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Abby has a punk rock pedigree worthy of royalty and undisputable street cred dating back to the tender age of sixteen, when she played bass for The Love Dolls, a tongue-in-cheek combo spawned from director Dave Markey’s underground cult film of the same name. During the 1995 Lollapalooza tour, she played bass in back-to-back sets with both Beck and Elastica!!! For years, she played in the house band at Hollywood’s hottest club Make-Up, backing luminaries like Dee Dee Ramone, Jayne County, and The Runaways. She has performed and/or recorded with the likes of Exene Cervenka’s Original Sinners, Michael Penn, KMFDM, Go Go Kathy Valentine, Vanessa Paradis, Butthole Surfer Gibby Haynes, El Vez and even Spinal Tap! In between performances with her own star studded band (featuring members of The Beastie Boys, Klaus Nomi band, and ex Mars Volta) Travis currently plays bass in The Bangles. In 1998, Abby began her solo career with the full length CD The Abby Travis Foundation. Travis produced, penned and released Foundation on her own label. After a nationwide tour and a Japanese release of this CD, Abby followed up with Cutthroat Standards & Black Pop (co-produced by Travis with Kristian Hoffman), in 2001. Cutthroat took Travis' artistry and vision up a notch; nearly single-handedly spearheading the nation-wide 1920’s glam/ cabaret music revival. Always a critic’s favorite: Cutthroat got great reviews in publications such as Billboard, Entertainment Today, Alternative Press, The LA Times and The Washington Post who described this CD as a “Brecht-Weill” epiphany. As a vampy, feather-headressed chanteuse, she toured nationally in support of Cutthroat. Ms. Travis’ spellbinding charisma and excellent comic timing have made her a sought after actress on stage and screen. Travis has appeared in the films Shadow Hours, Weathermen 69 and The Book of Manson; and starred in award-winning playwright Justin Tanner’s The Strip. Music remains Travis’ true love and GlitterMouth is her most sophisticated and accessible work to date. In “Hunger” (which features guest appearances by Donita Sparks of L7 and Monique Powell of Save Ferris) Abby describes her subject as “the rasp of an Asp that consumes it’s own tail”. “Blythe” is a love ballad worthy of Dolly Parton. GlitterMouth also features a collaboration with Abby and Cocteau Twins’ Simon Raymonde called “Chase Me” as well as a cover of The Shangri Las “Past Present and Future”. Abby also created her own night club called Mata Hari, which takes place at Tangier and has featured performances by Travis, Ann Magnuson, Jane Wiedlin, Jackie Beat, Rebekah Del Rio (from David Lynch’s Mullhulland Drive), and John Waters superstar Mink Stole just to name a few! It’s the most elegant Glitter Rock Cabaret in LA!! If this were Hollywood’s Golden Age, Abby would be starring in a big budget musical at a major studio. For now we still have the chance to see this diva up close. Full of imagination, incomparable beauty and more chops than a freezer full of lamb racks to back it up, Abby Travis is a star who has truly arrived. |
