Twenty-two-­year-­old singer/songwriter Trevor Sensor never had a eureka moment regarding music. “I just grew up being obsessed with everything from music to literature to movies—I've always just been one of those people fascinated by creations and being a creator myself.” This fascination with creating has brought us Texas Girls and Jesus Christ. On Sensor’s debut EP for Jagjaguwar, you hear the distinctively fine grit of his voice carried by his enduringly solid melodies. There’s no irony, no lackadaisical wit—and it’s a set far more sincere and mature than you’d expect of a millennial.

That’s exactly what Sensor is going for in his music; in fact, ask him to describe his music to people who haven't heard it before and he’ll say, ”I view everything I do as ugly.” Currently on tour, Sensor, an English major, tells Myspace about his literary favorites, his musical heroes and who owns that borrowed guitar.

Hometown: Sterling, IL

Homebase: The road/whatever cheap hotel or friend's place I'm staying at.

Talk about your EP, Texas Girls and Jesus Christ. What inspired it?

The EP name comes from the title of the first track. I don't know where the name came from, or any of the ideas that pop in my head. They just appear and I go off whether or not I feel they work.

Who are your musical heroes?

Tom Waits is a huge inspiration for me because of how original he is. From his ballad days in the '70s to his more surrealistic shifts from the '80s, Waits has always been himself and challenges his audience to stick with him on whatever avenue he's roaming down next—all the while cracking that wicked grin of his. Understanding who you are and expressing that truly is really important to me.

What's your songwriting process like?

I get an idea, an idea that's inspired by any old thing, then I put it to song in about an hour or so—record it, then throw it in the pile with all the others that were written in just about the same way.

Had you seen a lot of the US before your tour? Where are you excited to go?

I haven't seen a lot of my country—mainly hung around the Midwest, waiting my youth away there. I'm making a stop in Maine while on break from tour that I'm excited for. And honestly I'm more excited for the drives in between out in the open country than the places I'll actually be playing at. The city is a horrific and magical place, but I prefer the country—the peace and stability of it. Someday I wish to hide up on a mountain like Salinger or Nietzsche, or even Kerouac during his time up in the Northwest, and be done with all this worldly business.

Does being from Illinois influence your songwriting style?

Anything that's been involved in making up my life inspires my music, so naturally a place I grew up wold be heavily involved in that. Illinois has a constant tension of hope and despair going on within it—I don't know why. But there's a lot of shadows of the past there in the form of old buildings and cracked faces that tell me that the state was once something really great but has since fallen into the trash bin for a variety of reasons.

You're an English major. Who are your favorite storytellers that you've studied?

Jack Kerouac seems to be the guy I always fall back to in times of mental instability—but Marcel Proust is probably the greatest writer of all time. In Search of Lost Time (Remembrance of Things Past) is the defining book of the human condition: our dealing with trying to keep the past alive and cope with the fact of our mortality and how time is always seeming to slip away from us. Good art focuses on those types of important facets in regards to our lives and the very nature of our existence.

Who owns the acoustic guitar you wrote all your songs in?

A very good friend who enjoys alcohol just about as much as I do.