Trevor Hedges started a band with some friends in 2012 as a fun project to help him maintain his sobriety. Years later he is still in that same band, a project he calls Sundressed, but he is healthy and sober with a new group of bandmates who are ready to move passed their earlier, more wilder years, though Hedges still revisits those tough times in his lyrics.
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“I went through a lot of stuff with addiction in my late teens and early twenties which I attribute to in my songs,” Hedges told American Songwriter. “I feel it’s always really important to be honest about my story and give people the message that they’re not alone. I’ve been through a lot that maybe I shouldn’t have survived and I’m honest about it because hopefully my story might help someone.”
The title track from Sundressed’s forthcoming album Home Remedy echoes similar messages and aligns with ideas on self-care and tackling mental health issues in the millennial age, while recently released single, “Your Frequency” maps out the obstacles that fuel the imbalance between working to stay alive and maintaining relationships, something Hedges has experienced his share of.
“It’s about the side hustle mentality that people in our generation are going through right now,” Hedges said about ‘Your Frequency.’ “You’ve got your normal job then your second job and everyone is so busy and it’s so hard to stay connected and catch up with people while you’re just trying to pay your bills.”
Other songs like “Home Remedy” stand out as the title track with recalled ideas and lyrics from their previous record, bringing both albums full circle and ushering in new counterparts of the band.
“That was the last song we wrote,” Hedges said about the title track. “But I knew it had a theme lyrically and that song really summed it up. It also calls back some of the lyrics on our last record, so it was cool to introduce as a new era of the band.”
The new “era” includes members; AJ Peacox, Vic Chan, Matthew Graham and Justin Portillo, all of which are putting their individual identities into the material. And Hedges welcomed the trials of writing with his new bandmates on songs like “No Thanks”, which Peacox wrote music for.
“This record was the first time AJ wrote a song, which was cool for me,” Hedges said. “It was such a good song and fit so well. It feels like it’s becoming more of a band, so I’d expect some more AJ songs and other members are contributing more too.”
“I’ve had so many different people tour with me over the years but this new unit we have now, it’s just all about support and putting our stamps on it,” he added about his new band. They’ve took my songs places I never knew they could go.”
The support of his new bandmates shined bright when it came time to record the album in Los Angeles, the first time travelling to record for the band. Armed with producer Mike Pepe, who became a dear friend of the band’s during the sessions, the band tracked Home Remedy at Barefoot Studios. “We met him in LA and just fell in love with the guy, it’s like he just became another member of the band during the process,” Hedges said about Pepe. Nearing the end of the process, Peacox wrapped up the sessions solo to finish the guitars, while his band returned home to gig- a disadvantage for the band as they were financing their projects at the time.
“It was a long process because we were self-funding it, so we really worked our asses off to make it happen,” Hedges said. “We actually had to leave our guitarist AJ back to finish the guitars in the studio, just so we could keep moving. It was a lot of work but it feels like the most authentic version of ourselves so far.”
Gearing up to release the completed album, Sundressed has some interesting plans for a series of livestreams, which could include cover shows, quarantine songs and looks back at the band’s earlier days- and even though many listeners are growing tired of livestreams, Hedges says they just want to play regardless if it’s online, small clubs or arenas.
“We’re just happy to play our songs,” Hedges said. “I want to find those little moments of happiness that make all the crap worth it.”
Check out Home Remedy on digital platforms including Apple Music and Spotify September 18 and listen to the recent single “Your Frequency” from the record, here today.
