bass player, producer, YouTuber, author, and
younger brother of Trey Williams. Yes, that Trey
Williams. Ladies and gentlemen, Travis Dykes
is my guest today. Yes, we did it again. First,
my brother Travis, and now on Dan Time, another
brother Travis. Based in Nashville, Travis has
been a full -time touring and studio musician
for over a decade in the Music City. His passion
from the very beginning has been for teaching
others. He has taught hundreds of bass and guitar
students. It is this passion that led to the
launch of Travis Dyke's YouTube channel to provide
bass lessons and a behind -the -scenes look at
the professional music industry. His YouTube
channel has grown to over 150 ,000 subscribers,
and he produces new content weekly. In 2023,
Travis published his first book entitled, Do
It Yourself, Bass Method, released via Howe Leonard
Publishing. You can find it everywhere books
are sold. He's also launched his own clothing
line. Go to travisdykesmusic .com. Travis has
toured and recorded with some of the biggest
names in the industry, including C .C. Winans,
the top -selling female gospel artist of all
time, Charity Gale, Colby Kallay, Carrie Underwood,
Riley Clemens, Eric Pasley, Gone West, Stephen
Day, Jordy Cerci, James Williams, Draylon Young,
and many more. His many accomplishments aside,
I gotta say, I found Travis to be such a magnetic
guy, purposeful, down to earth and it's easy
to see why so many people are just drawn to him.
Okay, let's get to the conversation now. Folks,
it is Travis Dykes time. Thank you for being
a listener. That's a big part of the Dan Time
podcast. Hi, I'm your host, Dan McCardle. Thanks
for being here. But gratitude is something that
I want to emphasize because it means a lot to
me. That you Yes, you you're driving. You're
waiting on somebody. You're in a waiting room
You've got your air pods in and you're listening
to my show right now you I appreciate you as
a listener and I don't take that for granted
Man, I could not be more pleased today to have
a guest that this is a real alignment of values
I would say and it just so happens to be a sibling
a brother of a guest that I think you all enjoyed
from just a few weeks ago, Trey Williams. My
friend Trey, before we got off the phone, I think
some of the end of the episode chatter, he said,
look, you've got to get in touch with my brother,
Travis Dykes Jr. And that's all I needed. If
I got a referral from Trey, it doesn't matter
if his brother is a warehouse associate, if he's
a dentist, that's enough for me. But lo and behold,
I checked him out and I was like, wow. I mean,
wow, this is, this is a big deal. And Travis,
you're doing some great things out there impacting
people in a big way. We'll get to that in the
episode, but let me just stop and say, thanks
for being here on the Dan time podcast. Thank
you for having me. So here, this is how we got
connected today. Travis Dykes was to Trey Williams,
which he checked the box just being in my network.
And here we go. What are you doing right now,
April 2024? What's on the front burner for you
right now? Oh, man. It may be multiple things.
Yeah. Well, it's a lot of things right now. First
of all, thank you for having me on. This is a
really, really dope opportunity. I always get,
you know, so much energy from having conversations
and things like that. Honestly, right now, there's
so much on my mind, so much on my plate. But
just the most current and recent thing that's
about to come up is I'm getting ready to head
to Australia this weekend for about nine or 10
days to teach some clinics and also do a live
recording with an artist there, playing some
music and different things like that, recording
an album. And so that's kind of like at the forefront
of my brain, but... There's like even though
it's only a few days until that happens There's
still so much I have to do right now for other
things because I don't know about you but like
whenever I Do a trip or something like that.
It's always i'm always like having to Do work
for the trip, you know leading up to the trip,
right? That's that's my life right now Well,
I can definitely relate to that. Um Travis from
what I understand your interest in music kind
of started around percussion and the drums and
being a child and maybe not unlike a lot of kids
where what's the first thing I can start banging
on and making some some racket and creating some
beats in my five six year old mind or whatever
so it started with the drums right or percussion
yeah yeah so when I think I was around like five
years old I started getting interested just like
any child, you know, at that age, just like,
Oh, you can just hit something and it makes a
noise. Uh, that was kind of like my start into
getting interested in music. And then from there,
it, it progressed to kind of where I am now with
playing bass, but yeah, it started when I was
five and I'll just give you. uh, timeline, kind
of what happened. So I started five with drums
and then that kind of progressed into the next
few years, learning some percussion, some, you
know, Congress, things like that. And then that
progressed into my sister, Lakia. She got an
acoustic guitar and just like siblings do, I
was, I'm the youngest in the family. And so she
got an acoustic and I was like, oh i want to
play it i want to play it and she would you know
and i just because i just wanted to beat her
i was like oh yeah i want to i want to let her
play because she has it and then from there on
um then on i like i really actually got interested
in guitar after just you know that wore off and
then started playing a little bit more and started
you know learning some chords and different things
like that and that led to me going and starting
to play the bass because the bass was kind of
a mix of that guitar world and that drum world.
It was like that perfect middle. And so that
was kind of like my introduction into getting
into playing the bass. Was there ever a time
when you started learning? Because I play drums
not as often anymore, but I've always wanted
to learn a stringed instrument and the bass guitar
would actually be the next instrument that I
would like to play. Was there ever a time where
you got frustrated in the early stages and it
just wasn't coming along the way that you would
like? Did you ever consider not following that
path with the bass guitar? You know, honestly
to give a little backstory, I actually didn't
really get into the bass until I started playing
at church. That was like a kind of my introduction
into playing and you know doing that whole thing.
And so the way the story goes is that I was playing
some guitar at the church, playing drums at the
church and everything like that. And then all
of a sudden I overheard my music pastor or music
director saying that we needed more bass players.
And pretty much I was like, oh man, I saw extra
bass back in the closet and asked my pastor if
I could borrow it. And that's how I got into
learning the bass. And I started learning for
services to play, you know, for midweeks and
all that kind of stuff. But to answer your question,
as far as frustration goes, is that the first
bit of frustration I ever had, my pastor had
told me, because I didn't know how to play bass.
