042 – Travis McNabb / Part 1: Better Than Ezra, Sugarland, Mixing Yourself on the Kit

Travis McNabb is perhaps best known as a longtime member of the band Better Than Ezra, although he has performed session and touring work with many acts during his career. Prior to joining Better Than Ezra in January 1996, McNabb toured with acts such as Vigilantes of Love, Beggars, and seminal Oregon-based punk rock band The Wipers.

In mid-2007, Travis became the full-time touring and recording drummer with Grammy-award winning Country/Bluegrass act Sugarland. After  Sugarland decided to go on hiatus in 2012, Travis continued to stay busy touring and recording with many artists including Kristian Bush, Big and Rich, Gavin DeGraw most recently up and coming country artist Frankie Ballard.

Travis also runs his own home studio called Wood Hill Recording where he puts his years of recording and engineering experience to use. Travis is very comfortable in the studio and you can hear him on Jennifer Nettles‘ most recent single, “Sugar” that was produced by Dann Huff.

In this podcast, Travis talks about:

Long unique audition for Ezra

Being replaced in the studio and learning from it

Watching and learning from Kenny Aronoff in the studio

Bring your vibe to the session

The influence of New Orleans on his playing

Being prepared

Balancing and mixing yourself

This interview was conducted November 24th, 2015

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