Travis "Big T" Russell

PHEW! Here we are diving head first into 2026. There are so. Many. Challenges ahead for the music industry as a whole in the NC market. First, the venues are hurting. I hear from breweries and bars all over the state and they are all saying the same thing. They are struggling. Many have closed. This is not good for the live music scene of course. 

We depend on these businesses to be successful. The more successful they are, the more opportunities we have as musicians to bring our music to you. When they fail, we hurt. There is not much we can do as musicians to improve that situation as much of it is out of our control. 

There are many factors into why these businesses are hurting. Sometimes its do to poor management. But with today's economy, its more about the money in our fans pockets, or the lack thereof! When our fans don't have disposable income, they stop going out, or at least cut back how much they go out. This means the places that support live music have a lot of empty seats in the house, and when there is an empty seat, there is a lack of revenue. 

There is an equation called average cover. Average cover is the amount of revenue generated when a seat is occupied. If a bar earns $5000 in a night and serves 200 patrons, the revenue per seat would be:

Average Cover = $5000 / 200 = $25 per seat

Of course there are a lot of factors that impact the amount of revenue an establishment can earn in a night. Price is high on that list. If prices are higher so is revenue, but higher prices can also limit the amount of money you might spend at the bar. There are so many other factors, but music can help drive revenue per seat, if the artist can bring more people to fill seats in the bar. This is what drives a lot of bookings. 

Booking agents and bar managers look for artists who bring people in to the venue. They are looking for artists who can bring a following with them, and fill seats. Even if its just a few seats, its something! That is why artists do what they can to promote their gigs, and get people to come out and see them. If we don't fill seats, chances are we won't get booked at that establishment again. 

As a local musician, I work hard at my craft. I have a rehearsal studio where I constantly work on new material, and better ways to deliver the stuff already in my catalog. I am always working on ways to make my shows better and more entertaining. As times get tough, we depend on our fan base more than anything to help get us bookings. We need our fan base to come out and fill those seats!

Its hard. I get it. I tend to be a couch potato myself when I have no place to go. This is especially true since I don't drink. Why go to a bar when I don't drink, and money is tight. Disposable income is not as prevalent as it once was. But when I go out, I have a great time! Because I am hearing great music, I'm interacting with great people, and I am enjoying non-alcoholic beer (there are some great ones out there folks - give them a try). 

We need your help. Help musicians survive by helping out the local bars and breweries that support live music. Fill those seats, and buy a few beers. Let the musicians know you are there because of them, and let the bartenders know too! The more these establishments are successful, the more live music you will hear in your community. Look forward to seeing you at one of my shows, and be sure to say hello!

Another year is behind us. Soon, we will be rolling into 2026 and at the blink of an eye, saying goodbye to that year as well. Time seems to move faster as we grow a wee bit older, or maybe we are just used to everything being “fast” and “instant". I for one and hoping to live more in the today, and not the instant. I hope to slow my roll a bit and savor every day, good and bad. 

As I look back at 2025, it was another spectacular year! 53 shows behind me, which is more than I thought I would do, and so many new venues. Sadly, we are saying goodbye to some venues that have grown familiar to us. I counted at least six venues that have closed for good this year. That means six fewer places for musicians to share their music. 

But as venues close, new ones open. I am already seeing several new venues opening their doors, offering local musicians an opportunity to share their music. While I am saddened by the closing of some old favorites, I look forward to playing in those new venues. 

We also saw so many of our favorite musicians pass on to the biggest venue of all. We lost so many great ones this year, as it seems we do every year. Here are some of the musicians that inspired me over the years:

Peter Yarrow, Peter Paul and Mary - We lost Peter in January. He was 86. When I was growing up, they were a big part of the folk music scene, along with Bob Dylan. I still sing Puff, the Magic Dragon to this day. 

Rod Clark, Moody Blues - Rod was only with the band for a short period of time around 1966. My sister introduced me to the Moody Blues and they became a staple in my record cabinet.

