There's something inexplicably authentic about Oklahoma's Travis Linville, and it's carried him from dive bars and classrooms to "The Tonight Show" and esteemed theaters and festivals across the globe. A gifted instrumentalist, Linville is known for his work as a sideman with Hayes Carll but moves to the front of the stage to release his new full length, Up Ahead, out February 3, 2017. The album is currently available for pre-order in all formats (including vinyl ) at PledgeMusic, paired with exclusive items such as a disposible camera, a mixtape, lyric sheets and even a Yacht performance! You have to supply the yacht, though.
Travis Linville produced Up Ahead in a small studio in Norman, OK, essentially in reverse. "I had a bunch of half-written songs, and in some cases just musical road maps, so I brought some musicians into the studio for a marathon live tracking to songs they didn't know-and I didn't either at that point. The idea was to create a musical track for me to write over to finish out the songs." The result is a gorgeously melodic roots album that gives priority to the song.
According to Linville, the title track to the record started as a boring joke but became a meditative analysis of perspective. "Sometimes you can look around and see trouble and hardship brewing all around you and realize to yourself that where you are is a pretty good place," he says. "Maybe sit out an inning or too and reset"
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To record Up Ahead, Travis recruited four session players who've also performed with him live: David Leach (John Fullbright) on upright bass, Ryan Jones (Oklahoma Opry) on keys, as well as two diverse percussionists: Matt Duckworth (Flaming Lips, Miley Cyrus) and Mike Meadows (Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson). Linville himself performed all vocals, guitars, lap and pedal steel, mandolin and dobro.
Independently, Linville has sold 15,000 albums and played thousands of shows across his 20-plus year career, with an ever-evolving repertoire deeply rooted in songcraft, sly humor and subtlety. Recent tours include national runs with
Parker Millsap and several international dates as a support and band member for Carll. "Travis has always been in service to the song," commends Carll. "He is capable of playing literally anything he wants, but he never overplays or tries to stand out above the song. He is as tasteful as it gets."
As for what lies Up Ahead, Linville is pragmatic: "I'm maybe prouder of these new songs than anything I've done, and I just want to get them out to as many people as I can."
Up Ahead Track Listing:
1 - Flowers In Your Hair
2 - Wishes
3 - Two Times The Fool
4 - Finding My Way
5 - Bar Room
6 - Fade To Winter
7 - Up Ahead
8 - Waltz Across Lonesome
9 - Going Down Easy
10 - Worried Mind
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