TREVOR WILSON - LIONS SHEEP AND TRAINS

This was released in 2003 under the artist name Stem Cell Research, which one can imagine was something of a joke. As it was released when Trevor was a junior in High School, it reflects a comfort and freshness that almost everyone loses when they leave their home. Even so, there is some level of sagaciousness that might permeate some of these phrases.

An interesting example is Fire Drill, which contains a field recording of an actual fire drill at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High, Trevor's high school. At the time, the school had been plagued by fabricated bomb threats, mostly scrawled on bathroom walls and desks. For a few years, it was an ongoing problem, although everyone knew the perpetrators were just students who wanted to get out of taking a test. (Bombs were supposedly scheduled to go off, conveniently, at the start of fourth period.) Fire Drill, which contains no words, reinterprets the harsh, fearful cry of the fire drill as a polyrhythm in some ecstatic carnival. This perspective is dominant in ths attitude of this album.

I was feeling particularly sensitive at this time to the roles that people had around me, especially when this involved an imbalance of power. I felt like there were just a few people that were using the skills they had - whether it be force, wit, charm, or good looks - to negatively affect those who were at a disadvantage to them. It was sort of my first experience of injustice.

I categorized these people as trains because they just rush on through, never stopping to assess the affect they have on other things, let alone make reparations. I had this image of sheep being the helpless affected, grazing next to the train and being blasted with noise and debris at every pass. I also had the image of lions as being those who would bring justice, those who have the same skills and power as trains, but use their skills to positively affect those who are at a disadvantage.

It is all a little silly and naieve, but it was the impetus for Azu, which was penned, appropriately, in the middle of the same trigonometry class that was interrupted by the Fire Drill that I recorded.

Maddie Herec wrote the lyrics for The Wash and sang them. Field Recordings of the DRRHS Cross Country Team and a party at Kerin McCauley's house were used. This was released under Side of the Snowrunner Records, and is now an Open Face Records release.

-trevor

Stream this album here.

Reverend III 1
Water Cave 2
Golf Clap 3
Cessation 4
Don't Cross 5
That's Enough 6
Azu 7
Fire Drill 8
Pause 9
The Wash10
A Lion 11
A Sheep 12
A Train 13
Right Now 14