I've been busy

Its been a hot minute since my last post. I wanted to show you some pictures from my latest travels and such...

Andy Cherry CD Release Show (Charlotte, NC)

Andy Cherry Live video interview and recording at Forest Point Church (Gastonia, NC)

2012 Atlanta Gear Talk expo (Atlanta, GA)

I took some time to relax here and there... (Charlotte..)

...and drink coffee with good friends (Everywhere..)

 Motley Customs booth at ATL Gear Expo (Atlanta, GA)

Lots of time at baggage claim (airports abroad)

My first trip to the greasiest place on earth... (Phoenix, AZ)

Andy Cherry at Mission Community Church (Phoenix, AZ)

Andy Cherry Radio showcase (Phoenix, AZ)

Plane rides with @andycherryband (Delta)

Vaca to the windy city (...the windy city)

Wonderful new woods hoops thanks to Kingston Drum Co.

 Motley Customs booth at ATL Gear Expo (Atlanta, GA)

 Motley Customs booth at ATL Gear Expo (Atlanta, GA)

Andy Cherry at Lifepoint Church for Easter Sunday (Fredricksburg, VA) (4-8-12)

Andy Cherry at Lifepoint Church (Fredricksburg, VA) (4-22-12)

Thanks over and over, to all the amazing folks that stock all of our green rooms with delicious and nutritious treats. It really is the small things in life that mean the most :)

Thanks for checking in!

Travis

Motley Customs at the 2012 Atlanta Gear Talk Expo

As a small business owner, it is so humbling to be a part of something like the Gear Talk Expo in Atlanta, Ga. I am honored to do what i do in the music industry. Thanks a ton to all of my friends and family for supporting and believing in Motley Customs. If you are in the Atlanta area or anywhere near, please come and check out Motley Customs' booth and all of the other amazing companies booths. Below, i have a flyer posted, you can see some of the other big name companies that will be attending the GTE. 65 amps, Orange, Elliot, Fuchs, JHS, Goodsell, Jetter, and many others! PETER STROUD will also be the guest clinician at the GTE.

Gear Talk Expo

Atlanta, GA

Thursday March 22, 2012

James Duke pedalboard demo

Here is a video of James Duke demoing his board and making some pretty sounds.

Motley Customs artist James Duke

Thanks for reading,

Travis

Updated pedalboards {James Duke, Joey Signa, David Curran}

Just wanted to update you all on some boards that i've done lately. All of these boards are owned and used by some of my dearest friends. Enjoy!

James Duke (Motley Customs Artist)

(John Mark McMillan, All the Bright Lights, Jason Upton)

Joey Signa (Motley Customs Artist)

(Paper Tongues)

David Curran

(Andy Cherry, Luz, Elevation Worship)

PS*-My personal pedalboard video is being edited and will be up and available to view soon.

Thanks fore reading!

Travis

The "worship" guitar player

*note- Take this post with a grain of salt. These are only my thoughts. These aren't the rules.

Gear...

The church guitar player or the "worship" guitar player has become something very common and similar in the topic of gear. Many are using the same pedals, guitars and amps because of what they hear on albums. It almost seems to be a rule to have a Tele, Fender Deluxe, POG, 2 drives, Volume, (tuner), 2 delays and a heavy reverb. All of those together sound great, but what you use shouldn't depend on someone else's sound. The sound should come from you and what YOU sound like. If you need 5 drive pedals and 3 delays then thats your prerogative. To mention some staples in the world worship guitar players, you've got Daniel Carson from Chris Tomlin who sounds so great with the Fulldrive, some delays, other little toys, AC30's and a plethora of nice guitars. Then onto James Duke who always sounds great with his drives and ambient/lush swells and such, not to mention the slide work is untouchable too, plus the great tone of his tele, strat, Gretsch, and the Matchless and Trainwreck amps. Of course you've got Nigel Hendroff and Timon Klein from Hillsong that use the Gretsch's and Duesenbergs, maybe a strat or LP here and there, Jackson Ampworks, Teletronix drives, 3 or 4 delays, verbs, etc. Jeffrey Kunde from Jesus Culture that has a remarkable sound with his Gretsch, SG, and Tele, plus his Jackson Ampworks amp, pedalboard loaded with drives, pog, trem, delays, reverbs, etc. SO, with all of these fine musicians mentioned the one thing they all have in common is they started just where you started. Probably with a crappy strat package from Squire, or something of that nature. Either way, everyone starts somewhere and they grow to be who they are through years of practice and experimentation with different pedals, guitars, and amps. If you are a beginner, don't be afraid to be YOU. The tone comes from you, your hands, your knolwedge. The sound only comes from your amp. Grab a nice tube amp, a nice tele, Fulldrive, volume pedal, DD20, Tuner, some good power for your pedals, nice cables... and get to it. I say those things because they are industry standards and they sound great. If you want something different then go for it.

