In a little over a year Trevor Powers went from attending Boise State as an undergrad for his English degree, to an indie wunderkind and critical success, after releasing the honest, spell-binding record Year of Hibernation, which was picked up by Fat Possum after they discovered Power’s Bandcamp page. While Powers is often branded as a bedroom artist in practice, his sound as Youth Lagoon transcends any suggested isolation, as it boasts an ever-expansive and passionate scenery. Each track on Year of Hibernation is a jaunt of déjà vu, a pang of adolescence that is brought to every surface of the soul. Each song begins as a still, small voice and only elevates in emotionally rendered imagery and vivid storytelling. Powers is in a great place, and he knows it. What’s even more refreshing is his absolute humbleness and gratitude that he exhibits for being able to share his music in such a large arena, and to such a welcoming response. Powers has toured extensively in the past year, including shows with Porcelain Raft, and he’s just kicked off a short tour of North America and Australia that will end in October. Tomorrow, we have the privilege of welcoming him to Town Ballroom with opening act Father John Misty, and this weekend buffaBLOG will see him on the road when he plays Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. We had an awesome opportunity to catch up with Powers and chat a little bit about Idaho, playing festivals, and covering John Denver.
buffaBLOG: Have you ever been to Buffalo?
Trevor Powers: I don’t think I’ve ever been to Buffalo, no.
bB: It’s an interesting place, you might perceive it as a ghost town on arrival depending on when you get in, but it has a lot of good points.
TP: (Laughs) I think that’s the way a lot of people feel about Boise too. Like, if you just drive through it there’s not much to it, but if you’ve spent time here it’s endless.
bB: Yeah, I’ve driven through North Idaho before. It’s beautiful out there. Do you spend a lot of time in the mountains?
TP: I do. That’s like my favorite thing, and what’s cool about Boise is that the mountains are so close. I actually just went on a camping trip last weekend with some friends. You drive like 45 minutes or an hour and you’re like lost in the middle of nowhere, with lakes and mountains. It’s what I thrive on.
bB: You’re going to be hitting the road soon with another mountain man: Father John Misty. Are you excited about that?
bB: You toured with Porcelain Raft too, who just came through Buffalo. He’s got that one-man-band vibe going too. Do you find it hard to perform live with just a couple people in the band?
TP: It’s funny 'cause it hasn’t been on purpose that way, it's just been music I’ve been into. Porcelain Raft was just phenomenal. Mauro is just the sweetest man. That was a blast. But before him the tour was with Young Magic. Have you heard Young Magic before?
bB: No.
TP: I’m a huge fan of their work too. They’re actually all from Australia and relocated to New York. They’re hard to describe. They have a lot of psychedelic influences, and ambient...As far as the one-man concept thing it hasn’t been intentional, it’s just been because of different records I’ve been into.
TP: Yeah, I’m super excited. There’s a ton of bands playing that I’m a fan of. A lot of new, up-and-coming bands, and staples, like bands that have been out for a long time.
bB: You played SXSW this year. How do the festivals compare to regular shows?
TP: Festivals tend to have a different vibe altogether. It’s a totally different environment, you know. There’s the intimate scene, like dive bars and places like that that have their own heartbeat, but the festivals are a totally different experience. SXSW was crazy because you’re playing like 3 or 4 shows a day. It's just insane. You have to throw your gear off stage and rush it over, there’s nowhere to park so you have to haul all your gear all the way down the street. So it was kind of like a mad house. But it was a big, big learning experience. That’s not the way most festivals are...like that absurd. And the sound checks at SXSW...you don’t even get a sound check. You’re just thrown on stage and the people still expect you to sing like an angel.
bB: You probably can’t even hear yourself depending on how it’s all set up.
TP: No, you can’t! That’s what’s so funny to me. There’s all these critics there...it’s just bullshit . It’s like a no win situation, but it’s fun.
bB: Are there any bands at Pitchfork that you want to see in particular?
TP: Um...As far as newer bands go I’m really excited to see Purity Ring. I actually met Corin in Canada like a few months back and we hit it off. But I’ve yet to see their set because a couple tours ago they came through Boise, but I was out of town. So I’m really excited to see their set.
bB: Year of Hibernation was a huge album in the last year as far as indie music goes. How did it come to be?
TP: Well, I started writing these songs for that record in 2010 and I wrote for like 6 months or so. It’s funny because people always say your debut album is an accumulation of your entire life, and then your sophomore record is like an accumulation of like 7 months or whatever. But that wasn't the case for Year of Hibernation...I set a goal for myself. I said to myself, 'I want to record a record in January 2011,' so I gave myself like 6 months to get everything out of my system. So it was kind of just this goal that I had. Music for me has always been this really personal journey. It’s not like I was writing for anyone else. I was writing for me.
bB: What music are you influenced by?
TP: As far as influences go, they vary drastically. I grew up on old stuff like John Denver, Elvis, Beach Boys. As I got older I started getting into like Brian Eno, The Flaming Lips, Cocteau Twins...a broader view of music and experimenting with music more.
TP: Thanks. That’s funny cause Sirius XMU in New York wanted me to do a cover song and that was a song I’d been listening to shortly before I left. And so that song was already in my system, so I was like “Well, let’s play this song.”
bB: I played it for my mom, she’s a huge John denver fan (laughs). She thought it was amazing!
TP: That song was thrown together the morning of that live session. Literally like a couple of hours before I was just scrambling and learning all the chords. It was very thrown together, but because it was recorded live it has that very organic feel.
bB: After this tour are you planning to write new music right away?
TP: I’ve actually been writing since this record came out. It’s really hard for me to write on the road because I tend to write a lot in isolation. So after this tour, pretty much the only thing on my mind is working toward the next record and finishing up the songs I’ve been working on. I have all kinds of big plans for this year as far as that goes.
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