A 2013 study by Career Builder found that one in three college graduates have jobs completely unrelated to their major.
Perhaps nobody knows this better than Trevor Startt, a musician who graduated from Kennesaw State in 2007 as a communications major.
Startt is a singer-songwriter from Kennesaw who grew up singing in his church and constantly surrounded by a world of music. He described his taste in music as “eclectic” and said he was raised on anything from Motown to Bruce Springsteen.
“I’ve been in music ever since I can remember,” Startt said. “I had always drawn feelings from it and connected with it emotionally, even before I knew what that meant.”
The musician said he enjoys pulling inspiration from a range of classic rock songwriters including James Taylor, Bruce Hornsby and Fleetwood Mac. Startt said that he remembers riding in the passenger seat of his dad’s 1985 Honda Accord listening to these artists who would later greatly influence his original music.
“I try to draw inspiration from everywhere,” Startt said. “Music is such a wide spectrum and each part of it should be appreciated.”
Startt began his adult music career when he spent seven years in a band that focused on wedding and corporate gigs. Now, he can be found playing cover gigs at local restaurants and breweries around Kennesaw, Woodstock, Canton and more.
Over the past year, Startt was able to get back into the flow of recording and producing music. He released a few singles and a full album titled “Delusion Days,” between 2014 and 2016, but then took a break to find himself and his music.
“I needed to go through another season of writing and life to produce something that I was happy to write and that others would want to listen to,” Startt said.
In March of this year, Startt jumped back into the game and released a single titled “All On Me.” Startt said that the song came from a fierce feeling of regret and the weight of responsibility that he felt after ending a relationship with a girl that lived near Piedmont Park in Atlanta.
“I play a lot of songs in my own home that only me and my cat hear so it was nice to finally put something out that I wanted others to hear,” Startt said.
Throughout 2019, Startt plans to continue playing local gigs and release a new single on all streaming platforms each quarter. While “All On Me” has a melancholy sound to it, Startt said that his new single that came out in June will be much happier and more upbeat.
For more information about Startt, visit trevorstartt.com or find him on Instagram @trevorstarttmusic. Startt’s music is available wherever music is sold or streamed.
This article has been updated since its original publication.