He played bass with punk icon Pat Smear, was briefly part of I Love You, played with sister Amy Trujillo (who performed under the name Am'e Lorain), and also formed a funk band, A Family Affair, with her and drummer Victor Indrizzo. In 1993, when the group split up, Trujillo decided to move north to Portland to attend college, and though his focus turned to his studies, he still continued to play the bass. His band, Federale, was signed to Geffen but broke up before they ever released a record, but this event gave Trujillo the impetus to begin pursuing recording his own work, specifically, music that focused on telling about the contemporary American Indian experience (his grandfather was Comanche and Osage). In 2002 Hawks and Highways, a soul- and Mexican-folk-influenced record, which featured Trujillo's voice, as well as bass and guitar skills, was released on In Music We Trust. ~ Marisa Brown