11 September 2012    |    Music

Days Of The New

Travis Meeks was born into a musically gifted family and although painfully introverted, found his voice after learning to play guitar at the age of 9. It was a long time before he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and it’s possible that he found creating music therapeutic and an easier way of communicating with the world. His condition also goes some way to explaining the difficult relationship he developed with founding members of the band and what eventually caused the rift between them, with only Travis deciding to continue on as ‘Days of the New’. And it’s been made an even more difficult journey by addiction.

Prescription painkillers for a kidney stone escalated to methamphetamine, a drug known for it’s destructive nature and certainly not conducive to the writing, recording and gigging process. Despite this, he’s managed to turn out three astonishingly beautiful and complex albums known as ‘Yellow’, ‘Green” and ‘Red’, each featuring an appropriately coloured old twisted tree on the cover (which has special meaning for Travis) and ‘Tree Colours’ the working title for the fourth instalment.

Distinguished by his choice of acoustic guitar over electric and a love of all things orchestral, the albums are full of songs of epic proportions ranging from grunge through to folk and classical. All accompanied by the kind of raw vocal that makes every word believable. He’s such an incredible talent that I for one, wish him every success in beating those ‘demons’.

Hug a tree at https://travismeeks.com/