Trevor Hurst

Trevor Hurst has gone organic. If you were familiar with industrial rock pop of Econoline Crush and its highly acclaimed albums Affliction, The Devil You Know or Brand New History, you would have been bombarded with technical gadgetry up the yin-yang before your ears even had the chance to register what they were hearing. Wanderlust, Hurst's first post-Econoline seven-song EP, is an exploration in songwriting. The artistic growth is tremendous. Wanderlust, is a true, sweaty, dirty, loud, beautiful rock recording!!!  Trevor spent an hour with me after an Alberta gig to have a great talk about the next phase of his career.

The Interview Toe: Trevor, thanks for taking the time out to talk.  How has the tour been going so far? Trevor: Really well actually.  Every venue has been sold out so far. As an indie band, it is really awesome. Theory of a Deadman have been really kind and accommodating to us.  A tour like this is key to the survival of Hurst Toe: The EP "Wanderlust" is quite a different offering than we would get from Econoline Crush.  What was the driving force for removing yourself from the industrial sequencing and loops from past projects? Trevor: I felt that I was done, with a huge cumbersome business.  Artistically I wanted to construct songs from a more artistic view.  Less than constructing a song around a loop or industrial riff.  I loved Econoline, but this is different.  It is more of an organic writing thing. Right there on the spot, you can tell if it is a good song or not.  Also, I wanted to grow as an artist, and this was the next step for me. Toe: What was it like in the first writing sessions with Ross Childress? (ex-Collective Soul) Trevor: It was amazing.  I did not know him well at all.  I was in Nashville and he came up from Georgia.  I was in room 1107 I can remember saying, "Come on up!". We wrote like, 5 songs in those first 2 days.  We recorded them with this little 4 track he had with him.  He was really patient with me.  We went to Toronto, Vancouver, all over the place, recording in hotels.  We finally got the tracks mixed at Mushroom Studios in Vancouver with Mike Landell. Toe: What does a fan experience at a Hurst show? Trevor: Really not a lot different than an Econoline Crush show. Lot's of energy, I live to play shows.  We have a great mix of some old Econoline stuff, Wanderlust tunes as well as some new stuff we have been writing on the road. Toe: Where did the new Hurst touring lineup come from? Trevor: I met Nick in Vancouver.  I found Paulo and Mark in Winnipeg.  One of those things where a guy knew a guy that knew a guy.  But it is a great line up. Toe: Are you proud of the accomplishments you had with Econoline Crush? Trevor: Very much so. We had great management with Bruce Allen out of Vancouver. The players in the band were great.  It was a huge machine, and I wanted to change direction, and to have a rest.  We were on the road so much then.  We ended the tour in 2001 at UBC in Vancouver and my parents flew out to the show.  they must have known where I was at. It was like a movie.  After the show I was on the bus, grabbing my stuff and wondering to myself "will I ever be on one of these again?" I had to make a choice; Financial Wealth or Spiritual Health. AS we walked across the parking lot towards the car, my Dad put his arm around my shoulders and said "Everything will be OK." He had no clue that I was going to leave the band.  After a month or so, I called the guys up, and let them know I could not go on anymore with Econoline.  There were some hurt feelings, and it took a bit for a couple people to talk to me again.  But it was the right choice for me. Toe: Have you noticed a crossover of Econoline Crush fans, to being Hurst fans? Trevor: I am.  I am getting a lot of comments (good ones) about the new style. It is a different rock world now. There are not a lot of guys out there fronting bands that want to jump their asses around like a maniac.  I have fun doing it, and I am always chomping at the bit to get out on stage.  I am having a lot of fun. Toe: How was the experience recording at Mushroom? Trevor: I had recorded there before.  Econoline recorded Purge there. I really wanted to go back.  The room is fantastic.  We did drums, guitar and bass off the floor together.  A great room. Toe: Would you ever take on the formula you had with Wanderlust again?  Travel to different cities, countries, hotel rooms to write and record? Trevor: If I could do it every time I would. It was really costly and took up most of my savings to do it.  If I had some different places to go, it would be great though.  On tour, songs come to you.  I had a few lines pop into my head in Ft. McMurray last night.  At like, 4am I had to roll over, and flip open the lap top and get them down.  Changed the whole song. Toe: Is there a lot of new material in the works for a follow up to Wanderlust? Trevor: We have an album and a half, even maybe a double album.  But like other bands, you rehearse, and rehearse, and play gigs, and have that combination of personalities fuse together, and it is great.  The band is grooving, and anticipating each other.  It changes everything once a band gets it's road legs. We are like a hockey team on a streak, coming into the playoffs. Toe: I have had some interaction with Coalition (Julian Gruhl) and I have to say I am impressed.  They seem to go for the extra mile with their artists, and even the journalistic types like me. How are you finding the relationship so far? Trevor: I came from a pretty aggressive management environment. Coalition is much more artist friendly.  They ask an artist how they want to develop, and share that vision with you.  I knew the indie thing was going to be tough to do.  Julian has been great.  He is always rising above the call of duty, always doing things out of the job description. Toe: What would I find in your CD Player? Trevor: Doppelganger by Curve.  Funny, that I have something so industrial in my player, when I am trying to move away from that genre. Kings of Leon in my Ipod.  Gotta love The Bucket. Kings of the Rodeo, Jimmy Eat World, Afgan Whigs. Toe: And of course, what are your favorite Canadian acts these days? Trevor: There is this amazing band out of Winnipeg right now.  they are called Inward Eye.  Amazing.  I saw them at this Juno house party in Winnipeg and they were awesome.  Like the Who on Acid.  I also really like Faber and Social Code right now. Toe: Trevor, congrats on the successful tour, and I hope the last few dates go great. Hope to see you in Vancouver Trevor: Thanks so much!