I had the immense pleasure to chat with Trevor “Trouble” Andrew at Bamboozle Left. After walking around for thirty minutes, only to be disappointed by the “non-VIP” décor of the press tent, Trouble decided it was not the ambience or the foldable chairs that mattered. Our interview went a little something like this:
RacketAnn: So Trouble, if I can call you that… Tell me a little about your name, it’s an interesting choice, what’s the origin?
Trevor Trouble Andrew: Uhhh…haha uhmm…
RA: Wow, I got you stumped on the first question already? I’m that good!
TA: Haha, Ya naw naw, it’s nothing too deep. Everyone gets into a little trouble if you know what I mean…but it’s kind of like, when I was in Japan… By the way I’m a pro snowboarder as well, I grew up skateboarding and snowboarding, and when I was in Japan- I would go there a lot for snowboarding competitions- on the mic they would have trouble pronouncing my name. “Trevor” would sometimes come out like “trouble,” so my friends kind of started calling me that… And that’s the clean story [laughs].
RA: Ha, wow, never expected that to be the origin. Snowboarder? Interesting, so what made you decide to do music?
TA: It’s weird because my whole life has really been about [snowboarding] and never really about making music. It’s been driven by music a lot but no really making music.
RA: So what would you describe as your founding moment for music?
TA: There was really no defining moment like that. Snowboarding has been my life. It’s like a lifestyle, skateboarding and snowboarding, so it’s a culture, and snowboarding will always be something that I do, but music… Well, I hurt myself snowboarding and I had nine months to recover, and my girlfriend was making music and she had stuff around the house so I actually started playing around recording stuff out of boredom, writing songs. Through my world of skateboarding and snowboarding, my music made it on to my MySpace. All of the attention that was attracted by my fans gave me the confidence to put out a full album and do shows. So there wasn’t really a moment where I was like, “Forget snowboarding, I’m going to be a musician now.”
RA: So your girlfriend helped you get your music out there?
TA: Yeah, if it wasn’t for my girlfriend sneaking the tapes out of the house and showing them to producers I may not have been here.
RA: What an awesome girlfriend! So where do you see Trouble fitting in? I mean what music genre would you classify yourself under?
TA: Oh man, yeah… I mean I’ve always thought it was hard to fit in, but at the same time I never thought about where I fit in. I’m just excited to be here with all of these people who are different ages and different music styles. Like there is a rock act over here and a hip hop act over there- I think that’s really cool. It’s kind of like that, no one really has to fit into anything, it’s like these people have their own little movement. You know what I mean? Like back in the day it was like, “Oh I only listen to hip hop, or I only listen to rock.” And now it’s not really like that. The music I make, I definitely don’t have any boundaries. I mean, I am a fan of gangsta rap, I’m a fan of punk rock, and I can relate to that like most of the kids here.
RA: That’s a really great way to look at it! What path do you see music following further down the line, let’s say ten to fifteen years down the line? Do you think it will go back to people only sticking to one thing?
TA: Well I don’t think it will ever be just one thing again for the most part, I mean we are so evolved at this point. We are so close to one another, it just all comes up from the ground as one culture. I think what’s going to happen is we are going to get more and more quality rather than quantity. I mean there really is so much crap out there, and we are going through a recession, and I don’t think people have enough money to go spend it on a bunch of garbage.
RA: Wow, yeah, I definitely think that is a valid statement. So taking a step back to your snowboarding career, was there a specific type of equipment that you preferred to ride? Any sponsorships or favorite places to snowboard?
TA: I’ve been riding pro for Burton a while now, since I was twelve. They pretty much supported me and gave me all my gear, sent me all around the world. I love Japan, and Tahoe, so many places. I’ve been really fortunate to have that brand be behind me.
RA: Would you say that your peers have been supportive of your music choices?
TA: Well yeah, that also transfers over into the music because Jake Burton is such a visionary and such an open-minded person. That’s why I think he is so successful, he invites boarders over his house and asks “What do you guys think about this idea or that idea?” He has people there taking notes because he believes in his riders. When it came to me doing music and the community behind that, he was right there supporting me. He was a huge part of that before I had gotten any gigs; he gave me opportunities at like store openings and all that.
RA: Wow, it seems like you have had one hell of a ride. Well I am sure all of your fans are thankful for your transition to music.
TA: Thank you I hope so too!
RA: Thanks Trouble, good luck on stage!
— Interview by Anastasia Krotova