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1. We’re happy to be speaking today with talented singer and songwriter – not to mention producer and guitarist extraordinaire – Trevor O’Neill; greetings and salutations, Trevor! Before we begin kicking the proverbial tin can down the dusty road, how has your 2022 been treating you thus far?
Thanks for having me! 2022 is going great so far. Really excited to be releasing new music and playing live again. I think one of the hardest things about the pandemic for me personally was not getting to play live or go to shows so I’m really happy to get back to it.
2. Congratulations on the recent May 27 release of your new single Throw the Knife (Again), which is released under your nom de plume Possible Oceans! What was the genesis of this rousing tune?
Thanks! This idea for this song came from an old film clip I saw of a knife throwing act where a blindfolded man was throwing knives at children strapped to a spinning wheel. It made me think of the way people in power often do whatever they want without considering the consequences for the rest of us. I think a lot of the issues we face as a society can be traced back to that so it was something I was interested in exploring.
3. Other than yourself, who contributes to the sound of Possible Oceans?
While Possible Oceans is a solo project, I’ve been super lucky to have a lot of incredible collaborators contribute to this record. My main partner in crime is my co-producer, Jules de Gasperis. We met and started working together shortly before the pandemic and after a couple of sessions I knew I wanted to make the whole record with him. He played all of the drums on the record and also contributed synth, guitar, bass and vocals in addition to engineering and mixing the record. A lot of the sessions for this album were just the two of us in the studio trading ideas back and forth and swapping instruments as we went. I learned a ton from him and we formed a friendship and a creative bond and I’m super thankful for. Jules has a great solo project called Edgar Everyone that you should definitely check out.
Will Walden, who’s an incredible guitarist I’ve known for years, co-wrote with me on the record and is also part of the live band. Keveen Baudouin also co-wrote and has been part of the live line up, in addition to playing bass on several tracks on the record. One of my oldest friends, Aki Ehara of the Bay Area band The Seshen, also co-wrote a couple of the songs.
4.Speaking of rousing, the music video for Throw the Knife (Again) – directed by you – is a beautiful and unforgettable audio/visual experience. How did you hit upon the narrative for the music video and what was it like directing it?
I love film, so any time we make a video I jump at the chance to be involved as much as possible. I knew I wanted to do a video for this song but was struggling to find a concept. The song is essentially about the rampant corruption and greed that pervades so many of the systems we live in. I wanted to explore what it does to us as individuals to live in these systems that are actively tearing us down. I eventually came up with the idea of a shadowy figure being fed horrific imagery on a loop as a symbol for all that. The narrative developed as a way to address the fact that we all seem to fight really hard to maintain the status quo, even though it’s probably against our best interest in a lot of ways. We’re addicted in a way.
Directing this one was a ton of work but also really rewarding. I spent weeks fine tuning the imagery for the tv, and working on the costume and mask for the main character. I was lucky to have a really incredible crew who I had worked with before and they made the shoot run really smooth. That’s me in the mask, which meant that I had to rely heavily on the DP, Ryan Neddeau, while shooting because half the time I couldn’t see anything. It’s always a joy to get a bunch of creative people together to collaborate on something like this. The shoot was a blast and I’m already getting excited for the next one.
5.Throw the Knife (Again) is an intoxicating cocktail of both traditional guitar-driven rock mixed with electronic. What is it about this mesmerizing sound that intrigues and moves you as an artist?
I think I’ve always been drawn to artists who mix traditional instruments with electronic elements. There’s something about that process that feels very relevant to modern life. We are all existing simultaneously in analog and digital spaces so I think music that reflects that tends to intrigue me more. I also really enjoy manipulating my guitar sounds to create new tones and textures that you wouldn’t normally hear from a guitar. Experimenting with guitar sounds like that kind of naturally led me to working with synths and drum machines as a way of expanding my sonic options. I enjoy a really broad range of music from electronic, to hip-hop, to non-western music and I think all of that seeps in when I write.
