Behind the Merch Table with Trestles

We’re excited to launch our latest blog series –  Behind the Merch Table – where we’ll be featuring bands and musical artists that use Spreadshop for their merch needs. Having a merch table (whether it’s online or in-person) is a must-have for musicians looking to connect with their fans and build a name for themselves.

Trestles, an indie band based in Santa Cruz, California, is our first feature. They started using Spreadshop in 2016 when they formed their first band in high-school. Trestles have big plans for music and merch this year. Check out our Q&A with the band below!

What’s the Trestles origin story?

Trestles formed out of the ashes of our old high-school garage rock band, Sweetwalker. We had a lot of fun making loud, angry music as every high-schooler does. But once we all moved off to college, we started something new that everyone could enjoy. After meeting new friends in Santa Cruz, we started playing fun, surf-inspired indie music. We’ve been playing all over town and around the Bay Area!

How would you describe your music to an alien life form?

Trestles’ music is all about having fun and enjoying the moment. After hearing the catchy surfy guitar riffs accompanied by the jumpy rhythms on the drums, you won’t be able to help yourself from dancing along!

What does 2022 look like for the Trestles? New music? More shows?

2022 is going to be quite the year for Trestles. We are finishing up the recording of our first full-length album, and you can expect it out by the end of the year! In addition to constant local shows in Santa Cruz, we have plans to go play shows up and down the coast during the summer.

How did you hear about Spreadshop?

We’ve been longtime users of Spreadshop. When we first started our high-school band in 2016, we opened up a Spreadshop and sold all sorts of goodies to promote our music. We’ve been using it ever since!

How does merch connect you to your fans?

Even back in the days of our old high-school band, there’s always been a sense of community when someone can show their support by wearing your designs around. We’d always love to see someone with one of our Spreadshop hoodies at one of our shows, or even at school. There’s also some fun connection between everyone whose sporting your merch. It’s super cool to know that you’re all proudly supporting local music! One of our favorite things is when we play an opening set for a much bigger band and we see people in the audience with our shirts on showing their support.

What’s your process for creating merch designs?

Much like our music, we don’t really have a consistent process for creating designs. It’s really whenever someone has an idea we all like, we bring it to reality. The first Trestles merch drop was literally a sketch that our bass player, Sophia, drew on the back of a flyer while we wear waiting to go on at a show.  We liked the drawing so much that we digitized it and released it as our first drop on our new Spreadshop!

Do you have any upcoming merch drops in the works?

Oh, absolutely! We love putting out designs because in addition to being musicians, we’re also artists. We have lots of ideas drawn out that we’re eager to release. We may or may not have a single dropping soon. And we might just have to release some promotional merch for it!

Have a band? Write songs from your bedroom? Be the next artist featured in Behind the Merch Table! Drop your shop link in the comments, or tag us on socials.

Want to set up your own merch table? Open up a shop today.