Rock Singer/Songwriter Travis Marsh is making a big splash into the music industry with his melodic acoustic rock tunes, intoxicating vocals, and beautiful lyrics. When Travis sings, he has a way of capturing every note magically. Even more remarkable is the fact that he is very young with a ton of enormous talent that many artists take a lifetime to achieve. The end result is that his music comes out sounding like a pro. If you want to listen to music with passion, heart & soul, and diversity, then check out the magic known as Travis Marsh. Here is a glimpse of the Singer/Songwriter in this exclusive interview. Enjoy!
Isaac: We'd love to know about your inspirations growing up. I hear so many influences in your music. How old were you when you first discovered music?
Travis: I discovered music before infancy. My parents are huge fans of music and played me music such as
Pink Floyd, The Beatles and
Tom Petty before I was born. When I was growing up, I was always searching for new music. Which is sort of a paradox since the majority of the music I listened to was actually old music.
Isaac: Is there any kind of musical history in your family?
Travis: My mom played
clarinet in the junior high school band besides that I'm not really sure.
Isaac: What drew you to pick up an instrument in the first place?
Travis: Santa Claus gave me a guitar for Christmas when I was 11. :)
Isaac: As you hit your teenage years, did you know that this was what you would be doing for the rest of your life?
Travis: After playing guitar for a couple years, I knew for a fact this is what I had to do. There is no escaping it. I love it!
Travis Marsh
Tamara Muth-King Photography
Isaac: Is there a performer in any genre of pop culture that you would like to work with?
Travis: I would love to work with just about anyone that has an open mind and a relentless passion. One name that comes to mind right now is Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie).
Isaac: Who are some musicians that you really like, present or past?
Travis: I enjoy any kind of music regardless of its genre. From music back in the 20s with George and Ira Gershwin, the 30s with
Robert Johnson, and all kinds of music up until today with bands like
Wilco and Death Cab For Cutie. I love different kinds of music to call on for different moments in time. I may put on some punk music like
Black Flag to pump me up or something more mellow like Leonard Cohen to calm me down.
Isaac: What is your ultimate goal with your music career?
Travis: For the general public to be able to use my music for dealing with all the stuff life throws at you; Good times and bad.
Isaac: What has been some of the obstacles it has taken to get this far in your career?
Travis: There definitely has been a plethora of obstacles for me to overcome. Everything ranging from trying to get people to shows to just trying to balance out my life. There is sometimes no social life when you are committed to music. I believe any passion taken seriously I believe has the same, if not extremely similar, obstacles on some sort of level or whatnot.
Travis Marsh
Tamara Muth-King Photography
Isaac: Would you recommend this "field" to others who are aspiring to be musicians like you?
Travis: I would recommend this "field" to anyone who truly is happy playing music. If you love to produce tracks, be a producer, and if you love to write songs, be a songwriter or any combination of the many "fields" within the "field"; make sure when you go to sleep at night-- it makes you happy. If you are happy at what you are doing you can't go wrong; no matter how tough things get, at least you know you are following your dreams.
Isaac: Describe one piece of advice you've have been given to by others in the music industry.
Travis: The best advice I have gotten about writing is...Just write (kinda like the NIKE commercial "Just Do It"). I feel like everyone is born with an infinite amount of "somethings" inside of them and they all express them in different ways. People can golf out their "somethings" or even cry out their "somethings" but sooner or later you have to let the "somethings" out. Being a songwriter I let those "somethings" out in the form of song. So this all ties back to my best advice I have ever gotten-Just write. If you don't just let out your songs, there will never be any songs. To finally release those songs, it is the most rewarding experience I have ever known.
Isaac: What genre of music do you consider most of your music?
Travis: Definitely in a most vague sense I would say rock. If you wanted to be more specific, I could say acoustic/alternative/rock. My music is not straightforward rock. For the most part, it is acoustic singer/songwriter based. But, I also do duets with my sister Amanda Marsh. She is country rock and we meet somewhere in the middle, Check out her music:
www.myspace.com/amandamarshmusic.
Isaac: What has been your favorite piece of work?
Travis: That is such a hard question because you can ask me that question everyday this week and I will probably give you a different answer every time. It all depends on my mood. Usually whatever is the most recent song I just finished writing or recording I would say. That probably has to do with all my excitement at the initial stage of every song.
Isaac: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Travis: There is a free download as well as a 6 song EP that can be purchased off my website,
www.atmmusicgroup.com. The EP is also available on iTunes,
www.Cdbaby.com etc... If someone wanted to just listen to my music, there are a couple songs that can be heard on my website (or for a larger list of songs to browse, one can visit me at
www.myspace.com/travismarsh1. Please check it out!
Isaac: Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
Travis: Definitely my family first and foremost and all of the wonderful producers, teachers and mentors along the way that have helped me grow. That would include Doc Little, Bruce Kulick, Jeremy Rubolino, Andrew Lane, Tim David Kelly, Chris Cutler, Jim Swartz, Laurie Allen and soooo many others I could never mention them all. But they all know who they are and I hope they accept my gratitude.
Isaac: Any last words?
Travis: Stay true to yourself no matter how many people put you down. Trust me, there is going to be someone, somewhere who is thriving on putting you down and you just have to accept that as a part of life. Move on and remember that success is the best revenge. :)