Travis Vance

In this episode of CAN+DID, Hosts Rikki Harris and Will Voss talk with a very accomplished musician. Travis Vance has an extensive professional touring resume with platinum-selling Nashville country artist Thomas Rhett, having performed over 800 international LIVE shows in venues from clubs to sold out football stadiums. Now he’s getting personal and sharing his personal mental health journey with all of you. Join us as we get CAN+DID with Travis Vance.

Travis Vance has a Professional Music degree from Berklee College of Music, and has an extensive professional touring resume with platinum-selling Nashville country artist Thomas Rhett, having performed over 800 international LIVE shows in venues from clubs to football stadiums, and multiple television appearances including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day Halftime Show, Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin Eve w/Ryan Seacrest, CMT Awards, CMA Awards, AMA Awards, Billboard Awards and iHeart Radio Awards. Vance has been playing bass for 27 years, with professional experience in nearly every musical style and setting. Proficient on 4,5 and 6 string basses, as well as fretless and synth bass, but with additional background in piano and low bass instruments. He is also a producer, having had music placements in film and advertising with a wide array of knowledge about recording techniques, gear and synthesizers.

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The Omni Family of Services is a multistate human services agency serving adults and children through a trauma competent lens. They provide a continuum of care, including foster care, family preservation, behavioral health, and primary care services focused on helping kids, families and the communities they live in strong and healthy. To learn more about Omni Family of Services, or to contact an office near you, CLICK HERE.

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Chapters

• 1:09 Thank you to our sponsor Omni Family of Services
• 2:04 Hosts Rikki Harris and Will Voss introduce this episode
• 10:39 Thank you to our sponsor ServisFirst Bank
• 11:20 Hosts Rikki Harris and Will Voss interview Travis Vance
• 43:19 Thank you for joining us!

Transcript

Rikki Harris: 0:05

CAN+DID is a podcast of Tennessee voices about mental health, featuring stories of people who have overcome mental health challenges, as well as those who have helped people overcome mental health challenges. This podcast is about authenticity. And it's intended to give a voice to those who are passionate about mental well being. We hope that by sharing stories, listeners understand mental health and just how important it is in our day to day lives, and they will help us reduce stigma. We want you to know that so many who have struggled with mental health can and did overcome their challenges. And if you are struggling, you can too. I'm your host, Ricky Harris, CEO of Tennessee voices and with me is my favorite co host well boss, CEO of Tennessee voices Welcome to Our Podcast on let's get candid.

Brian Sullivan: 1:13

Thank you to our candid sponsors who made this episode possible. The Omni family of services is a multistate human services agency serving adults and children through a trauma competent lens. They provide a continuum of care, including foster care, family preservation, behavioral health, and primary care services focused on helping kids families and the communities they live in strong and healthy. To learn more about the Omni family of services, or to contact an office near you, there's a link provided in this podcast description along with the contact email, if you or your business would like to sponsor an episode of candid.

Will Voss: 2:03

We are here once again.

Rikki Harris: 2:06

Another episode of this candid podcast and it's fun. This is This is fun.

Will Voss: 2:14

I think we're getting better each episode. Well, that's the hope, right? I mean, I hope so. But it's fun for me, because there's been so many interesting, great interviews with people. And I've learned a lot. I just hope anybody listening feels the same. Certainly, from the interviews that we've done, but man, we're getting ready to release this interview with a person in the music industry, society, Excel, exciting, you know, Ricky, it just makes me think about the power of a story, and how mental health doesn't discriminate. So all of these backgrounds of individuals that we've been able to bring on to the show, I think they have been able to make an impact with at least one listener who has been tuning in on these podcasts in I mean, the best is still yet to come. Yeah, it's exciting. Yeah, it is. And I, I definitely, this particular interview, interested me because it was in an industry I knew very little about from the inside.

