We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Travis Crawford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Travis, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
Growing up, I think I’ve always known that I wanted to do something music related. Growing up music has always been apart of my life. Whether it was listen to my dad play guitar or listen to my dad and uncles at family get togethers. I picked up guitar in my sophomore year of college and I started playing out a year later. Music has always brought me joy and I wanted to do that for others.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Like many musicians, I started all this to impress a girl haha! But there’s so much more to it than that. Growing up I’ve always had music in my life, at family get togethers my dad and his brothers would play guitar and sing. I think that’s when that fire started, but it wasn’t until my sophomore year in college that I started to learn it. My dad said I could borrow his guitar, but I had to learn a song and play it for him the next time I came home. At the time I was trying to impress someone by learning a Taylor Swift song haha. The summer I came home that year I was in love with all thing’s guitar and music. I started playing covers and posting them on Facebook and YouTube.
I’ve worked with a few different groups in and outside of Nashville, one of them was a producer by the name of Gary Sadker in Nashville that had his own recording studio (Red Ridge Entertainment). I recorded two EP’s with them and felt I was on top of the world. I started promoting my music online and came into contact with another artist group in Nashville. Though that situation didn’t work out it was a great learning experience and opened my eyes to some of the downs that you’ll experience with chasing a dream. I gave up music after that and was about to walk away from Nashville when someone from PCG Artist Development reached out to me. I met with the owner Bernard Porter, and I talked with him about my struggles with music and how I was about to give it up. I’m super grateful that Mr. Porter and his team have always been there to support me. Working with them I released a new single last year and are currently working on new music!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The three skills that I use the most would be Acceptance, Kindness and Gratitude.
Often time in the music world things don’t go the way you wanted or planned. Sometimes you can change things but mostly you can’t. I use this phrase often “to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
Kindness is so important in the music world because you never know when that kindness will come back around! I always meet people with a smile whether that’s a fan after a show, the sound tech before playing, the owner and the staff of a venue.
Gratitude is so important as well, being grateful that you are able to share your gift with people.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
A book I try to read every year and recommend to everyone is, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This book always motivates me after re-reading it and I think everyone should read it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/traviscrawfordmusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traviscrawfordmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/traviscrawfordmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCszL3zK8H66_sggsSB6-EOA/videos
Image Credits
Meghan Marie Studio in Troy Ohio
