Trey Lewis performs with guitarist Patrick Mullins during a show at Bar 31 in Birmingham.

It’s hard not to notice Trey Lewis when he walks into a room.  He’s likely to be the tallest person there, besides which, wearing a red and white plaid shirt and jeans, he looks every bit the up-and-coming young country singer. 

With one album to his credit, the Springville resident has performed at a number of Birmingham area venues, has submitted a video audition for the NBC singing competition The Voice, and is putting together a band for an expected southeastern tour this summer.

It’s a place Lewis is happy to be, considering what he went through to get there.  By age 17, he’d faced DUI and felony theft charges and was severely addicted to alcohol and drugs.  “I never knew any limits,” he recalled.  “I never could put it down.  I’m thankful to be alive and chasing my dreams by doing things people didn’t know I had the talent or ability for.”

Having sought help for his addictions at Bradford Health Services, Lewis now works there as a counselor, using his experiences to help others recover.  “I go to work, sit around and talk about recovery and the struggles I had early on.  I work with young kids who were doing things at 14 that I’d never even dreamed of at that age, and I was pretty crazy.  The drug problem today is nothing like it was when I was into it.”

Seeking help for his addictions is what led Lewis to music, which often takes him, ironically, to places that could tempt him to return to his past.

“Getting sober really prepared me for being out in the bars playing my music.  It doesn’t affect me like it used to.  I’m not tempted.  I had fun times when I was out there drinking, but there were more really, really bad times, and I’m past the delusion that things will be any different if I go back there.”

Lewis is as enthusiastic about his music as he is open about his past, explaining his process for writing songs, identifying his musical influences, and talking about his first album.

His debut album:  The self-titled 11-track album was released last summer.  It’s available on iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify.   He doesn’t expect to produce another full album for at least a couple of years.  “I may do a short EP, but right now I need to get out there on the road and build up the Trey Lewis brand.”

The Trey Lewis sound:  Its description was coined by Birmingham musician Rick Carter, a founding member of the successful band Rollin’ in the Hay.  “He’s been helping me a lot,” Lewis said, “and one day we were talking, and he said, ‘I’ve finally figured it out.  You’re a country soul singer.’”

A highlight of his career so far:  Opening for The Henningsens during a show at Rogue Tavern.  The country trio records with Arista Nashville, and its debut single, “American Beautiful,” peaked at seventh in the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles late in 2012.  “Getting to open for them was pretty cool.  It’s definitely one of my ‘heck, yeah’ moments.”

Trey on songwriting:  “The thing about songwriting – and this might sound cheesy – is that the song really writes you.  There have been some songs when I’ve gotten up in the morning, picked up the guitar, and the whole thing comes out in 30 minutes.  With others, it’s different.  ‘The Desert Loves the Rain’ took me six months to write.”

His favorite time to write:  “I like waking up, getting some coffee, and sitting down with a pen and pad to start writing.  I find it better to have a fresh mind, when I have no melodies in my head and when I’m not thinking about a cover song I’m trying to learn.”

Songwriting material:  “My songs come from my heart and soul.  I put everything I have into them.  I have a lot of songs about my struggles, what it was like then, and what it’s like now.  And there are so many stories yet to tell about that.  Maybe somebody can hear them and say, ‘That’s where I am, but this song gives me hope that I can get to where this guy is too.’”

His favorite songs:  “I love good lyrics, and I hate to admit it, but I love sad songs.”

Songwriting inspirations:  Lewis names Jon Prine, Jason Isbell, and Neil Thrasher, a Birmingham native and past ASCAP Songwriter of the Year. Thrasher’s songs have been recorded by such country performers as Kenny Chesney, Reba McEntire, Jason Aldean, and Rascal Flatts.

“He and my stepdad were friends, then he went to Nashville to record, and now he’s got an ungodly amount of hits.  I sent him a copy of my first demo, and he told me, ‘Great job.  Keep it up.’  I thought it was really cool that he said that.”

His beginnings as a musician:  “I grew up around music, and I got a guitar for Christmas when I was 11 or 12.  When I realized that to play guitar you actually had to put work into it, I gave it up.  Then when I was in the halfway house, a lot of guys played guitar there, and I picked one up one day, played for while, and thought, ‘This is what I need to be doing.”  I saved up my money, and my grandfather split it down the middle with me to buy my first guitar.  I taught myself to play and hung around people who were better than me.  I guess the guitar was always there waiting for me to come back to it.”

How he describes himself:  “I’d say I’m an good, honest person.  I had good moral training that I just didn’t live up to when I was out there and things were really bad.  The biggest thing I lost out there was my dignity and self-respect.  Through sobriety, I’ve gotten that back.  I’ve come a long way, but I’ve still got a long way to go.”

How he’d like to be viewed:  “As a testimony to my old friends and old acquaintances.  They called me T-Bird back in the day, and I hope any of them who could still be struggling can look at me and say, ‘If Bird can get sober, anybody can.’”