Rikki Harris: 3:24

Right. I'm a huge music connoisseur. I love music. And so obviously the the connection to music was there, but from the inside, never seen that piece of it. Oh, no, we were so quick. I mean, as humans, we're so quick to see everything on the outside like they're performing. They're amazing. They're talented, but what's behind the see, and they're really going to depth. How are the people behind this superstar, for lack of a better term? Yes. So Travis, Travis, bands, being a bass guitar is for Thomas red. There we say. Dare we say who? Can see Ori his story has so much to do with his own journey. Yes, yes. So to be able to hear his story outside of that. You think of the question. It's like even with us, who are we without Tennessee voices. So the here tribe is talking about his own personal experiences and you know, its upbringing and where he is now, outside of being a bass player for a famous musician. Right. It's amazing, you know, people struggle trying to find their own identities and deal with things that they're going on throughout life when they're in the background per se. But he's helped so many people who may be in the same positions. Yeah, I think so. A highlight in the story for me definitely was when he shared with us how much the pandemic affected musicians. You is necessarily as much as or the in the same way as it affected the, I'll say the superstar per se, but it was the musicians who couldn't go on tour who couldn't be there playing the gigs, everything just came to a halt, and some of them leaving the industry because they had to find work elsewhere. When there were no concerts and no tours, and no studio time. I just hadn't really thought about that. No, no, I was right there with you. And it just it hits home. It's

Will Voss: 5:37

so many people struggle. So many people struggle during the pandemic, and many still are. And it's unfortunate, you know, that we miss it, we lose sight of, well, you know, because it's not a job that I'm used to doing, this person was affected as well. So it really puts things into reality as far as doesn't matter what you do, who you are. pandemic is affected all of us. Mm hmm. Another highlight for me, first of all, learning that Travis is a well trained, I'm not going to spoil it, because it was a shocker when I heard how well trained and were well trained in his interview, but a well trained musician who has passion in other genres of music outside of out of country music, and has his own. This is a part identified with he has his own little

Rikki Harris: 6:35

writing music that he does for himself that he doesn't share with the world. And I related to that, because I play the piano that don't even take that with a grain of salt. Notes. Now, I took five years of piano when I was a kid, and then pretty much quit after I was in college. But, um, but I used to write pieces for myself. And it was just therapeutic for me. And I ended up sharing the first piece when actually for my wedding, wrote a piece of just music and this son the Travis talked about, like just music, no lyrics, instrumental pieces, and I wrote a piece in it. My dad, I think, encouraged me to use it. And it was played during the seeding of the mothers in my wedding. And I remember thinking, I don't ever want to do this again. I was mortified. Like, it was never for anyone else. But me. And so it just was not. I don't know, I don't know, it's not that I was embarrassed or shy or ashamed. It just was like, I didn't need everyone else to have that. So that was your own. That was your personal self care right there at its finest. Yeah, exactly. If that well, and you yourself have tried to take up some? Yes, I've tried. I've tried, I think for me dates back to the sixth grade, we were forced to play the violin. And I cannot read music, I play by ear. And then once it was no longer, this is a required subject. I was done with it. Now if I can do a mean, Mary Had a Little Lamb or lean on me.

Will Voss: 8:32

Outside of that, I leave it to the Yes, I leave it to the masters. It's not in my ministry, I leave your ministry that was that? Okay. I feel ministry. But you know, that was something that the three of us relate to being able to write music or you know, am I myself, I don't write music. But I definitely love to write poetry and you think about how lyricist are really writing poems to people. And they're going to connect with someone on a different level, emotional level. And I mean, it's self care, being able to listen to music, sometimes something that you can relate to be able to look back and say, Oh, my goodness, this artist is songwriter, they know exactly what I'm going through right now. And music, having the power to change your feelings or change your mood, for good or for bad. It's powerful. It's really powerful. That comes up in the podcast to the power of music and how it connected Travis in his journey with mental health. So I think for our listeners, if you're enticed at all into into the music industry and learning

Rikki Harris: 9:45

listen to this interview. So it was an honor and pleasure to have him on this podcast and certainly it's a it's a pleasure to work with his his life to every day because She practices what she preaches.

