Apr 5, 2017
We have reached the quarter century mark, in terms of
full-length podcasts. And I'm happy to reach that milestone
speaking with musician Chandler Travis. You may have read <a
href="http://nickzaino.com/departmentoftangents/2017/02/13/new-release-roundup-mortal-comedy-from-joe-derosa-chandler-traviss-strange-pop-beach-slangs-energetic-nostalgia/"
target="_blank">my review of the Chandler Travis Philharmonic's
latest<em> Waving Kissyhead vol. 2 & 1</em> when it was
released in February</a>, and you may also have <a
href="http://nickzaino.com/departmentoftangents/2017/02/15/dot-podcast-ep-20-comedian-nick-vatterott-on-being-strange-new-music-from-the-chandler-travis-philharmonic/"
target="_blank">heard "The Strongman of North America," one of
my favorite tunes from that album on EP20 with Nick
Vatterott</a> a few weeks ago. In which case, you know that
Travis is a wonderfully offbeat songwriter who defies genre
descriptions. He prefers "Omnipop" or "Alternative Dixieland" if
you have to use a label, but he doesn't much care for them.
Travis has more than forty years worth of material to draw from. He
started as a musician in the 70s with a duo called Travis Shook and
the Club Wow and wound up opening for George Carlin on the road.
Still, as he told me in this interview at the Midway Cafe in
Jamaica Plain, he likes to keep things fresh. I talked to him after
a fairly long gig that started in the afternoon on a Sunday and
ended later that evening. Travis estimates he played just under
three hours of music, and that includes more of the new album, plus
a bizarre tribute to the Christian children's show puppet <a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kA1jmnPZgk"
target="_blank">Little Marcy</a>, for which vocalist Fred
Boak donned a giant baby mask and cartoon gloves. You can see that
in the gallery below.
If you get the chance to see Travis in any of his bands, do it.
It's a wonderful experience. You can <a
href="http://www.chandlertravis.com" target="_blank">find his
tour dates and news and such on his Web site</a>.
After the interview, listen to a track from comedian <a
href="http://www.jackiekashian.com/" target="_blank">Jackie
Kashian</a>'s new album, <em>I Am Not the Hero of This
Story</em>. If you don't know her comedy, you should check
out this album and her podcasts, <a
href="http://tdf.jackiekashian.com/"
target="_blank"><em>The Dork Forest</em></a>
and <a
href="http://nerdist.com/podcasts/the-jackie-and-laurie-show/"
target="_blank"><em>The Jackie and Laurie
Show</em></a>. At the very beginning of the album,
Kashian notes she had a different forty-five minutes of material
planned for the taping, but wound up changing it after the
election. "I don't do political material," she says, "but I do now,
I guess, 'cuz I'm human." On this track, she talks about her
reaction to the presidential election and how she worked through it
with her friends.