Every week Dawson's Creek features the music of several artists. Lots of these artists are well known and how their music ended up on the show is not that interesting. Business managers make calls and everyone agrees they will benefit by having the song on. But some of the artists featured are not so well known and don't have a major label pushing their newest single.
One such artist is Trina Hamlin, a great singer-songwriter hailing from Minneapolis and now living in New York City. Trina's song "In My Life"(lyrics) was featured during To Be Or Not To Be... back in February. During a show that featured such corporate music heavyweights as Lisa Loeb, Natalie Imbruglia, and Goo Goo Dolls, "In My Life" is the song that captured people's attention and left them wanting to know more.
With a sound that ranges from grassroots and R&B to rock and roll and a musical background that includes childhood piano playing and professional training, Trina is prepared for success. Trina attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating with a degree in Professional Music, a self-created major that included some business, production, engineering, and music synthesis classes. She stayed in Boston for a year doing voice-over and backing vocal work because as Trina states, "I wasn't ready to step out front and do my own thing."
She then moved to New York City and joined the band Blue Leaves playing the New York City club circuit. This time allowed Trina to write her own material, find her voice and gain confidence.Soon, Trina landed a development deal with Island records that was intended to help hone her sound because the music she was performing could change depending on the production style. After some successful work things looked positive. But when the Universal/MCA merger swallowed Island the label's new president wanted something different from Island and no further deal was worked out with Trina.
One thing that did result from this trying process, that Trina describes as "little boys playing in a sandbox", was "In My Life". Trina plans on releasing the song herself in the fall (hopefully September 1st -- check back for details). The song made its way to Dawson's Creek through a friend of Trina's at KISS FM in Los Angeles. The friend thought the song would be great on the show and cold called Paul Stupin, an executive director on the show. Paul loved the song and knew exactly where it should go. The result was "In My Life" being played during an emotional scene in the sweeps month episode.
Not one to rest on her laurels, Trina has being performing extensively as a solo act and with The Girls trio. Presently, she is preparing to record an album with The Girls that should be released in February of next year. Also, she continues to work on her solo career with the knowledge that the endless waves that move one's life may soon give her that deserved push into stardom.