Will Voss: 10:04

Yes, yes, yes. As I gather he does well, he does as well, as well. So I'm very excited for listeners to to be able to hear and connect with Travis. Like we tell everybody, hey, you're helping someone. So I really think Travis has helped a lot of people for those that tuned in.

Rikki Harris: 10:28

Well, PR huge we've tried to save the world in about nine minutes. So let's get on with this podcast. Sounds good. All right, y'all enjoy.

Brian Sullivan: 10:39

Thank you to our candid sponsors who made this episode possible. Service First Bank is a full service commercial bank focused on commercial and private banking correspondent banking and cash management, emphasizing competitive products, state of the art technology, and a focus on quality service. To learn more about service Firstbank or to contact an office near you. There's a link provided in this podcast description, along with the contact email, if you or your business would like to sponsor an episode of candy.

Rikki Harris: 11:20

So the candid podcast here, Ricky Harris with my co hosts will Vof Hello. And well, he's going to introduce our guest today super excited about this one as we continue to explore our friends and other industries outside of mental health, which has been really fun for us to do so. Well, why don't you do an intro for the third Travis I've met this week, by the way, with the very Travis and this is one of my favorite, Travis is that I have met Travis Vance. Welcome, welcome. Welcome. Thank you for having me. So glad to have you here. You know, as an agency, we talk a lot about us being a family. So I would say you're kind of like an in law since your wife is employed with us.

Will Voss: 12:04

Yeah, you've been in brought you've been brought into the Tennessee voices family. You have a great background and from from over the years getting to know your especially indirectly through Kim, there has been so much that you've been able to do as far as support with the agency and then advocacy outside. So for listeners and those who may be viewing us, who is Travis dance, tell us about yourself, your background. Sure. So I grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. I left there when I was 18, to go to school and went to school music school, because a musician went up to Boston went to Berklee College of Music up there, which was pretty wild and incredible experience. Then after I graduated, I moved to Tennessee in 2003 moved to Nashville to chase the dream, like they all do when they come here.

Travis Vance: 13:01

Until so I've been here 18 and a half years. And for the last 1211 or 12. I've been full time professional bass player. That's what as I like to say, that's what I tell the government I do. So I for the last, yeah, 1112 years, I've been like a freelance bass player doing anything and everything. I've been in wedding bands, corporate bands, cetera, et cetera. I was in lots of other musical situations before then. But after I quit my last day job, as they say, I started just going wherever the money was, which is what you have to do as a freelancer. And then because this is Nashville, I invariably found myself playing a lot of country music. And for the last 10 years, 10 years as of November 11, it's actually 10 years since I started playing for a guy who has now become a bit of an A Lister named Thomas Rhett. I've been in his band for 10 years. And it's been really great, really wonderful experience.

Will Voss: 14:11

And so yeah, that's That's me in a nutshell. Yes, in a nutshell. And, you know, we're gonna we're gonna dig deep. You know, you talked about music, one of my favorite things, Ricky's favorite things. What led you to wanting to play you know, I joke with staff often about self care, self care, and at the beginning of the pandemic, I bought a guitar because I wanted to learn how to play well, that was not in my ministry. The guitar is still sitting, I think I did more damage to myself care trying to listen to myself playing. So what drove you to music wanting to play the bass? Right?

