Introduction: Trevor Hall — A Harmonious Contradiction

Trevor Hall just might be the perfect singer-songwriter for his generation.

Just like his music — which combines folk, reggae, roots, and Sanskrit chanting — the 30-year-old himself is a postmodern mashup of archetypes, cultures, and times, some seemingly contradictory, yet all existing in perfect harmony.

On one level, he’s the classic all-American folk troubadour — one man with a guitar, three chords, and the truth. This blonde-haired folkster with piercing blue eyes, however, is also a devotee of Indian religion, and a man who takes sacred vows to not cut his hair for 12 years.

On top of all of this, he’s a shrewd self-promoter and entrepreneur who works social media masterfully to build and maintain an adoring fan base he calls his Villagers. From a distance whole thing may threaten to come across as a gimmick, but that hypothesis falls apart when you actually see the man speak or perform, because if there is one defining characteristic of Hall, it is his air of utter authenticity. In an age where people sell their souls for 100 retweets, Hall comes across as completely sincere and comfortable in his skin.

In 2017, all of Hall’s eclectic qualities are on display with his latest effort, The Fruitful Darkness. The album’s title borrows from that of a 1993 book about Buddhist and tribal religious practices finding spiritual fruit in the shadow side of being. As Hall says, “From this, I believe that we can always draw light — from suffering, we can harvest the fruits of wisdom compassion.” The album also incorporates an innovative promotional idea, as it has been funded by Kickstarter (over $130,000 raised as of October 1) and will be completed over the course of the next year, with three songs going out every three months exclusively to his backers.

The three songs released thus far from The Fruitful Darkness — “My Heart, Your Heart,” “What I Know,” and the title track — are emblematic of Hall’s style. The guitar work is subdued but assured, providing a stable platform for Hall to sing in his surprisingly (considering his somewhat slight frame) deep, husky voice. These aren’t dance-club songs. They’re contemplative, penetrating, and thought-provoking, the type of stuff that takes you inward.

Hall doesn’t appear to be a man that takes himself too seriously, but he does take life seriously, in the way that a lot of people today seem to yearn for. He looks in the everyday for the infinite, and sometimes he finds it and takes those glimpses of the Divine back to his fans in songs.

Numerous studies suggest that people are increasingly turning back towards the spiritual and leaving the materialism that has been in vogue in the West for a few decades. Hall seems perfectly poised at the tip of that wave. He’s the socket that many young seekers want to plug into. His Villagers don’t seem to be looking to him for vapid good times, but instead for something “more.” The Ultimate Truth and Answer to the World’s Existential Longing? Nah, that’s too heavy a burden to lay on any one guy. But hints of something Deeper and More Meaningful in this world of apparent accident? Yes, that sounds fair — and Hall seems up to the task.

Interview

Suwak: How’s the tour going for The Fruitful Darkness? Have you had any particularly interesting encounters or shows?

Hall: It’s still very early, but given such a short period of time the response and support has been overwhelming. It’s always a little nerve-wracking to be starting a new tour with new music and new ideas, but our family, the villagers, has welcomed us with open arms in the few cities we’ve visited already.

It’s just incredibly exciting to finally be putting these ideas and energy out into the world.
Most interesting encounter was recently in Chicago. Several months ago we were playing in Bloomington Indiana. I was in a record shop when I got a call. I stepped out of the shop, asking the cashier to keep the records aside for me. By the time I was off the phone the shop was closed. I shared this with the audience in Bloomington. There were two ladies in the audience that went to the shop and purchased the records that I had put aside, and brought them to be in Chicago — months later. I was completely blown away, and touched that they would go to that effort.

Suwak: Your Kickstarter for the album has been quite successful. Has the support exceeded your expectations/projections?

Hall: I would say the support has absolutely exceeded my expectations. To be honest, I am completely overwhelmed by the response. We only asked for $108 because we really wanted to leave it up to our community and didn’t want to demand some outrageous number for this project to come to life. Never in a million years would I have thought that we would have raised as much money as our community did. Everybody’s love and support really strengthens my purpose and resolve to share these gifts.

Suwak: You hit success very young, signing with a record label. That’s a dream-come-true for a lot of people. What made you decide to go off-label for this album?

Hall: The music business is very different now than when it was when I signed my first record deal. Technology, streaming, and social media have really changed the way artists do things and how they share their work with the world. Part of me releasing an independent album was me just evolving with the times, while also wanting to create freedom and flexibility around my work.

Suwak: Your Kickstarter page discusses a bit of your inspiration for The Fruitful Darkness. It’s an intriguing statement, and I’m hoping you can expand a little bit more on that. What exactly is/was the darkness, and what kinds of fruit does it produce?

Hall: I think it’s hard to fully describe “the darkness” in words because it is what it says- it’s darkness. We can’t see exactly what it is inside of us that makes us feel the way we do. The darkness is deeply personal for each of us. My specific darkness really had a lot to do with my health and body — but most importantly the question of who am I. Not in the sense of “my name is Trevor” but who am I in the deeper sense. How can I know my real self in an intimate way and how can I not feel separated from that place.
The journey into that place is not always inviting, and the reasons aren’t clear, but if we make that journey the lessons we will learn about ourselves and our true being are beyond words.

Suwak: Do you have any particular routine for songwriting, or any place or set of circumstances that you find best for the process?

Hall: I don’t have a particular routine. I find that music can come to me in the most absurd of places. I don’t like to restrict my creative process. There’s no particular place, no particular mood, or environment that I have to be in. The one thing that I do need is to be alone so I can hear it.

Suwak: Your career path is interesting to me, because your spiritual messages are a big part of your allure, yet it seems as if the ego-trappings of fame and success may be threats to the mind-space behind such messages. How do you negotiate that?

Hall: I don’t look at this as my career path.

I look at this as my journey within. Having that intention before anything else, takes away a lot of the baggage. The whole process of staying grounded and humble is not forgetting that original intention.

Suwak: The Grateful Dead had their Deadheads, and you’ve got your Villagers. Can you say a few things about your relationship with your fans?

Hall: The village is a family, more than me an artist, and them fans. This whole world is one village, and part of the goal of my music is for me to witness and see that in all ways.
One of the reasons I love music is that when it’s working well- there are no lines or borders, it speaks to the heart. It helps me understand that the whole world is my family.

I try not to look at the villagers as fans, but rather my own brothers and sisters.

Suwak: You had to cut your hair after growing it for 6 years, forcing you to break your vow to not cut it for 12. Why exactly 12 years?

Hall: At the time, I was very much inspired by the Holy men of India who took this vow, to not cut their hair for 12 years, for their own reasons. I don’t know the exact significance to be honest, but I was inspired by these men.

Suwak: What made you decide to carve out this rather unique path, combining your music and spirituality? It seems like you were set up for a rather successful traditional music career, if you’d chosen to pursue it.

Hall: I didn’t decide — I had no choice.

As I mentioned earlier, in my eyes, music is not my career. I need music to survive mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I view music more as a necessity rather than a path that I could have taken to become famous.

Suwak: What’s a tour like for you? You don’t strike me as a hard-partying, hotel-wrecking kind of guy.

Hall: I think most people view performers as extroverted people. I’m actually quite an introvert. On tour I definitely like to carve out a lot of time for myself, considering how much we are around people. I like to conserve my energy as much as possible for the stage.

Suwak: You’ve recently written a book of poetry, which makes me wonder what authors you admire. Any writers in particular that you hold in high esteem?

Hall: I’m really influenced by mystical traditions. So a lot of the writings that inspire me are the works of Kabir, Rabindra Nath Tagore, Lalon Fakir, Dogen, and others.