Former Econoline Crush Frontman Trevor Hurst Debuts as HURST!

Rock ‘n Roll does not start until noon.

Which is why I was left waiting for a phone call for 11 o’clock from Trevor Hurst from the band Hurst – it is now 1145am. Shame on me for not knowing better, but trust me the interview that follows was definitely worth every minute, not to mention his performance later that week! I can’t be too hard on Trevor since he has been touring, promoting and interviewing non-stop and when I finally speak to him, his voice has a slightly raspy sexy tone and is very apologetic, but still very charming even at his early hour!

Even though Econoline Crush has had some huge success in Canada with highly acclaimed albums Affliction, The Devil You Know and Brand New History- I was not one of the scores of fans they did gain. Econoline had too much technical wizardry and not enough vocal for my liking. Not so on Trevor’s new 7- song album called WANDERLUST. Trevor says, ” No sequencers or samplers were injured during the making of this record.” Why? Because there are none! This is just one of the many reasons why I love this album so much. Hursts vocals hold strong and carry the music, which is a mix of rock and melodic riffs. Trevor says, ” I wanted to go natural.” He goes on to say, ” The best music can come from a place in your life that belongs to the struggle, and although music comes from many places- sometimes it’s after you have been writing for hours!”

The beauty of Hurst is that they sound just as good live as the EP is recorded. Trevor explains, ” When I am on stage singing, that is when I feel I am at my best. I love being on the road, not so much the grueling hours of travel – just the stage, the crowds and most of all the music! But, performing on stage comes so “natural” to Trevor and it’s no doubt, he was involved in musical theatre as a kid and everything grew from there. Hurst is played a series of gigs opening for Canadian rock band THORNLEY. Take note, if another band of this stature thinks that Hurst has what it takes to hold the weight of opening act – are there any questions?

Hurst is on an independent artist managed by Coalition Entertainment’s Julian Gruhl, but is being distributed by MAPLE and Nationwide through Universal Music. So, although he has opted not to sign again with a major record label, Hurst still relies on them for distribution. Trevor breathes deep and gives me his take on record labels, ” I compare the artist/record label relationship much to that of a pimp/prostitute. As an artist you have your talent and the record company packages it and gets you out there, but at the end of the day you only get a percentage of what that is, most times not even half. Like when a pimp sends a prostitute out in the dress that he bought for her, she works, comes back gives him his money and he hangs the dress back up and gives her a cut.” That may seem like an extreme comparison, but when you really look at it, it makes sense. Of course there are many factors that play into each scenario- they always do.

Away from the buzz of L.A., Trevor finds solstice in his Winnipeg roots. The steady grind and shallowness that often sets the tone in L.A. wore on him and he found that leaving was the best thing for him. Now he is back where he it all came from, living with his wife (yes, he IS married, no kids though and no sign of them) in Winnipeg, writing music and singing songs, doing exactly what “HE” wants!

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ON HURST
Trevor Hurst- English, Irish and Scottish decent (that’s where he gets his good looks!) Canadian born- but WORLD CLASS!

GENE SIMMONS of KISS taught him a thing or two when he was on the road- not what you think! HOWEVER – during Hurst performance I did see a flash of an incredibly long tongue on stage. Most of the crowd (ladies) did a double take!!!

Favourite Canadian Artists- The Trews, Sam Roberts, Leonard Cohen (not Matthew Good)

Favourite Songs – Wild Horses by The Rolling Stones and One by U2

INXS contacted him to be a part of INXS ROCKSTAR- he declined. In fact Trevor despised the entire concept of the show to start with. “INXS should be ashamed of themselves to think that they can replace Michael Hutchence! But I do wish JD FORTUNE well!”