Birmingham Stages: The players in The Ladies Of… are people you’ve known personally and professionally for many years. If you will, talk about the criteria you established when you launched this project.

JT: The person must have two qualifications – you must have your shit together and you must be magical. The band itself is comprised of whoever shows up and nobody feels compelled to have any ownership beyond being present and giving a damn. You can’t get in the club if you’re an idiot. There’s no money in this but there’s passion and interest and my skill is organizing. I can get everybody in a room and make it exciting and respectful.

Birmingham Stages: It’s great to see that you and these other players still have the passion to record and perform after all the years.

JT: I’ve got three children and a wife, but I’m not going to sit idle. In the instant I get to be me, I’m not going to watch TV. I’m going to figure out how to get people together and kick something in the ass. That keeps me young because I have to continually figure out, “How am I going to do this?” For example, my wife went back to college a few years ago and and made the President’s List with three kids. That’s all it is – it’s the maturity and the drive. You have to get people that are mature and want to engage at that level and fight for it because all you’re doing is fighting for another chance to get it out of your system.

https://theladiesof.bandcamp.com

The Ladies Of…will perform at Trim Tab Brewing Co. On Saturday, November 11. For more information, visit www.trimtabbrewing.com