Every song. Every story.
Same Imagination.
The official home for the original songs and stories of
Trent Curtis.
One name over all of it
State Road Nine is my creative world — I'm Trent Allan Curtis, a lyricist, author, and publisher based in Northeast Indiana. Everything here starts with words: songs and novels drawn from a lifetime of experiences, memories, and observations, written the way I've always told stories.
The songs come out under State Road Nine — a band name, not a band. It's built around my original songwriting. The lyrics and creative direction are entirely human; the composition and vocal performances are currently AI-produced, openly and without pretense. I'm musical, but I'm not a musician — I've always had ideas for songs and no way to play them. This is how I get them out. These are demos in spirit — songs waiting for real musicians to take them somewhere I can't.
The work is organized under a few names: State Road Nine Records releases the music, with songwriting credits registered through ASCAP under Trent Allan Curtis as writer and State Road Nine Music as publisher. State Road Nine Publishing is home to my novels and other written work, published as T.A. Curtis. And State Road Nine Merch brings it together with apparel and goods drawn from all of it — music, books, and beyond.
Where the songs come from
Every track starts as a line in a notebook — something overheard, something remembered. The writing is the part that matters; production is just getting it out of my head and into your ears.
Songs are written and published under State Road Nine Music and released through State Road Nine Records. New material goes out to every major streaming service as it’s finished.
What’s on streaming under the band name State Road Nine is a sampling, not the whole catalogue. Behind it sits a large body of unreleased songs — written, finished, and ready for an artist to record.
Written under T.A. Curtis
In progressWatching is not the word I would use. Tending, perhaps. From very far away, and with very little interference, and with a great deal of hope.
Novels and short work published under the State Road Nine Publishing imprint. The fiction is the front door, but it isn’t the whole house — the short work runs from straight literary fiction to business edutainment and professional development humor, didactic humor, and memoir.
Different rooms, same voice: something true underneath, told so it’s worth reading. Titles are listed here as they’re finished, with excerpts and release notes along the way. All of it is available for option or adaptation.
Use the work
Music, artwork, and written material from the catalog are available to license — film and television, advertising, podcasts, games, and print. The novels are available for option and adaptation.
Also open to artists who want to record their own version of a song, or collaborate on something new.
Email, call, or text me and tell me what you have in mind. I answer these personally.
Get in touch
Questions about the music, the books, licensing, or anything else — reach out anytime.