“These are songs for my family, friends and the most important changes in my life”
Spending the majority of life holed up in his native Saskatoon, Canadian singer/songwriter Trevor C. Young has accumulated a mass of material that has yet to see daylight. Despite years honing his craft, the artist has been plagued by self-doubt and fear of presenting material to anyone aside from close family and friends.
Young has spent the better part of the last 10 years as one half of the songwriting duo Young James. In this project the artist’s songs have been cryptic when personal, or of subject matter far removed from his life. Self-sabotage and anxiety over the majority of his material meant songs were never shared. Upon the urging of family and close friends, combing through 25 years of material, Young made a conscious effort to begin gathering songs for what would be his first ever solo release. Describing the content as his most personal songs, the artist likens the project to dealing with “unfinished business”.
Gathering a repertoire of material written over a period of 25 years, it became apparent songwriting influences spanning such a great amount of time had resulted in a catalogue of material that would be difficult to present in a congruent fashion. Young’s initial songwriting influence came from learning to play and sing Kurt Cobain songs. Over time acts such as Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, The Jayhawks, Tom Petty, and most recently Matt Mays, Jason Isbell, and Ryan Adams have made an impression on the singer/songwriter.
Anchoring the songs with his voice and guitar allows Young to share material with such a wide span of influence in a consistent manner. Approaching the recording process with this in mind, the artist began tracking songs most often with voice and acoustic guitar recorded live. Additional instrumentation was added later, painting pictures and snippets of his life as a son, father, husband and friend.
Frustrated with traditional methods of release and fear his material will be lost in the abyss that is the streaming world, Young has created a blog (www.tcyoungsongs.com) to direct fans and those interested in his music where he can share timelines, stories, video and meanings of his creations.