Sometimes the smartest thing you can say is “Shut The Hell Up.” That’s the tongue-in-cheek philosophy behind Nashville blues-rock artist Trevor Finlay’s new single, arrived June 5 as the latest release from his upcoming seventh studio album.
Co-written with Emmy-nominated songwriter Ray Barnette and produced by Finlay and Michael Klooster (Smash Mouth), the track is a groove-heavy, guitar-driven reminder of what happens when a quick mouth gets ahead of a thoughtful mind.
For Finlay, the concept came naturally. “I think it was genetically pre-determined that I would be like this,” he jokes. “I say things before really thinking it through first.” While swapping stories with Barnette about times they had both talked themselves into trouble, one of them finally said, “I guess we need to learn to shut the hell up.” The song came together quickly—and, appropriately, between bouts of laughter.
That quick wit has gotten Finlay into some memorable situations. At one festival performance, an impatient audience member shouted for him to hurry up and play while he was tuning his guitar. Finlay fired back, “I’m glad you found work after The Muppet Show,” followed by an impression of one of the show's famous balcony characters. The audience loved it. Later, a massive man approached him and revealed, “Hey—I’m the Muppet Show guy.” Finlay braced for trouble, only to hear, “That was pretty funny.” That sense of humor has become an important part of Finlay’s live personality. “I love to entertain,” he says. “I love to get reactions out of people, whether it’s laughter or someone turning in their seats with a ‘what the hell is he doing’ look on their face.” The new single was also shaped by the stage. Finlay first performed “Shut The Hell Up” at last year’s Frank Brown Songwriter Festival, where he ended the performance by having the audience shout the title back at him. “They yelled it back at me so loud that it completely took me off guard,” he recalls. That crowd energy became exactly what he wanted to capture on the recording.
After more than 30 years in music, and at one point playing more than 300 shows in a year, Finlay knows a thing or two about the road. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint and you have to pace yourself,” he says. He has shared stages with James Brown, Buddy Guy, Johnny Winter, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Chris Isaak and Charlie Daniels, but says the biggest lesson he learned from the legends was surprisingly simple: be kind. “The greats will take the time, sign an autograph, take a selfie, whatever,” he says, recalling how B.B. King would stay for hours after shows talking with fans. “It’s something that I’ve not only taken with me but taken to heart as well.”
Finlay’s sound has been described as “a little Muddy Waters with a little David Lee Roth” a comparison he happily accepts, even if he jokes, “I wish I was more like either one of them!” He admires Waters’ intensity and raw power and Roth’s unmistakable entertainment style, while drawing inspiration from The Rolling Stones, The Allman Brothers Band, Joe Walsh and generations of blues and rock artists. For Finlay, honoring those influences doesn't mean recreating the past. “I try to learn lessons from everything I hear and draw inspiration from it,” he explains. “The difference now is not only can I learn from the Stones and everyone that they learned from, but I can also learn from the people that learned from the Stones as well.” His approach to recording has evolved, too. Where he once worked songs out with the band during preproduction, technology now allows him to build demos himself and develop a clearer vision before recording. His philosophy is to remain “open-minded but very opinionated,” embracing collaboration while knowing when an idea is right for the song.
His previous release, “Get Into It,” landed placements on television shows including All Rise and Stumptown, opening another creative door. “It basically unlocked a new dragon to chase,” he says. Finlay has since explored scoring and film work and says he naturally thinks visually when creating music. After decades in the business, he still refuses to put himself in a single box. Singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and session musician are all part of the same identity. And despite having experienced several generations of the music industry, he sees today's landscape as offering independent artists more opportunities than ever. “You have to go with the flow,” he says. “I think of being in the music business as the same as any entrepreneurial venture. You have to be ready to pivot and learn.” And even after all those years, the adrenaline hasn't disappeared. “The adrenaline still makes my hands shake when I walk out there,” Finlay admits. Every room and every audience is different, but once he settles into the energy, the reason for continuing becomes clear. “The smile on my face is genuine. We are going to have a great time.” As for the musician still waiting for their moment, Finlay's advice is simple: remember why you started. “It’s profoundly satisfying to create something new, to connect with an audience, to play with incredible musicians. The list goes on and I love it all.” After more than three decades, Trevor Finlay clearly still does.