And so I just knew that it seemed like it was
easy to pick up. And so one of the things that
was very surprising and frustrating to me was
like my pastor told me when I got the bass, he's
like, You know, Travis, six months to a year,
you could actually plan in service. And I was
like, six months to a year. I thought I was going
to be able to pick this up next week. So that
was honestly kind of the first frustration I
ever had with playing bass because I thought
it was going to take forever. And so what I did
is I started. you know, hounding in like practice
time and just working. I was a teenager, so I
had all kinds of time. You know, when I was a
teenager, I thought I didn't have any time, but
being an adult now, I was like, oh my gosh, I
had so much time. And so that was kind of like
when I started working through that, working
through that. And so I worked really hard, I
think about two months or so I was in after practicing
all that time, I played my first service and
that was my first time playing in front of people
playing in front of, you know, with a band and
different things like that on the bass. And that
was kind of like how I got started with that.
But they always say this about bass though, which
is something I've learned over the years as well,
is that bass is like one of those instruments
that it's easy to pick up and start playing,
but it's hard to progress in. and getting master
and the reason why that is is because you know
it's everybody thinks about bass as like oh yeah
you just play a note you just play a note or
four notes or whatever and you're playing that
root that little you know whatever that you always
hear but whenever you're trying to get to that
expert or professional level that's where it's
just like oh man i actually have to have a rhythm
you know i actually have to know a little bit
of music theory and and that's honestly Just
the the whole gambit of playing the bass is just
Going from not just being mediocre bass players
being you know Something that's actually a real
what they quote unquote call a real bass player
is one who's not just playing the bare minimum,
you know Right. So what came first? Going out
and performing for audiences or getting to a
level where you could teach others or a little
bit of both When did some of those opportunities
to to perform live begin to materialize? Well,
I will say The first opportunity I had was to
teach and that was honestly something that I
Never knew I was going to learn as much as I
did from So I started playing when I was about
12 or 13 years old. That was when I actually
picked it up And literally the year, I think
that same year or the year right after I started
teaching, I started teaching people, even though
I wasn't like this expert teacher or anything
like that. I just started teaching people because
people are trying to help develop, you know,
some more, you know, people and friends that
were interested in learning. And honestly, that.
I am so glad it fell that way. A lot of people
felt, you know, want to go out and just get in
front of an audience as soon as possible and
start playing and you doing shows and tours and
things like that. But I learned so much about
growing and growing my playing and also just
like theory wise and everything about music because
of the questions that were asked from the students
I was teaching. And that's something that people
don't really think about when it comes to learning
and teaching is that teaching actually is the
the almost like the fast track to learning whatever
you're teaching better and faster because what
you're doing is as soon as somebody asks a question
you got to be if you don't know that question
you have to go look it up because you're the
teacher you know and so it's just like okay if
i'm going to teach you that you know this thing
i have to be at least No be able to go and find
the answer for it. And so I started there and
then went from teaching to Playing live I used
to play like camp summer camps and things like
that And that's kind of how I got started into
that and it's of course playing in churches and
church settings but then after that I started
getting a little bit more experience and When
I got some more experience, I started playing
with some professional uh, artists and different
things like that. I don't not say professional,
like at the first level of this, it was like
local level. I was playing with the people at
restaurants and different things like that, some
college friends. And then that progressed to
me playing with actually more professional touring
artists that were actually trying to make a career
of doing this full time. And then I went from
that to moving to Nashville to where everybody's
trying to do music. Everybody's trying to make
it in it. That's where it kind of just changed
my life with it. Now in Nashville, like you said,
it's not the easiest place to stand out. How
much does networking and just relying on your
people skills, how much does that help you? I
mean, because some people are just they're just
going to sink in that environment, right? If
you're not connecting with the right people and
putting yourself out there. Yeah, you know, it's.
I've heard so much, so many different things
before actually moving to Nashville and moving
to a city where you're not the only musician.
That's something that has been told to me like,
all right, you got to make all these connections.
You got to connect with this person. You got
to connect with that person. This person can't
get you somewhere. Then you don't need to connect
with them. I'm like, no, no, no. So what I started
to learn when I first moved to Nashville, I came
in here with that mindset. And I started noticing
I'm making all these connections. Oh man, I got
this person's number. I got this person's number.
I got this person's number. They work with this
person. But then when I started to realize, as
I started to actually grow and get better as
a musician and different things like that, is
that... those people who I connected to those
those people got their number, you know, I was
like, you know, sometimes I would go get lunch
or coffee or something like that. But I realized
that those people with connections weren't calling
me. They weren't asking me like, hey, can you
play this gig? Hey, can you do this thing? Hey,
can you do whatever? Which is what you want to
do. That's the reason why you can connecting
with them. But the thing is, is that connections
only take you so far. They can probably gets
you like a little small opportunity that's kind
of temporary. But what, what I learned is that
what takes you to that next level and what really
gets your network and grows your network is when
you have friends, genuine relationships, because
when you actually have friends, what happens
is that you're going to look out for each other.
It's like, if I get a, if I get like this, you
know, incredible, incredibly huge gig or opportunity,
I'm not going to go to someone who I barely know.
I'm going to go someone who I. I'm like, oh my
gosh, I want this guy to win. This guy is a killer.
He's so good. And I want somebody who I know
I could trust. And so whenever I get opportunities
like that, the first people I always go to, even
to this day, are people who I have a good relationship
with, people who are my actual friends that I
hang out with outside of just music. And sometimes
that's what you're trying to achieve. I mean,
honestly, that's really what you're trying to
achieve is that you're trying to achieve having
a relationship versus just having a network.
Because honestly, I always say it like this,
really having a network is having a net to catch
you when you fall. Because the thing is, is about
having a net. A net is like, it's something that
we all need because we are all trying to go out
here and take our chance at creating and creating
a career in music. We're not going to go out
here and you know, without a paddle and just
expect to, to go. You need some help. You need
somebody to help you with that. And then somebody
to, you know, kind of be a part of that. And
so, yeah. So when it comes to networking, I do
think that's a part, part of it, you know, getting
to know people, but it's not in the way that
you think. I think it's definitely all about
creating genuine relationships. And I will say
this and just to kind of end this thought. Is
that sometimes when you relocate, it's not even
just about advancing your career, but it's about
building yourself up to a level to even meet
the minimum. Okay. And so like I always say,
when I moved to Nashville, I realized that everybody
who comes to Nashville, Tennessee doing music
is like the top from all the other cities they
come from. they're like at the top of their game.
