Trevino's emergence as one of the hottest new country
talents in Texas seems almost preordained. Born in Brownsville
and raised in the Austin area, he teethed on some of country's
greatest artists, thanks to his father, an avid country fan
and record collector.
At seven years old, Trevino got his first guitar and started taking
lessons. "It didn't dawn on me at first that I wanted to
be a singer," Trevino recalls. "The guys were teaching me
chords and the only way for me to put those chords to use
was to sing a song. I started paying attention to guys like
Ray Price and Johnny Bush, and when I got old enough to know
the difference, I was going 'wow, these guys can really
sing' That's the way I want to sing."
By the time Trevino hit his early teens, his father started persuading
local club owners to let his son get up and perform. Justin
landed his first professional gig at 13, and by his freshman
year in high school, he had formed his own band, Justin Trevino
& Sunset Country. The group played beer joints and honky
tonks in and around the Austin area, most notably scoring
a monthly stand at the legendary Henry's Bar & Grill in North
Austin, a seminal venue for the currently red-hot Austin
country scene where the likes of Junior Brown and Don Walser
started building their local followings.
Don Walser and Cornell Hurd took the young singer under their wings,
mentoring the young talent. At age 16, Trevino got to play
for the first time with his hero, Johnny Bush, in San Antonio.
Harry Weiss owned a little beer joint called the Red Eye
Saloon there, and Johnny used to stop in. He promised the
young Trevino that he would call him if Johnny was planning
to come down.
"He called me and said, 'can you be here Sunday? I've got Johnny coming
out' and I'm up there singing and Johnny gets on stage and
says 'Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm a little under the weather.
I've got a real bad cold, and I'm kind of hoarse, and I can't
sing. I've been told that this young man knows all my songs.
What I'm gonna do is sit here and play lead guitar, and he's
gonna sing my songs. So you can look at me and listen to
him.'" Trevino launched into Undo the Right, one of Bush's
signature songs, and the Texas legend was duly impressed.
Trevino began hiring out as a bass player for Walser and Hurd, and eventually
joined Bush's Bandoleros. In addition, he has backed up numerous
country legends such as Hank Thompson, Kitty Wells, Floyd
Tillman, Wanda Jackson and Leona Williams, to name but a
few.
Trevino also started recording his own songs in his home studio. To
date he has released four superb records: Texas Honkytonk,
with Johnny Bush on drums; Loud Music and Strong Wine; Travelin'
Singin' Man and most recently, The Scene of the Crying.
MSNBC.com says of the recent release "...a powerful, high-pitched voice,
deceptively smooth but with a piercing edge." Trevino includes
songs recorded by Connie Smith, George Jones and Ernest Tubb,
and he does those songs justice.
At a mere 29 years old,
Trevino seems more at home with the classics and he plays
a walking shuffle with pride instead of following the current
alt-country stare at your shoes and look serious trend. Trevino
obviously revels in honky tonk glory, and those in the audience
will revel in his beautiful, clear country voice that will
bring just a tinge of country music past to your ears.
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