We recently connected with Trevor O’Connor and have shared our conversation below.

Trevor, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I struggle with this everyday, as do we all. I was playing music full time in Austin for a while and that was wonderful, but somewhere along the way I let the party take over my life. I refused to be bogged down any further so I sent myself home to NJ where i’m back at The Original Music School helping run the business and teaching. I needed to clear my head and disrupt my habits. I miss it, but I also think I probably did the right thing for myself. Teaching and being involved in music is still just as rewarding, if not more. Plus my band is sounding dope these days.

I’ve always done what I want to do and the number of times I did things for other people I became a bitter, resentful human being. I think more than anything, we as creatives, need to find a way to manage our happiness and benchmark our success, and failures, in a healthy way. Lord knows I struggle with this everyday. It’s easy to stare at a screen and feel absolutely worthless when the numbers are down. Its much harder to create something that a handful of people genuinely care about and call that a win. I’m super caffeinated so i’m gonna ramble a bit throughout this.

Trevor, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got super into music when I joined a jam band, as a bassist, in 9th grade. Which if you listen to my band (Dr Scientist) now you’d laugh. My dad is a musician (singer/songwriter) as well and he surely gave the bug at a young age. I started writing my own songs and forcing them into this jam band, which led to me getting kicked out haha. So I started my own band and its been rock music ever since. I met Anthony Vitale (found of The Original Music School) in 2005 or so and he convinced me to enroll into his songwriting program with my band. We recorded our first two records there, and then i was asked to become one of the songwriting teachers. I guess I was a natural, there certainly was no training period haha, he pushed me into a class and shut the door, I did that for YEARS. I had a couple different bands those years… 2nd Place, Scissor Me Timbers (that lasted a week hahahah), Residual Blues, Audible Chocolate and more until I settled on Dr Scientist in about 2014.

At this time i had just graduated college with a bachelors in Music Industry (lol means nothing) and i was now the GM of the Original Music School. We put out our debut LP “Post Grad” and at this point this was my 5th or 6th full length that i recorded and mixed myself. I was basically involved in all aspects of the business at this point. I even wrote a full Year 1 Guitar Book that is still used as curriculum to this day. Dr Scientist put out a few more releases including our 2nd LP “Grief”. Not too long after this I decided it was time for me to move on and I had my sights on ATX.

I moved to Austin and the first year was pretty f****** rough for personal and financial reasons haha! But I was beyond determined and my friends call me whiskers cus I always land on my feet. I had about 3-4 jobs at once the first couple years but I think deep into year 3 I was able to start playing music FULL TIME which was a dream come true. No boss, just me and my guitar(s). Speaking of guitars, one of them was stolen but I was able to recover it in 17 hours. I have a very specific set of skills. Nobody was hurt, don’t worry.

After about 6 years in ATX I decided i needed to come back home and get my head back on straight. I was partying too much and noticed a concerning pattern. Around this time despite being a drunken bafoon i finished my latest Dr Scientist EP “Strangers” with some talented friends (Post Profit…look them up). My best friend/bassist Andrew Malesky drove us up to Longview TX and we knocked it out in a day in a half and i’m SUPER proud of it.

So in terms of what I am…I would say i’m an Artist first and foremost. A manic creative who is compulsively creating “something” at all times. Lastly an educator, I find that to be natural no matter how much I try to fight it.

In order to get to know me I would start by listening to my band “Dr Scientist”. That will then lead you to my ridiculous silly videos as well. I’m a bit of a dork.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Well, when I first moved to Austin I moved with my partner of 5 years and about a month in they decided to leave. It gets worse but i’d rather not get into that. My point is that I was alone in a new city with no job really and I knew nobody. Everyone in my life in NJ probably expected me to come back home but I refused. I remember getting a job at a warehouse 45 min away. It was winter and there was no heat. I would get there at 7am. I would play whatever gigs I could pick up, probably drink too much tequila until 4am and then get up at 5:45am to get to my sh*tty job. My boss hated me, I would ask for help and she insisted I was just not doing a good job. It was a furniture warehouse and some things just couldn’t be lifted alone. That was the most miserable time in my life. I was getting an hour of sleep a night but the spite in my heart fueled me to keep pushing forward. I finally got fired and it was the best day of my damn life. At this point I started getting more gigs on dirty 6, which is where you usually start in Austin. It wasn’t much but I was now in the scene. I wanted it more than anything and nothing was going to stop me. As the years rolled on I made so many amazing friends and my network grew and grew. I eventually started an open Jam at a bar on west 6th, where i was able to use my network to my advantage. I held that residency for 2+ years and would still have it now if I didn’t decide to come back home…for now.

All of that bullsh*t made for some good songs though. So there’s that.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Austin does a better job of this with Black Fret, HAAM and Sonic Guild (and more). Some places do try and take advantage but I think the musicians that stick it out naturally grow out of playing at those places.

New Jersey, I love you, but good lord enough with cover bands and DJ’s. If someone were to just consider bringing in original acts when they draft their budget/business plan it would be totally doable. I think the problem is they don’t want to spend the time or effort into cultivating some culture. They pay cover bands plenty of money, but what does that really do for a “scene”? Breweries pop up everywhere trying to create unique tasting beers, why should a music scene revert to the same old sh*t. If I hear Wagon Wheel or Bobby Mcgee one more time i’m gonna lay down in the middle of 287 (very busy highway). It really does just take one person to invest in the culture, there was definitely more of that back in the day but now unfortunately bar owners just do the “booking” themselves and you get what to pay for. A bunch of middle aged dudes playing “my own worst enemy” in new balance sneakers. I’ve been trying to set up my own shows lately where I can book my friends who are TALENTED and UNIQUE and are pushing us forward. Some of my favorite bands started out here in NJ by renting VFW halls and booking their own shows. If you want something done right I guess do it yourself!

Listening to new music is challenging, as it should be. Listening to new music makes you think and pay attention which is something severely lacking these days.

I’m gonna get run out here on a rail I bet, guess i’ll be moving again soon! haha!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/drscientistlives
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trevorkevin/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drscientistlives/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drscientistlives9270

Image Credits
Kaitlyn Champagne Kay Lavelle Marisa Dee