The Magic of Songwriting with Econoline Crush’s Trevor Hurst

When The Devil Drives is the latest album from Canadian rock veterans Econoline Crush, formed some 30 years ago by frontman Trevor Hurst, now the sole original member. The band’s first full-length album in over a decade, and documentary film, Flatlander, about a rocker from Brandon, Manitoba’s second career as a psychiatric nurse, will be out later this year. The new single “No Quitter” is out now.

Trevor joined Neel to talk about his new song No Quitter. Download the lyrics to follow along.

We talked about:

• Our songwriting challenge 2023
• The state of rock music in Canada in 2023
• It’s best to collaborate with songwriters who have very different skills than you
• Building tension and release in your song
• Paying attention to the sounds of the words
• Being open and not precious about your early songwriting decisions
• Writing lyrics personal to you but also open to your listeners’ experiences and emotions
• Distilling your chorus into four simple words