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Travis Smith (musician)

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This article is about the drummer. For other people with this name, see Travis Smith (disambiguation).
Travis Smith
Background information
Born (1982-04-29) April 29, 1982 (age 42)
Bainbridge, Georgia, U.S.
GenresMetalcore, thrash metal
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Drums, percussion, vocals
Years active1999–2010
LabelsRoadrunner

Travis Smith (born April 29, 1982 in Bainbridge, Georgia) is the former drummer in the metal band Trivium, from their formation in 1999 until he officially departed on February 4, 2010. Travis is best known for his very fast footwork, and intricate rhythms on the toms, a skill that has been noted several times by music magazines such as Revolver and Modern Drummer as well as by other media.[1] In Metal Hammer's Golden Gods Awards 2006, Travis received the "Best Drummer in the Universe" award.[2]

Departure

Trivium's relationship with Smith had deteriorated over the years, and the band had no immediate plans to replace him when he announced in late October 2009 that he would be sitting out the 'Into the Mouth of Hell' tour to take care of "some personal business." It was not until after the band members started playing with Augusto on the tour that they realized the injection of new blood served Trivium well.

"We were coming to the point where the band was -- not necessarily dissolving -- but dissolving in creativity and maybe in live fire and energy, so we had to make a change for the positive," Heafy told Noisecreep. "Thankfully, we were able to find Nick, who was able to step it up and really be that guy to take us to the next level. We told him over the phone [that we were continuing with Augusto,] and it was hard for everyone involved," Heafy said. "But I hope it's going to be something Travis recognizes was for the better for him in years to come. For his own health and well-being as well and for our own. I heard that he's doing very well now and that's the best you can wish for. And we hope he does amazingly, no matter what he picks in life to do next."[3]

In an interview with OneMetal.com, guitarist Corey Beaulieu added, "...over time, things just kinda weren’t working out, and we did a headline tour of the US and about halfway through Travis just said he wasn’t going to do the next tour, so regardless we had to think about getting someone to fill in, then once we started playing with Nick we just knew it was the right thing."[4]

On the nature of Smith's dismissal from the band, Beaulieu stated "...things were falling apart, and we just kind of pulled the trigger first, just to get it done, move forward and get the new guy settled in and comfortable. It’s been working really great with Nick and when people see the show they will see why."[4]

Eternal Exile

Early in 2012, Smith was asked to join Swedish band Eternal Exile. This was confirmed by a contemporary Facebook post by Smith: "It's official! I'm heading to Sweden to start pre-production with a killer band Eternal Exile, this will be their debut record. I fly in Feb. 1st and stay until Apr. 10th, It's going to be a hell of a killer 2 months of rockin' out Swedish style! Stay tuned for up dates and pics. I can't wait to get this show on the road!"

However, according to Eternal Exile's Facebook page, the arrangement with Travis did not work out due to business "stuff" (due to the bands label at the time).[citation needed]

Equipment

Smith uses a D-Drum drum kit. He also uses Gibraltar Hardware, ddrum electronics and Sabian cymbals. Since January 2007 Smith has used Aquarian drumheads - Texture Coated on the tom batters, Hi-Frequency Black heads on the resonant sides and Superkick II drumheads on the bass drum batters. He also uses Ahead gloves and his own signature Ahead drum sticks. Below is the current set-up he uses:

Drums:

  • Two 20"x24" Kick drums
  • 7"x8" Tom Tom
  • 8"x10" Tom Tom
  • 9"x12" Tom Tom
  • 10"x14" Tom Tom
  • 16"x16" Floor Tom
  • 16"x18" Floor Tom
  • 7"x14" Snare Drum
  • 6", 8", 22", 24" Acrylic Deccabons
  • Ddrum Precision Cast Mesh Pad
  • Ddrum 4SE Module

Hardware:

  • Gibraltar: drum rack and a lot of other hardware and components and 2xIron Cobra pedals.

Heads:

  • Aquarian (see specs above)

Cymbals:

  • Sabian: AAX Stage Hats 14",
  • AAX X-Plosion Crash 17 & 19",
  • HH Power Bell Ride 22",
  • Paragon Chinese 19",

AAX-Xtreme Chinese 19" (x2),

  • HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash 20",
  • HHX Evolution O-Zone Crash 18".

It is still not revealed what his full cymbal set-up is (even though he is endorsed by Sabian). But these cymbals have been seen in Trivium's music videos and live performances. Furthermore, they have also been shown on the making of the Shogun album (Special Edition) while he is recording the drum tracks.

Sticks:

  • Ahead Signature

References

  1. ^ "Quickest feet reference". Moderndrummer.com. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  2. ^ "Golden Gods Awards - Best drummer award". Metalhammer.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  3. ^ Trivium Frontman Explains Firing of Drummer Travis Smith. Noisecreep. (2010-02-10). Retrieved on 2012-06-30.
  4. ^ a b Trivium's Corey Beaulieu chats with OneMetal.com - INTERVIEW : OneMetal.com. OneMetal.com. (2010-03-26). Retrieved on 2012-06-30.

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