Trevor Gordon Hall: Reviews/Press

• “Trevor is one of the few post-Michael Hedges guitarists who has managed to incorporate that vast repository of innovation while having an artistic voice strong enough to steadfastly avoid imitation. However technically proficient Trevor is, he is not one of the swarm of guitarists who revel in guitar gymnastics for their sake alone. His technique follows artistic expression as it should. Trevor is capable of a range of styles while having every note seem to express something sincere and meaningful to him. This is a fine debut from a guitarist we will need to pay attention to.”

– Will Ackerman, Grammy winning guitarist/composer and producer, founded the influential new age label Windham Hill Records.

• “Trevor is a virtuoso. I’ve never seen a guitarist/composer this good at his age (23). He may not sell a million records (the Christmas album might), but he’ll win a Grammy and do great numbers for his niche. I truly believe Trevor’s career will go on to prove him one of the greatest guitarist/composers of all time.”

– Joe Nicolo, President of Revel Music Group, Former President/Producer/Owner of Ruffhouse Records (Sold over 100 million albums and garnered 9 Grammys; found and signed Lauryn Hill, The Fugees, Cypress Hill, Kris Kross; produced James Taylor, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Will Smith…)

• “I'm really impressed with the Trevor Gordon Hall music. Besides being beautifully recorded, the compositions and performances are stellar. Trevor's sense of melody is exceptional, and his ability to pull the melody out of a very complex acoustic guitar arrangement requires a powerful technique that few musicians can exhibit these days. This is performed music -not cut up and pasted together- and it is driving, tender and powerful all at once, and points to a great future for Trevor.”

– David Kahne, A&R Consultant to Revel Music Group, Former Senior A&R Executive at Columbia Records, Warner Brothers Records, and Reprise Record;. Grammy award winning producer; worked with Paul McCartney, Sublime, The Strokes, Bruce Springsteen, Kelly Clarkson…

• "Sharp, absorbing and beautiful meditations for guitar that will get your mind moving in new ways."

– Tom Moon, Music Critic; Contributor to NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’/Rolling Stone/GQ/Blender/Vibe/Spin, writer of ‘1000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die’

• “…beautiful…a truly creative vision…”

– Michael Manring, Multi-award winning and Grammy nominated, the world’s leading solo bassist extraordinaire.

• “…enjoyed the CD…”

– George Winston, Grammy winning and multi-platinum record selling solo piano player

Trevor Hall
February 26, 2007
@ Chaplins Music Cafe in Spring City
w/ The Red Chairs opening at 6:30 PM
Trevor @ 8 PM

All The Right Words
by Chris March

Sometimes people struggle finding the right words to say. Granted, there are an awful lot of words to choose from, which explains why there are also those who never shut up. And of course, not everyone speaks the same language either.

But then there is music.

Everyone has a song that spoke to them strongly or said the right words at the right time. Sometimes a two-minute pop ditty can convey the indescribable emotions between a boy and a girl with frightening precision. Music can also encourage a teenager to grow his hair long and pick up a guitar. Still, most music comes with its own barriers since lyrics are just more use of language. But then there are instrumental artists like Trevor Hall who take mighty steps over these barriers without so much as a word.

The 21-year old Douglassville native had just arrived home from George’s Music in Spring City where he works when he phoned in to chat with Time Out about his upcoming show at Chaplin’s this Monday.

“All throughout history, instrumental music has been a big thing,” said the guitarist. “But it hasn’t been as big in recent years, so my hope is to bring that back. I want this to be a successful show so people realize that instrumental music is a very beautiful thing and that it is still very accessible to the common person.”

But the common person does not know a guitar the way Hall does. He has wielded the six-string since he built one with wood and some fishing line at age 10. He has since moved on to a more professional-looking acoustic, but his hunger for the instrument remains as strong. And it does not take long to notice music is the lens which he sees life through. He talks with great fervor over the phone about what music can represent to people and how songs don’t need words to be expressive.

“Music is a language and all language has to say something,” he said. “So I could sit around and study music as a science and try to figure out all the semantics of it, but if I have nothing to say, it’s pointless.”

He culls his songs from the walks he goes on, sitting by the river, visiting art galleries or by simply watching a movie. And this array of influence explains why his music is so colorfully descript and rich with influence.

"There’s something about taking a message or a frozen moment in time and putting that into a musical language that actually helps you take music into a new direction, because you’re not thinking about music. You’re thinking about something beyond music, and that music tends to be the language that gets you to that,” he said.

The 13 picturesque tracks of his self-released debut, “Portraits Of Imagination” unfold like a pop-up storybook that pulls listeners into its pages and saturates them with his world of guitar wizardry. Without lyrics, the songs are open to interpretation, but the mood evokes cascading landscapes and visceral sunsets which tell stories of their own. As the silent narrator, Hall bends each note and slides along each string with the same purpose a painter would with a brushstroke across a canvas.

