Thanks for the chops, School of Rock

San Diego’s Elise Trouw got bumped from Jimmy Kimmel Live January 30. Was the local 18-year-old multi-instrumentalist bummed because porno actress Stormy Daniels hogged all her time?

“I wasn’t worried about it,” says Trouw. “These things happen.” The segment she taped that night aired nine days later, February 8.

Trouw drew the attention of Kimmel’s producers, who noticed two of her videos garnered over a million views each. The videos show Trouw using a looping device to play drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards, providing a music track as she sings a mashup of Police and Radiohead tunes and another that shows her grafting songs by Foo Fighters and Bobby Caldwell.

Trouw is currently managed by her parents Anne (“I have an art background”) and software engineer Arie. Even though she was postponed, Trouw’s appearance was teased at the beginning of Kimmel’s January 30 show. She says those seconds of ABC-TV exposure led to her being contacted by a number of artist managers and major labels asking if she might need some professional help. While she won’t rule out an eventual major-label hookup, “With the internet being what it is, you don’t really need a major label to get your music out there.”

Trouw was signed in 2016 to San Diego’s Pacific Records. A number of insiders say Trouw bought out her Pacific Records contract and took control of the masters. Anne Trouw had no comment. Pacific Records CEO Brian Witkin would not go into details either, but he said, “We amicably resolved everything and we wish her the best going forward. She’s a great artist.”

While she has an agent, Trouw has so far only played a handful of venues in L.A. and locally (Soda Bar, Winstons, Lestat’s) where she hauls all her instruments and her Ableton looping gizmo. She is officially known as a live looping artist.

“I only started as a professional singer two years ago.” She credits the high school jazz band at the Bishop’s School and the School of Rock for helping her get her chops down.

“I started playing keyboards at six, drums at ten, and guitar at 12. I have been doing the multi-instrumental thing out of necessity: early on I couldn’t afford to hire all these musicians to back me up so I just did it myself.”