They're like, they were the band, you know, in
their, in their city. And then they moved to
Nashville trying to make it. And so there are,
so the bottom level in Nashville is like the
top level everywhere else. And so what happens
is that because you just, just moving to the
city and just moving to a location where there's
people that are going to challenge you, it takes
your level up. just by moving here and just being
surrounded by it. Like I remember I came here
and I didn't even realize the impact it had on
my life. I just, I walked, I, you know, moved
here and then I just, I went to a church service,
just like, just like church service. There was
like, Oh yeah, this Bible study or whatever.
And I go there and I'm just like, Oh my gosh,
this is the best music I've ever heard. Like
live music I've ever heard. And this was just
a church. It wasn't even a big church. or anything
like that. And, and I started to realize really
quick, wow, I've got to level up to be here to
even just be, you know, because some of the times
the waiter or waitress are better than you as
a musician. And so, yeah, no. So I think there's,
there's a lot of different ways and things that
people say about that. But I would just say genuine
relationships and just letting the location build
you? I'm just so taken aback and as soon as you
said that about building a network I think it
gets lost on some people who maybe just they're
not thinking that listen we're here for a bigger
reason than just to figure out how Steve can
get me to Joe to so that he can help me do this
and then that's what I need done you know people
are not a means to an end Life is about friendships.
It's about being interested in other people Asking
someone, you know, you want to go have coffee.
You want to go grab a bite to eat? What are you
doing? When are you playing? Like if it's a musician,
you know, when are you playing next? I want to
go hear you play and Be interested in that person
not because of what they can do for you but just
because it's the right thing to do and like you
said your network will blossom as a result and
in order for people to Want to even help you
if they like you they're willing to go up to
bat for you and You know in sales they say no
like and trust, you know Most people aren't gonna
do anything any business with you unless they
know you and then they like you and then trust
is the final one but Great stuff there Travis.
I love that. I love that perspective now as a
youtuber In the beginning, this was not something
that you thought this thing's gonna really blow
up. Take me back to the early days and when you
thought, hey, why don't I put myself out here
and start this YouTube channel and try to teach
people how to play bass? Well, you know, honestly,
whenever I was starting learning how to play
bass and different things like that, YouTube
really wasn't a thing. Yeah, like it wasn't a
you know that came up later and so what I was
doing is I was learning from Books, you know
watching people like in person actually watching
somebody in person playing and different things
like that but what I started to learn as I was
playing is like man, you know the way that I
I Learned things is a little bit different than
the way other people learn things And so what
started to happen is that I would get these ideas,
these thoughts, and I would, I would just like
be like, Oh, I wonder if anybody else thinks
like this. And so whenever you YouTube started
to come around, I was like, you know what? I'm
going to post a lesson and just see if anybody
like, cause I felt like if I was looking on YouTube
or looking for something, this is something that
helped me. And so what I did is I posted a video.
It was just like me in the living room of my
parents' house. I think I was a teenager. You
know, I don't even know if I can remember. How
long ago was that? Oh, I can't even tell you
how old it was. But it was in my parents' house.
And honestly, I posted that video and I was like,
OK, cool. Didn't really look at it. And then
I was like, you know what? Let me let me post
another one. And didn't look at it. I never,
I knew nothing about analytics. I knew nothing
about anything. I wasn't, I didn't get on YouTube
to like blow up and become a YouTuber or anything
like that. I was literally just genuinely doing
it because I was like, Oh man, maybe I can contribute
to what's happening here. And so I started doing
that and I, um, and so I started posting a little
bit. It was no consistency. It was just like
every now and then I probably post like five.
maybe 10 videos and all of a sudden somebody
asked me a question. They were just like, oh
yeah, you have a YouTube channel, right? And
I was like, yeah, I don't know how we were talking
about it. But then they asked me like, so how
many subscribers do you have? And I was like,
you know what? I actually don't know. And so
I went in to look, I just, you know, went on
my computer, looked really quick. I didn't even,
honestly, probably just two seconds, just look
at screen and it's like, oh. and i saw one and
a two and i was like oh 12 okay cool i got 12
and so i told him i got 12 subscribers and then
later that night i was like you know what let
me go back and look at that and i looked on there
and it's actually a 1 .2k i had 1200 subscribers
and i never had no idea which if you If you don't
know anything about YouTube, to get to the place
where they'll pay you, you have to have a thousand
subscribers. And so that was like, uh, I didn't
even know I passed that threshold. I never even,
that wasn't like that thing. That's zero to a
thousand thing, which is the hardest. If you're
a YouTuber or trying to do YouTube, that's like
the hardest area. That's even harder than getting
from 10 ,000 to a hundred thousand. That zero
to a thousand is a tough, that's a tough like
subscriber count, but That's how I looked at
that. And I was like, Oh wow. People are watching
my videos. I had a few videos that had a few
thousand views and I was like, Oh wow. And so
from there on, I just started posting. I didn't
get serious about it for a while. Like a while.
I just like posted every now and then it was
kind of like my little self -expression for a
little bit too. Cause I would go in there and
I'll play stuff, uh, play covers and things like
that. Um, actually funny story when I was in
college. I posted a video. It was a Tasha Cobbs
cover. It was in my college dorm room. And the
reason why I posted that video was because I
was frustrated because I was wanting to play
with the gospel choir so bad, but they let me
sit in the practices, but they would never let
me play. And so I practiced all these songs.
I would practice, practice, practice. And I'd
be at every practice, you know, even when I had
tests to do, I was there. And they say, oh, you
can play this one song. And then when it got
to it to let me play, they didn't let me play.
They let this other guy play. And I was like,
oh, I was like so mad. I was so frustrated. And
so what I did, I was like, you know, I don't
want to take all this time I spent learning this
song and just not do anything with it. And so
I made a video, put it on my YouTube channel.
I actually think, I think it has like maybe 70
or 80 ,000 views now, but. That was like something
that was starting to become a self -expression
for me in that kind of way as well So yeah, that
was kind of like just a little bit of a gist
of how I got even into it You know, I started
watching a couple of these videos and here's
what I think resonates with people because there's
There's so much out there any topic you want
to learn about? presented in so many different
ways, but within about three seconds Travis I
you know just Trying to be unbiased I picked
up on the fact that this is a guy that I want
to let i'm already in I like him. I like his
presentation. I like his demeanor He knows what
he's talking about You kind of have that first
three second I don't want to call it like a cell
but it's like people have very short attention
spans and they will quickly move on to the next
thing in their scroll they will Ditch that video
in a heartbeat, but just for me that was the
impact I got and I think that's a part one ingredient
of how It has resonated with people is that there's
a likeability factor Immediately doesn't take
half a minute, which is an eternity For a YouTube
video, but I'm serious man like two or three
seconds in you're like Yes, this guy. This is
what I believe he's an expert Already believe
it. I already like him and just a lot's happening.
