Chandler Travis

Peter Chandler Travis (born March 15, 1950) is an American musician, songwriter, producer and owner of Iddy Biddy record label. Travis plays many unique styles of music sometimes labeled as an "alternative Dixieland," though it is difficult to classify into genres. His career began with the comedic songwriting duo started with Steve Shook, Travis Shook and the Club Wow, which worked closely with top comedians of the time like George Carlin and Martin Mull. He has toured across America, Europe and Japan, and has developed a Japanese fan-base leading to several of Travis' albums being released on Japanese labels. Travis has written articles and reviews for New England publications as himself and under the byline Thurston Kelp. Travis was influenced by jazz music from a young age; Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Ray Charles were among his favorite musicians, and he began playing guitar at the age of 13. He played his first show at a coffee house at age 15, and had his first paying gig at age 16.

Travis has been a Cape Cod resident since the early 1970s. and the Catbirds.

Travis, Shook and the Club Wow Travis moved to Boston to attend Boston University. There he became friends with Steve Shook and the two formed the acoustic-comedy group Travis, Shook and the Club Wow, in 1969. and the E Street Band. The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, In 1972 the group released their only contemporaneous full-length album, The Essential Travis, Shook and the Club Wow, along with several other musicians including members of NRBQ. Tom Staley, the drummer from NRBQ, joined them on tour for a period of time, as did Rikki Bates (also performed as Vince Valium, formerly known as Rich Bates) who has been a frequent drummer in Travis' collaborations ever since. they were booked as the opening act for Dave Van Ronk for a three-day set at a coffee house in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, called The Main Point.

Carlin appeared on several tracks released by the Chandler Travis Philharmonic, such as "Tarnation", a track made from a blethering voicemail Carlin left Travis spoken in alien-mimicking phrases. They continued working together until Carlin's death in 2008. Travis wrote and recorded the theme songs for The George Carlin Show, and Carlin's TV pilot, Apt. 2c, and wrote two additional songs for the show performed by Brian Doyle-Murray.

The Incredible Casuals Travis and Shook met with drummer Rikki (Rich) Bates in 1978 and began working on a new, more serious band focused on pop-rock. Originally with Eric Rosenfeld on the guitar they went by the name The Susan Anton People; they were joined by Johnny Spampinato a couple of years later and became The Incredible Casuals. Shook then left the group and was later replaced by Aaron Spade. The Casuals played at a club called the Wellfleet Beachcomber in Wellfleet for 35 years every Sunday during summer months. Spampinato joined NRBQ in 1994; however, the Casuals continued to play part-time while their members focused on other projects for over 20 years until 2014.

Over the years, The Casuals were joined on stage by guest singers, including their soundman, Chris Blood, who had a recurring feature as "The White Prince," performing unusually inept covers of classic songs, with the Casuals credited as the Brain Bats of Venus, The Lizard Lounge resident band position was next filled by Session Americana.

Travis has created two smaller versions of the Philharmonic: the Chandler Travis Three-O, and the Chandler Travis Philharmonette; each group mostly plays different material with unique styles. The Philharmonic in particular is a high-energy, theatrical group, often engaging with the audience in quirky ways during their performances like the way they present their tip jar; it is taped to a Roomba robot vacuum and roams the audience randomly and was dubbed the Honey Bunny 6000 by its inventor, trumpetist Kami Lyle.

The Philharmonic usually consists of nine members, currently, Chandler Travis (guitar/vocals), Alex Brander (drums), John Clark (upright bass), Fred Boak (vocals), Cliff Spencer (keyboards), Dinty Child (mandocello/mandolin/accordion/cello), and their three-piece horn section known as The June Trailer Dancers; Berke McKelvey (clarinets/saxophones/keys), Kami Lyle (trumpet), and Bob Pilkington (trombone).

Fred Boak (also known as "The Valet") was a longtime fan of the group before joining them. After befriending the group he began selling their merchandise at shows and managing Travis' website. The scaled-down group is: Chandler Travis (guitar/vocals), Fred Boak (vocals), John Clark (upright bass), Berke McKelvey (saxes/clarinets/keyboards), and sometimes Kami Lyle (trumpet, vocals).

The Catbirds The Catbirds are a simple guitar/bass/drums quartet, play rootsier, louder rock, a bit closer to the Casuals in style than any of Travis's other current groups. They've released a couple of EPs and 2012's full-length "Catbirds Say Yeah". The Catbirds' current lineup is: Travis (bass/vocals), Steve Wood (guitar/vocals), Mark Usher (guitarist) and Sam Wood (drums).

Discography Travis Shook and the Club Wow

The Incredible Casuals Bocce and Bourbon: The Comforting Songs of ChandlerTravis and David Greenberger was co-written with David Greenberger.

Other works Travis played on Jonathan Edwards albums; maraca on Honky-Tonk Stardust Cowboy (1972), and marimba on Rhino Hi-five (2006). Travis is credited on Martin Mull's albums; with backing vocals, harmonica, percussion and auxiliary in Martin Mull (1972), and with vocals on Mulling it Over: A Musical Oeuvre View (1998). Travis wrote and recorded the theme song for The George Carlin Show, and Carlin's TV pilot, Apt. 2c. The Incredible Casuals song "Summertime" was used in the film Touching the Game: The Story of the Cape Cod Baseball League (2004). Travis, Tom Ardolino, Johnny Spampinato, Aaron Spade & Rikki Bates are credited on P.J. O'Connell's album Careful (2007). Five songs by The Incredible Casuals were used in the film Paper Man (2009): "This World", "Summer Nights" and "No Fun at Parties", "I Wanna Play Loud" and "Gotta Have You." Travis wrote the score for the musical Boyce & Melinda Peterson’s Investment Strategies for the Post-Money World! (premiered 2009) Travis and Johnny Spampinato wrote original songs included on a soundtrack for The Simpsons. Travis played bass in Zoë Lewis & the Souvenirs. Travis is featured in the Mewgenics soundtrack song "Chumbucket Kitty", as well as the game's main theme song.