John Lodge, Moody Blues - John was also a bass player for the band, lasting longer than Clark who was temporary. Lodge played with the Moody Blues for many years, and was responsible for the symphonic sound of the band. He was a major part for so many years, and was touring up until his death. 

Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys - who didn't listen to The Beach Boys? They were such a huge part of the rock scene when I was growing up. Brian was the troubled one, and his later songs reflected what haunted him. 

Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath - I know, Ozzy is not country. But he was still in my library when I was feeling like heavy metal. And what an icon he became for that genre. I actually met Ozzy and Sharon back when I was working production. Had to do some work in their dressing room. Both were very gracious and pleasant. Never got a Christmas card from them though. 

Chuck Girard, The Castells, The Hondells, Love Song - Chuck was a contemporary gospel singer, and a friend of one of my wife's cousins. I did some work for Chuck back in the early ‘80s at his home in Los Angeles, and was introduced to his music for the first time. In exchange for the work I did (I didn’t charge him) he gave me an entire collection of his albums, which I still have today. I just learned of Chuck's passing while writing this so thought I would include him, even though he was not a big influence on my music. 

Ace Freehly, KISS - wow, this one came as a big surprise. Ace apparently fell and died of his head injury. KISS was huge when I was a teenager, and a big part of the sound from that era. I worked a few shows with these guys here in NC as part of the production team. Never get any Christmas cards from them either. 

Todd Snider - man this one was hard for everyone in the Americana scene. Todd was such a big part of this genre and his songs always brutally honest, witty, and blunt. Beer Run, I'm an Alright Guy, Its A Great Day to Kick Somebody's Ass, these are just some of my favorites from Todd. 

Raul Malo, The Mavericks - I just started listening to The Mavericks a year or two ago, and love their stuff. Raul brought the energy to the lyrics and made their songs pop. I've been trying a few of their songs but can't do them justice like Raul did. I am going to miss this guys vocals. 

Joe Ely, too many bands to list - Joe's songs can be heard on many country artists albums. He toured with greats like Lyle Lovett and Guy Clark, and formed the Flatlanders when he first started out. 

There were so many more greats who passed on in 2025. Go to Wikipedia if you want the complete list, but these are the ones that stand out for me. Since I am rambling on and on here, I'll close this out with this thought. As we lose so many greats year after year, who will fill their shoes? Who will be the next generation of musicians that leave their mark on our lives? 

I plan on spending 2026 seeking them out, listening to live music whenever I can, and supporting local musicians everywhere! 

“What the world needs now is more Peace, Love, and Country Music!”

When I first started out as a musician back in my teens, I had dreams like all young musicians of making it big. Touring the nation in a bus, playing the big stage with major record deals, living the life of fame and fortune. It didn't take long to realize that was nothing but a dream, and very few (like less than 1%) ever make it to that stage. 

There are many more who fall into the second tier of musicians, still touring and making a living playing their music, but not in a bus. Usually a van pulling a trailer. Nothing wrong with that by the way, as they are making a good living playing all over the nation. Not a bad way to go by the way, but I noticed many of these musicians have side gigs as well. Some make money by writing music for others. The royalty payments can be very lucrative (better than royalties for performing). Others are DJs, or work in music stores. 

And then there are the third tier musicians. Playing mostly local stages, maybe writing some music but touring is a lot less formal and more about running from gig to gig in their pickup truck. They play in a wide variety of venues, and even get some radio play supporting local music. Their music can't support them so they depend on regular jobs to fund their music.

Folks like me, well we probably fit more in the fourth tier, or somewhere in-between. Playing local gigs, but also branching out and playing out of town. I do get around, playing all over the State, but touring is really commuting to my next gig in my mini-van. I do write my own music, and publish it myself. I usually don't get to play big stages because promoters want bands for those types of gigs. But occasionally I do get the opportunity to play big stages and its always a thrill!

