The Chandler Travis Philharmonic was born in the fall of 1996 at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, on the occasion of Chandler (best known for his “work” with the Incredible Casuals and Travis & Shook) doing a guest shot there with a house band led by multi-instrumentalist/singer Dinty Child. When asked if he would like to add any additional instrumentation, Chandler, having always hated when elderly bands ran out of ideas to this extent, facetiously suggested “oh yeah, let’s get some horns and chick back-up singers.” Having worked with Chandler on many occasions previously (and consequently lusting for revenge), Dinty complied with the horn part, booking (among others) crazy trumpeter Keiichi Hashimoto, and lo and behold, it worked! Later on, cross-dressing drummer Rikki Bates, a pal of Chandler's from the Casuals and one of the more amazing instrumentalists on the planet, and Keith Spring, (NRBQ, Martin Mull) helped complete the picture.

Since then, the band -all colorfully garbed, 8 pieces of them - have introduced the concept of alternative dixieland to dumbfounded/delighted audiences all over Massachusetts (most frequently in the Boston area at the Middle East, Midway, or the Lizard Lounge; or on Cape Cod at the Wellfleet Beachcomber), with occasional excursions beyond (New Orleans, Chicago, Washington DC, etc.) On their three successful visits to the Mercury Lounge in NYC, the Village Voice declared them “keenly entertaining”, called Chandler "a true New England eccentric and a master of daft power pop", and the band "a blend of Ringling Bros. and Ra" that "puts the harm back in Philharmonic.”

The band released its debut album, *“Let’s Have a Pancake”* (on Sonic Trout), as well as a series of 23 home-made *RadioBall* CDs (on Iddy Biddy) in 2000, followed up recently by their latest, *“Llama Rhymes”* - all of which can be purchased through the mail (Box 113, Eastham, Ma. 02642) or email (ctravis@sonictrout.com); the website is:

_http://www.sonictrout.com/bands/chandler/_

For Bookings and further info, call or email:
Art Farber, 508 240 2733
art@sonictrout.com

Chandler Travis has had a long and checkered career in the world of show biz, beginning in  in the seventies when he and Steve Shook joined up as Travis Shook and the Club Wow. Besides achieving much popularity on the east coast, the duo brought their peculiar blend of comedy and music all over the U.S. and to the nationwide television audience on such programs as the Tonight Show, the Midnight Special, and Dick Cavett. Along the way, they released an album and appeared on-stage with everyone from Bonnie Raitt to Bruce Springsteen to George Carlin (with whom they toured for many years) to Elvis Costello to-- well, you get the idea.
 Travis and Shook were also the original nucleus for the Incredible Casuals, who have remained popular for many years both nationally and internationally (one of their CDs,"Your Sounds", was released in 1992 on the Sonic Trout label, which also released Chandler’s solo debut, "writer-songsinger".)
 In 1988, Travis began moonlighting as a solo performer, presenting the unlikely mixture of  oddball humor and incisive songwriting that continue to be his trademark and appearing with such diverse acts as 10,000 Maniacs, Mose Allison, Roger McGuinn (w. Elvis Costello!), and (deja vu perhaps?) George Carlin. Upon the arrival of the critically lauded "writer-songsinger" CD, the solo career kicked into high gear with two successful west coast tours and a European jaunt in 1993. In concert, his repertoire tends to encompass everything from obscure, anachronistic covers ("What’s New Pussycat", "French Toast Man", "Skylark") to mind-numbing spoken interludes (the ever popular "I Threw Some Meat Into the Pond") to plain old high quality writer-songsinger-type stuff.
 Late in 1996 (much to his own surprise and delight), Travis found himself fronting an eight-piece band, the modestly monikered Chandler Travis Philharmonic -probably the world’s only alternative dixieland band. Their debut CD is set for ‘99, hard on the heels of his second solo effort, "Ivan in Paris" (again on Sonic Trout), released at the beginning of the year.