Mushkat

Bill Travis hails from Halifax NS and performs the introspective and pop-hook-laden folk songs of MUSHKAT. He grew up as a "base brat", moving around a fair deal as a child of an Air Force officer, getting his education in English and Philosophy at the Royal Military College of Canada, and playing in a punk rock band called Poplar Mechanics while he was in Kingston, Ontario. After graduation, he left the armed forces and pursued a career as an international school teacher in Korea, Thaila...

Bill Travis hails from Halifax NS and performs the introspective and pop-hook-laden folk songs of MUSHKAT. He grew up as a "base brat", moving around a fair deal as a child of an Air Force officer, getting his education in English and Philosophy at the Royal Military College of Canada, and playing in a punk rock band called Poplar Mechanics while he was in Kingston, Ontario. After graduation, he left the armed forces and pursued a career as an international school teacher in Korea, Thailand and then Bolivia, picking up new influences and instruments along his way. He returned to the place of his birth on the East Coast of Canada in 2001. Since returning to Halifax, Mushkat has produced five independent solo releases: PERPETUAL MOTION MUSIC (2004), LUNAR NEW YEAR (2005), CALENDAR (2007), ALAMO DEFENDER (2009), and his newest, HARDWAY LEARNER (2012), all available at mushkat.bandcamp.com. The first three releases have a home-made indie feel, with most instruments (including clarinets, guitar, charango, percussion and more) played by Bill himself, while ALAMO DEFENDER features Mark Merrimen and Gerry Rodgers (on bass and drums, respectively) and Caleb Hamilton on trumpet; it has a more polished sound and was released on Gooseberry Records. In the past few years, he has shared stages with such Maritime acts as Al Tuck, Jon McKiel, Ronok Sarkar, Erin Costelo, Mike Aube, Andy & Ariana, The Sorrys, Klarka Weinwurm, Jon McKiel, The Lodge, Andy McDaniel, Christina Martin, Dusty Keleher, The Danger Bees, Todd Michalik, Olivier Jarda and more. Mushkat and his trio (Mark Merrimen on bass, and Chris Brown on drums) have toured as far West as Ontario (2010 & 2013), but they'd like to go further next time. The new album, "HARDWAY LEARNER", features Justin Bell on lead guitar, Mark Merrimen on Bass, and Chris Brown on drums (as well as guest performances by Christina Martin, Caleb Hamilton, and Joey Latta); it was (pre-)released (on vinyl) on March 31st, 2012, and then on CD and digitally on August 15th. It is a trilingual album, featuring original compositions in English, Spanish and French. Mushkat and The Hardway Learners will be playing shows around Nova Scotia this year to promote the album (the line-up now includes Dan Hache on lead guitar), having just returned from a Spring tour to Ontario. Check out the Mushkat YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCS3q2lKYMbqSh0WaLDgDTzcx5ush9BBx MUSHKAT PRODUCT available at http://mushkat.bandcamp.com includes T-Shirts, LP's, CD's and digital downloads of all 5 Mushkat releases. "...with his latest, Travis defends his place among Halifax's top singer-songwriters." (-Mike Landry, The Coast Magazine)