So Big compliment there. I don't want to you
know Send your head up into the sky and a balloon,
you know, some people I think oh People have
told me what's that line don't blow don't make
his head big or whatever That's a there's a saying
or something. I mean it so oh, thank you. I appreciate
that so much and then you know, you really It's
things that how to play how to play bass in different
ways how to improve your slap bass overnight
gospel bass our bass amps still relevant Taking
your slap bass from beginner to pro and then
man. You got a video here making a $100 bass
sound like a thousand dollar bass over half a
million views a day in the life of a church music
director touring perspectives what it's like
on the tour bus, the grind of the tour bus. I
haven't even cracked into half this stuff, but
how exciting. I'm really happy for you. Oh, thank
you. Thank you. It definitely is a fun journey
that I'm very, very grateful to be able to be
a part of. Now, I understand like a few years
ago that you had a moment in a music store where
you ran into one of your YouTube followers, this
is like one of your first followers or you'd
kind of surpassed a threshold and then you met
some guy for the first time is where you were
like, oh, these are more, these are actual people
that I'm impacting. It's not just a number. Yeah.
So that was, um, I was actually in Birmingham,
Alabama, which is where I'm originally from or
grew up. And I was on a guitar center. I was
there visiting. I think I was I think I was in
college actually. And I was there visiting and
I went to a guitar center and just because that
was what I like to do, just go and play these
instruments that I couldn't afford. And honestly,
I was sitting there and I was playing and this
guy came up to me and he's just like, he's like,
do you do YouTube videos? And I was just like,
yeah, how do you know that? And then he's like,
I think I follow your channel. Do you do like
lessons and stuff? And I was like, Yeah. And
he was like, Oh my gosh, dude, can I take a picture
with you? And I was just like, and that was,
that was years ago, but that was one of the first
moments I was almost like validation of like,
okay, people are actually watching because I
think with social media, a lot of times, especially
as a, you know, someone whose career is mainly
off of social media, you know, not mainly, but,
but it's a big proponent of what I do is off
of social media. everything is just about numbers.
It just looks, everything is numbers on a page.
It's like, oh man, how many views did this do?
How many watch hours did this have? How many
comments does this have? But you never really
think about it as real people. And that was the
first time I think in my career doing YouTube,
I was just like, oh snap, these are actual people.
When it's a thousand views that's potentially
a thousand people watching this video You know,
it's so that was like one of those things where
I was like, wow This is uh, this is actually
impactful and I think what changed and shifted
in my my mind from that moment was That I needed
to be more serious about this that these these
this is like something that That is actually
impacting people because then from then on just
to you know, add to the story Some, some years
down the road after I really, I really gotten
serious about YouTube, which was probably towards,
um, when I was about to get married about five
years ago, I had like this reality like hit in
my head of like, that I didn't want to be doing
gigs my entire life. And I was like, you know,
I have this little YouTube thing I used to, and
I used to have a music school and things like
that. It's so, but I had this, um, that reality
hit. And I got serious about doing it. And I
remember there was this person I met. It was
this guy. I was playing an event and I met him.
And he told me, he said, because of what you've
been doing on YouTube and the videos you put
out, he said, I went from not playing the bass
to playing the bass at four different churches
and also traveling and doing it as a career based
off of just watching my videos, which for me,
I don't ever like to, you know, sound like I'm
being boastful or anything like that, but that
really just kind of changed my life in the sense
of realizing, Hey, you know, this is how this
has a deeper impact than what you think. Cause
I, and this is, you know, not trying to get preachy
here, but the, uh, the thing is with social media,
a lot of people don't realize is that even though
it is about numbers, it is about that, you know,
learning growth and different things like that.
what you put out there, the creation and the
message that you put out there can impact people
more than you know, even if it's a small amount,
even if it's just a thousand followers, if it's
5 ,000 followers, that doesn't, you know, your
influence is so much more important than just
numbers. And that's something that I started
to realize is that my influence, It started to,
started to grow. And the thing is, is that whenever
I say something, now people are listening. And
so that's a, that's a shift that started to happen
that changed my man. It changed my whole perspective
of, of everything. Cause I was like, okay, now
I need, if I'm going to tell somebody to go buy
something, I need to make sure it's actually
good. I actually need to, I'm not, you know,
it's just like, if you're the CEO of Apple and
you tell people something is like, uh, okay,
well. people are going to go, they're going to
listen, you know, and so you want to make sure
that you're, you're, you're protecting your influence,
but you also showing that it's valuable to you
and you don't want to just, you know, flaunted
and just jump on whatever's trending on tick
tock or whatever, but just think about what is
your brand? What is your, what are you doing?
Because this is what's impacting people. Wow.
I like how you said that and how you're in touch
with the influence that you have. Um, I mean,
because you are an influencer and when you have
that number of followers you don't want to just
arbitrarily start acting a certain way or changing
your message because these people are they like
you they like I said they trust you and they're
all in and that's great that you see it on that
level you know it's not just about people ask
me at the beginning of this I call it a project
I mean it's my podcast but people have asked
me well how can you make money at it And really
what I've grown to love about this podcast is
just the fact that that anybody listens to it
and if they do that it makes them happier for
that hour or that day or pick them up in some
way or they feel like that It's just bringing
enjoyment. So I'm not trying to change lives.
I'm trying to brighten days I guess and if anything
else happens and that's great too, but that that's
the purpose and people listening, you know, there's
all kinds of things that you can do. It doesn't
have to involve media, doing a show, having a
YouTube channel. There's all kinds of things,
small moments in life when you encounter other
people that can make a big difference. I talk
about that a lot, but Travis, I'm just so enjoying
this conversation. Me too. Now, I got to ask
you because I feel like I'm a pretty positive
person. I do get down sometimes. Everybody does.