And this experience is exactly what fans can expect from Hall on Monday, but in a more personal setting.

“Whatever I do on my albums, I always do live,” he said. “I try to do everything I can. And what I’ve been doing in my new compositions is trying to learn how to play it all together at one time, instead of looping.”

However he pulls off the complexity of his arrangements though, his performance will be sure to leave some speechless.

“I love [music] because it’s so versatile and there are so many different things you can do with it,” he said. “And that’s what is great about it, because you’re not limited by anything.”

12/11/2007
Chaplin's celebrates Christmas with an all-star concert
By: Ken Kolasinski - Staff Writer

Everybody knows that nothing brings family and friends together like the holidays. And everyone knows that nothing brings people together like music.
Combine the two and you've got the perfect holiday package.
Chaplin's: the Music Caf will offer up an early present this holiday season when it presents its All-Star Christmas show Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m. The night will feature a dozen of the area's finest up-and-coming acts - including Artese 'N Toad, Tina Margot, Blake Allen, Bo Rains, Tin Bird Choir, Lizanne Knott, Andrew Lipke, Gillian Grassie, Joe D'Amico, Irene Molloy, Trevor Gordon Hall and Will Hawkins - playing three-song mini sets of holiday music.
The idea for the show was something that Chaplin's booking agent Linda Seybert almost stumbled across by accident.
"When I started booking Chaplin's, I had just finished my 'Ladies on the EDGE' tour, a group of five extremely diverse and talented women," said Seybert. "We toured the area listening rooms all summer, and really bonded by our last show at Chaplin's. I had no idea at that show that I would eventually be the booking agent for this amazing venue. I was starting to put together a men's tour when my path suddenly changed with a phone call from the new owners of Chaplin's."
Before she knew it, Seybert was working as the booking agent for the rising music venue. And with that task, obviously, comes delivering seasonally appropriate acts.
"As Christmas approached, I wanted to bring in some holiday shows," said Seybert. "But I was frustrated that many holiday-themed shows were already booked. My friend and colleague David Wannop suggested I ask several artists to each do a set of Christmas songs. I sent out a few e-mails and the next thing I knew, I had 12 artists on the bill!
"I was truly shocked that so many extremely talented artists who headline their own shows were willing to appear and have so little stage time. But they are enthusiastic and excited about being together. I realized that as artists who perform frequently, they don't always have the opportunity to be all together at the same show."
That's exactly why many of the artists jumped at the chance to have this "all-star" experience.
"I like compilation shows because of how they bring the music community together," said alt/pop singer-songwriter Gillian Grassie. "It's wonderful to spend time with other local musicians to share songs and experiences."
Included in her set will be a reworking of "In the Bleak Midwinter" and the Irish song "Winter, Fire and Snow."
"I chose it for two reasons: This time of year always makes me want to get in touch with my Celtic roots on the harp, and I think that the song will have a lot of poignancy for families who have loved ones serving in Iraq," said Grassie. "It's a hard time of year for lots of people, and this song touches on that complex blend of beauty and anxiety that, for some people, fills the season."
The chance to see other local musicians and share in the season's spirits weren't lost on guitarist Trevor Gordon Hall.
"I absolutely love hearing what other artists are doing in the scene," said Hall, who hopes to play his original composition "New Year's Resolution. "Yes, exposure and networking are important, but being an artist is about inspiration and the appreciation of others' quality work. It will be fun to meet and hear so many people in one night who take their craft very seriously. Besides all that, who doesn't love Christmas music? I look forward to a great night."
Tina Margot is looking forward to performing a few of her original Christmas songs, including "My Christmas Story." She's also considering a rendition of Shemekia Copeland's "Stay a Little Longer, Santa."
"I look forward to sharing love, music and peace at this 'sure to be' wonderful show!" said Margot.

The lineup will be:
8 p.m. Artese 'N Toad
8:15 p.m. Tina Margot
8:30 p.m. Blake Allen
8:45 p.m. Bo Rains
9 p.m. Tin Bird Choir
9:15 p.m. Lizanne Knott
9:30 p.m. Andrew Lipke
9:45 p.m. Gillian Grassie
10 p.m. Joe D'Amico
10:15 p.m. Irene Molloy
10:30 p.m. Trevor Gordon Hall
10:45 p.m. Will Hawkins

All-Star Christmas Show
will take place
at Chaplin's: The Music Caf,
66 N. Main St.,
Spring City, PA 19475,
Saturday, Dec. 15, 8 p.m.
Tickets: $12.
Info: 215-792-4110 or
www.chaplinsthemusiccafe.com


©Montgomery Newspapers 2007