Troostite began in early 2002 when Beckley Roberts and Ed Kurz decided, while on stage at the Green Lounge in Brooklyn, that rather than continue to play Beckley’s songs (that Ed hadn’t rehearsed), they would just “make up” the rest of their set. They were so happy with the results, they booked a show there for the following week, and improvised the entire set.
Soon others were invited to join the stage, and Troostite established a weekly Green Lounge residency, playing with anywhere from zero (some say their best shows) to eight musicians. The only ongoing rule was “No Blues.” Other than that, anything went.
The Green Lounge era lasted for about a year, and 2002 was highlighted by 2 shows to good crowds at Galapagos in Williamsburg. When the Green Lounge closed, Troostite took a break for a few months until Ed moved into a large Williamsburg loft. It wasn’t long before the gear was set up and the “robots” period began. For 2004 the emphasis changed from playing on stage, to playing in the loft and recording the sessions. Troostite played out again in January 2005 at Vertex List Gallery in Williamsburg.
Known Participants (please who we missed):