Travis Vance: 14:51

What my parents always had me in piano lessons when I was a kid, and there was always a decent amount of encouragement like from them and piano teachers. They were like, oh, You've got an ear, you know, that's one of those things, you either got it or you don't, not to say that. You can't be a musician, if you don't have a good ear, you just have to work harder at it, but I just naturally had a bit of an ear. So then I'll give you I'll try and keep it short. I was in middle school, or going into middle school and the middle school band teacher at my fifth grade orientation said, We need a tuba player in the band. My older sister played saxophone in the band. And so I was like, Oh, well, they need something, I'll go play what they need. And that'll that'll help me, you know, be a cool guy or whatever. And then I was very good at tuba turns out, which is like the big you know, sousaphone thing. I was good at that. Because I've always been a little bit bigger. You can't tell but I'm like, six, two. And I've been this tall since I was about 14. So it was like, Oh, I could, you know, handle it to buddy young age. And then same band director was very encouraging. And seventh grade came along and she wanted to start a jazz band. And she was like, well, we need somebody who played bass in the jazz band. I was like, well, I already read bass clef. You know, as far as like, written music is concerned, I'm like, I already read that. Okay, how hard can it be. And my parents got me a bass for my 13th birthday. That means I've been playing for almost 30 years. And, and it was really, it kind of came naturally. Like I had a, I had a couple of good teachers early on bass teachers. But you know, I had the ear, I already liked a lot of music. I listened to you know, I was sitting there with the bass learning songs by my favorite bands and all this kind of stuff and just kept getting more and more encouragement, as I realized how much I enjoyed it, you know, so and then it just kept happening, I just realized it pretty quick. Like, probably by the time I was 16, or 17. I was like, Okay, this is what I'm gonna do. I really want to play bass. I don't know how it's gonna happen. I don't know how any of this works. But this is what I'm going to do. And somehow figured it out. Like, got lucky. I would say you figured it out.

Will Voss: 17:21

I think it took a long time, but I figured it out. Did you did that? That's awesome. You know, you talked about learning early on. And it made me think about some of the youth that I used to do therapy with Rick, I know you work with a lot that in the past where you find out when you're doing treatment plans, and you're trying to figure out what what other avenues of support cannot provide to someone struggling with mental health. Music is something we identify as an avenue to really help them grow and be the best version of themselves. You know, even with some youth, they've written lyrics to songs or poetry really getting their emotions and their feelings on paper. When we think about the correlation with music, mental health, I mean, there's a lot that we can really say today. How has mental health had an impact on you personally? Right? Well, first, I wanted to say, That's awesome that you guys do that. I think we can get into it more later. But yeah, I think that at its core, music is a form of it's it's always been like going back to probably caveman times. It's therapy, right? Like it's therapeutic. It's, I think all art exists as a form of therapy via self expression. And that's part of mental health. But to answer your question, man,

Travis Vance: 18:43

lots of mental health, or mental health has always been, I've been aware of it probably since high school. Because in high school, I had clinical depression and anxiety about a lot of things, not just sort of teenage angst, like it was it was clinical depression. And I started seeing a therapist for the first time when I was 17. And I don't really remember much about him or the therapy itself. I just know, it worked. It was what you know, it was a great. I say great. The the overall or the the feeling I'm left with as an adult from that time is that therapy works. Right. So that was a good experience for me to have at that age. But man, I've had, you know, family history of substance abuse in the family. You know, I don't know if Alzheimer's dementia and Parkinson's qualify as mental health or if those are more like, you know, neurological that they can ultimately affect the family. You know, the family's mental health. So I've had all those things in my life, my dad and grandpa Well, my dad that started therapy late in life and has done a lot to work on himself and realize that he has some pretty serious personality defects that came from his grandfather, both of whom, you know, raised me so. And I see those things as are I'm glad that my dad did that later in life to realize like, okay, you know, here's all the ways that I was screwed up, and here's how this could have affected you. Which I can then moving forward, take into therapy and move along with that. But yeah, I, there's a lot of mental health awareness in my life. I mean, especially me, you know, my wife works for a mental health agency. So it's always a topic. Maybe not necessarily, you know, we don't talk about it all the time. Like, she's not my therapist, but she tells me a lot about the things that she deals with, and that y'all deal with. And I don't know, I mental health is a big part of my life.