Everybody encounters setbacks. I gotta ask you
how you reacted a few years ago. I guess you
and your wife are on a trip to Disney World and
she noticed and you probably noticed that something
wasn't quite right there and tell me what was
going on there and you know what those next few
weeks and months were like when you know wow
I got something to deal with here that I wasn't
this wasn't on my radar. Yes. Yes. You know,
this is something, um, honestly, because that
was, uh, cause I got married in 2019. Give a
little perspective. I got married in 2019 and
my first year of marriage halfway through, because
we got married in June, halfway through in January
was 2020 when 2020, the whole 2020 conundrum
happened. And, uh, honestly, 2020 for me, just
to be honest, was about to be the biggest year
ever. Like I was, I was about to be going on
tour with some of the biggest artists. Like I
was like so stoked, like April, March. I had,
my calendar was full and I was like so excited
about it. And then whenever January hit, it just
kind of just set. This was before we even knew
that COVID was a thing yet. Whenever January
hit, It changed everything. So right after New
Year's, we went, me and my wife and some friends
went to, it was like my first trip, you know,
married and we went to Disney World. I'd never
been to Disney World my whole life. And so I've
always wanted to go there, went there. And man,
it was, it was awesome. And, but there were some
incredible things that happened, but some, something
happened that kind of changed my life. So we
were, I think we were day two. I was, we were
going around the parks. We were, you know, just
doing the whole thing. I just kept, I felt super
sluggish. I was like, I couldn't stand that long.
And, and I just like, I was getting super exhausted
going to the restroom literally every five minutes.
And my wife was looking at me and she was like,
is something wrong? What's going on? I mean,
this was like the most mixed, mixed emotions
because we became we were the um we were like
leading the parade at disney world because they
chose us like they only choose like one group
the whole time this is like the same day okay
so i'm like the grand marshals that were the
grand marshals of like the parade at disney world
and that was i was like oh my gosh my first day
at disney world and i were grand marshals it
was like so many incredible memories but then
I started feeling this and my wife was like,
hey, something's going on because this started
to kept going on. And so we went to the urgent
care after that. And the doctor told me that
I had diabetes and that was something I never
knew was happening. I did not know what was going
on. And my sugar was like at 389 or something
like that. And it was really high at the time.
And I was like, Oh my goodness. I didn't really
know how impactful that was. And so she told
me that. And that just kind of rocked my world.
And so that was kind of like what happened when
we went to Disney world. And there was just a
whole lot of other things that happened. And
this was just kind of how the year started. And
so I was like, okay. All right. Let's, uh, what
am I going to do? And so. Think I get this from
my parents. My parents are very like strong go
-getter, you know type people like they're they're
very They just have like a lot of discipline
and what they do and they just really strong
and so I Was kind of stubborn too And so what
I started doing was when I got home, I like completely
cut out all sugar. Cause I was like, cause I
was just in diabetic range from what they were
telling me, my A1C and everything. And so I was
like, my doctor told me he was like, Hey, if
you lose some weight, you could probably get
rid of this. And I was like, okay, cool. I cut
out sugar for two months, two or three months
straight. Just like no desserts, nothing. And
my doctor told me literally, he said, he said,
Hey, don't just cut sugar, cold turkey. Cause
you can't like keep up that lifestyle forever.
You're going to have to bring some kind of, you
know, sugar in your life at some point. And so
of course I didn't listen to the doctor and I
did that. But what happened was, is I lost about,
I think I lost about 20 or 30 pounds within those
two or three months. And my doctor said, man,
whatever you're doing is great, you know? And
so What started to happen? I didn't even realize
it at the time is that because I did that little
stint of like not having any sugar, it changed
my palette. And so because of that, I started
to not want as much sweet things. I couldn't
eat as much sweet things. And that led me to
losing about, I think close to a hundred pounds.
And so, which that was, um, but that was over
the past like year or so, that entire year of
doing that. So that was, that was, that was kind
of how the year started. But yeah, there was
like quite a uh, a start of that year I don't
know how far you want me to go into the story
because this could go on Wow Now at any point
did you think? Oh, this is such a drag. Why did
why am I having to deal with this? Or did you
just approach it like well? I mean, I I can't
believe you even against your doctor's advice.
You cut everything out and probably You know
went through those uh physiological Push -and
-pull feelings or whatever of like gosh, I really
want a Hershey's bar or whatever it is, but I'm
gonna leave it alone. Oh, yeah But did you your
mom was ice cream? Oh Yeah. Oh, I love some ice
cream, but I guess did you just kind of roll
with it? Yeah There was something that I actually
My wife actually was the one who influenced me
on this early on in our marriage. She was really,
or actually I think we were dating. She started
going to, um, uh, she, I guess one of her friends
had lost a lot of weight and she was like, Hey,
how did you lose weight or whatever? And she
had said, Oh, they, she went to a therapist and
they, you know, talked about it and changed her
mindset about food. And so ever since she told
me that story, looked at my situation completely
differently and honestly what I started to think
about is this whole aspect of what is the mindset
my mindset behind food and that's what changed
my life because a lot of times when we when we
eat food we only eating for pleasure we're not
really thinking about what it's doing to our
body how it's affecting our brain how it's affecting
our performance and so What I started, what started
to happen for me is that I'm like, okay, yes,
there are times I can eat it for pleasure. I
could, you know, I could have that little bit
of ice cream here, you know, or whatever. But
then I started to realize, you know, as I was
going through this, I was performing better.
My mind was a little bit sharper and I was like,
huh. Okay. And then as I started to go through
this own journey myself with this, I started
to understand like. Okay, this is the reason
why people who are high performers like Steve
Jobs or the Mark Zuckerberg's or the, you know,
all these crazy high CEOs, when you look at their
lifestyles, what they're doing is they're focusing
on their, they're focusing on their performance
because the level that they have to carry and
the level that their mind has to think about
is so much, that's what their job is, is their
brain. Their brain is the job. And so if you
don't take care of your brain and make sure you're
watching how much stress you're taking on and
working out and making sure you're focused and
different things like that, like if you're not
working on your health, then you won't be able
to achieve that level of success. Because once
you don't go from just being lazy to being a
multi -billionaire CEO, there's a reason why
there's a separation. There's such a far separation.
And so I started to realize that over this time
period of going through diabetes and different
things like that. And so I was like, oh, wow.
I started to notice that my performance started
to be better when it comes to doing YouTube videos.
