Trent Hancock; West to East and then Down Under. Now He's Ready for the World

San Diego; beaches, Chargers and Shamu. What lay beneath all the staples lay singer/songwriter Trent Hancock. You may think he´s just another boy with a guitar and a pen, but what makes Trent stand apart from the countless coffee shop bandits, is his sense of life and ability to take the kangaroo by the pouch (I swear that'll make sense).

Trent made some tracks in the San Diego music scene with his friend Mike Cooper. The duo went by Ghostbird, a fancy name for "owl." The two instantly bonded over Mike's owl tattoo when they met. Plus, like many musical men, Trent's a self proclaimed nocturnal creature. However, like Sonny and Cher, Krusty and Sideshow Bob...Ghostbird split, but not on bad terms. Mike was busy man lending himself to multiple bands. The hardest part according to Trent, "When you're in a dup there's obviously someone to help with the footwork. There's two people working towards the goal. The creative aspect's different too. There's no one to bounce ideas off of all the time." While the idea of a reunion´s not out of the question, Trent's enjoying getting to work with an array of artists now. With Mike's roots deep in SoCal, Trent had his heart set on the world.

When Trent's car was stolen, he took it as a sign to go somewhere public transportation was a necessity; New York. So after graduating from UCSD and raising enough courage and funds, Trent set out, driving across country in the recovered car was an adventure fit for a budding musician.

San Diego, according to Trent is laid back and not better in terms of living. So he adjusted quick when he pulled into Brooklyn, "It's very fast paced. You gotta be doing something. People think New York people are harsh but really they just don't feed you BS." That they don't. Trent learned that from first hand experience when he started making rounds at open mics. In San Diego Trent could make a living off of playing cover songs, but was told one night that wouldn't fly in the Big Apple. The crowd wasn't too impressed with his song of choice, The Beatles' "Happiness is a Warm Gun." Instead of that discouraging him, it made him excited. He was ecstatic people wanted original material.

Covering America coast to coast, it was time to discover the world. Trent headed down under to Australia. It was both a personal and musical journey of discovery. Trent tried and did not approve of kangaroo meat. He also had got the creative juices flowing with his friend´s brother which resulted in "Zale" from his new EP, Ghostbird.

"I wanted to tie it all in," Trent said about naming the EP after his former duo, "Ghostbird was a part of me too and I wanted to connect it all together." Ghostbird the EP, allowed Trent to work with Mikal Blue who's worked with hit makers Colbie Caillat and OneRepublic. "I was a little nervous coming into it. I didn't know how I'd be treated and I was worried he'd have this big time producer attitude, but he totally didn't." The two bonded fast, especially The Beatles, the same band New Yorkers criticized him for covering. Their White Album played a huge factor in the inspiration department for Ghostbird as well as personal experiences. The move across country, Australia, his brother tying the knot and a crazy relationship that ended with him loosing the girl to her ex.

That girl didn´t spawn it but, "Falling Faster," which kicks off Ghostbird and is about that moment right after you spill your heart to the one you love and are left waiting for their response to fill it back up. "I think, I hope everyone's been in that situation. That exact moment because at least you had the courage to say something. It's about no one in particular, but I did meet a girl it fit perfectly with but it was when I was heading to Australia and she was leaving too." Trent wears his heart on the strings of his guitar and fans will get to witness "Falling Faster" this summer on the road.

His summer opening for Ernie Halter and Tony Lucca just got underway and Trent's already happy with it. "Three shows in and things are going great. They've all been sold out so it's packed. You sort of feel naked onstage with that many people staring at you, but the rush is great." Another great thing is the time off from that tour Trent's getting to open for Ryan Cabrera which has Trent grinning from ear to ear.

In a time when it's easier to get musical recognition through American Idol, Trent decided to take the long way and isn't disappointed with the results thus far. You can check out his MySpace, Facebook and Twitter to see when he'll be hitting up a city near you and for all my lovelies in Los Angeles, head over to the Key Club July 27th to see him with Ryan Cabrera. And for music fans who just enjoy the music from the comfort of their iPod? You and everyone else can get Ghostbird available now on iTunes.