Jimi Jaxon Has The Skinny On Plans For A Project And The Kickstarter To Fund It

Trevor Walker, aka DJ and producer JIMI JAXON.

I first met Trevor Walker, aka DJ Jimi Jaxon, while I was out at a local bar one night. It was not quite a year ago. He was the DJ and I gradually started to pay more attention to him as his set progressed. I ended up introducing myself and struck up a casual acquaintance. I have always been struck by the thoughtfulness, honesty, and passion in all of his communications and social media postings. We managed to have a quick conversation the other day and I was informed that he was approaching an interesting time in his career as an artist. I wanted to sit down and chat with him about the experience. I am really touched by Trevor’s story and wanted to share it with as many artists as possible.

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MisterChanel: Where did the name Jimi Jaxon come from?

Jimi Jaxon/Trevor Walker: Hey! Thanks for having me!Well, my original name when I first got started was DJ Trev. That led to DJ Phantom, and as I started getting into producing I wanted to drop the DJ title. I also noticed there were soooo many DJ Phantom’s on myspace. One of my past friends eventually called me up and said “I have this name for you!” He told me the name and the spelling and I asked him where that came from. He said I reminded him of Jimi Hendrix and Michael Jackson, so he combined the names, switched the spelling around a bit and here I am!

MC: Give me some background about yourself. I’ve noticed you around lately. How long have you been doing this?

JJ/TW: Yes, you’ll see me pounding the pavement around Capitol Hill usually every week putting up posters. I become obsessed with electronic music in summer 2007 after seeing Daft Punk’s Alive 2007 show in Seattle. Had my first CDJ’s early that next year. While learning about mixing over the years since, I’ve done a lot of internships in Seattle. Some people may have seen me helping out at The Vera Project, NW Folklife, USC Events, Decibel Festival and most recently, Kremwerk. So yeah little over 6 years DJ’ing, 5 or so years producing and running my blog Disco Droppings. I’ve been running my label 7 Deadly Records for several years as well.

MC: Now that we have a little story on you, what are the next steps you would like to take in your career?

JJ/TW: My Kickstarter is really, the culmination of everything I’ve done musically since seeing Daft Punk. It feels like the next step. My passions and influences have always pushed me to evolve and not settle. Right now, I want to take these platforms I’m in charge of and make them bigger. Not just by reaching more people, but by expanding their identity. Disco Droppings is about to start a mix series, featuring artists I’ve interviewed and supported on the site. All my interviews on the site so far have been type based, but I will move more into video interviews in the near future. Filming for my Kickstarter has helped me feel more comfortable in front of a video camera, and it’d be fun to talk with my artist friends at shows, and follow them around a bit for a look into their lives. I’m also planning the 7th release for my label, due out this summer from local producer and my close friend, Max Taylor.

With all the behind the scenes work I still do, it’s always in my mind to step up more as an artist myself. It’s a fight within myself and outside to come out of the shadows. But I feel prepared to keep pushing and make my presence known.

MC:  So there is a Kickstarter for this new stage. What are your hopes? Any experiences about the process that you would like to share?

JJ/TW: My hopes are that people will get a better understanding of who I am as a person and artist, and through that they will connect with this dream and join me on this path. I’ve gotten encouraging responses from many people about the video myself and Philip Michael Engle put together. The process getting this Kickstarter started last November up until the launch at the beginning of May. I didn’t realize how vulnerable this whole thing would be, packaging everything I’ve done over all these years, sharing things that don’t get talked about very much. It’s challenging to be out in the open with something that’s so personal to you, but I’m so happy I did it. I already feel like I’ve grown a lot, and know that I’ve already won by trying.

One thing I learned, and you’ll see in the video..is that lighting a smoke flare is not easy. 🙂

MC: Now you have stated some lofty goals; what happens if you make it or if you don’t?

JJ/TW: Yes, they are big goals. Never gone this big before! If I make my pledge goal by June 5th, I will embark on this tour with Philip, starting that month. I’ll be playing at Pride Festival for the first time on June 27th (The Eagle, Dickslap w/ Nark and Cakes da Killa), then head to Melbourne, Australia. There I’ll join my friends and fellow artists Arctic and Mirror State who live down there to play a show and produce some music together. Next, I’ll travel to Vancouver, B.C. to play with producer buddy Hxdb. I’ll also be playing a show in Portland, Oregon. The tour will end with a 7 Deadly Records release party at Kremwerk in August!

If I don’t make the pledge goal I would be a bit bummed of course, but it wouldn’t stop me from continuing. I would have to cut out the Australia date and probably the Vancouver one as well. The Seattle shows (and most likely Portland) would still happen along with the release party. However, I’m not ready to give up on this Kickstarter dream. It feels like my time.

MC: The exciting part! What would you like to share about yourself as an artist?

JJ/TW: I feel like the perception of me as an artist in Seattle has been kinda serious. Some people have said I’m intimidating, which is funny to me. My influences, and my introverted Cancer personality does have my in my head a lot, and I do take the music very seriously. At the same time, I can talk about Pokemon just as much as Machinedrum and have a very playful and positive attitude. I am fun, haha.

Gotta say, thanks to everyone that’s been supporting me and coming out to these shows over the years. I feel the love!

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I hope you enjoyed the sit down with Trevor as much as I did. He has a few days left on his Kickstarter, and I wish him the best on his tour. I would also like to thank Seattle Gay Scene for providing me the outlet to support Trevor and other emerging artists. If you would like to help support Trevor, this is the link to his fundraiser.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimijaxon/mini-tour-for-disco-droppings-and-7-deadly-records

MisterChanel