I started noticing better ideas, and I think
that's what started to attribute to myself, like,
okay, this is actually what I needed to do. And
I honestly think it was, you know, because I'm
a believer, I'm a Christian, and so I believe
it was like kind of God's way of telling me,
hey, this is what you need to do. To you know
level up what you're doing. And so that's honestly
what I feel like I got from that Wow. Yeah, you
just you never know What's ahead of you tomorrow
next week? We should always expect the unexpected
and I just I love the story there and how you've
dealt with it and kind of how You spun it into
a positive and you're right, you know really
high performers. They don't just eat cheese puffs
and double quarter pounder I mean they're double
cheeseburgers and whatever they just want to
shove down like they they have pretty structured
meal plans I would think most of them do um so
a lot of fruits and veggies and so I just I like
the story and how you've reacted and great stuff
there Travis I also I don't want to get too far
here without mentioning the book that's on Amazon
is this right title do it yourself bass method
yes yes that's a book that just finished and
released with uh hal lennard which is a music
book publisher uh just released it last may uh
2023 and so yeah it's it's out there basically
the whole concept of the book is taking you from
not knowing anything about the base To being
able to play with the band by the time you get
to the end of the book That's kind of the whole
goal. It comes with dvds It has music a lot of
common songs and things that that you may have
um Heard before on the radio and different things
like that Now also folks, uh, if you go to the
website travis dykes music .com That's travis
Common spelling like my brother Which I didn't
even mention. We're so far along here. My brother
travis has finally appeared on the show after
many months So the second Travis on the show
today. I love it. I just love talking to another
Travis as well, but Go to the website because
you've got an apparel line. Yeah. Yeah, I've
got some just kind of some fun merch the way
I am kind of started the idea for it is that
I want to make good quality merch in good quality
clothing for musicians that are traveling that
they can wear and that they can use that's minimal.
And so if you look at any of my designs, it's
like a small design, like the shirt I have on
right now is actually. one of my designs which
is just like a small little you know logo right
there in the middle just so it's easy to put
with other things and it's not too overbearing
because that's the one thing that i never really
liked about a lot of you know clothing designs
and stuff so but yeah i have that on there travis
i i hope this question isn't too generic but
who are some influences people Bass players that
you've liked for a long time or maybe somebody
that you've just kind of picked up on in the
past few years Do you have some guys or girls
that you know? There's a guy named Justin Rains.
He's an incredible Gospel bass player. He's impacted
me a lot definitely over the years of being a
bass player, but there's another bass player
as well That's got completely different style
completely different world is a pinot palindino
which he, uh, is a bass player. He plays with
the who he plays with the John Mayer trio. And
so like he's incredible, incredible. And if you're
a bass player, you don't know who Pino Paladino
is. You need to go search his name like right
now. Incredibly impactful, uh, musician, but
those are probably a couple of the, um, I guess
when it comes to bass players and things that
really kind of inspire me over the years, as
far as it's just like people to role model after
it in my playing musical ability. Couple more
questions here. If you're up for it, Travis,
we're going to have to do a part two. Oh yeah,
for sure. How about this? The first time that
you got a touring gig and you're traveling around
and it's a whole new experience. Were you nervous
about the whole thing? Were you nervous about
just the stage performance or were you like,
this is fantastic I'm so thrilled to finally
be doing this and being up in front of an audience
like that first time what was it like it's funny
because there's a diff there's a few different
levels of this to me because I've been playing
in front of people since I was like 13 but it's
a completely different world when you're doing
it for money when you're doing it to get paid
whole nother world whole nother world and so
I will say one of the first times I was playing
did a tour with a signed artist and that was
that was the time I learned so much because We
were traveling playing these opening sets for
big artists, you know opening for big artists
and doing these things and I remember I started
to realize we're traveling and Doing all these
different, you know being in the airport going
to the hotel traveling in a van for out like
90 % of the day and we are only going across
the country to play a 30 minute set they were
only going to play 30 minutes of music and I
was like Wow, that was something I did impacted
me so much because I was like, oh wow So this
is a I've got to learn how to just hang with
people pretty much the whole time and honestly
that was like something that that that changed
a lot for me, but I will say as far as nerves
go I was nervous of course because nobody wants
to you know mess up on stage especially if you're
getting paid for it they're like oh my gosh you
know but people realize that you're human I realized
that over the years people realize you're human
that's the whole point of having this you know
going to a live show is that it's not just a
track that's perfect you know that's part of
the experience now Course, you don't want to
make that like a normal thing. Like you're consistently
making big mess ups or anything like it. No,
no, you don't want to make that a normal thing,
but if it happens occasionally, you just roll
with it and it's a part of the experience. And
that's something that's great. And when, when
it comes to nerves as well as like something
I've, um, I've actually told people before is
that Even to this day, I still get a little bit
of nerves going on the stage. Even though, you
know, I've been doing this full time since I
was 18 years old and I still till this day will
get nerves. But what I've started to do and what
has changed about it over the years is that the
energy, you get like those nerves and it's like,
you're like, okay, you get this little jolt of
energy and adrenaline going. If first, when you're
young into, you know, being in front of people,
you don't know what to do with that adrenaline.
It's just like, what do I do? But the more you
do it, you start to learn how to channel it.
And then the way I started to do it is I started
to channel it as focus versus channeling it as
just like spontaneous energy, just like to go
wherever. Because I think that's the way when
you're younger, that's what your mind just goes
to a bunch of different things, a bunch of different
whatever. But over the years, what I started
to do is learn how to change my mind to to just
use that energy to focus on what I'm doing and
to focus on the job and what I'm supposed to
be doing in that moment. Because when you do
that, then it just makes it so much easier to
just to everything to feel natural. Like if you
wanted to. Walk on the catwalk. Oh my gosh. Learning
how to walk on the catwalk. That was crazy. Go
and play in an arena show and you're walking
in the catwalk. You look at all these people
and you're like, oh my gosh, I'm playing the
bass. Oh, okay. I got it. I got to look. There's,
there's so many different things, you know, that
to come with it, but that's where, where those
nerves, you start to change your mindset to it.
It's like, okay, I'm here to do this job and
I'm just going to channel this and make this
the best show or concert. that i'm gonna you
know i've ever done how about are you connecting
with people in the audience when it looks like
they're having a good time and uh you do the
eye contact and the the big grin yeah no you
know that's actually funny you know sometimes
that for me i'm not like my personality is not
like one where i'm just like i just want to just
you know crowd surf or something like that. That's
definitely not my personality because my personality
is more of like, I want to make sure I get every
single note right. But that's something I learned.
