By Mya Kalita
As you open the door to Healer, a music venue near Beech Grove, the room is dim, with blue lights facing the stage. On stage, the band Papa Warfleigh’s Funk Revival plays a funky yet captivating melody. Professor Trevor Potts begins to sing. His voice echoes through the room as the audience dances along.
While performing, Potts moves all over the stage and into the audience in a way. He feels each note within him, bringing forth an energy that electrifies the air and connects every person in the audience to the raw emotion and passion of the music. One song features a circus melody that Potts sings along to. Potts brings a whirlwind energy to the stage and to the classroom.
On April 27, Potts organized and hosted the seventh annual “Night of the Comet” benefit event – part musical showcase, part celebration of art and community – which raises money for domestic violence nonprofit organizations in Indianapolis. To date, these shows, have raised over $15,000, with 100% of funds raised going directly to the following organizations: Julian Center, Coburn Place, and the Eskenazi Center for Hope.
This year’s bands included The Breakes, Gypsy Moonshine, 3 am Blues Band, Proper Dose, the debut of the hip-hop trio Merit, and Papa Warfleigh’s Funk Revival. This event also featured live art donated by local artists.
The Band
Music has been a big part of Potts’s life since high school. While he achieved a strong regional presence with his former band, Sugar Moon Rabbit, his core band for the past seven years is
Papa Warfleigh’s Funk Revival, also based in Indianapolis. The band members include Aaron McDonanld on drums, Kevin Boynton on bass, Cyrus Youngman on guitar and co-vocals, and Dave Vogt on bluegrass guitar. Other members of the band – often referred to as a shifting group of gypsy musical artists – include Mark Ortwine on saxophone, Megan Hopkins on co-vocals, Jason Stovall on guest bass, and Mackenzie “Mac” Barclay on flute and trumpet. Potts is usually on vocals sharing duties with Cyrus Youngman, and occasionally performs on drums and percussion as well.
The band started at Square Cat Vinyl, a vinyl store in Fountain Square, which sponsored an event in 2015 where established musicians from various backgrounds and genres put their names in a hat. When musicians’ names were pulled out, they were placed randomly into a band to rehearse and write original music for a 30-minute set to be held four weeks later. The only catch was that they had to use one randomly selected keyword or phrase. Potts’s band had to use “Richard Nixion” as their phrase.
Potts states, “Many of the bands created never even make it to the first show due to artistic differences. We were different; we struck gold, and it was musical and spiritual alchemy from the very start for us.”
“About 40% of our music is written in the moment, responding to and pushing forward the music in ways none of us had ever anticipated, including ourselves. I will always be indebted to my musical bandmates for this rare and blessed opportunity,” said Potts.
In The Classroom
Potts has been teaching at Indiana University Indianapolis for 23 years. He teaches courses in the Department of Communication, as well as in the Applied Theater, Film, and Television major. Each day, Potts brings high energy to the classroom. He gets this energy from teaching. Potts views teaching “as a chance to explore passions and learn from fellow scholars. Teaching is a community,” he says, and he refers to his students as scholars “because we are all in this together, learning together.” Additionally, Potts says, “I view scholars as those willing to step outside their comfort zone, to view society as text, and to take a chance to lead and create positive change.”
To him, teaching is a collaborative experience. Each day offers a new exploration of learning. Potts honors, respects, and carefully listens to each and every one of his students. “Life is short; let’s go where the learning is and make every possible moment focused on empowerment of ourselves and of those in our community,” he says.
Potts is a burst of energy in class. His fast-paced, chaotic classroom allows students to remain engaged. He always walks into class with his quirky smile, excited to teach. Potts claims that his students give him his energy, but from personal experience, I would add that a Mountain Dew also does the trick.
At the beginning of class, Potts offers something called a “Pause.” A pause is when one class member shares some topic of interest, which leads the class into a discussion. A pause allows the class to learn about new viewpoints or opinions on a certain topic.
In his Rythm and Revolution – Music and Social Change course, Potts has a teaching assistant, Jake Watson. Jake is a PhD student in Communication at IUI. Jake has been working alongside Potts in the Spring, 2024 semester. When asked, Watson shared how Potts is learning-focused, meaning he’s not focused on grading, hustling, collecting points, or checkboxes. He is inviting to others and is connected to the real world. Potts focuses on what resonates with the students. He engages with others through relevant insights, ideas, questions, or experiences. “Working with Trevor is, in a word, easy. I don’t mean in the sense that I didn’t do anything, but that he’s just easy to get along with as a human, friend, colleague, and mentor,” said Watson. “Trevor, also very specifically, has a way of ideating that few can match, meaning he can draw meaningful connections between seemingly disparate ideas in ways that facilitate and foster learning and growth for everyone.”
A student in his Rythm and Revolution class, Gaige Bennett, expands on Potts’s teaching.
Bennett states, “I love Trev’s class because you can tell he truly loves what he’s doing. When you see someone so passionate about something, it lights that same fire inside of you.”
Outside of Class
When not teaching, Potts can be found hiking, training dogs to catch frisbees in competitions, planting Letterboxes around the Indianapolis community, and playing in his various musical outfits. He is also a dad and husband, with two boys he refers to as “direwolves,” Jude, now 9, and Julian, now 7.
Potts shares, “My boys inspire me each and every day to see the world through fresh eyes, with joy, wonder, and possibility.”
Potts is also in charge of the Communication Network (TCN) and Public Relations Student Society (PRSSA) at IUI. He is a faculty advisor for TCN and PRSSA. He helps schedule meetings or events.
The Chair of IUI Department of Communication, Dr. Kristine Karnick, shared that Potts is good at reaching individuals and getting students to express their feelings. Karnick said, “Trevor is a man with boundless energy.”
Potts hosts many coffee networking events throughout the school year. Through PRSSA, he offers an event called First Wednesday. On the first Wednesday of each month, Potts brings in graduates to network with current IUPUI students. Potts said, “We have a powerful weapon in our hands in education. The question is how will we use it, individually and collaboratively, to make our community and the world a better and more just place.”