FM Static

Trevor McNevan is not omnipresent. But to say he’s close to everywhere wouldn’t be too far off the mark. The Thousand Foot Krutch front man is certainly a rising star in the rock realm, as the band’s status continues to rise and their platform grows with each new offering. Now, the Canadian is teaming again with TFK drummer Steve Augustine to resurrect FM Static for yet another album entitled Dear Diary.

This time around, things are different as the release is a concept record and comes with a book McNevan wrote to accompany the piece. We recently sat down with McNevan for a Soul-Audio exclusive to discuss how he spins so many plates, how he keeps himself interested year after year and what is the (literal and figurative) story behind Dear Diary.

Soul-Audio: So at what level is FM Static a side project?

Trevor McNevan: It’s funny because it is a side project so to speak, but only in the aspect in that TFK will always be the priority. It’s something I started. You can’t tour two things full-time and TFK has been my whole life. So it is a side project, but I do equally care about the records and equally put as much into this as I can. Some of our friends do side projects that have the stereotype of just being this artsy, creative side so they can dabble in other things. They just want to write that way and that’s great, too. It’s fun to do something that’s different, but they end up more out there. But this is something I really care about. Down deep, I’m a songwriter and so I like working with several genres and other bands and just enjoy doing all of this. I just don’t see this as any different than other things I’m working on.

SA: Is it hard to not be able to full get into everything you have going on?

Trevor: Sometimes. You get in those Catch-22s when you get pulled multiple directions. But we’re a perfectionist and so you want to have that quality there, so it’s easy for all of us to get into. I try not to cut corners on that, but what usually does end up being cut when you’re being pulled those ways is the touring aspect. There’s only so much time in the day. On the first album, we toured a lot with both bands actually. We did over 100 shows on the first Static record and the second we weren’t able to tour at all. I’m really proud of that record, but that’s why it was more low-key.

This one is a concept record, my first time ever being a part of something like this. We’re going to tour this one again and still deciding if we’ll do shows together with TFK, but we’re going to tour it and do festivals. But to answer your question, you have to make those decisions along the way and you can only take things so far. That’s why TFK is the real focus. But we’ll just see what God has in store.

SA: You mentioned the concept record and I wondered where the story for Dear Diary came from?

Trevor: I’d love to tell you about it. The whole record is strictly fictional and it’s the story of a boy going through high school – from grade 9 until the end right before college. Each of the songs are his diary entries. Most guys don’t keep a diary, so it’s more of a journal or school assignment to write what’s going on in your thoughts. I actually wrote a story so that the CD will come with a book and the journal. The boy just moved to a new town and that’s where the story begins.

I’ve always been a big fan of the teen years and so I had a lot of fun with it. It pulled a lot of personal experience in, more so in the second half of the record when it gets personal and serious. The mood changes quite a bit, so it deals with everything from being the new kid in town – that’s dealt with in the song “The Unavoidable Battle of Feeling on the Outside.” It goes through meeting that first girl you have feelings for and even deeper things – like if money is really important. Some people live their life for it and they let it drive them, so there’s a song that deals with that. There’s also a song that deals with disbelief and being raised by your parents and their faith and knowing what you personally want to believe, not just what your parents tell you.

So there’s a lot of stuff here. Near the end of the story, there’s a song called “Her Father’s Song” where the girl’s father commits suicide. It shakes the family and everything you trust and know is shaken. It touches on a lot of things. Also, “Take Me As I Am” is the first single and it’s the main character wondering who he is and just telling God that he believes in Him. It’s an honest story, then, for this boy and it’s fun to talk about something in a story form that’s not all first-person.

SA: Doing a concept record and a book, I wondered how much of this is driven by enjoying by an artistic challenge?

Trevor: I can’t deny that a new challenge is going to be very exciting for me. As a songwriter, it’s great to do a story and to do something I’ve never done. It definitely plays a part.

SA: How do you keep yourself interested enough to keep going?

Trevor: Depending on who you talk to, you will hear a million stories for that stuff. But for me, it’s not that complicated. If it makes me feel something, then I’m in. Music is the soundtrack for our lives and I love being in on something that makes you feel something. Whether you’re traveling or just chilling out, music plays a big part in that. I get inspired by film a lot as well and I look at songs like I look at movies. You need to grab someone right off the bat, you have to have a big payoff, it needs to build at the right time. So I’m a film fan and so that helps. Other than that, I just need to feel something when I listen and I feel like it’s done what it’s supposed to do.

• www.fmstatic.com
• www.myspace.comfmstatic

↓ 3 comments

#1 Back to Work Monday News « Christian Music Zine on February 16th, 2009 at 6:34 pm

[...] FM Static will be touring with their new album, Dear Diary (go to the interview) [...]

#2 kristal on February 23rd, 2009 at 3:55 am

I was listening to Air1 the other day and heard your song “Take me as I am” and now, I’m totally hooked. I can’t find it anywhere though. Is it a song from your new album coming out soon? If so, let me know about when it comes out. thanx

#3 grace s. cartwright on March 13th, 2009 at 11:27 pm

Kristal, the album drop April 7th, 2009, fyi.Also, the single “Boy Moves to town with an optimistic outlook” is available on iTunes right now.

Matt, nice job buddy! Love this piece, love these guys. They are truly one of my favorite artists to work with..always such a pleasure!

Does it Resonate with you?

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

URL