The Travis Millard Interview

September 15, 2017 Mike

After dropping our Can't Skate Club tee with Michael C. Hsiung last month and having Phil Morgan conduct an interview with the artist, we thought well, better do one with Travis Millard too!

So we sent in our very own master illustrator Phil to pick apart Travis' mind. Keep scrolling to see what he found out.

Following on from our collaboration with Michael C. Hsiung, we also reached out to one of the most creative doodlers in LA, the art legend that is Travis Millard. I first came across Travis' work many moons ago, when his artwork graced the cover of The Get Up Kids album 'Something To Write Home About'. He has gone on to collaborate with skate companies and other musicians from Heroin Skateboards to Dinosaur Jr. His style of artwork is instantly recognisable, and we here at CSC are happy to have him come on board for our little club. - Phil Morgan

Hey Travis, how's life in LA?

Hello! Life is slinking along here. The sun is shining, the mountains are crisp, the street is pretty slimy because it's trash day in the neighbourhood.

Thanks for coming on board for the shirt design for CSC. You have produced a bunch of work for other skate brands in the past. Can you tell us how you got involved with working for skate companies in the first place?

Ah yes, thank you for this question.. as I recall, it was an autumn day in the late 1990's. I was walking alone along a creek and happened upon an abandoned skateboard nestled in a bush. I picked up the shabby, warped, barnacle laden deck and held it up to the sun. It glistened in the afternoon daylight, and to my surprise bust into an iridescent blue flame. A peculiar mouth appeared in the fire and spoke to me in a deep-throated froggy old Italian man's voice.."What'a do'a you'a want'a.. moe'a than'a.. anything'a else'a in'a this'a world'a, young'a man'a.. an'a.. an'a.. an'a?" I listened to the flaming skateboard's voice echo through the creek and thought deeply about this question. " I want.. to draw.. shit for skate graphics.. and.. other stuff..if it seems interesting and too corny.. orny.. orny." The skateboard said "ok" so I put it back in the bush, and went home to check my email and start life as a professional artist.

Which companies have been your favourite to work for?

Cardiff Skateboard Club, of course.

As well as working on skate stuff, you have done a bunch of cool artwork for bands including The Get Up Kids, Dinosaur Jr, and Kurt Vile to name a few. How did you get involved in doing album art work?

I was playing the bongos for hat tips in a shady Lawrence, Kansas alleyway.. a deep-throated froggy old Italian guitar appeared to me through a hazy fog rising out of the concrete wall.. "What'a are you'a doing with'a you life'a?!?".. I thought deeply about this question for some time and asked if it had any connections in the music business. "Let'a me see what I can'a do", said the kindly old apparition stereotype, and I said thank you.

Best / Worst ting about living in LA?

Best thing: LA is a wondrous place.. there's too many best things to narrow down to one.

Worst thing: People drive like everyone else on the road are total idiots, so it's like a free-for-all out there.

Have you ever been to Wales?

No, but I'm prepared to take in all of the sights and sounds and smells that Wales has to offer.

Any exciting projects you have coming up you can share with us?

I'm releasing a new zine called DOGS TO KNOW this weekend in Austin, TX. Always thrilling to see the Sieben and eat some Tex-Mex tacos. Making some new silkscreens with Industry Print Shop and checking in with those righteous gentlemen in Austin as well. I've been art directing an indie video game project with a good friend for the last 1.5 year or so. Just played a demo version recently and it's pretty bonkers! Hard to say when it will be complete.. there's just an unbelievable amount of tasks and tweaks, but we've got a solid mini-crew working on it so we're making progress. The working title is Gamma Ray Blue, produced by Wide Right Interactive.