 It was a typical Monday for me, you know the usual, wake up, go to work, go home, maybe stop by your local Baja Fresh to pick up a bite to eat on your way home, but there was a slight difference.
I don't usually go to Baja Fresh, sometimes I tend to favor the never-ending burger joints, so why the sudden change? Was it the nagging of my conscience due to the negligence this restaurant was receiving on my behalf?
No, that can’t be it. Hmm, what was it, oh that’s right, I remember, I had a Q&A set up with San Diego local musician Trevor Davis at 5:30. How could I forget, it being my first interview with UPCAST Magazine I was beyond nervous and Über excited. Jealous? Ha, no worries, I got to meet and chill with Trevor while he downed his chicken burrito and did the best on his behalf to get through the interview although at some points letting his distraction get the better of him.
The conversation flowed smoothly and was often followed by some laughs. I caught a glimpse of what Trevor the person is like vs. Trevor the musician, I learned that the Mr. Grinch cover he did on his new album is actually more personal to him than you would think and some other tidbits of info you probably wouldn’t have known otherwise. So turn off the IM for a sec, put the IPOD down and get to know the newest up and coming indie artist. Enjoy!
Your newest album is a Christmas album, why
I was actually getting called a lot by churches to play during the Christmas holidays, you name it, they all called me last Christmas. And then I just had a bunch of people saying “You should make a Christmas album, you should make a Christmas album. Your voice goes really good with that” and it just seemed like something that musically was something I could just have a fun time with, and you take your own spin on it and people kinda like that. There was a demand, that’s the way to say it.
There is a grip of Christmas songs out there, so how did you go about and choose the ones you wanted
I grew up on Nat King Cole, Charlie Brown, & Dr. Seuss. That’s part of my era. So the drummer boy that’s on the album is the Charlie Brown ‘Drummer Boy’ not the regular ‘Drummer Boy’ and ‘Hark the Herald’ is more Nat King Cole ‘Hark the Herald’ and then Dr Seuss. I grew up on Dr. Seuss, that was actually the first books I ever had as a kid, not the Christmas one but just his books. So that really means a lot to me.
Will it be available after the holidays
It might still be available on itunes after the fact, maybe still on my music blast thing on my page, but I’ll probably be sold out of c.d.’s.
How about for next year
I’ll probably record another one itself so I’ll have this one from this last year and I’ll just make one every year.
Of your first album, Seven Days, which was your most personal song
Most personal, definitely ‘Affliction from Addiction’, that’s just raw vulnerability of things that have happened. Definitely vulnerable on that one. One I that I really like is ‘Back to Sleep’ for the spiritual aspect of it, its kinda abstract to explain
What inspires you
Anything of extreme quality of any kind, whether someone’s a really really good writer or food that’s really really good. So anytime I see a piece of artwork, like when I saw Van Gogh in person I just flipped out. A good movie or anything’s that’s good. I don’t even have to like the style of it. It just speaks for itself. That’s really just amazing. Or a bible teacher that’s really good, I can even say a person huh? Dan Wheadonhoff.
What role does God have in your life
The main role that He played in my life as far as calling Him a certain character would be provider. How I see Him just growing up and not having a father or money or anything He was just always providing left and right, just filling in the gaps.
On a scale of 1-10 where is your relationship with God
In the way that He sees me? Well He sees me as perfect and in that sense it’s just always my view. I guess you can say it fluctuates as far as the seriousness of how much intimacy I have with Him. I would almost say that natural cause and effect, you plant seeds in that left corner there’s stuff that’s going to grow there and you plant over here and its starting to grow over there and so sometimes I’m planting more seeds lets say in my music and I start seeing things reap and I’m kinda rejecting this. Commitment is when you’re saying yes to something you’re also saying no to other stuff. So right now God’s teaching me about what I say yes to. I always want this perfect relationship with Him and He has made me perfect so its like I’m just trying to relax and just go ok, well I can spend 5 minutes here and 10 minutes there and no big deal you know. Think about him thru out the day. Cuz in my mind it’s not where I think it should be, but it’s not about what I think that determines anything. As far as giving you a number, it fluctuates, it really does and so I wish I could say it doesn’t but it does.
What is your most missed memory
I miss being really broke. There were certain things that were so exciting that would happen. Things were a bigger deal when you would never receive anything or you got to a concert. I don’t say I want to go back to it, but definitely things were a little bit more exiting when you got your 1st guitar. You just had to depend on God for stuff.