6. How is Throw the Knife (Again) similar to 2018’s Phase Change EP? How is it different?
“Throw the Knife (Again)” is actually the oldest song on the new record, and there’s even a very different version of it on the Phase Change EP. While we were working on the new album, Death by Misadventure, I got the idea that I wanted to rework the song to make sense with the new material, because I felt like its concept was so fitting. Eventually Jules and I set aside some studio time just to experiment with it, and we ended up completely rebuilding and re-recording the entire song. All that remained of the original was the melody and lyrics. The new version is much darker, with a lot more synths and electronic elements. It’s a bit more epic in scale and is pretty indicative of the way the sound has shifted since the first EP.
7. As a respected and noted producer, did you do the producing honors on Throw the Knife (Again)?
I co-produced this one, along with the rest of the songs on the new album, with Jules de Gasperis. It was especially helpful to have a co-producer on this song because I had lived with the original version for so long that I needed someone with a fresh perspective to chime in and throw ideas at me to shake me out of what my concept of it was.
8. What do you hope fans walk away feeling after listening to Throw the Knife (Again)?
While it’s a pretty dark song, I think the ultimate goal is to provide some catharsis for the listener. We are all constantly being inundated with overwhelming, fear inducing messaging, and I’d like to think this song can be a bit of a release valve for the pressure and strain we’re all subjected to.
9. On the heels of Throw the Knife (Again), you have another single which ratchets things up another level entitled Dotted Lines; what’s the Secret Origin story to this particular track and when will it officially drop for the public at large to check it out?
“Dotted Lines” came about almost by accident during a writing session with my friend Will Walden. Will just happened to play the opening bass line while testing out a sound for another song we were working on, and we both immediately loved it and jumped in to making it a song. It came together pretty spontaneously in a couple hours. It’s always really satisfying when you’re able to follow a spark of inspiration like that and immediately turn it into something. That tune will be out June 24th.
10. The release of these two brilliant singles is the opening volley towards the July 29 drop date of your Possible Oceans album called Death by Misadventure. What can we expect from the new album?
Making Death by Misadventure was quite a journey and I think the record reflects that. We started to record shortly before the pandemic started, and then immediately had to totally change our approach and find ways to keep working in the midst of those completely insane conditions. The strange thing is that the idea for the record was essentially to chronicle the experience of living in a world that feels a bit like it’s dying, so when a global pandemic hit just a few weeks into writing it was pretty surreal. It’s definitely a rock record, but I tried to really push the boundaries of what that could be by incorporating electronic elements and trying to build soundscapes that transport the listener to a different place. I’m really excited to finally get it out in the world.
11. With all of the new music, can fans look forward to checking you out on the tour circuit this summer?
We are actually jumping back into live shows in July with a month-long residency in Los Angeles at The Silverlake Lounge. We’ll be playing a different set there every Wednesday night of the month, and we handpicked different opening lineups and DJ’s for each night. I’m really looking forward to finally getting to play these songs live. Beyond that, we are working on more dates and tour plans for the rest of 2022 going into 2023 so definitely keep a look out for us!
12. How did you land upon the path of being a musician, Trevor?
I’ve been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. When I was eight years old my mom took me with her to a Jane’s Addiction concert because my babysitter cancelled. It totally blew my mind and on the way home I told her I was going to be a rock star when I grew up. I started guitar lessons a couple weeks later and just completely fell in love with it. I lucked out and had an amazing teacher, and eventually ended up at a high school with an incredible music program where I started to explore jazz. After high school, I studied ethnomusicology at UCLA which gave me a chance to experience and play music from all over the world. That was really eye opening and helped me find my voice as an artist. Music has just always been the way I can best express what I’m feeling and I’m so grateful to have it in my life.
13. Musically, who are you listening to right now?
Right now I’m bouncing back and forth between a lot of hip-hop and British rock actually. Vince Staples, Freddie Gibbs, and Tyler the Creator are in heavy rotation, but I’m also really into Idles, Foals, and The Horrors. And of course there’s always a healthy dose of Soulwax because I kind of worship them.
14. Final – SILLY! – Question: Favorite movie about the music scene – The Commitments, This Is Spinal Tap or Almost Famous?
Oh man, there’s so many great ones but I think I’d have to say 24 Hour Party People. I’m a huge fan of British rock and that movie captures such a special moment in time in such a wonderful way. As a lover of Joy Division and New Order it’s fascinating to see how Factory records came together (and fell apart). Runner up would probably be High Fidelity because it encapsulates the experience of working in a record store (which I did in college) so brilliantly.
