\n<\/p>\n
If you or someone you know may have suicidal thoughts: <\/i>988 Lifelines of Suicide and Crisis<\/i> Dial 9-8-8 or <\/i>crisis text line<\/i> Send a text message to 741741 on HOME.<\/i>
\n<\/p>\n
Trevor Powers saw a doctor in October 2021 for mild abdominal pain. He was prescribed an over-the-counter drug and was told he would be fine in a few days. But it didn’t happen.\n<\/p>\n
“Insanity is a very understatement,” says Powers. “because [the medication] Powers said his stomach turned into a geyser of acid that misted up and covered his vocal cords. He said he had visited several specialists, but none had seen him. He eventually became unable to speak, let alone sing, much to his shock.\n<\/p>\n
Powers is a musician who goes by the name Youth Lagoon, and his latest album Heaven is a Junkyard chronicles this difficult time in his life. It was a season that made me appreciate my hometown of Boise, Idaho even more, but it also pushed me to the limit. He sometimes wondered if the distinctive, magical-sounding voice, his primary instrument, would return.\n<\/p>\n
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.<\/i>
\n<\/p>\n
Trevor Powers:<\/b> There have been situations where my brother came to town from Seattle to hang out and we went to the bookstore together or I had to text him while I was standing right next to him. Even when I was hanging out with my friends or playing with my wife, I would have a notepad and write something down. Some days were worse than others, but long enough that I had to rely more on writing than speaking.\n<\/p>\n
Rachel Martin: <\/b>Were you afraid of the long-term effects on your voice, or didn’t you let yourself go?\n<\/p>\n
authority: <\/b>No, I definitely let you go there. I’m so scared. I spent months feeling like every day was a small death. I had to accept that this was out of my control. My brain kept wondering what if. What if I can’t speak again? What happens if you get laryngeal cancer? you name it That’s how my brain works. It was a very deep, dark tunnel, the darkest I have ever been in. But after about 4-5 months, I really reached the breaking point of healing and could do nothing but accept. And it was new to me, that acceptance. When that happened, I started to reach a point where it felt very spiritual.\n<\/p>\n \/ Tyler T. Williams<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Tyler T. Williams<\/p>\n<\/div> Martin:<\/b> References to God are heard throughout the album. A spiritual opening in your life, what shape did it take for you?\n<\/p>\n authority:<\/b> I grew up in a very religious household and Idaho is generally a very religious place so I was always surrounded by thoughts of God and always said I believed in God. I was using certain terms and I had no idea what they meant because I had no experience shaping what the words meant to me. And certain spiritual words carry so much weight that even the word God can be unbelievable for many because of the trauma they may have experienced in church as children. It is a word with weight. I haven’t set foot in a church in probably 15 years.\n<\/p>\n But I always felt there was something there. It’s a bigger mystery, blown by the wind during a walk or seen in the trees. And this experience with my voice has taught me something. I thought God was watching people suffer, but this turned out to be God actually suffering with you. It was a turning point in my life and the whole album revolves around it. Also, having grown up in a place like Idaho, there’s a lot of lyrical content.\n<\/p>\n Martin:<\/b> I am a 6th generation Idaho.\n<\/p>\n authority:<\/b> Oh that’s amazing.\n<\/p>\n Martin:<\/b> I still have family there, so it’s still home to me.\n<\/p>\n authority:<\/b> Like many people, when you’re young you can’t wait to get out. So when I turned 18, I decided to leave. I am moving to another country, or at least moving to another state. And then what happened was, I started doing music and when it started to take off, I could start touring. When I moved back to Idaho after being away from home for an extended period of time, my perspective changed. The definition of home has changed.\n<\/p>\n Martin:<\/b> Why? How did it feel different?\n<\/p>\n authority:<\/b> It felt sacred. Because everything in my life started to feel so chaotic. That comfort was no longer like a spider web you couldn’t get out of. I felt like I could leave and come back again. Idaho is absolutely gorgeous, an amazing place and full of beautiful people. It’s an endless source of inspiration for songwriting. However, I still have a very complicated relationship with this issue. Because sometimes people here have a hard time allowing others to be themselves. And it really hits the heart.\n<\/p>\n \n