Hello everyone, it’s your host Oliver from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by Trail Hawk, the Frankfort, Kentucky-based artist behind the deeply personal single “Confused.” Working across country, Americana, folk, and rock-influenced sounds, Trail Hawk has built his music around honest storytelling and experiences drawn from real life. His latest release, “Confused,” arrives on October 1st, 2026, offering an intimate look at addiction from the perspective of the person who continues to love, remember and struggle with the consequences of it.
The song is particularly personal because it was written through the perspective of Trail Hawk’s wife, Crystal, with her providing the vocals. Recorded in Trail Hawk’s own studio in Frankfort, Kentucky, “Confused” explores the emotional uncertainty that can emerge when love, cherished memories, broken promises and the effects of addiction exist within the same relationship.
Before we begin our conversation with Trail Hawk, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
ABOUT TRAIL HAWK
Trail Hawk’s return to songwriting has been shaped by experiences that are both deeply personal and difficult to separate from the music itself. After more than three decades away from songwriting, he returned to creating music following the devastating loss of his son Robbie, who died in connection with addiction. His own history with alcoholism and recovery also became a central part of the stories he wanted to tell.
Trail Hawk describes the darkest period of his life as “The Place Called No Way Out,” a period marked by addiction, personal losses, legal problems and circumstances that left him with little hope. His eventual recovery, supported in part by his mother’s faith and prayers, became a turning point that changed how he viewed his life and his responsibility to others. After eight years of sobriety, he began using songwriting as a way to tell his story honestly and connect with people who may recognize elements of their own experiences in his music.
That return has produced a growing catalogue since Trail Hawk Music began releasing songs in December 2025. Across his releases, the project has accumulated more than 350,000 streams, while “The Place Called No Way Out” has surpassed 100,000 streams on Spotify. “One Hundred Angels” also made an impact on Hypeddit’s Gospel chart during its first week, adding another milestone to a musical chapter that began after a 30-year hiatus.
“Confused” brings another perspective into that story. Instead of presenting addiction exclusively through the eyes of the person experiencing it, the song considers what happens to the person standing beside them. Written through Trail Hawk’s wife’s perspective and performed through her voice, the song explores the complicated space between remembering the relationship that once existed and confronting what addiction has done to it.
That perspective comes from lived experience. Trail Hawk has spoken openly about how his addiction affected his wife and family, and “Confused” draws from the reality of having experienced the relationship from both sides. The song considers the memories, sacrifices, promises and emotional strain that can accumulate when addiction becomes part of family life. Rather than reducing the situation to a simple decision to stay or leave, it explores the uncertainty that can exist when love and pain continue to occupy the same space.
Having this brief introduction to today’s featured project, I’m sure both new listeners and longtime fans are interested in hearing directly from Trail Hawk about the experiences, creative decisions and personal history behind “Confused.” So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Oliver:
You stepped away from songwriting for more than three decades before returning to music after the loss of your son Robbie. Looking back at that long period away from writing, what was happening in your life during those years, and what was it about returning to music that made songwriting feel necessary again?
Trail Hawk:
My Life was a busy place 30 years ago. I had invested in my first Car dealership, Focused on raising three kids, putting them through school, and then seeing them go to college. Along the way, I got addicted to alcohol. It started with a couple of drinks, then after a few years it took over, along with an ATV accident where I hurt my back and shoulder, compounding the addiction with pain pills. During the Economic collapse of 2008, I ended up losing everything, including my 1st wife. I faced a wall of legal problems, and my addiction got worse. I lost it all and had little hope. After a few stints in jail and 3 rehabs, plus my mother’s belief in Jesus and her many Prayers. I found my way out of A Place Called No Way Out. After 8 years of total Sobriety and my feet firmly planted on firm ground, I realized that I had been pulled from the ashes by an Angel and how blessed I was. I felt I could only keep what I had by helping others. I pledge to live an honest life and tell my story honestly. By writing songs, I felt my lyrics and music could help a multitude of people or at least let them know they are not alone.
