Paul: Hello! Please introduce yourself and your role in the band.
Travis: I am Travis. I play guitar and some keys and sing.
Paul: You broke up in 2007 and played final shows in 2008. Were you approached to play other shows/re-unite before accepting an offer from Bamboozle this year?
Travis: Yes, actually we were approached about a tour and a few other scattered shows. we are just playing a couple shows to celebrate the release of the First Ten Years volumes.
Paul: Who had the idea to do these shows? What changed as the statement you put out in 2007 about laying the band to rest seemed pretty final…
Travis: None of us really had the idea to do the shows until the releases were a reality. if there was going to be a show, it had to be for a good reason. and the rerelease of our back catalog gave us the reason. we will not be a band again, but every bunch of years i am definitely willing to open the piebald box again.
Paul: Are you just doing the two shows or can we expect more? New music/release? The Get Up Kids, after all, were only re-uniting for one show and that transformed into a European tour and a brand new EP…
Travis: I don’t think that is going to happen. i guess i will never say never, but i am pretty sure we ended the band at the right time. lots of new music from other projects though…
Paul: Rise Records recently announced the release of your back catalogue. How did that come about – did they approach you or vice versa? How did you set about putting the three releases together and decide what made the cut?
Travis: Craig from rise and piebald have a mutual friend named isac walter. he was the catalyst for our releases with rise. and in terms of making the cut, we just tried to find everything that we remembered ever recording and listen through it all. we left the albums in the same form as they were released, but there are a lot of extras besides the albums. i was pretty open to putting everything i found in the releases. the hardest part was sorting through pictures and writing about the band. bittersweet…
Paul: I understand the final shows in 2008 were filmed – are you still intending to make the footage available on DVD?
Travis: Most definitely. it is being edited and i believe it is almost finished at this point. it will be released on sidehatch ent. somewhere in the next few months. i know our friend, mike gill, is
working hard making a documentary that will be the beginning of the dvd. soon!!!!
Paul: For those readers who may not have heard of Piebald before, which of your albums would say is the best starting point? Would you direct people away from ‘American Hearts’ or do you feel that song is still a fair representation of the band?
Travis: Still a good representation, definitely. id probably not feel right giving them one album or song. i think id say get ‘friends and accidental gentlemen’ and then spread out from there…
Paul: How did you feel about MC Lars sampling “American Hearts” on his Laptop EP? Many people seem to think that’s an MC Lars track!
Travis: i wasn’t aware that people thought it was his track. i think it is great that he used it. we met him in england actually and i sang the song with him on stage at the truck festival a few years ago. good times. but i know for sure that we wrote the song! ha.
Paul; You ran a Karaoke competition on myspace a few years back for your “final” shows – what would be your karaoke song of choice?
Travis: funny you ask because i went karaokeing with friends last night and i sang hurts so good by john cougar mellencamp and you got lucky by tom
petty and the heartbreakers.
Paul: Are the band still strong supporters of using ethically sourced products and alternative fuels?
Travis: Absolutely. and at least trying to consume less. luke has a veggie car. i have a scooter and a bike only. aaron is soon to convert his new van.
Paul: Are you still an elementary school teacher? The intro to “Just A Simple Plan” is Travis teaching his pupils to sing the chorus lyrics. Did you need to get parental permission for them to be included on the CD? Have any of them claimed royalties?
Travis: i am not still a teacher. right before we were recording friends was the last time i was in the education field. it was an after school program too so i wasn’t officially a teacher. and yes, i had to send home some slips that had the lyrics and a parental sign off. none have asked for royalties…
Paul: If you could change anything about the 17 years of Piebald, what would it be and why? Do you have one favourite memory of being in the band?
Travis: i would. i don’t really want to get into my possibly wrong decisions though or ways i could have made things different, because that is an
impossibility, i have so many favorite memories of the band – recording with paul kolderie, playing the last DC show on the format tour. it was particularly touching to me because the audience made me
feel so welcome and it seemed that they were getting so much from us.
Paul: If you have any final messages for your UK fans please leave it here:
Travis: thanks for all the years of support. it is very appreciated. and…check out our present musical projects…TS AND THE PAST HAUNTS, THE HUNTING ACCIDENT, TRICKY SIZZLER, and BARNICLE!!!! we are still making tons of music!