I was scrolling through my Facebook stuff and read a post by a second tier musician. He is a major player, writing music and occasionally playing on stage with a major first tier country artist. He tours himself playing small venues and listening rooms. He was talking about how for years he aspired to be a tier one musician. Playing big stages in front of big crowds, with major record deals. He has finally come to the realization that his calling is as a second tier musician. And he is finally at peace with that realization. 

And I am perfectly fine where I am at with my music. I have no aspirations of a major record deal (in fact I would probably turn it down if offered one). I have been approached by “managers” wanting to sign me, but I turned them down as well. Might sound crazy, but I have become a bit tainted in my old age. Maybe its wisdom from years in this crazy industry. 

I do have experience in the publishing world. Many do not know this, but I am a published author. My publisher is McGraw-Hill, and my engineering books (yeah, I can geek out sometimes) once sold all over the world. But my publisher gets most of the money. I get very little when you consider the amount of work (it took me over a year to write my first book) to write a good book. Not to mention the knowledge and expertise! 

As a musician its the same dilemma. Lots of work handed over to a record label that is going to take your song and make tons of money on it, while giving you very little. Its why many have gone to independent publishing (like yours truly). We control our own destiny and we own our music. But I digress. 

The challenge is promotion. Getting to the next tier (I made these tiers up by the way) of musicianship is hard work, especially when you are an independent. Its you. You have to do the hard work of promoting yourself and getting those bigger and better gigs. But I prefer it that way. 

My latest song, “I ain't ever going to be Willie” talks to that. My favorite lyric:

I ain't ever going to be Willie
I ain't trying to be the Hag
I can't write like Kris or Prine
But what I do is all mine

When you see us local musicians out there, give them your love and support. All we want is to spread our music to as many people as possible. Whether we are playing the big stage or the barroom floor, our dreams are simple! Play and sing, and reach as many as we can with our music. 

What the World needs now, is more Peace, Love, and Country Music! (you can quote me on that)

My, the music industry has changed on so many fronts. These new musicians will never know the struggle! Like walking to gigs with our gear strapped to our bags trudging through 3 feet of snow, uphill, both ways! Just kidding, Los Angeles didn't have snow, just hills. Both ways. 

When I first started my musical journey, there was no Internet. When I wanted to learn a new song (usually something I heard on the radio) I had to find the album, and look for sheet music. There were only a handful of music stores in Los Angeles that carried a wide selection of sheet music so that was not always a great option. 

Sometimes I would have to find a songbook that had the song. Beatles Greatest Hits for example. A bit more expensive (around $20 and more back then) but it also had other songs from the same artist. And I could be sure that the music would be accurate. I still have shelves full of these song books.

But carrying around a bunch of song books was just not feasible for a gigging musician looking to be able to take requests. So for those of us who were professional musicians, there were fake books. These were nothing more than copies of sheet music all bound in a spiral book. Since they were copies of the published sheet music and not legitimate, they were illegal. But they would often have hundreds of songs in them so musicians that played on a regular basis would often have a few of these with them. I can neither confirm or deny having any fake books. 

Because they were illegal, you wouldn't find these at your local music store. Only a few stores that catered to professional musicians would have them under the counter and would only sell to us if they knew who we were. And they would cost a pretty penny of $50 back then, but well worth the money when you think of the content. 

Then came the Internet. Suddenly, we could find music online! And then YouTube, where we could search on an artist and listen to their music (legally, so the musicians actually got royalties for their work!). This has helped me personally a bunch, as I can go to an artists YouTube site and listen to their versions of their songs over and over again. I will still buy albums (or CDs) to play in the studio when fooling around though. 

Guitar tablature sites started popping up making it so much easier to learn new songs. Unfortunately these sites depend on interpretations from individuals and so are not always accurate, but they at least give us a baseline to start from. I usually pull down the lyrics and tab (a simple form of music that does not require reading actual music) and transpose from there. 

Fortunate for me, I was a music major in college (too bad I didn't finish that out) and so I understand music theory. This has helped me tremendously in writing and transposing arrangements. Just about everything I play is my own version of a song and not played verbatim from the original artists album or recording. I always make the music my own putting my own spin on songs. 