Oliver:
Your own experience with alcoholism and your eight years of sobriety have become an important part of the story behind your music. Without reducing your journey to the struggle itself, how has recovery changed the way you understand yourself, your family, and the people who continue to battle addiction?
Trail Hawk:
When I get up in the morning and look in the mirror. I like who I see. I know I’m human and make mistakes, and that’s ok. I’m honest, and life is honest. I’ve made amends, asked for forgiveness, and taken responsibility for my wrongs. I love my family and have reconnected. I’m all about helping or giving opportunities to people trying to make a change in their lives, and hopefully my example shows better than words my commitment. But I have to admit I guard my Sobriety and keep my distance from people still in the midst of addiction.
Oliver:
You have described addiction as “The Place Called No Way Out,” while also speaking about the grace and your mother’s prayers that helped you survive that period. How have those experiences shaped the values and perspective you now bring into your songwriting?
Trail Hawk:
I’m lucky and blessed to have gotten out of there. It’s like drowning underwater and when you’re at your last second of life, you find the top of the water and breathe in air. It’s life-changing, and you feel Thankful you made it but also feel guilty for the people that didn’t, so you want to help. I feel talking about my life experience through song is an honest expression of my experience that can either help or warn other people. Let them know it’s ok to be human. People can change for the better.
Oliver:
Your music is rooted in country, Americana, folk, and honest storytelling about real life. When you sit down to write about subjects as personal as addiction, loss, recovery, and family, what makes storytelling feel like the right way for you to process and communicate those experiences?
Trail Hawk:
I do my best to keep it real and honest. True to self and the environment that surrounded me in that moment in time. Simple and basic, but bringing a thousand images in one line. What we all relate to, or people we have all known. Honest struggles.
Oliver:
“Confused” approaches addiction from a particularly personal angle because the story is written through your wife’s eyes and performed through her voice. What did you learn about your own journey by stepping outside your perspective and allowing her experience to become the voice of the song?
Trail Hawk:
How hard it is for the other person living through it, Woman or Man. Addiction makes us so caught up in ourselves and what we need and want that we can’t possibly see the needs of the people around us. The disease is the focus for everyone. Whether we like it or not, it consumes us all like fire. It’s very selfish looking back.
Oliver:
The song captures the conflict between continuing to love someone, holding on to the good memories, and reaching a point where part of you wants to let go. How did you translate those competing emotions into the writing without making the story feel one-sided?
Trail Hawk:
Because I’ve been on both sides and can see both views. When you vow to love someone, no one wants to let go. It’s magical. The smiles, memories, closeness. But Addiction robs time, energy, and love, and starts filling that place in the heart with memories of fights, bad behavior, and broken promises, and the scales start tipping back and forth, and a person gets confused about what to do. Whether to stay or go, or if they’re both wasting their lives.
Oliver:
Because “Confused” deals with the effect addiction can have on the person struggling as well as the family members who remain beside them, what part of the story did you feel was most important to make honest and understandable for people who may have lived through something similar?
Trail Hawk:
Both sides, so people can realize the impact of addiction and the people around them. This song is not about judgment but about how a disease factually affects all parties, including the person with the disease. The pain is contagious.
Oliver:
The title “Confused” carries a lot of meaning in the context of loving someone through addiction. What does that word represent to you personally, and how does it capture the emotional conflict at the centre of the song?
Trail Hawk:
Confused is a defining word that can summarize numerous situations. It’s a lack of decision because of a torn balance and can add stress to an already broken heart. It turns stability in the life of both parties into indecision and lack of trust. Confusion makes the once sure unsure. It creates Chaos among the Chaos. Addiction is about lying to yourself about whether you have the disease or live your life around it.
Oliver:
You have said that the song comes from your own life and was written through your wife’s perspective. When you were writing those lyrics, were there particular memories, conversations, sacrifices, or moments from your relationship that helped shape the story?
