Travis Meeks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Travis Meeks (born April 27, 1979 in Charlestown, Indiana), is an American musician, and is the lead singer and guitarist for Post-Grunge band Days of the New.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Travis began his career at a very young age, learning how to play guitar at the age of 9. He soon started playing at clubs, and it wasn't long before he received a recording contract. In 1994 he started a heavy metal band, Dead Reckoning with fellow Indianan teenagers Matt Taul and Jesse Vest, which played heavy, Pantera-like music. In 1995, they soon changed their name to Days of the New, and the genre to post-grunge.
[edit] Days of the New
Travis Meeks - at the age of 17 - and fellow teenage band members Matt Taul, Todd Whitener and Jesse Vest were signed to a major record label. In 1997, they released their widely successful self-titled "Orange album", which included the acoustically-driven and raw single, "Touch, Peel, and Stand." An opening slot on tour with Metallica further exposed the band to fans around the country. Shortly afterward, Matt, Todd, and Jesse (the three of whom went on to form Tantric) were fired by Meeks over creative purposes, and Travis transformed Days of the New into a solo project with much accompaniment from other artists. After releasing two more Days of the New albums (1999, "Green" and 2001, "Red"), which were a testament to his talent and deep, emotional layers of musical experimentation, Travis Meeks slipped into addiction. He continued to tour both with a band and as a solo act, but no new material was recorded. Now sober, Meeks is likely to begin the recording process for a fourth Days of the New record, "Purple", which is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2007. Some of the songs likely to be tracked for the record include "Sanctuary", "One Foot Ahead", "Crying In A Bucket", and "Eating Crow".
[edit] Collaborations
In 2000, Travis Meeks collaborated with The Doors on the tribute album Stoned Immaculate: The Music Of The Doors, contributing vocals to "L.A. Woman" and "The End". In 2002, Meeks collaborated with Lennon Murphy on the track "My Beautiful". In 2004, Velvet Revolver was searching for a vocalist. Meeks along with many other acts auditioned, but did not land the part, as Scott Weiland was given the role.
[edit] TV Appearances
Days of the New performed their hit single "Touch Peel, and Stand" live on Late night with David Letterman in 1998.
Travis peformed "The End" on Vh1 Storytellers: The Doors.
In April 2005, Meeks was showcased in an episode of A&E's hit tv show Intervention[1]. Meeks' addiction to methamphetamines was one of the two subjects for this episode. Meeks decided to go to rehab, but the episode ends with Meeks checking out early after 73 days. After a period of relapsing, he has been sober since September 19th, 2005.
[edit] External links
| Days of the New |
| Travis Meeks • Ray Rizzo • Malcolm Gold |
| Michael Huettig • Chuck Mingis • Nicole Scherzinger • Max Maxwell • Brian Vinson • Doug Florio • Kimmet Cantwell • Craig Wagner • Todd Whitener • Jesse Vest • Matt Taul |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: Days of the New (Orange) (1997) • Days of the New (Green) (1999) • Days of the New (Red) (2001) • Days of the New (Purple) (2007) |
| Live albums: Live Bootleg (2004) |
| Singles: Touch, Peel and Stand • Shelf in the Room • The Down Town • Enemy • Weapon & The Wound • Hang on to This • Die Born |
