
Chandler
Travis has had
a
long and checkered career in the world of show biz, beginning in in
the seventies when he and Steve Shook joined up as Travis Shook
and the Club Wow. Besides achieving much popularity on the east
coast, the duo brought their peculiar blend of comedy and music all
over the U.S. and to the nationwide television audience on such
programs as the Tonight Show, the Midnight Special, and Dick Cavett.
Along the way, they released an album and appeared on stage with
everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Bruce Springsteen to especially good
pals NRBQ and George Carlin (with whom they toured for many years) to
Elvis Costello to-- well, you get the idea.
In
1980, Travis was a founding member of the Incredible Casuals,
who released four albums (not counting 2007's “Best Of”
collection, “World Championship Songs”), toured consistantly all
over the world, and are still at it, much to the delight of a small
but rabid international following.
In
1988, Chandler began moonlighting as a solo performer, presenting the
unlikely mixture of oddball humor and incisive songwriting that
continue to be his trademark and appearing with such diverse acts as
10,000 Maniacs, Mose Allison, Roger McGuinn, and (deja vu perhaps?)
George Carlin. Upon the arrival of the critically lauded
“writer-songsinger” CD, the solo career kicked into high
gear with two successful west coast tours and a European jaunt in
1993.
Late
in 1996 (much to his own surprise and delight), Travis found himself
fronting a nine-piece band, the modestly monikered Chandler Travis
Philharmonic -probably the world’s only alternative dixieland /
omnipop band. Their debut CD, “Let’s Have a Pancake”,
was released in 2000 after his second solo effort, 1999’s “Ivan
in Paris”; three more “official” Philharmonic albums
followed, all on the Sonic Trout label, the most recent being 2007's
48 track opus “Tarnation and Alastair Sim”, along with the 22
other full-length CDs in the improbable and ground-breaking
RadioBall series. A new Philharmonic studio effort is expected
this winter, following hard on the heels of Chandler's first solo
release in a decade, “After She Left”, which arrives this summer;
meanwhile, additional new songs, videos, and recordings can be found
on a regular basis at chandlertravis.com.
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