Caught in the Carousel

Trevor Giuliani

By Rachel Weymouth

Trevor Guiliani

Bob Dylan once said, "A person is a success if they get up in the morning and get to bed at night and in between do what they want to do." Hailing from New York City and now based in Portland, singer/songwriter Trevor Giuliani is one of those guys who sounds like he's doing exactly what he wants to do. His debut CD Subcontrario (In Stereo) a gentle blend of indie, folk and electro acoustic pop, is filled with coffee house charm and busking beauty.

Currently signed to the New York indie Dovecote Records, Giuliani's influences come from a rather large and varied palette, drawing from Blink-182, Phish, Bob Dylan, Les Miserables and bible sermons. It only takes several seconds to get absorbed in Giuliani's lyrical realism; his songs paint pictures of the stories that he conveys through his words and melodies.

Trevor Guiliani

Both the opener "Wasting Your Town" and "Settled Bounds" are captivating and harmonic, the kinds of songs that have the ability to be stuck in your head way after they're finished. If you're in the mood for a song that will take your mind to different places, "Van Singing" is perfect; Giuliani uses rich and layered instrumentation to augment the song's emotional center. The thing is, once you think you found the core you listen a little bit more and realize that you haven't even hit half of it.

Allow us to introduce you to the Poet of Portland: This is Trevor Giuliani.

Trevor Guiliani

FULL NAME: Trevor Brown Giuliani

HOMETOWN: Between Stamford and NYC; now Portland, OR

WEBSITE: myspace.com/trevorgiuliani, trevorgiuliani.blogspot.com

RECORD LABEL: Dovecote Records

DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN ONE SENTENCE: "Punk in spirit and freak in nature, his music's main weapon is the divine baritone he flies around his work—what could loosely be described as pop songs but are more accurately the excited musings of a street savant." (by Sam Duke, RCRD LBL)

PROUDEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Handing Carter the first rough mix of "Today" which was the first song I recorded with Dean at Wild Arctic in the initial stages of making this record.

STRANGEST PROFESSIONAL MOMENT: Being bashed online by a very displeased Jill Sobule fan.

THE SONG YOU WISH YOU'D WRITTEN: "You Enjoy Myself" by Phish

FIVE MUSICIANS YOU ADMIRE: John Niekrasz, Bruce Kimball, DL Tashjian Bob Dylan, Cass McCombs

DESCRIBE YOURSELF AS A KID: The song "Worms & Reptiles" is kind of about that, but I was only miserable half the time.

THREE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU UP AT NIGHT: Lotto (dog), Janessa (partner), cannabis sativa

LAST TWO BOOKS YOU'VE READ: The Coming of the Cosmic Christ by Matthew Fox, Zodiac by Neal Stephenson

THINGS WE'D FIND IN THE TRUNK OF YOUR CAR: Don't have a car.

Trevor Guiliani

FAVORITE MUPPET WITH A BRIEF EXPLANATION: Kermit; Animal and Fozzy are the baddest but the frog is the top dog.

HARDEST PART ABOUT BEING A MUSICIAN: The day job.

FAVORITE LATE NIGHT TV SHOW: Original Conan and Seinfeld

IDEAL BREAKFAST: A home-laid egg on nutty toast, melon+berries+bananas, yogurt+granola, green juice with ginger.

DRINK OF CHOICE: Kombucha, any NW IPA

BEST ALBUM TO PLAY AFTER A BREAK-UP AND YOU'RE HOLDING A BOTTLE OF VODKA AND SOMETHING SHARP: Astral Weeks—Van Morrison

INDULGENCE YOU REFUSE TO GIVE UP: So far: living in a house, ganja, ice cream.

WORDS TO LIVE BY: Love the lord your G_d with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.

Internet: myspace.com/trevorgiuliani
trevorgiuliani.blogspot.com,

Trevor Guiliani

Subcontrario is out now