Music and Men; Trent Hancock joins Ryan Cabrera at the Key Club

Hollywood's Sunset Strip is sprinkled with venues heading towards the horizon hitting everything from the House of Blues to the Key Club, which is where I found myself on a Tuesday night. Ryan Cabrera, the guy with huge hair and catchy hooks who dated Ashlee Simpson, played his birthday show on July 27th and had a handful of men on call to get the crowd pumped before he took the stage; Mikey James, Azura, Alex Alarcon and Southern California native, Trent Hancock. Trent was taking a day off from touring with Ernie Halter and Tony Lucca to open for Ryan at his birthday bash.

Trent Hancock is a man with a song on the tip of his fingers ready to pluck at guitar strings at any moments notice. Once part of the San Diego duo, Ghostbird, Trent's now flying solo. After about a year of adventures; moving to New York and a trip to Australia, he´s focused any and all experiences into his rightfully titled, Ghostbird EP.

Being only an afternoon drive (in LA that translates to about two hours) from his hometown, Trent was able to pull an impressive crowd. Friends, family and fans he made in his days as part of Ghostbird were the most rowdy of the night. They never failed to crank up the energy every time Trent's name was mentioned by one of the other acts.

Taking the stage like a young James Dean, the leather jacket and confidence worn by Trent had the crowd smitten from the start. Opening with the upbeat track "Me & You," the crowd was feeling it. The first line, "There´s broken bottles on the pavement," could've been the soundtrack for the Strip. With friends and family scattered about, one face was missing. Trent's, newlywed and father to be, brother was MIA but has probably heard by now that he got a special shout out with "Sunflower." That moment was well received by the audience with a unison, "Aww..."

Flying solo but backed by a band of immense talent from a mean violin player to cellist who looked like he walked straight out of Metallica. The wide array of styles in the band added an eclectic view to the live experience. However, with all live experiences you´re bound to run into some turbulence. After "Strong Hands," things took a mini detour south. Technical issues are never anything artists want. The band appeared to stay calm while things got resolved. Never loosing his cool, Trent smiled on and stepped out of the comfort of his guitar to do a full on duet.

Ending with a take on democracy, Trent took to the people to decide what the last song would be. Title track "Ghostbird" took on lead track "Falling Faster." "Ghostbird" took the crown. However, either would've been a novel choice. With his EP, Ghostbird on sale downstairs, it was perfection to play that song and get the name ingrained in the audience´s minds. It was strong set with a little mishap in the middle, but Trent managed to further prove he's a singer/songwriter with a mission to make a lasting musical impression.

In true Hollywood fashion Ryan Cabrera's birthday brought out some familiar faces; Glee's bad boy, Mark Salling and 90's icon, Dennis Haskins more commonly known as Mr. Belding from Saved By The Bell. But silver screen stars aside, it was a night of men and music. In other words, a good night on the Strip, and that's all you can ask for on a Tuesday night in Hollywood.

You can get Trent Hancock's EP Ghostbird available now on iTunes and through his site, or you can visit his site and see when he'll be in a town near you with Ernie Halter and Tony Lucca. Live music's worth the gas money, right? Yes, yes it is.