Since all of this is electronic, I can now easily move it all to my iPad instead of carrying around binders of sheet music. It wasn't that long ago that I had three big binders of music that I carried around. Hundreds of songs now stored on my iPad. 

There are some great programs for musicians out there, like OnSong (the one I use these days). They not only allow us to create a set list, but I can also organize my music anyway I like (by Author or genre for example). As I play, I can use a page turner to flip pages on the iPad, making it hands free. There are many other tools available in these programs, and they have revolutionized the way we play today! 

Unfortunately, all this technology has also made it easier to pirate music, both written and recorded. When musicians are struggling to make a buck, their only source of true income is what they record and write. But when that too is getting ripped off, it makes it even harder to make a living in music. 

So with all the good comes all the bad, and we as professional musicians have to navigate our way around all the bad to still be able to do what we love - bring our music to you, our fans! Thank you for supporting local musicians and the venues that hire us to play!

Sure …… I have opinions on a lot of things. But I don't share them from the stage. To me, the microphone is a tool for making music. If I was a politician, or philosopher, or activist it may be different. But I'm not. I'm a musician. I make music and people come to hear me sing and play guitar, not to hear my opinion on geo-political issues. 

We have plenty of opinions running amok out there. Everyone has one. Just ask them! They are all over social media and even the evening news these days (oh I long for the days of Walter Cronkite and opinion-less news). And of course there are even false opinions created for the sheer purpose of raising even more hate and division. There is one thing this society is not short of and that's opinions. 

When I go to a concert, or the local brewery to hear music, that's what I want to hear. Music. And I get it. High-profile musicians turned activists want to use their platforms to voice their opinions. But you how Dylan and even The Dead did it? Through music. They didn't have to get up in front of the microphone and preach their opinion. They let their music do it for them. 

And that's the way it should be. If I have an opinion I want to share, I will do it through my music. Because after all, I am just a musician, and it's only my personal opinion. 

Sure. A guitars aesthetics are what usually draws my attention to the instrument. After all, I do love a beautiful guitar. But what is more important to me than its outer beauty is the sound it produces when played. If you have seen my guitars, you know they are all beautiful in their own way. But the sounds they produce are amazing, and that is the real reason I bought them! 

For example, my main gigging guitars are the Taylor K26ce (Koa), and the Taylor 914ce (Rosewood). I chose the K26ce for its deep and rich tones. As it gets older, it gets richer and fuller. This makes a nice mellow tone when played hard or soft. 

The 914ce is my first rosewood guitar. The spruce top makes it bright and crisp. I love playing this guitar because of its brightness. Both guitars are so easy to play and look good at the same time. I usually rotate through them each night.

For recording though, things are a bit different. My first project, “Keeping It Simple” was recorded using my Taylor Limited Edition JKSM (Jewel Kilcher Signature Model). I bought this guitar for finger picking mostly, but in the studio it has a deep resonate tone. This one stays in the stable, as there were less than 740 of these made (this one was #487). 

When recording in my home studio, I like to use my old workhorse, the Guild D25. This was really my first real guitar (my first guitar was a little “Crown” gut string special from the local music store). The guitar was picked out by my father, who was a master wood craftsman. He listened to dozens of guitars looking for the “perfect sound” and chose this spruce top model with a cherry finish (his favorite wood). This guitar is from around 1976, and I still use it at home all the time. 

I do have other guitars that serve various utilities. For example, my “working” guitar sits next to my desk and is what I use every day for writing, composing, and arranging music. Its a Baby Taylor 305-M (of course) mahogany guitar. Its perfect for hanging around and providing a quick tool for writing and composing. 

My Taylor Baritone 8-string is fun when joining in jams where there are several guitars, and I want something to compliment the other instruments around me. From time to time I may bring it out to shows but not often (I hate carrying around lots of guitars). 

I won't go through all the rest of them but let's just say I have a few. And they all serve a different purpose, and they all have a different sound. And that is what is more important to me. Its what lies within, and not just outer beauty.