The Obelisk Questionnaire: Matt Ainsworth of Trevor’s Head
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Matt Ainsworth of Trevor’s Head
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I guess I’d call it “stoner punk”, but in recent years, that seems to have morphed into “progressive stoner punk” – an unwieldy, pretentious journo moniker if I ever heard one! It came about through years of playing together, each of us with individual tastes that overlap at certain points. When we started, it wasn’t even really what I’d call “heavy”, it was just four kids with very different tastes trying to make up their mind as to how a band should sound while also being very inexperienced with our respective instruments.
Since losing our original bassist and lead guitarist back in 2014 and gaining Aaron as a bass player, it seems we’ve gone from strength to strength musically. Roger and I weren’t able to play music as heavy or expansive or diverse as we would have liked with the old lineup, whereas Aaron has a very open mind and thinks about playing from a more technical standpoint. It’s a very collaborative effort, all three of us are involved with the writing and arranging process. It also helps that we’re not afraid to experiment as well – there’s some risk-taking that goes into the creative process, hence the hybrid of stoner rock, punk and prog that we’ve come to adopt.
Describe your first musical memory.
It’s either being in the back of my mum’s car, hearing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and hating it or being in the back of my dad’s car, hearing “China Grove” by The Doobie Brothers and absolutely loving it. Either way, I’d have been very young, only two or maybe three years old.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Seeing Stevie Wonder play at Hyde Park while totally tripping balls. He and his band were on fire, the whole park was radiating joy – and no, that wasn’t just the acid! My face ached afterward from smiling so much.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Hmm, interesting one. Can’t say that I’m able to pinpoint a specific moment where a belief of mine was tested, but I think it’s safe to say that much of the idealism I held (and for the most part still hang on to) in my early twenties seems to not have much in the way of grounding, the more I see and experience the way our species treats itself and its surroundings.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
To widening your scope and experimenting with forms of music or musical ideas you might not have imagined yourself playing previously. Ultimately though, artistic progression should lead to satisfaction in what you do.
How do you define success?
Achieving what you set out to achieve. So within the parameters of being in the band, making the best record we can possibly make or playing the best gig we can possibly play. If anybody else happens to enjoy what we’re doing, then that’s a bonus.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Man, I worked in care homes for about five years. There’s plenty of things I’ve seen that I wish I hadn’t.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
That would be the next Trevor’s Head album, the writing of which is underway.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To engage with people. I’m quite socially anxious, so I find spoken communication fairly difficult sometimes, especially with people I’m not familiar with. Being in a band, I’m able to get up in front of a room full of people I don’t know and communicate directly with them, expressing myself clearly through music. The audience is able to respond to that however they wish. So to me, art is like an unspoken conversation.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
When I started answering these questions last week, I was fucking hyped for the upcoming Venture Bros. movie. I’ve seen it now though! It was excellent. A fitting end to a masterpiece of a series. Uhhh… what next though? I’m hoping the second installment of Dune is as good as the first. I’m also looking forward to holidaying in Kefalonia for a couple of weeks in September.
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