Rikki Harris: 21:01

I so appreciate that story. Like well said, I come from a musical family too. But one of the things that I learned a lot about growing up as when you listen to music, it almost feels like creative people are really more comfortable with the expression of their emotions through music, than the rest of us who I will include myself as not a creative person. And and so we're talking about the strength and the power of the connection between music and our emotions, or music and our feelings. And I wonder why that is? Why creative people feel more comfortable in that expression of their own feelings versus people who don't have that outlet. And we tend to hide behind those difficult feelings or those challenging feelings. Do you think it is the power in music that gives that voice to those feelings? I think it's partly that Yeah. I mean, you know,

Travis Vance: 21:58

like, I think it's obviously musics highly subjective, right? Like it comes down to taste. So, you know, in the same way that people see colors slightly differently, and we taste food slightly differently. Like, I know, we all listen to music differently. Like, even mean, Kim will listen to the same thing. And I'm, you know, I'm listening a certain way. And she, I listen to music, kind of almost like a robot. Like I'm always technically breaking things apart, because it's my job. But I can still remember like, oh, take a step back and listen to it from an emotional place. But the answer your question, I think that at least career professional artists and musicians and things like that, people like us realize, like, if you're gonna have longevity, like I'm a lifer. One of my therapists pointed out that for me, music isn't a vocation, not an occupation. You know, like, if I were to just play in a bar cover band on the weekend, and make a few bucks. That's an occupation. For me, it is a vocation there is there is nothing else. It's a call, you know, so for people like me. Yeah, we, once you realize that, like, Okay, I'm locking into this, I, I'm not giving myself a plan B. Like, they always tell you to the realization that, especially from a creative standpoint, you have to be in touch with your emotions, the emotions of your listener. And, you know, depending on what kind of music you make, obviously, but like party bands, you know, it's it's a more simple, shallow, but surface emotion like you just we're all here celebrating having a good time. Like, that's, that's viable. But if you're going to get into like the, you know, the sensitive songwriter and lyricist type of music that speaks to a human condition, which is a healing thing for listeners and the artist, you have to be super dialed in to your own vulnerabilities your own.

Rikki Harris: 24:13

Just your mental health, I mean, without necessarily calling it that. That's kind of what it is. Absolutely. Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking like, You got to be really in touch in a way that you know, most of us are challenged to stay that in touch but it made me wonder Do you participate in writing at all? Do you just do write

Travis Vance: 24:34

you know, I'm not like a words person. Which is like, I write words down like I'd but I'm not like a lyricist. I'm more of like a journal or you know, like, I like to occasionally journal and keep my thoughts together in that way. But I write like instrument music, which isn't necessarily everyone's favorite. But that's my thing because I have a jazz background. I went to music school and understand maybe too much about music. So I but I write instrumental music. And I find that, you know, it's, it's still the same release for me. And I, I like instrumental music because it doesn't put too fine a point on things. Which lyrics like a great lyricist doesn't put a fine point on emotional subject matter, right, like you're the greatest lyricists are able to convey a type of emotion in a way, you know, so like, Okay, this is a sad song, or this is a song about loss. And this is, or this is a song about whatever, you know, but then they leave the lyrics open ended enough that you can listen to a song about loss, then maybe it's their loss, but you can relate it to your loss of whatever that means to you. I don't have that very few people do. But I feel like I can write instrumental music that conveys these sort of broad, emotional snapshots. And that's like, that's my thing. But you know, I keep it pretty close to the chest. Also, like I don't, I don't really put my music out there. So you write these instrumental pieces, but we wouldn't necessarily hear them. No, it's It's, yeah, it's mostly for me.

Rikki Harris: 26:24

Yeah, that sounds like journaling.