Preparation and Excellence...

If you are going to play somewhere, be prepared. Practice for hours every day. If you put together the time you lay around your house, playing video games, loafing on your couch, etc and compared that to the time that you actually spend practicing music it would make you laugh. Practice makes perfect and permanent. Here are some recommendations I have for the worship guitarist:

1. Always practice your scales and exercises with a metronome. (download a free metronome app on your iPhone)
2. Have your delay presets and sounds ready before a rehearsal or service. It really helps the other musicians be on top of their game if you are too.
3. (along with #2) If needed, talk with the drummer that you play with and get the BPM’s for the song set that you’ll be playing so your delays or other time based effects can all be in time together.
4. A band is a band for a reason. Everyone shares a percentage in the band. If you are over-playing and sitting on top of the entire mix then it doesn’t help the mesh of the entire band. Play with confidence and be mindful of your place and purpose in the band. If you have a lead line that needs to cut through a little more, then maybe use your boost pedal for just that quick second. A band is there to help one another, not drown one another out.
5. Just be prepared. Learn every guitar part in the song just for the heck of it. If you are playing lead guitar, learn the rhythm parts too. And rhythm learn the lead.

Creativeness...

Be yourself. Write creative parts. Think outside of the box... If your church worship team is writing a new album, or maybe even just one single song then become a part of the song that makes that song different because of who you are as a musician. If its dotted eighth delay that makes that part work, then use it. But if its a flanger looped in with fuzz and a whammy, then do it! Whatever makes sense for even that 2 bar part of the song to sound different and creative. Be wise when writing parts. Most rhythm guitar parts sound incredible with just a cranked amp in the studio. Collaborate with the other musicians. Talk about the song, who’s doing what, why the song writer wrote it this way. Plan, but be open to change. Recording in the studio is a great experience and it really lets you open up to a whole other level of creativeness. But be open to others suggestions and the producers thoughts.

Solidity and Commitment...

Be grounded. Have a home church. Be a part of a community. Build into people lives. Love on your worship team... Being involved in a church that you can call yours is so special. Building into and being built into is so important. Whether your church has a congregation of 50 or 10,000, be a light and be a leader. The stage is not a place of performance or pride. The platform is a place of reverence before the Lord and a opportunity to be a good steward of your craft. The worship guitarist has, in some areas, become the key musician for hire. There are so many amazing guitarists and musicians all over the world, some with different callings than others, but you will be burnt, hurt, alone and left without when you aren’t plugged into a home church. Playing at different churches is a personal choice, but there is something really special when a musician pours into a team and builds within a church. Building, growing and mentoring musicians in the next generation is so very important too.

Consistency...

Being a consistent musician will only help you. Better yourself and push yourself to grow musically, but always be yourself and be consistent wherever you are. God didn’t give you a gift to use it as you please, He gave it to you to grow and prosper daily and to pour into the Kingdom. Be consistent in your practice and growth.

Thanks for reading,

Travis

Lance Gatch Update (UPDATED)

Hey everyone, its been busy here lately. I've done a number of boards in the past couple of weeks and i wanted to just share one right off the bat with you. My good friend Lance Gatch has (again) changed a few things on his board. Lance hasn't just been cycling through pedals on his board, but he's been trying different things so that his sound and his tone can be translated well through all of his equipment. Lance is a fantastic player and his board really compliments his playing. Here are some pictures form the interview and video.

Lances plays for Motley Customs and Tencount Amps

(updated picture below)

Thanks for reading!

Travis

What's going on?

So i've been busy for the past few months with some rad stuff. I've tried to do my best to keep you up to date on the business side but also on the personal side of things on Instagram and Twitter.

Here's what i've been doing...

-waiting here and there at the airport-

-Freedom House Church Live Recording-

at The Fillmore Charlotte

(photo: Autumn Scisciani)

-Lakewood Church in Houston, TX-

FH Live Recording

(photo: Autumn Scisciani)

-Freedom House Worship at GAT3 Studio-

-Artist work-

Joey Signa (Paper Tongues)

-Pedalboards-

(David Curran's bass board)

-Traveling/playing/being friends with Provident Records artist Andy Cherry-

...last but not least... I HAVE been working on my personal pedalboard. And IT IS finished. I know a lot of you have been waiting for the reveal, but after some photo shoots and video shoots it will be posted and available to view

Thanks for reading!

Travis