Trail Hawk:
My wife Crystal and I had been dating for about a year when I got a job opportunity in another State. I had a severe drinking problem, but she believed in me and thought the change would sober me up and make me responsible. I moved Crystal and her kids to the new state, and we started a new life. We made great memories, celebrated holidays, and the kids were doing well. We were happy even though I continued to drink. My drinking got worse, and so did the arguments. I meant all the promises but couldn’t keep them. Addiction had gotten control of me, and I finally lost my job. My employer gave me chance after chance; he really went the extra mile. But I couldn’t keep it together. We lived this song.
Oliver:
Having your wife contribute her own vocals gives the song another personal dimension. What was it like hearing her sing words connected so closely to experiences that both of you lived through, and how did her voice influence the emotional direction of the recording?
Trail Hawk:
Hearing my wife’s voice in this song is bittersweet. It brought back wonderful memories, heartbreak moments, feelings of loss, feelings of gratitude, and blessings. A feeling of Pride that promises were finally kept and the reward of knowing we made it through it.
Oliver:
You recorded “Confused” in your own studio in Frankfort, Kentucky. How did working in your personal recording space affect the way you approached the song, particularly given how close the subject matter is to your own family experience?
Trail Hawk:
I love writing and recording in my own space. It keeps my lyrics simple and honest and allows me to do as many takes and retakes or rewrites as I want. I’ll listen to my work in the car, then go home and redo it again. Once I think it sounds and feels the way I want, I then search for an opinion.
Oliver:
When shaping the instrumental and vocal arrangement for a song this personal, what decisions did you make to ensure that the production supported the story rather than distracting from the words and the emotional tension between holding on and letting go?
Trail Hawk:
Delicate emotional words create a feeling in themselves. A slightly whining pedal steel, light acoustic guitar, and bass wrapped in a methodical rhythm filled with the right minor chords. The words tell the story; the melody is the vessel of emotion, and the music accents it. Like a beautiful painting that takes on different dimensions of emotion.
Oliver:
Your music has already connected with listeners through songs such as “The Place Called No Way Out” and “One Hundred Angels,” with the latter reaching approximately number seven on Hypeddit’s Top 100 Gospel Chart during its first week. What have those responses taught you about the kinds of personal stories listeners are looking for from your music?
Trail Hawk:
The Place Called No Way Out has now reached over 100k streams on Spotify. One Hundred Angels Peaked at #4 on Gospel, but I believe in my heart it is a Country song. I’ve written good songs with great stories, rockin ‘songs with great beats. You can touch the mood, bring back a feeling, or make a smile. But a Great song not only touches a heart through honesty; that honesty cuts deep into the soul. The real song is about a real human life that bears its soul.
Oliver:
You have now passed 350,000 streams across your releases, while “The Place Called No Way Out” has crossed 100,000 streams. After returning to songwriting following such a long break, how have those milestones changed the way you see this second chapter of your musical life?
Trail Hawk:
I had 2 releases the last week of December in 2025. The rest have been through this current one, Oct 1st, 2026, so about 9 months since we started this Journey. When I was writing in the late 80s through the 90s, I spent a lot of time on demos, getting the songs right. I used to write in chords and key signatures back then. Quarter note, Half note, eighth, BPM Metronomes. Then, hitting Music Row in Nashville, Pitching Publishers, AR people, Recording Studio owners, and if you were lucky enough to get a contract, you would wait six months to a few years to get a song cut by an Artist. Then, by the final product, it was rewritten and sounded diluted. Now, with all this new digital technology and studio-quality programs, it can be done in the privacy of my own home. I create the song the way I intended it to be, and it conveys the emotion and feeling I want it to. My story the way I wanted it to be told. I believe that people connect with the songwriter through their songs. My goal is to help make this world a better place one song at a time. I write and create songs now because I want to write that one song that makes a difference and is remembered long after I’m gone.