Will Voss: 26:28

You know, when you see a jazz and how you write instrumental music, my mind automatically went to days where, alright, my downtime, sitting there listening to jazz music, relaxing, especially during the holiday season. by the fireplace. Got my hot cocoa and I will sit there and chill with some jazz. Yes. Awesome. Vision. started making our our kids listen to jazz at dinner. Yes, yes. Not like crazy bebop, like John Coltrane, or, you know more like, alright. Duke Ellington smacks, you know, like dinner, jazz, is educational education is, you know, you we talked a lot about, you know, you mentioned how family has gone and gotten that support. And you talk about what you do now and the journey that you've taken. One, I want to just tell you, thank you for being vulnerable, sharing your story yourself with us. It takes a lot to do a lot of courage. And I hope, you know, you just help somebody. Well, thank you. We want to reach so many people, you really just helped someone just by telling your story.

Travis Vance: 27:38

I want to I want to ask you a question. We think about all right, being in the band, you're working with a list celebrities, you're on the road you're traveling, think about others who are in the same predicament, as you, you know, we talk a lot about the artists that have come out with their mental health struggles and how they're seeking help. And you know, we really applaud them for that. What about those listeners who are just like you, someone who's in the band behind a list celebrity? They're on the road? They've got their own stuff that they're going with? How would you encourage them to make sure that they're taking care of their mental health? Right? And that's a great question. Because a lot of times, you know, guys like me, aren't really considered much. You know, like, I work for a guy. Well, let me back up. I've had people who's, you know, the, my mom's next door neighbor, she's like, Oh, you're famous. I'm like, not famous. You don't know my name, you know, the name of the guy I work for. And that's great. Like, that's fine. I can make these healthy distinctions. But especially in Nashville, in the music industry, there's a lot of people who wrap up their self identity and their self worth with the person they play for. It's like, that's not you, man. Like you are talented. And you do have worth because this person keeps you around and keeps you on their payroll or whatever. But it's freelance work at the end of the day can go away, fast. And I mean, I ran into that. I'm sorry, I'm all over the map here, but I love it keep going. I me and like most everyone in the music industry. That was 2020 for us, right? Like, our arse, especially because like I said, it's my vocation, not my occupation. I mean, it's both but you know, okay, so I couldn't go on tour. And that's a bummer. But I don't need to leave town to make music do I know you just have to be around other people. You can't be around other people. You are quarantined. You're at home. All of a sudden, I'm spending more time in one place than I've spent in 15 years. There's some silver linings to that I spent a lot of time with my kids. My yard looked really good. You know, stuff like that. but not to make too light of it. It was really hard for a lot of musicians. Because aside, I've learned to distance myself from my identity as an artist and a musician from the guy who I work for who I respect and care for. But I'm still me, I still have what I can do. You take away my ability to interact with other musicians on a real level. And it was really hard. And I know a lot of musicians dealt with that, like, not just the money thing, just like, okay, yeah, or we're, you know, living off of our savings, if we're lucky. It was more like, I can't do the thing that I've spent 30 years of my life getting really good at and that I identify with so much my it taught us all a lot about ourselves, as far as like, Okay, how much of my happiness is wrapped up in this? And if it goes away? How do I cope with it? Am I coping with it in a healthy way? Or not? Because if you've ever met a musician, almost all of us deal with substance abuse problems at some point or another. And, I mean, I didn't see the members, but everybody heard, you know, there's there was tons of spikes in od cases last year, as everybody's just at home, feeling alone turn into all the wrong things at some point or another. Maybe not