Biography
STORYTELLING
If you want a high - energy lover of stories as well as children, then you want Blake Travis. Travis is a nationally known
storyteller and has been enchanting audiences of tender years for 15 years with more than 11 of those years working with
Young Audiences. His work has taken him all over the St. Louis area, Silver Dollar City, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, Texas,
California, Florida, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arizona, Washington, Kentucky, Kansas, Oklahoma, Washington, D.C., Michigan,
New York, Arizona, Nevada, Germany, Africa and Israel.
One of his programs is called Stories From The World Village and it includes stories from the European, African, Asian,
Native American and African American traditions. Each of these cultures shares a rich heritage of fables and myths and
legends that are interwoven into the fabric of human culture and they serve as conduits to the kinship of all cultures
sharing similar beliefs and hopes and dreams.
The children are deeply drawn into the stories. Even the children who are generally easily distracted sit completely still in
absolute silence totally mesmerized by Travis’ voice, mannerisms and his use of percussion instruments. He regularly
brings children up to participate in the telling of the story. The children cling to his every word and when performing at
venues with less supervision than school settings the children slowly but continuously move closer and closer to him until
they are inches away from him, strewn about his feet like leaves from a tree.
Blake uses the power of story to not only entertain but also to teach valuable lessons in wisdom, cooperation, peace, love,
diversity, kindness and integrity.
MUSIC
Blake Travis sings and plays percussion with Dangerous Kitchen, Road Apples, Scott Bryan and Stuart Johnson. His
musical journey begins with strong memories of listening to the radio. His parents would be listening to soul, rhythm and
blues, jazz and gospel music. This mixture of musical influences paved the way to Blake’s love of various musical styles. At
age nine he began studying the oboe, playing in orchestra throughout grade school, middle school and high school. In high
school he was introduced to percussion instruments in marching band. This began a long love and fascination for
percussion instruments that continues today. Jr. High School brought his first involvement with combos playing pop music.
By this time his music interests began to include folk and hard rock. In high school he sang in The Soul Brothers, a soul
band that later evolved into rock, playing songs by Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and Vanilla Fudge.
Travis played many years with Joe Bidewell, a fine singer, songwriter out of Nashville by way of St. Louis and they recorded
an album called Season of Happiness. This union began when the two of them played in that first soul band together in the
mid-sixties.
Blake has worked with many different bands including East, Ptolemy, Honey Chile, Booty, Slaughter House, Quint, The St.
Louis Musician's Collective with John Norment, Floyd LeFlore, Daryl Mixon, Ptah Williams and Gary Sykes. He then formed
Polarity, a high-energy fusion/pop trio that featured Tom Byrne on guitar and Mark Foster on bass.
He then began to concentrate on writing and playing with a dynamic band called the Road Apples. This band plays a hybrid
blend of bluegrass-rock-folk-country-Cajun-reggae. Travis is on both albums The Way of the Gaucho and Nothing to Lose.
Travis has performed with and opened for Grand Funk Railroad, Bobby Goldsboro, Blue Oyster Cult, REO Speedwagon,
Jimmy Witherspoon, Dave Mason, Kinky Freidman, J.J. Cale, Asleep at the Wheel, Emmy Lou Harris, the Subdudes, Spyro
Gyra, The Dixie Hummingbirds, Cephas and Wiggins, Chubby Carrier, Joe Louis Walker, The Meters, Eric Bibb and Dave
Bronze and Bruce Hornsby.
Travis is included on both recordings of the Oklahoma duo Barton and Sweeney and tours with them when schedules
permit. He has also toured with Tom Prasada-Rao, a gifted singer/songwriter from Tacoma Park, Maryland.
Travis has lived and performed in San Francisco and New York City and has performed throughout the United States and
Germany. His musical range includes soul, rock, blues, rhythm & blues, jazz, country, Latin, bluegrass, country blues and
reggae.
In addition to nightclub and concert performances and recording, Travis has worked in theater as an actor, singer,
composer and sound designer.
His vocal and percussion work is included on 20 recordings including The Hoo Doo Cats, Lydia Ruffin, Georgy Rock, Sidio
and Hall, Terri Langerak, Moacyr Marchini, Natural Bridge, and Brian Vaccaro.
List of awards and achievements
Description: Partners in Education Certificate of Appreciation for providing curriculum enrichment.
Given by: Rockwood School District
Date(s): 2004-05
Description: Artist of the Year
Given by: Young Audiences of St. Louis
Date(s): 2004
Description: Featured Storyteller
Given by: University of Missouri - St. Louis, Continuing Education and Outreach
Date(s): 1998
Description: The honor of Kentucky Colonel is the highest honor awarded by the state of Kentucky. Others that have
received this honor include President Lyndon B. Johnson, English Prime Minister Winston Churchill, John Glenn, Bing
Crosby and Red Skelton.
Commissioned by: Paul E. Patton, Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
Date(s): May 15, 1997
Description: Certificate of Appreciation
Given by: The International Television Association
Date(s): January 1997
Description: Certificate of Appreciation for contributions to Missouri’s Annual Conference on the Socialization of the
Culturally Diverse Child
Given by: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Date(s): May 1994
Production history
Present
The Bull and the Bee (Actor, Performer) Present
Book of the Blues (Script Writer, Actor) 2004-Present
Sounds of Brazil (Musician, Actor) 1998-Present
Folk Music in the Melting Pot (Assistant Script Writer, Actor, Musician) 1999-Present
Stories from the World Village (Actor, Performer) 1998-Present
Peter and the Wolf (Actor, Performer) 1995-Present
The Bremen Town Musicians (Actor, Performer) 1994-Present
Meet Me at the Fair (Actor, Performer) 1993-Present
Past
Let Freedom Ring (Actor, Musician) 2004
Rags to Riches to Rags: Scott Joplin (Script Writer, Actor) 2000-2004
Stones into Bread (Actor) 1997
Langston Hughes (Actor, Musician) 1996-1997
Exposures (Actor, Musician) 1996
Snow White (Actor) 1995
What’s Your Favorite Color? (Composer, Lyricist, Actor) 1994-1998
Face to Face (Actor, Discussion Facilitator) 1993-2003
Pantomime (Sound Designer) 1993
A Lie of the Mind (Orchestra Pit Musician) 1992
The Sixties – The Times, They Were a Changin’ (Actor, Musician) 1988-1994
About Blake Travis
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| Blake Travis November 2005 photo by nettie travis |