Oliver:
“Confused” addresses a subject that many people may find difficult to discuss openly. What do you hope someone living with addiction, or someone watching a loved one struggle with it, takes away from the song after hearing your story?
Trail Hawk:
If they are not talking about it, at least it makes people think about it. Maybe a wife or husband’s words spoken in passing will actually mean something after hearing this song. Also, that we are all human and we don’t have to feel that it’s a private burden we have to go through alone. We all have the potential for change. It’s not about making mistakes because we all make them. It’s about what we do after we realize them.
Oliver:
You have spoken about wanting your music to offer solidarity to families affected by substance abuse as well as hope to people still fighting their own battles. How important is it to you that your songs become a way for listeners to recognise that they are not alone?
Trail Hawk:
When People have things in common, they have lived experiences they relate to each other. Solution comes from the honesty of admitting there’s a problem and sharing it. Denial leads to lies and keeping it hidden, where everyone can still see it. Once people are triggered to be honest, it opens a dialogue for change.
Oliver:
Your return to music appears to have opened a very different chapter in your creative life, where personal experience has become the foundation for your songwriting. Has writing these songs changed the way you process difficult experiences yourself, and if so, what have you discovered through that process?
Trail Hawk:
I’m human, and that’s ok. I made mistakes, broke promises, did things I wasn’t proud of. Now I accept responsibility, have made and am making amends, went back and kept those promises. God saved and blessed me, and I’m still on this earth for a reason. So, I cherish each day and give back through songs.
Oliver:
With “La La Land” scheduled to follow “Confused” on November 3, 2026, you already have another release waiting beyond this song. What can you tell us about where that next release sits within the wider direction of Trail Hawk Music?
Trail Hawk:
La La Land is a funk country rock song that deals with the addiction and homelessness problem. But also points out the addiction to money and being so caught up in our own lives that we all live some form of La La Land. It doesn’t judge it just tells the story of the way things are. It relates to everyone. Great electric guitar and beat. Makes you think. Sorta of a late 60s and 70s sound made into a 2026 beat.
Oliver:
From surviving addiction and experiencing the loss of your son to returning to songwriting after more than 30 years and building an audience of hundreds of thousands of streams, what do you hope this new chapter of your life and music ultimately stands for?
Trail Hawk:
That my songs will someday touch an audience of millions and millions and help relate to what they are going through and provide hope. That I will one day write the one song that cuts deep to the soul and is listened to long after I’m gone.
“With ‘Confused,’ Trail Hawk turns a deeply personal chapter of his life into a conversation between love, memory, accountability and the difficult realities of addiction.”
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
“Confused” carries its weight through the relationship between its story and its restraint. The decision to place Crystal’s voice at the centre gives the song a perspective that extends beyond Trail Hawk’s own recovery, while the country and Americana foundation leaves room for the words to remain central. Hearing Trail Hawk explain the experiences behind the song adds another layer to its emotional meaning, particularly his understanding of how addiction affects an entire family. The result is a personal musical document shaped by reflection, responsibility and the desire to turn difficult experiences into something that can connect with others.
~ Oliver (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
Our conversation with Trail Hawk offers a candid look at the experiences that shaped “Confused,” from his return to songwriting after more than three decades to the personal history that ultimately gave the song its perspective. His decision to tell the story through his wife’s eyes adds another dimension to a subject that affects not only the individual facing addiction, but also the people who remain beside them.
Thank you to Trail Hawk for taking the time to share his experiences, creative process and perspective with DULAXI. “Confused” is now available from October 1st, 2026, and listeners can experience the story for themselves through the featured release.
We also encourage readers to continue following Trail Hawk’s musical journey as he moves into the next stage of his work, including the upcoming “La La Land,” scheduled for November 3rd, 2026.
Thank you for spending time with DULAXI and for joining Oliver for this conversation. We look forward to bringing you more conversations with artists, songwriters and creative voices from around the world.