Portsmouth's pop artist Tremaine readies for show

Portsmouth’s pop artist Tremaine likes to keep it simple when it comes to his brand of electronic dance music.

His live show, however, is a different matter.

The 35-year-old singer, song- writer and instrumentalist released a nine-song, self-titled CD earlier this year, available on iTunes, and is looking forward to playing in local venues again after taking a break over the summer to work on his stage show. “The live show is something to see,” he said. “We have a pretty kicking light show. It’s a lot of fun.”

Tremaine, with guitarist Clevan and drummer Chidori Matsumoto, will perform Dec. 4 at Soul Haven Studios in Virginia Beach.

While many venues want bands that can play four-hour sets and perform covers that people can dance to, Tremaine likes to perform his originals. “I thrive on people singing and dancing to my songs,” he said. “So it’s kind of a chore for me to learn songs that other people have written.”

For the show, he plans on doing a few covers, but he’s keeping them a surprise.

“This show is important because it is the first show since we’ve added new material and added some stuff to our lights and video,” he said.

Tremaine Joel moved to Hampton Roads from Baltimore in 1997 and began his music career playing with an R&B group out of Regent University. 

After the group broke up, he started writing solo material and dropped his last name.  In 2001, he took his singer-songwriter status seriously and recorded out of a home studio that belonged to friend and club disc jockey Greg Again. He worked with recording artist Kenna, who since has been nominated for a Grammy. “That kind of helped inspire me,” Tremaine said. “He was doing similar music – electronic pop – at the time, and Greg thought we should meet.”

As a Baltimore teenager, Tremaine was a rapper who had grown up listening to contemporary Christian artists such as dc Talk  and Michael W. Smith. “It’s funny because I grew up in the church, and we weren’t allowed to listen to music that was 'un-church’ music, but I would sneak the radio and listen to Bobby Brown and other artists like him,” he said.

As he got older, he latched onto the sounds of Talking Heads and U2. And he had other musical interests. “Love Euro music, techno and house music,” he said.

Tremaine, who has penned more than 50 songs, typically writes about his worldview and the human condition.

“Everybody’s Screaming,” a track from his CD, talks about people having various views on topics from religion to politics.

“I’m more of a believer in that you can have your own opinion, but there’s got to be the truth somewhere,” he said. “And I think everyone is, at some point, searching for that truth.”