I learned definitely playing, you know, with
signed artists and different things like that
in the professional world. It's about the whole
feeling. You got to move. You got to, you got
to go, you have to connect. And, um, that feeling
of looking at somebody and they're looking at
you has, has put me at a standstill before. It
is just like, I'm playing and then all of a sudden,
there's just somebody who's just sitting there
and they're just looking at you, just right in
your face, right in your eyes. And I was like,
what am I supposed to do with that? And honestly,
that, I will tell you that it's fun once you
get over that and you know, there's going to
be some, some weirdos in the crowd, but, but
sometimes it just, it just kind of hits you like
different and it's like, Oh, Oh, all right. Oh,
man. Yeah. And then after the show is over, do
you have any sort of routines for how you step
down from that adrenaline? And are you ready
to just call it a night, go to bed or do you?
Yeah. How do you relax after a performance? Pretty
easily, because usually that day is a lot. So
it's because it's, it's kind of like going and
doing a stressful, something stressful. Like
you're, you're like, you're building it. You're
building up to this moment, building up to this
moment. And then it's just like the moment happens
and you're just like, Oh, it's like your body
finally relaxed and you could just like crash.
Usually, um, what happens is that at the end,
depending on if I'm playing a festival or what
the event is, we use, I usually want to go get
something to eat and then just crash. You know,
and sometimes there's moments, um, actually now
with certain artists where we do like a, uh,
the whole band, not just the artists would go
to the merch booth and sign and take pictures,
sign autographs, take pictures and different
things like that. And so that could be sometimes
a little draining, but that's sometimes a part
of it. But it's it really, honestly, for me,
I could just eat a cheeseburger and go to bed,
which I don't eat a cheeseburger. We're talking
about healthy things But but I do like eat usually
eat something and just crash I gotta I gotta
mention trey here your brother and Your connection.
I know you guys probably don't get to hang a
whole lot. What's it like when you get together
now? I know he's super proud of you How do you
guys how do you guys get along? What's it like
when uh trey and travis are hanging out? you
know That has changed over the years. Um, it's
It's always like this dynamic because I'm, me
and Trey, Trey is 14 years different. Like we
have a 14 year gap between us. And so there's
always this big brother, little brother dynamic,
dynamic always. Um, and so I think it's, it's
been great and it's changed over the years because
now I feel like I have, I've kind of earned a
little bit of respect from him, which is, you
know, awesome for me. Cause I, my whole life
I've been trying to earn respect from my big
brother. And so, but, um, I was actually thinking
about this because I figured you, you may ask,
you know, the correlation and, you know, about
me and trade something that I don't even know
if I've ever said it on a podcast before, but
my brother actually, because he went to the military
and he, you know, I'm sure I listened to the
episode where you talked to him about like him
joining the service and everything. But the other
side of that in my perspective was, um, kind
of a little bit different. It actually is crazy
because I didn't realize how impactful indirect
influences are, indirect things. And so this
was an indirect influence moment. And so when
I was younger, he went to the military. I remember
the whole story, my mom and everything, and everybody
like, oh my gosh, what's going to happen? I remember
we went to Paris Island when he graduated. And
I remember my dad was so proud. My parents are
so proud. And in that moment, I watch, I was
watching him march, you know, with them and their
graduation ceremony. And it just made me, it
really sparked something in me to do, to be something
more, you know? And so I was like, Oh man, I
want to, I want to try, I want to do that. I
want to, I want to be confident. I want to do
this thing, you know? And just a little background
of me, I was homeschooled my entire life. I was
homeschooled from first grade all the way through
high school. And so for me, seeing him in that
scenario gave me this confidence to be like,
Hey, I don't, you know, I can do more, you know,
than, than just, you know, being what everybody
else is being. And so he did that and that was
an indirect influence. I didn't even realize
until like I became an adult that impacted my
life in a really, really big way. And so from
there, I went to, um, actually doing a kind of
a junior kind of military organization called
Civil War Patrol, which actually me joining,
me joining that actually changed my life when
it came to leadership and all the things that
you would learn in the military without actually
joining the military. And, um, and so I will
say like that's impacted my life. And I think
that's impacted our relationship to in a way
that we, this kind of unspoken because we're
The dynamic of my life growing up with my siblings
is that we were always just open communicators,
always. And so I think now pushing this open
communication and also just being open about
things like, hey, you had an impact on my life.
And I never told you this, you know, that's kind
of like how our dynamic is, is starting. It's
almost like we're rediscovering each other at
this, at this point of like, Oh man, you know,
yeah, that I didn't even know that about you.
Like I was actually listening to the podcast
with when y 'all were talking, when y 'all were
talking and I was like, man, you know, I actually
didn't even realize that. And I was like, huh,
wow. And so, and so there's, there's certain
things that, um, that I feel like that. As far
as our dynamic over the years has, has grown.
It's almost like we're, because we become adult,
like I'm, I'm, I'm becoming more of an adult.
He's been an adult for way longer than I have,
but there, because of that, I'm starting to realize,
oh man, it's okay to say these things. It's okay
to have these open, more open conversations.
And I think honestly that listening to y 'all's
last year, y 'all's podcast showed me a lot.
And I was like, huh, I need to, I probably need
to, you know, Ask them about some of these things
because I actually didn't even know being so
young what was happening in those moments Isn't
that something I mean because I was doing the
math. You must have been what about four years
old five Just a small child and he probably didn't
fully realize The impact of just that that moment
was gonna have on you Wow My gosh, yeah. This
has just been inspirational in a small way, maybe
a big way for a lot of you people listening.
Travis, anything else that we haven't covered?
I'm sure there's something, because we've already
agreed to do a second episode. But anything else
you'd like to plug? Well, yeah. I'm always working
on stuff. Definitely go check out my YouTube
channel. I'm trying to... Continue to post more
and more entertaining content for for you guys.
That's not just around bass but around Just the
whole music lifestyle as well. So definitely
go check out my channel and yeah Okay, a couple
silly questions. These aren't gonna get too crazy,
but like a lot of couples you probably have different
interests different movies and things are there
movies that that Caitlin likes to watch that
you didn't think that you would like it, but
like a movie or something that you're like, you
know what? That's not, that's not so bad. Or
a show that she has wanted you to watch with
her that is right up her alley. Not so much yours,
but you're like, okay, this is better than I
thought it would be. Yes, actually it's probably
going to be crazy, but the office, the office
was definitely something I didn't know about
growing up or never really watched. The office
and parks and rec are probably the two things
that first I was just like what is this? What
is this humor? And then I it clicked and I was
like this is actually hilarious Yeah, that's
a good one How about somewhere in all your travels?