right away. But you know, two months turns into six turns into 10. I mean, I was very lucky in that I got to start playing music again in the spring of this year, but I know some people who didn't, and they, a lot of them just quit a lot of them couldn't manage to just wait it out. And so they went into other careers, which is a bummer. And, you know, the, the substance abuse is, is really prevalent around but then, you know, Seidman also have, like inferiority complexes, right? Like, because we're not the guy up front, like I, again, I've been dealing with mental health for most of my life. So I mean, I still dealt with it on my gig. Now, you know, like, my guy started being real famous. And when he's when I started with him, he wasn't super famous men, he got real famous. And there was like, a necessary boundary that was placed there between him and sort of everybody else has the internet and celebrities, etc, etc. Keeping your career and your brand intact are really important. So I dealt with some inferiority complexes about that. And then a lot of musicians, so I went to Berkeley, like I said, and I actually took a psychology course up there with a really interesting guy. His name was Eddie McGrath, he started life as a bricklayer, his next door neighbor was Joe Perry, the guitar player from Aerosmith, they grew up together. And then he decided later in life, like in his 30s, to go back to school, and ended up he was working on think his thing, he was working on his master's thesis in psychology when I was taking courses with him. But he his master's thesis was that musicians, and really anyone in a performing scenario, because I mean, that can include sports figures, and dancers and anybody, but anybody who has to perform in like a really kind of high level, they tend to, or he was positive, that they shared a lot of the same characteristics of people with dissociative personality disorders. Right. So like, you ask a musician when they're on stage, like, we don't remember moment to moment, you know, I might remember a thing that happens. But afterwards, I just remember how it felt about it. I don't necessarily remember all the details of it. And I don't necessarily feel like myself, when I'm out there, either. I feel like a different sort of version of myself. Like, I married an introvert, I have introverted, you know, type parts of my personality. But part of my job is to go out in front of lots of people like right up to the front of the stage or in front of a camera and like smile and be very present for a lot of people. It's not my personality by default. So I dissociate a bit. And so does everybody. I mean, that goes for sports figures and all these people I've seen too. So that can be a good thing and a bad thing. Right? If it's, I recognize it for what it is, and I use it, and I'm aware of it. But there's a lot of musicians who don't. Or you don't even know what dissociative personality disorder is, you know, it's not split brain personality disorder like in the movies or whatever, it's, it's a different thing. But we share a lot of qualities with them. As far as when we perform, especially once you get to higher levels of performance, you have to be a version of yourself that you can't be that person all the time. Like it's not healthy. So that's, that's an important distinction that I think a lot of musicians could stand to hear more of that could be talked about more. I'm a pretty open book, like all the guys that I throw with, you know, they don't roll their eyes, but they just they're like, We got it. And like you, you like to talk about this a lot. And it's great. And I'm in a very healthy environment on the road, we are all very real close knit group up there. And there's a I mean, I would say for country music, in general, we're one of the more emotionally and mentally progressive groups out there. I mean, my guy is pretty, Thomas is pretty open about therapy and how important emotional health is. I'm very grateful for that. But not everybody. In fact, very few people are in that situation, there's a lot of bad and toxic situations on the road that can just lead to all kinds of, you know, things that that get lumped into the category of like, oh, that's just somebody being you know, those musicians. They're crazy. It's like, Well, are we going to put any finer point on that? Are you just gonna say, oh, musicians, they're crazy. There's, there's, there's a lot of

