From small acorns grow the mighty Travis Oaks

It’s been a busy 2016 for Travis Oaks. With the launch of a new EP, and a plethora of summer festival gigs on the horizon, things are set to get a whole lot more hectic. The band’s singer, Mike Paterson and drummer Killian McCourt spoke to the Celt about head-spinning music videos, joining the rising Blue tide, and how making it big can sometimes kill the mood.

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“Last year was an incredible year, and if the start of this one is anything to go by, we’ve a lot to look forward to,” muses Mike, lounging his chair against the mottled beige wall of the Celt office kitchen.
The Travis Oaks frontman’s optimism is well founded. Described as “a breath of fresh air in Irish alternative music”, the four-piece have been carving out their own sound since late 2012. However, 2016 has been deemed a break-through year for the Oaks, whose members hail from Virginia, Mountnugent, Finea, and interestingly, France.
“Things are moving along steadily. We’re playing gigs, the publishing deal is in the bag which opens our music to a much wider audience. Yeah, things are going good,” adds Killian, comfortable with the fact the band have been regularly tipped as ‘One To Watch’ among the faces of 2016.
The deal signed last March with New York-based independent company Big House Publishing, follows the successful self-release of the band’s debut EP in 2014. Now though with a major publisher backing the band there is growing excitement around the Oaks’ hotly-anticipated six-track EP, Black Light, out June 10.
“We’re really proud of it,” says Mike. He explains that they will wait to see where the EP release takes the band before they decide whether to take up the option of a second EP release through Big House.
He explains enthusiastically: “It was recorded last August in Windmill Lane Studios. When we got the masters back, only about a month and a half ago, that’s when we all began to relax a little bit, knowing it’s done. Now we just want to show it to people, put it out there and let them decide.”
Killian adds: “In the time we’ve been sitting around waiting for it to be released we’ve got a load of new material ready. We’re hoping to have some of that ready for the launch,” which happens at Whelan’s on Dublin’s Wexford Street on June 15, from 8pm.
Originally introduced as three piece band with Aran McGillick (bass guitar and backing vocals), the Oaks added guitarist Taran Plouzane in 2013, and soon began developing a well-earned reputation as one of the best live bands on the current music scene.

Mind-bending
Such a growing reputation has secured them several billings on this summer’s festival circuit - Le Cheile, Oldcastle; Canalaphonic, Dublin: Knockanstockan, Wicklow; Flame Festival, Meath; and Sunflower Fest, Belfast - and an ever expanding internet fan-base.
Their online cause has been helped no end of late by the release of the mind-bending video to accompany the funky rock song ‘Slow Burner’ off of their upcoming EP. Utilising a 360-degree camera, it allows the viewer to take full-control while watching the band perform - so you can zoom over to see Killian’s prowess on drums, or any of the other band members as you choose.
“We’d released a song about a month prior to that, but a friend of ours Christopher Barker said he had this camera thing which could be a bit of fun. So we joined in him the room at Displace Studios and shot it thinking nothing more of it,” explained Mike.
That bit of fun has been viewed more than 13,000 times
“It really took off. We were watching the numbers go up on Youtube not really knowing what to think. It’s been great,” adds Killian.
That sort of self-generating publicity is exactly the kind of attention major labels are after when it comes to signing a new band, but the Oaks are determined its their music that speaks first, and loudest.
Mike comments: “We’ve no idea how things are going to go, how people are going to accept the new release. I suppose we’re a bit nervous in that respect. Obviously the dream is to be signed, that’s our goal, to be signed proper, if that actually even happens any more. A lot of companies want you to have the work done, the fan-base in place, the record made even, so all they have to do is promote it. We just have to keep plugging away.”

Blue wave
Having supported fellow local four-piece The Strypes, Travis Oaks too are riding the big blue wave of talent emerging from the Breffni county and crashing onto the national stage.
“Playing gigs with The Strypes, at the Townhall in Cavan two-years-ago and supporting them at the Olympia earlier this year (alongside Bitch Falcon) has really helped get our name out there, stands to us,” Killian enthuses.
“We’ve managed to build up all these incredible opportunities over the last few years, so that when someone does check us out they see all these amazing things we’ve done.”
He continues: “With the new EP I think we’ve really pulled something off here. We really feel momentum is with us and things are going in the right direction.
“Being from Cavan I think it’s a good thing. People are more interested now because of the people who’ve come before us. They at least know where Cavan is and they seem delighted to see another band emerging from this area.”
Humbled when it comes to finding fans of their music, Killian adds that the hype can have its disadvantages, as per how a recent romantic date went.
“I was telling the girl we we’re going in to do the whole Today FM thing (‘Love You More’ picked on Dermot and Dave’s ‘Home Grown Heroes’ slot), and she began to get really nervous.
“It was weird, like she didn’t know who she was talking to any more. I then started getting nervous, because she was getting nervous,” he groans, wincing slightly at the memory of that awkward moment.

Destitute
But no matter what the trajectory the band will take over the coming months, right now, the lads still have simple things like bills to pay.
“People only tend to see you on stage, and they have the idea that being in a band is something glamorous. But they don’t see sitting destitute in our cold apartment, worrying if the electricity will be turned off,” laughs Mike light-heartedly.
“It’s a hard slog, but look at every other band who go out and put in the work, we’re doing that now and hopefully it pays off.”