Trevor Robinson — 21 February 2024 on Rocket Shop Radio Hour
Monochrome photo by Ross Mickel
Trevor Robinson joined guest host Abbey BK on ‘Rocket Shop,’ Big Heavy World’s weekly local Vermont music radio hour on 105.9 FM The Radiator. Catch up with them at trevorrobinson.bandcamp.com
Text by Keagan Lafferty
February is for homemade soup, or better yet, songs about soup. Trevor Robinson’s favorite type of soup is one that he cooks often; it contains roasted butternut squash, coconut milk, curry, and a splash of cilantro lime juice. Robinson has a special talent for lyricism that describes soup and gives its flavor a meaning deeper than the pot itself. “A soup is something greater than the sum of simple parts, love is so much larger than the size of human hearts,” sings Robinson.
Trevor Robinson is a singer-songwriter local to Bellows Falls, Vermont. His songwriting is potent, detailing the hidden meanings behind various obscure stories; whether its polar bears, cons, fights, or soup in February, Robinson always knows how to deliver a story and inspire new perspectives among his listeners. However, his songwriting is void of intention; they show up in their entirety and he feels that his job is to catch the ideas when they appear. “I don't typically ever sit down and say, ‘I'm gonna write a song about this thing,’” said Robinson. “I keep the antennas up and strung around, and the good things arrive.”
His songwriting process begins with chords on guitar, and the lyrics naturally present themselves to him. The lyrical content of his songs are often humorous. “Most of my creative ideas start from a place of like, ‘wouldn't it be sort of funny if for the bit?’” said Robinson. He also explained that most of his songs come together quickly in one session, rather than over an extended period of time. “If it takes more than a couple of days, usually it's not good,” said Robinson. “And if I have to work on it that hard, it's maybe not that good.”
“True Kvlt of View” is one song Robinson performed on Rocket Shop. It has a quick tempo in ¾ time, with a hard emphasis on every third beat. While the music is quick, it’s very comforting, in contrast to the unsettling lyrics. “You can stop yelling; this is a pretty small kitchen; I can hear you just fine; you’re really angry, that much is clear, but I think we’d both feel better if you put down the knife,” sings Robinson. “All strung out on meth and we don’t have any money, but I don’t think the answer is stabbing somebody; we’ve got these black metal hearts and no hope to recover; I think what I like about sin is that we do it together.”
When it comes to collaboration, Robinson usually doesn’t write songs with other people, however he does have unrehearsed jam sessions with his friend Johnny Gifford, a local musician who plays saxophone, bass, and guitar. “We will play together and jam out from time to time, and that's usually pretty unrehearsed,” said Robinson. “I trust Johnny. I think he has good taste and I believe he will make good decisions that I think are cool. So I just let him do that.”
Robinson is constantly writing and making music of some variety, but he isn’t too precious about editing and recording his work. “I'm much more into the act of [songwriting], the moment of inspiration is the thing that's cool for me,” said Robinson. “I don't think there's anything better than when the song shows up and you just catch it right there. Everything else that happens is a byproduct of that.”
Robinson is loose about releases, only putting his music on Bandcamp. “When it felt like a thing, I was like, ‘cool, throw it up.’ And that's pretty much my approach to it,” said Robinson. He feels that modern life has a pressure to commodify things you do, and that’s especially prevalent in the music industry. “I write songs because I love songs,” said Robinson. He often plays songs at open mics, and then never plays them again. “I'd like to keep some of the best ones for myself,” said Robinson.
One song that emphasizes this approach to songwriting is one he played on Rocket Shop called “I Certainly Don’t Do It For The Money.” It’s a song about writing songs. I wrote this song and I took a break for a while because I thought, if you're writing songs about writing songs you should probably just go outside and do something else,” said Robinson.
“I'd like to write the world’s fastest D-beat punk song, strike fear in the hearts of corporate fascists; I’d hand out homemade cassette tapes that would turn your stereo to ashes; I'd speak straight to the souls of damaged youth, ethics that ran crystal clear and true. If I could write the world’s fastest D-beat punk song, maybe then I’d feel like I belong,” sings Robinson. “For now I'll sit here and strum these chords ’tiltill I find something real to say; I’ll stare deep into the void of a blank page and hope this uncertain feeling melts away; I’ll keep my ear pressed tight to the ground and wait to hear that certain sound, a sound to fill your heart and ease your fears, a sound to let you know I was here.”
Aside from the folky singer-songwriter pieces he plays on acoustic guitar, Robinson also experiments with synthesizers, improvisation, sound collages and field recordings. “I like to live my life in a way where I'm making stuff and engaging in creative activities, because it feels good,” said Robinson.
Robinson’s production process is quite simple and minimalistic; he records in his home to a four track cassette recorder, then bounces files to a computer. He emphasized that the things he finds most moving about songs don’t depend on production, they are more about the song itself. However, listening to his released music on Bandcamp gave me a different impression; the production is a complex mix of soundscapes, spoken word samples, synthesizers, and bizarre experimental beats.
Robinson’s most recent release occurred at the end of February. Namaste Cyber Cafe is what he describes as an album to water your plants to. It is completely instrumental with mellow synthesizers, creating an otherworldly unique experience. The description of the album on his bandcamp page reads: “Just some mellow analog synthesizer stylings for your daily to-do.Water your plants, fold the laundry, sweep the floor, wash the dishes. Maybe don't vacuum. That's kind of loud.”
Previous to that release, he put out an album in January called Every Word Was True, and it’s a collection of lyrical guitar songs tied together by drone notes. Folk, Indian classical, and American blues music utilize drone notes, influencing Robinson’s songwriting and production style.
Robinson’s inspirations are mostly folk artists who take a simple approach to recording because he feels like that’s something he can do. He listens to artists including the Mountain Goats, Daniel Johnston, and John Prine. “[I’m inspired by] things recorded onto cassette, really clearly just a person in a room singing a song they just wrote. That feels really attainable.”
Robinson’s live performance experience began with sporadic open mics before he began performing more regularly in 2019. He likes playing local venues that feel comfortable to him. “[I like playing] places where I have friends that run the place or work there, or places where I get invited by people I know,” said Robinson. He experiments with electric guitar, effects pedals, synthesizers, and improvisation at live shows because it can make one person seem more dynamic and engaging.
As for the future, Robinson wants nothing more than to keep writing and playing songs that he feels good about. “I really want to write some more good songs that say a true thing,” said Robinson. “I don't typically write super autobiographical stuff, but making things that [I] feel good about is my goal.”