How has how you were brought up affected you
I think I still deal with things. There’s definitely cause and effect with things that will probably come into play through out my life that won’t be that great but I definitely had to find out who I was for sure on my own where I think a lot comes from being raised well and being encouraged the right way. I had to do a lot on my own. Today I’m an independent artist but I’m an independent person too and I handle a lot of biz and get things done. I think if I was depending upon somebody else I couldn’t do as much as I can do now. It was meant to be or something. All things work together
How has it affected your songwriting
Throughout my songs there’s slightly almost like blues to it, like an absence I guess you can say. I didn’t even realize it until like a year ago I got a lot of songs about somebody being gone, somebody being away, somehow someway and I don’t know what it is. I think when I sing on a subject like that it just comes out more soulful. A lot of blues songs talk about the same thing, about being broken up with or whatever, it’s the same thing but for me it was actually being alone
What moved you to become a musician
I was always scared to pursue it for sure. I just loved music, I went to concerts all the time, I dressed music, I thought music, I hung out with other people that were into music, I was naturally drawn to it. What turned me to make a career out of it? I was definitely scared to do it because there’s no promising factor in it, you definitely enjoy what you do. I enjoyed what I did musically but I didn’t know if other people were going to enjoy it to a point where I could make a career out of it because if they don’t love you you cant pay yourself. So I just gave it a shot and it just took off right away, like really fast. My first c.d. is actually the first songs I ever wrote, they’re not like ones I’ve been writing my whole life. I think I wrote my first song when I was 22 and I’m 26 now, late start. That’s working thru all those insecurities working thru Satan telling you that you can’t do it. It’s a lot of stuff to work through
So what are your plans for your music
As it is now I’m just on the West Coast playing California, Oregon, Washington, keeping it on the West Coast until I can move on. I don’t really want to play somewhere that I can’t come back in three months and play again. It’s like that thing I was saying about planting the seeds, you gotta go back and you gotta water it some more. But if you just plant somewhere and leave it alone...sometimes it does something. When I go back, like when I go up north to Washington, there’s a second time, a third time, it’s slowly more packed, more people find out about me.
Are you happy with where you’re at now
For now, the goal is to always be content where you’re at and so I make the most of where I'm at. I have a hard time sometimes just keeping up with my schedule as is, it’s just getting busier each month, my life is totally changing, I’ve become a different person.
Where do you see your career in 1 year
I see my career to a point where industry people are really going to start to take notice, not that they haven’t, they have, but definitely to a point where I’ll either signing or turning down contracts at that time. In 5 years: Helping other people do it by then , producing or something like that. Developing other people.
What about yourself, where do you see yourself personaly in 5 years
Oh wow, gosh. Crazy question. I don’t know, well hopefully married and what am I now? Hmmm, maybe thinking about having kids, only thinking about it
For your next album coming out next spring how did you go about the songwriting
They’re all written, the second album is not as...how would I say it, its still like my other one where every song is kind of semi about something different. It’s still really relational because I'm having 12 songs on it vs. 7 songs so there’s a lot more stuff to talk about. These songs say things different than my first album, more abstract. I say things in sometimes less words but it means the same if not more I just don’t need to really explain it because it just means what it means
What's currently playing in your ipod
The new Tom York record. It just sounds really good with like headphones. It’s just a headphone kind of
Describe your perfect day
Sleeping in, and maybe going snowboarding, going to a cabin, and playing cards and watching movies with friends while eating ice cream.
Your ideal mate
Someone who enjoys conversation and we basically don’t have to be doing anything to still be stimulated in the sense of ... I don’t know if that sounds like a sexual word but it doesn’t seem like that to me, but basically you’re still enjoying yourself not doing anything and you enjoy that person so much that when you’re not doing something it’s still amazing, so when you do something it’s all the more funner, you know going on different adventures or whatnot.
Style, do you go with whatever's there or whatever looks good
I like crazy shoes, I even get shoes custom made. I'm flying to Chicago to go play for a guy that makes custom shoes; he makes No Doubts’ shoes, and Nicolas Cage and Social Distortion. I’ll tell him to make me a white pair of pointy dress shoes with a pink sole and in return that’s what I do for him, I play at Nordstrom’s, first in Seattle and now in Chicago. I like crazy, colorful, wacky shoes and then I like clothes that fit just right, like custom made. I got a bunch of pants made for me in Thailand, just custom fitted to me; my body or whatever, and I don’t mean tight that they look good, tailored fit. I pick out my own material and all that. My mom’s been a seamstress my whole life so I grew up just knowing that that could be an option.
Typical day in your life
Waking up, talking on the phone with (mgmt/booking agent), checking my schedule, and then maybe one of my friends calling me up asking if I’ve eaten breakfast at about two o clock, seriously, “Did you eat breakfast yet?” and I will say “No” and then we’ll meet somewhere and we’ll eat breakfast and hang out and then I’ll either have a gig or hang out.
If you’re in the So Cal area check out Trevor the first Thursday of every month @ Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles or the first Saturday of every month @ Lestat’s in San Diego
Official Site: www.trevordavismusic.com
Myspace: www.myspace.com/trevordavis |
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