Santigold’s show last night, at Terminal 5 in New York City, was packed with a sea of fans who had trickled in throughout the evening during both Trouble Andrew and Amanda Blank’s supporting sets prior to Miss Santi taking the stage at 10pm. I trekked uptown solo in a jiffy – with my friend, the lovely Amy Gunther joining me later on -- making sure to catch Trouble Andrew’s performance at 8pm sharp. Trevor Andrew (his real name) is an old friend from my days with Burton Snowboards. (Long story short, I’ve been involved with the snowboarding world for 15 years. No need to get into that right this sec.) So of course arriving promptly was a must. Just in time, phew, and amazing per the usual. Nice one Trev! Amanda Blank was next up. She had on one of the craziest getups I’ve seen in quite some time -- black legging with white Christmas tree lights attached. Sorry I don’t have a photo. Just Google it!

What happens when a Burton-sponsored Olympic snowboarder irreparably tears his ACL (knee) at the height of his career? My guess is that most boarders would just retreat to the backcountry for a while to hole up in haze of frustration, and eventually open up an overpriced snowboard camp for kids in Tahoe. However, if your best friend and fiancée is the hotter-than-hot musician Santogold, and she helps you rehab by channeling your rebellious snowboarder mentality into songs, you might end up finding your second calling. That’s exactly what Trevor “Trouble” Andrew did a little over three years ago, and now his group is shredding stages (and the occasional slope) with their fresh crunk-rock sound. After a show last week at the Mercury Lounge, members of Trouble Andrew sat down with us in the venue’s bunker-like basement. Amongst beer boxes filled with empty bottles, Trouble Andrew, guitarist Joao Salamao, and bassist Masa took us behind the music.