Trish Torrales: A Star on the Rise

By Ashley Ioveno
Staff Writer

20-year-old singer-songwriter Trish Torrales, a junior Broadcasting major at LIU Post, is an up-and-coming musician who can rock the stage, but is ready to rock your world. Torrales has been playing shows all across Long Island since 2010, and has used passion to turn her dreams into reality.

It all started with “family jams,” Torrales said. “Growing up, all of my guy cousins were always into music, so one day I picked up the guitar and I haven’t put it down since.”

At age 16, Torrales began to play shows at small dive bars with her cousins. When she came to Post, she met her current drummer, best friend, and band manager, Rafe Tangorra. Torrales said, “Rafe has helped me start my current band, Trish Torrales & The Premier, but he has also always helped me with my songs; without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Torrales has already had an exciting music career. She has performed alongside artists including Aaron Carter, Deleasa (“Married to Jonas”), Melanie Martinez (“The Voice”), and Nick Tangorra (“America’s Got Talent”) at venues such as The Bitter End in Greenwich Village and The Emporium in Patchogue. She came in second place at the first annual MSG Varsity Talent Show that aired on television in May 2011. The singer also came in first place in the song-writing category
for Rockville Centre’s Respect Life Contest with her song “Measure Of Love,” and became the winner of “Best Rising Star” at “Got Talent? Long Island” in March 2012.

But her achievements don’t stop there. Torrales was just chosen out of hundreds of contestants to appear on MTV’s newest singing competition show, “Copycat,” which will air early this summer. On “Copycat,” singers battle it out on stage, doing their best to sound like their favorite recording artists, with the studio audience voting on each performance to determine who will go home empty-handed, and who will advance to win the grand prize: the title of Ultimate Copycat.

Torrales explained, “The show was filmed in Hollywood this past January; I was chosen to be country star Miranda Lambert’s copycat. And weirdly enough, Jonathan Bennett, best known for playing Aaron Samuels in the movie “Mean Girls,” was the host!”

Besides taking 18 credits this semester and being an active member of the WCWP radio station, where she has her own show, “Ain’t That Country,” Torrales still finds time to go to the gym, have a part time job at Pathmark, play gigs, and write her own music. “It sure isn’t easy, but it’s really do-able. I really don’t have a life right now,” Torrales said, laughing. “But it’s all about time management and reaching my goals.”

One of the singer-songwriter’s favorite shows was last September at Revolution Bar and Music Hall, in Amityville. She opened up for, and met her childhood crush, Aaron Carter. Torrales explained,“[Playing
for Carter] was a lot of fun, the bar was really packed that night and I remember listening to his music as a kid, so it was a great experience.”

Another memorable performance of Torrales’ was at the Rock Out Autism show this month on April 5, at the Emporium in Patchogue. “It was a huge deal,” Torrales explained. “We performed for a crowd of more than 800 people, which was by far the biggest show I’ve ever played.” Trish Torrales & The Premier accompanied a few bigger acts, like Jill Jensen from “American Idol,” Reed Deming and Kelly King from “The X Factor,” as well as famous YouTube stars Lohanthony, and Sean O’Donnell.