One musician's experience in the Lawrence music scene

This is the story of an individual musician's quest to find fellow artists with the same passion for making great music that he has. It's a rough road, but something that takes skill, spirit and determination. Trevor Stout has all of these and more. He has a great appreciation for the local music scene, and dreams of the future.

Trevor Stout's first real band was formed with friends of his, but it wouldn't be long before he moved on.
"I was inexperienced and they found a better match for the sound they were looking for. Fair enough. So I started my next band, Feel Good Lost," This band's end was not so pleasant, as an personal ego discrepancy among band members resulted in the drummer and Trevor starting Electric Theory. The other two band members tried to carry on the original name. The other band members thought they sounded better without Trevor and that he was holding them back.
"Rough news, but life goes on. I decided at that moment that I wasn't gonna let anybody decide my music path or direction and I was going to play music regardless of what bad luck I had previously. I wasn't going to let anyone take the one thing that I'd worked so hard for and felt so passionately about away. Not now, not ever."
After Electronic Theory, Trevor decided to try it alone, working on various instruments to combine sounds to make his own tunes, solo.
"Up until that point I had been playing with other musicians in a band and now I was so fed up with putting so much effort in and other people stopping me from going further, I decided the best way to proceed was looping since I could play or learn most common instruments. This way I only had myself and a drummer to rely on and it was really up to me where I wanted to take it or how far I wanted to go."

Working this way, Trevor has been able to jam with musicians he knows from other bands, and play his own music backed up by a drummer. But even running with a slim crew, shows don't always go smoothly. Of course it takes a tenacious person with fierce energy to make it when things get tough. Trevor has that spirit, and he has a way with words, to tell a story:
"I set up a show at the Jackpot which was to be Electric Theory's first headlining show. I had been talking to Billy Wassung, the guitarist, of Sonic Sutra and Billy the Squirrel, about siting in with us and he liked the idea so much that he agreed to play the whole set with us.
Night of the show and Jayme, my drummer, calls me about three hours before the show and tells me that he has run into some family issues that he had to help with and wouldn't be able to make the gig. Great. My first headlining gig, that I set up with the Jackpot, that I promoted, that my bands name and my name were riding on and I had no drummer.
I wasn't going to give up so I dug through some numbers and came up with Gunnar's [Stephen Gunn], the drummer for Mouth. Luckily he agreed and it ended up being my favorite show to date, regardless of the three of us having never played together before.
I learned sometimes you just have to let go and get out of your comfort zone and see what happens. Jayme ended up wanting out of the band after that show due to what he said was other priorities in his life being more important and music not being worth all the trouble anymore. Tough news. I had felt the whole time Jayme and I shared the same passion and that if I was to go anywhere in music it would be with him right next to me. We don't have any hard feeling towards each other, it's just that he's a younger guy and hasn't figured out what he wants to do in life, where as I've realized my path is music. I hope I get to play with both Billy and Gunnar again given I had an amazing time, but Billy lives in St. Louis now and Gunnar focuses on Mouth and puts a lot of passion into it. Something tells me somewhere down the line we'll all meet up and throw down again." - I certainly hope so!

Trevor is a true believer in the local music scene. This is one of the reasons he loves Lawrence so much. His bands have made their start here, and with good reason. Lawrence has a huge music scene, including lots of local artists, and Trevor has a lot of friends who are either musicians or music enthusiasts.
"As most people know the local music scene in Lawrence is amazing. The sense of community is indescribable. Local music is such a great thing because there's really not too much money in it so all the artists who are involved are one-hundred-percent in it for the right reasons. They play music because of the feeling it gives them and not just for the money or the fame like some big national acts."
Trevor also appreciates the crowd, and recognizes that a musician can't make any progress with his work without listeners.
"Without the crowd a show would be nothing but a few musicians having a good time on stage. We all encourage each other and build off each other in the sense that without everyone being at the shows and dancing and making it fun, and without the musicians playing their hearts to the crowd there wouldn't be a scene at all. People who don't live in Lawrence wouldn't travel here to see shows like they do if they didn't have a good time and I feel like the strong sense of community people see when they come here is directly the cause."
Altogether Trevor has gratitude for all the people involved in the music scene, seeing a wide view of everything that goes into making the scene real. As a humble musician he sees everyone in the community as a part of the scene.
"It takes everyone, musicians, music fans, writers, photographers, sound guys to make it all possible. Most people only see the artists on stage and think it's all about them because their in the spotlight, but without everyone doing their part even the best artists wouldn't be able to get very far."
The ultimate goal of the entire music scene is for everyone to enjoy beautiful music in a cool setting.
"All lovers of music go to shows for the same reason, we've all had that moment at a show where the music captures you and it becomes so much more than just some guys up on stage playing music. You loose yourself and find yourself all in the same moment. As soon as you hear that music, nothing else in the world matters. Call it a form of escape from reality but I feel strongly that it's really just medicine for our soul. People need a release from their daily stress and problems and it's undeniable that when you hear that first beat, all that goes out the window and it's time to have fun with your friends. Music is present in every culture in the world and in every culture it's used for the same thing, to celebrate."
Trevor also sees music as something of a tool for communication, a form of communal expression.
"Music is the language of all people. Especially with jam music, it's all about communication. It's a conversation between those playing but yet you don't have to say a word, you speak with your instrument. For me it's a form of emotional release and expression, if I didn't have music as a healthy outlet I'm sure I would have made some bad decisions on how to release that energy.
As well I feel almost responsible for the continuing of the scene and helping others find that special spark in music now that I'm able to. If you don't carry on what you feel passionate about and what you fell in love with when you have the chance then who does? A little piece of it dies right there and I'm not about to deny someone the great feelings that I have received from music."

Trevor's plans for future are flexible, but there's no denying that music will be a part of his life.
"In the future I'd like to be in a full band just because of the limits that live looping involves. You have to keep the same tempo most of the time and I miss the progressiveness of not having to stay in one tempo for so long. Also it's just fun to play with other musicians because they provide a way of playing you might not have seen and your constantly learning from them and I miss that aspect. I dunno really what my musical future will involve but I'm here for the ride and I'm going to do my best to stay true to the people i.e. the crowd that makes it all possible."
Trevor's passion for music is inspiring and contagious. It's local artists like Trevor that make Lawrence's music scene, and every local music scene, something that brings people together.
"So now we're in the present and all I can see in front of me is a creative explosion in the form of artist collaboration and improvisational sets."