Will Voss: 36:44

nuance to it, I guess. Yeah, Travis chuckled a little bit when you said that when you're on the road, a lot of the other guys will say, alright, man, we get it. For me, I look at that, as you're an advocate, you are and we talk all the time to, especially to our staff, and even ourselves, you know, we're like I use your voice, use your voice to make a difference. You know, we've been given platforms in this world. So how do we use this platform for something good? Well, for us, it's talking about mental health and how it has negative impacts, is supporting to continue to decrease the stigma, and make sure we're providing support to those who may be struggling. And you're utilizing your voice today. And it seems like always, to let others know that one, I've been through this, too, you're not alone. And three, you can reach these goals that you've set for yourself, just continue on that journey. It's not gonna happen overnight. You know, what, if we just walk along this journey, things will get better? So I think it's awesome. I'll tell you this. Next time those guys tell him that just say, Hey, I'm not gonna stop using my voice, right? Oh, no, no, I'm exaggerating a bit, you know, to make a point.

Travis Vance: 37:57

I probably talk about it more than anybody out there. But at least all of the band guys, and really most of our crew, it's really kind of amazing. How open a lot of those guys are out there and what a healthy environment it is for me. And maybe it's partly because like, I've been playing with that guy for the longest, and everybody who comes in eventually meets me and they're just like, I don't know, if you figured this out or not, I can talk. And I'm not scared to talk. There's very little I'm scared to talk about. But yeah, I mean, I, I'm always, I feel like that's the best way to advocate. Right? It's just to talk about it and share. And not get too preachy about it. You know, like, when I say talk, I don't mean talk at I mean, talk with, you know, you have to have a dialogue with with someone, for them to, to get anything out of it. I mean, you guys know this, you're the you're the professionals. I'm married to one, but, you know, you have to involve the other person. And, I mean, you can't force it on me. If you see somebody with a problem, and you can recognize it. It's so easy to start. Just dive right in, like, let's go, you know, like, let's talk about your problems. It's like, Yeah, I've been in therapy off and on for like, 25 years. So I got no problem talking about my problems. But it's terrifying to most people. And it's really hard to start, you know, which is why so many people don't do it. They just don't know where to start.

Rikki Harris: 39:35

Absolutely. Well, I I hope they're musicians listening because I this has been fascinating conversation to me and just thinking about the industry that you're in an industry we're in and how those crossover or blend together sometimes but also like I would just want to say kudos to you for like sticking with the dream and like coming from a family full on both sides. family, my husband's family, all musicians, people who had dreams at one point time and decided, well, I gotta go get a, you know, eight to fiver and be done with this dream. And that's hard. I know how hard it is. So kudos. Second what it sounds like?

Travis Vance: 40:17

It did. I mean, I had, I mean, I would be lying if I didn't say that there were. I mean, I had some privileges along the way that allowed me to keep going, when a lot of people mad at other ones quit. I had some very supportive parents, both emotionally and financially, as far as like, playing music as a career. They were like, you know, they very supportive. Also, I worked a lot of jobs out of weird, terrible jobs. Like, like all musicians do at some point while they're trying to figure it out. And then, you know, it's just a combination of privilege, talent, and luck. It's like 60% luck. It really

Rikki Harris: 41:03

well, before we we end, I have to know what the worst job you ever had to do, if you can. Oh.

Travis Vance: 41:13

Like the worst, it's a tie. I worked at an AMC movie theater in Boston for a while, like, right in Fenway, like right near Fenway stadium, hated that. It was awful. And then the first job I had in Nashville, was at a pier one out in Hermitage. And I worked I moved here in like September, got the job was just trying to pay rent. And Black Friday happened. And I straight up had a panic attack. And it was like, I guess I don't work retail. Like, I had to leave like, I mean, full blown clinical panic attack, and I walked out and was like, I'm not coming back, y'all. I'm sorry. Like, I it's the only job I've ever just straight up walked out of everyone else. I'd give them two weeks or more, you know, like I and I felt terrible about it. I was like, no, no, I'm having a panic attack. Like I'm seeing read. I can't breathe. So I'm going to leave and never come back. And

Rikki Harris: 42:14

so that was that was the worst job. I think maybe ever. Good. That's good. Well, it's Well, it's funny. I can so relate to that moment. When you're in a you're having a panic attack. And you're like, I have to stop whatever this is. It has to end right now. So

Travis Vance: 42:34

yeah, and at least it wasn't a life or death job situation. I wasn't working in an era or something. You know, I was just like, I'm just fluffing pillows. I gotta get out of here. Oh, my goodness. This has been awesome. Travis. Thanks. Thank you all so much for having me. And let me talk my talk your ears off about mental health with with the musical community, which I mean, I'll, I'll never stop because I feel like it's so important. So if you ever want to do it again, you know how to find me. We appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you so much drivers. Absolutely. Thank you all.

Rikki Harris: 43:13

Yeah, right.

Erika Lathon: 43:19

Thank you for joining us. If you enjoy today's program, like subscribe and review this podcast. If you or someone you know is in need of mental health support services, log on to tn voices.org or call 1-800-670-9882. Join us next time as we get candid