Name: Travis Kotler
Bands: The Banned, The Lab Puppies, JF Kennedy’s Brain, Graveshift, The Stumblers, Pineal Ventana, & something with Brian, Nicole, & Patrick that I can’t remember. A few tracks on Tenth to the Moon’s debut. Played bass with the Mudclowns once or twice.
Websites: Facebook

QRD – What was your first guitar & what happened to it?

Travis – Japanese Strat copy. Dark blue. I don’t remember.

QRD – What’s your typical set-up from guitar to effects to amplifier? 

Travis – Just an acoustic Guild jumbo & a sitar I brought back from India. All other musical instruments have been donated to the divorce industry of Watauga County, North Carolina.

QRD – What’s the most important part of your rig – guitar, amplifier, or effects?

Travis – Guitar.

QRD – What’s your main amplifier & why?

Travis – Early 80s Peavey Deuces & Maces. Very cheap, very durable, very loud. Big sound.

QRD – What’s your main guitar & what are the features that make it such? 

Travis – Guild JF-30. Easier to get around when living out of a car.

QRD – If you had a signature guitar, what would it look like & what would some of its features be? 

Travis – Part Rickenbacker 330, part Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun.

QRD – If you had a signature pedal, what would it be & what would some of its features be? 

Travis – Compressor/Limiter/Sampler. Honesty, logic, & the sound of about fifty metal chairs gently knocking on the concrete in front of the rooms on the hill on a sunny day.

QRD – How many guitars do you own? 

Travis – One.

QRD – How & where do you store your guitars? 

Travis – Cases at the foot of the bed.

QRD – What do you wish guitar cases had that they usually don’t? 

Travis – Sane women.

QRD – What features do you look for when buying a guitar? 

Travis – If anyone in the store would notice if I stole it.

QRD – How much do you think a good guitar should cost? 

Travis – See above.

QRD – Do you upgrade & customize your guitars or just stick with what you get? 

Travis – Not really. Put a Bigsby on a Gibson 135 once.

QRD – How thoroughly do you research or test a piece of equipment before buying it? 

Travis – Not at all. Instant attraction is everything.

QRD – Do you change your rig around often? 

Travis – Yes. It is necessary to help prevent infection or hepatitis.

QRD – Are you after one particular guitar tone & locking into it, or do you like to change your tone around a lot? 

Travis – When I lived in cities I needed to create space with a guitar. I have a lot of space, now, so acoustic is best.

QRD – What are some guitars, amps, & pedals you particularly lust after? 

Travis – None.

QRD – What do you think are some important features to be on a person’s first guitar that aren’t always there? 

Travis – Sodium Pentathol.

QRD – What have been the best & worst guitar related purchases you’ve made? 

Travis – No regrets. I have loved them all.

QRD – What are some effect, amp, & guitar brands you particularly like or dis-like & why? 

Travis – All sorts. Variety.

QRD – What’s the first thing you play when you pick up a guitar? 

Travis – Beer pong.

QRD – How old were you when you started playing guitar? 

Travis – 13.

QRD – At what age do you think you leveled up to your best guitar playing? 

Travis – Today.

QRD – Why do you think a guitar fits you more so than other instruments? 

Travis – I don’t.

QRD – Do you think guitar should be people’s first instrument as often as it is? 

Travis – No.

QRD – Do you see your guitar as your ally or adversary in making music? 

Travis – Both.

QRD – Who are the guitarists that most influenced your playing & sound? 

Travis – Johnny Smith, Ida Presti, Steve Stevens, Keith Levene, Pepe Romero, John McGeoch, Jimmy Page, Vilayat Khan, William Reid, & this guy:

QRD – Do you think people anthropomorphizing their guitars is natural or silly (e.g. naming their guitar)? 

Travis – I don’t care.

QRD – What’s the most physical damage you’ve done to a guitar & how did you do it? 

Travis – Rockfight. Pine Canyon Campsite #2. February, 2009. Gianninni acoustic (RIP).

QRD – What do you do to practice other than simply playing? 

Travis – Scales, note reading, moderate drinking.

QRD – How many hours a week do you play guitar & how many hours would you like to? 

Travis – Not enough. More.

QRD – What type of pick do you use & why? 

Travis – All sorts. Variety.

QRD – What gauge strings do you use & why? 

Travis – Heavy. Better for alternate tunings.

QRD – How often do you change strings? 

Travis – Not often.

QRD – How often do you break strings? 

Travis – Lots.

QRD – Which do you feel is more proficient, your strumming hand or fretting hand & how does that effect your style? 

Travis – That is very, very personal!

QRD – Do you set-up your guitar yourself or send it to a guitar tech (or not set it up at all) & why? 

Travis – Myself. The nearest guitar tech is about 100 miles north.

QRD – What tunings do you use & why? 

Travis – DADGAD - when I’m feeling pretty. CGDGCD - when I’m feeling shy. DADGBE - when I’m feeling NASTY. BEADF#B - when I want to cry.

QRD – Do you prefer tablature, sheet music, or some other notation system for writing down your own ideas? 

Travis – I keep everything in my head, then forget all of it.

QRD – How high do you hold your guitar when playing (strap length)? 

Travis – Again, very personal.

QRD – What’s a bad habit in your playing you wish you could break? 

Travis – Vomiting.

QRD – Playing what other instrument do you think can most help someone’s guitar playing? 

Travis – Flute.

QRD – What’s a type of guitar playing you wish you could do that you can’t? 

Travis – The kind that makes me some money.

QRD – What’s a guitar goal you’ve never accomplished? 

Travis – See above. Also, world peace.

QRD – What’s the last guitar trick you learned? 

Travis – Selling it for more than I paid for it.

QRD – What’s your favorite guitar gadget (ebow, capo, slide, string cutter, etc)? 

Travis – Wire coat hanger.

QRD – What’s a guitar technique you’d like to master, but haven’t? 

Travis – Plate tectonics.

QRD – Did you ever take guitar lessons & if so, what did you learn from them? 

Travis – Charles Williams taught me how to move my fingers & figure out how to play what I heard on record or tape. David Case taught me classical.

QRD – What would you teach someone in a guitar lesson that you don’t think they would generally get from a guitar teacher? 

Travis – How to make your fingers bleed.

QRD – What’s something someone would have to do to emulate your style? 

Travis – Buy the first round.

QRD – What’s your take on tremolo systems? 

Travis – Bigsby. Lots of sounds on the other side of the bridge.

QRD – How often do you adjust your tone knob? 

Travis – That’s what she said.

QRD – What do you see as the difference between lead guitar & rhythm guitar players? 

Travis – Hopefully I don’t.

QRD – If a band has good guitar work, can you ignore the rest of the band not being good? 

Travis – I would ignore the rest of the band anyway.

QRD – What famous musician’s guitar would you like to own & why? 

Travis – This one: http://most-expensive.net/guitar-in-world

QRD – Who do you think is currently the most innovative guitar player & why?

Travis – Me. Because I’ve got so much love to give.

QRD – Where can people hear your best guitar work?

Travis – Probably Paint Gap Hills # 4, sometime in September.

QRD – Anything else?

Travis – April 25th is Parental Alienation Awareness Day. Please take good care of my sons.

Other QRD interviews with Travis Kotler:
Pineal Ventana interview (october 1995)