An Interview with Trevor Hall

Trevor Hall might be music’s best kept secret. His latest album, Everything Everytime Everywhere, was released Tuesday, August 23 and debuted as the #11 most downloaded album on iTunes. He’s toured with Matisyahu, Colbie Caillat, Ben Harper and more.  He’s also one of my favorite artists.

Combining elements of pop, rock, and reggae, Hall’s last record Trevor Hall, was my favorite album for over a year. But besides the music being great, I deeply connected with many of his lyrics.

He sings about God, love, community and forgiveness. But he also sings about other faith elements that are different from mine. I was interested in asking him about those differences and had the chance to speak to him in this exclusive interview.

FV: How did you want Everything Everytime Everywhere to be different from your last record?

TH: I think on the last record I was still kind of exploring a little more. I wasn’t sure what I really wanted. I was trying out different things but wasn’t really focused on what I really wanted. Coming into this record I was really certain how I wanted it to sound. The vibe I was going for was very definite.

I think on this record I just had a little more clarity on what I wanted. I think the record feels a little more together. The last one, I love it very much, but I felt like I was running around different styles.

Listen to "Brand New Day"

FV: One of the lines in your song, “Unity,” says, “I don’t want to reason anymore about the one I love/I don’t want to reason any more about God above.”  What’s the story behind those lines?

TH: It came from a couple different things. At that time was when the terrorists and the Mumbai bombings happened. We were on the road with Matisyahu and he knew some people that passed away in the bombing. Matis and I, we wrote that song together. So there was that happening and inwardly, in my own spiritual path, in my own mind I wanted to stop reasoning between this and that. I just wanted to see the wonders in all things. I think the nature of the mind is to constantly accept or reject, accept or reject. I just wanted to find the common thread, I was really yearning for that. So that element was also there. Also, the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, what he was saying. All those things kind of came together to form that feeling.

FV:  I take a lot of inspiration from your music. I’m from a different faith background but I see a lot of common threads through your music. What message do you want people to take from your music?

TH: Obviously I’d like them to walk away feeling good. But I don’t really like to say what I hope people will get because the fact that people are just listening to the music and whatever they get from it I want them to have that. If I say I want people to get this from it and they’re not getting that from the music, I don’t want them to feel like, “Oh, is what I’m feeling wrong?”

I want everybody to walk away with their own experience, whether it be good, bad, makes them think more, inspires them, whatever. I’m not trying to preach or anything. I’m just trying to sing about my observations in my own life, my own path, my journey. Sing about what inspires me. I think if something inspires me maybe it’s going to inspire another so why not sing about it. 

Originially posted on August 25, 2011.