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Back To Nowhere (2006)
Consisting of songs written over a 10 year period, but forming a strong cohesive statement of hope and renewal, Back To Nowhere marks the fourth solo studio album from singer/songwriter Travis Dow.
It was the final album released before a cross-country move (with fiance Katie Radebaugh) from Chicago to Portland. The album's title is both telling and ironic, since the move represented a return to nature and a simpler, slower way of life, and yet the new location is certainly a powerful and important "somwhere" in the lives of two people.
A few of the tracks also refer to another 2006 change, Dow's exit from The Katie Todd Band, in which he spent five years as lead guitarist and accompanying vocalist. Several tracks also detail the somewhat strange and circuitous 3-year courtship between Dow and Radebaugh, culminating in the engagement and move to the West Coast.
Ultimately, the album leaves the listener with a sense of a bright horizon glimpsed through still turbulent waters.
Features Nathan Swanson (Cameron McGill) on Violin and Viola.
It was the final album released before a cross-country move (with fiance Katie Radebaugh) from Chicago to Portland. The album's title is both telling and ironic, since the move represented a return to nature and a simpler, slower way of life, and yet the new location is certainly a powerful and important "somwhere" in the lives of two people.
A few of the tracks also refer to another 2006 change, Dow's exit from The Katie Todd Band, in which he spent five years as lead guitarist and accompanying vocalist. Several tracks also detail the somewhat strange and circuitous 3-year courtship between Dow and Radebaugh, culminating in the engagement and move to the West Coast.
Ultimately, the album leaves the listener with a sense of a bright horizon glimpsed through still turbulent waters.
Features Nathan Swanson (Cameron McGill) on Violin and Viola.
The Fate of Dreams, Vol. 1 (2006)
From Album Notes by Will Foreman:
"All of these songs are taken from a trilogy of autobiographical plays entitled The Fate of Dreams. Play One is The Death of the Author, Play Two—The Fall of God, and Three—The Rise of Icarus. Though each of these songs is autobiographical in nature, they are also visionary in origin, that is, they are intended not just as commentary on the times in which we live but as an expression of what is possible. For example, The Music of Life, which opens the first play, comes partly from my experience of looking at an artillery shell that landed nearby but failed to explode and partly from my belief that we truly need to imbue our spirits with the ‘sounds of the Earth’ if we are to survive as a species. The last song on Vol. I, If We Share a Vision, is also the last song in the third play, The Rise of Icarus, and is the first song sung by everyone in the legomena to the sacred rites of the Syntropic Mysteries, the initiation into a life of dedication to the creation of authentic democracies based on The Universal Model."
"All of these songs are taken from a trilogy of autobiographical plays entitled The Fate of Dreams. Play One is The Death of the Author, Play Two—The Fall of God, and Three—The Rise of Icarus. Though each of these songs is autobiographical in nature, they are also visionary in origin, that is, they are intended not just as commentary on the times in which we live but as an expression of what is possible. For example, The Music of Life, which opens the first play, comes partly from my experience of looking at an artillery shell that landed nearby but failed to explode and partly from my belief that we truly need to imbue our spirits with the ‘sounds of the Earth’ if we are to survive as a species. The last song on Vol. I, If We Share a Vision, is also the last song in the third play, The Rise of Icarus, and is the first song sung by everyone in the legomena to the sacred rites of the Syntropic Mysteries, the initiation into a life of dedication to the creation of authentic democracies based on The Universal Model."
Travis Dow Band (2006)
Originally formed as a side project for four busy Chicago musicians, the Travis Dow Band played only three live shows during its initial burst of activity. Consisting of Mark Cameron (Katie Todd Band, Cal Hollow) on drums, Tony Stompanato (Antje, Ripley Caine) on bass, Conor Loughridge (First Coat) on Wurlitzer, and Travis Dow (Cal Hollow, Katie Todd Band) on guitar and vocals, the band worked up an album’s worth of material in just a few short weeks. Loughridge left soon after to devote more time to his band, First Coat, and does not appear on the album.
Recording began in Spring of 2004 at Adam Newman’s Pragma Studios in Chicago. Seven songs were tracked, though only the drum tracks from these sessions appear on the finished album. With the band members busy with their other projects, the project was shelved for over a year, until Dow and Stompanato returned to Pragma in the Fall of 2005. In the interim, Dow had recorded vocals and Loughridge-inspired keyboards at his home studio, Jake’s Lair. Bass tracks and acoustic guitar were added at Pragma, and seven songs were complete. The remaining four songs (Almost, Check I.D., Rivers, and Maybe On Sunday) were recorded entirely at Jake’s Lair, and the album was mixed back at Pragma in early 2006. The album was mastered by legendary Chicago producer Blaise Barton (Liz Phair, Ike Reilly, Bob Dylan).
Consisting of songs written over a 14-year period (the Latin-flavored Check I.D. and folk-poppy Almost hail from 1992), the album allows these seasoned players the opportunity to stretch out into some new musical territory not provided by their other projects.
Recording began in Spring of 2004 at Adam Newman’s Pragma Studios in Chicago. Seven songs were tracked, though only the drum tracks from these sessions appear on the finished album. With the band members busy with their other projects, the project was shelved for over a year, until Dow and Stompanato returned to Pragma in the Fall of 2005. In the interim, Dow had recorded vocals and Loughridge-inspired keyboards at his home studio, Jake’s Lair. Bass tracks and acoustic guitar were added at Pragma, and seven songs were complete. The remaining four songs (Almost, Check I.D., Rivers, and Maybe On Sunday) were recorded entirely at Jake’s Lair, and the album was mixed back at Pragma in early 2006. The album was mastered by legendary Chicago producer Blaise Barton (Liz Phair, Ike Reilly, Bob Dylan).
Consisting of songs written over a 14-year period (the Latin-flavored Check I.D. and folk-poppy Almost hail from 1992), the album allows these seasoned players the opportunity to stretch out into some new musical territory not provided by their other projects.
Someone's Awake (2005)
Acoustic-based, natural, introspective, heartfelt, melodic...if these are words that ring true to you, check out the second solo studio album by Travis Dow. From the direct opening strains of "Landing" (actually written in 1991 in Lafayette, CA) to the final country flourish of "Kootenay Breakdown" (named after a region in the Canadian Rockies), this album recalls singer/songwriters as diverse as John Denver, Bruce Springsteen and Glen Phillips(Toad the Wet Sprocket).
Concrete Cowboys - Hard Country (2008) - CD
Self-recorded and self-released debut CD from Oregon's Premier Country Band.
Consisting of 10 Travis Dow originals sung by Montana wunderkind Chad Kessner, the album was recorded mostly live in demo format, and as such retains some of the frenzied energy of the band's live shows.
Consisting of 10 Travis Dow originals sung by Montana wunderkind Chad Kessner, the album was recorded mostly live in demo format, and as such retains some of the frenzied energy of the band's live shows.
Concrete Cowboys - Next (2009)
Follow-up album from Oregon-based country band, winners of Outstanding Achievement in Country Music at the 2010 Portland Music Awards.
This album finds the band expanding it's sound, incorporating more rock, folk, and even a bit of Latin flavor to the high energy, radio-friendly country found on the previous album.
Once again produced by, and featuring 13 original songs by guitarist Travis Dow.
This album finds the band expanding it's sound, incorporating more rock, folk, and even a bit of Latin flavor to the high energy, radio-friendly country found on the previous album.
Once again produced by, and featuring 13 original songs by guitarist Travis Dow.