What what's somewhere that you've only been once
and you'd like to go back But it's you're not
sure when you're busy. You got a lot going on,
but you just had a had a really good time Hmm.
That's a great question. There is some of the
travels probably a blur, right? When you're on
tour. Oh yeah. Because you're like half sleep,
you know, most of the times when you're walking
in these places though, honestly, I'm trying
to think, um, one place that was just insane.
I like to go visit again, probably London. London,
England was so much fun for me. Definitely playing
music in London is man, it's just, it's like
a cleaner New York city in my mind. And everybody's
proper. It seems like, you know, very posh, you
know, because their accents and different things
like that. And you kind of feel like it's this
comfort in, you know, going to a culture that's
very similar, but not the same, you know. And
so I really, I just, I love that place. It's
so much fun. Okay. Two more little lightning
round questions. Do you enjoy sunsets, long walks
on the beach? Yes, actually, you know, I was
actually listening to a podcast today. It was,
it was a neurologist or a neuroscientist and
if she was talking about how nature is really
good for your sense of comfort and wellbeing.
And like just mentally, and she was talking about
the studies and different things like that. And
honestly, for me, that's always been a big thing.
You know, that's the reason why, especially when
doing, you know, kind of a media type of path
of what I'm doing is like, I'm in, I've been
in this room most of this week, you know, not
getting outside of the house. I've been recording
videos, doing whatever business stuff, all this
kind of stuff right here. And so sometimes it
is the best thing. to do for myself, especially
is just walk outside. And so I love walking outside.
I love even going on hikes. Now my wife, she
hates outdoor stuff. It's just not her thing,
but we're trying to come with the compromise
there when it comes to that. But no, I like long
walks in the beach, you know, all of that stuff,
getting into nature, you know, letting the sun
hit your face that I love all of that. That's
me a hundred percent. Really like that. I think
sometimes in our digital world, which there's
no I mean you can unravel from it a little bit,
but it is is what it is and It's a lot of fun
sometimes, but I think that people like you said
You can forget that. Oh shoot I probably I could
probably benefit from just stepping outside feeling
a nice breeze going for a walk feeling the sunshine
and just Yeah, I think we get a little lost in
the technology. It's great. And you can take
it with you, which is good, too. But yeah, I
like how you said that because we're busy people.
Everyone, I think we're all very busy. We're
inclined to be busier these days. But yeah, make
sure you get out and enjoy your surroundings.
Wherever you live, you've got some kind of nature
trail or park. Okay, last question here. You
saw my cat earlier. I had to get her out of the
room. But anyway, do you like animals? Are you
a dog or cat person? If I had to choose probably
a dog person, but we don't we don't have any
Like pets or anything because we just me and
my wife are we're just too busy right now to
do it and honestly for me I Told my wife this
I was like I much rather have like an actual
kid instead of, you know, actually having a pet
because you're, you're pretty much is from all
like, cause we had, you know, pets grown up.
It's pretty much like taking care of a kid. So
it's like, I might as well have, you know, instead
of wasting this time, why don't I say wasting?
If you're a pet owner, don't, don't kill me.
Um, but you're not, not wasting time, but it's
just, you have something that will eventually
be autonomous. be able to grow and do its own
thing, but animals will always be dependent on
you. So for their whole life. Yes. Animals are
great. I grew up with dogs. I really like dogs,
but I've had cats for a little stretch now. I
have a 10 year old cat and a couple of kittens
that we adopted as well, but It works it works
for it works for us, but But with with animal
adoption there's a lot of good opportunities
there to rescue animals but be sure that you're
pairing yourself up with the right animal because
they require a lot of attention and maybe more
than some people realize that they're willing
to give and I'm gonna get in trouble for this
but Travis I would be lying if I said that I
don't sometimes think about the day where There
is not any pet hair in my house. White cat hair
on my navy blue pants. Like I do think about
that time and I don't want to usher it in. I
like my animals but. We babysitted a dog one
time and there was just hair everywhere and it
was just like a couple of nights and I was like,
oh my goodness. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know
if I can do this. Okay, well we're getting way
off track here, but that's what happens on Dan
time Folks be sure to follow Travis Dykes he's
on YouTube at Travis Dykes dykes Instagram at
T Dykes and Travis Dykes music comm so much to
dive into I think we covered a lot of it today,
but I'm telling you I want to pick right back
up and Uh explore some more of the travis dyke
story I love it and i'm so glad that i'm so glad
that trey came on the show so that we could facilitate
this conversation and man, I hate to pick favorites,
but trey you're uh You got a lot to live up to
for your follow -up episode if you're listening
my friend Oh my gosh Okay travis i'll let you
have the last word here because otherwise I will
just uh I'll just end in a garbled mess, and
how about you send us out here? Oh, man. Well,
I hope every one of you enjoyed today's conversation.
And I will say this, this is kind of, is this
okay to end it like this? The one thing that
if you could, if I could say something to leave
with anybody who's listening, is to not let your
weaknesses, your weaknesses in life be looked
at as a disadvantage, but looked at as an advantage.
Because anything that I've done over my life,
anything I've done on YouTube, anything I've
done in music, there's always been a financial
thing. It's been a, oh, I can't, I don't live
in that location thing. I don't have this. And
everything has always been looked at as a disadvantage.
But really, honestly, when you start to look
at whatever your disadvantages are as advantages,
That's where you start to change everything in
your whole scope of life Well said Travis Thank
you so much for being here and we'll pick right
back up folks. You never know. We might go back
to back I haven't done it yet, but We might start
That's it for this episode and we'll see you
next Sunday on the Dan time podcast Thank You
Travis Dyches. Thank you Hey, if you love that
episode, be sure to add a star rating. If you're
on say Apple podcasts, I'm not sure that it could
be any easier. I would compare it to the self
checkout at Walmart or at the end of a Microsoft
Teams call when they ask you about the audio
quality. Also, tell a friend about the show.
Tell that guy, Dan, that you work with. Tell
your Danielle friends and your friend. D 'Angelo
and your cousin Danny. Everybody's welcome and
I appreciate you my friend for listening. Thanks
and have a wonderful week. We'll see you next
Sunday.