An anthem for the backyard and the stadium. That’s the perfect description of the song “Lawn Chair Lazy” by the James Barker Band. A great band needs a great song the way fireworks need a spark to send them into the night sky for all to marvel. The spark for “Lawn Chair Lazy” is courtesy of Canadian Country songwriting/secret weapon Travis Wood. As part of the writing trio with Gavin Slate and James Barker, Travis crafted the song which went to #3 on Canadian Country Radio, and broke the record for the highest charting debut from a Canadian artist ever. “Lawn Chair Lazy” has been a mainstay on the Canadian iTunes chart since its release, and is poised to go GOLD in Canada with 40,00 copies sold. Vetting his exceptional writing skills, Universal Music Canada selected “Just Sayin” (the song which Travis wrote with Todd Clark, Gavin Slate, and James Barker) as the follow up single to the massively popular “Lawn Chair Lazy” to create a one-two punch that solidified the band as Canadian Country music hit makers. “Just Sayin” by The James Barker Band was released in November 2016 and is currently at #8 on Canadian Country Radio, and climbing. The song has been consistently in the top 30 songs on the iTunes Canada chart since its release and has been added to several popular Canadian and U.S Spotify playlists. The sound that was born in Nashville is alive and well in Canada, as is the tradition of respecting and cherishing the songwriter’s craft and talent; talent like Travis Wood.
It’s difficult to get Travis Wood to take credit. In many ways he is the stereotypical country guy that you see in every movie. Well mannered, hard working to achieve success, wants to hang out with his friends, and notices the occasional pretty girl. It took quite a bit of coaxing from (his friend and frequent co-writer) Todd Clark to get Travis to enter the Emerging Artist Showcase at The Boots and Hearts Music Festival in 2015. It was here that he met James Barker and his band, the band who would win the showcase and sign a deal with Universal Music Canada. Barker was so impressed with Travis at the showcase that he reached out to the songwriter within a week of signing his deal with Universal. Barker is not only a talented musician and songwriter in his own right, but also astute in recognizing the talent of Wood when he saw him perform. These two (along with the aforementioned Slate and Clark) would go on to make Canadian Country music history…literally! Travis comments that one of the things he finds most attractive about the Country music industry is the business acumen and its inclusive nature. He comments, “Luckily, in Country music you don’t have some of the problems that you see elsewhere. If you are in the room when a song is written, then you were an equal part of it just as much as anyone else. Song splits are always equal. It keeps things simple and the goal clear. No one has to keep score. When the song wins, everybody wins. Simple as that. The world would probably be a much better place if everything worked that well.”
While songwriting may be a group effort for Wood, he has his own perspective and opinions. He’s not afraid to share them, largely due to his belief in the integrity of the song. Still, there are always hurdles to contend with. While cherishing the Country music scene, he concedes, “It’s not just a matter of writing whatever comes out of you. Making sure the songs we’re writing sound fresh and new and exciting, but in a way that won’t alienate Canadian Country Radio is very important. Canadian Country Radio can sometimes be a little scared of taking a leap with a different sounding song or artist, unless U.S radio does first. It’s sometimes easier to write a safe sounding song that you think radio wants to hear. And sometimes that works. Sometimes that’s the gig. I understand that it’s a business and people have bills to pay, kids to feed, etc. Having said that, ‘Lawn Chair Lazy’ was a definitely a bit of a risk for a Canadian artist. And that was intentional. There were a lot questions and concerns about radio getting on board and embracing the song. Luckily, they did. I feel that, as a creative person, that’s what I’m supposed to do…be creative. Sometimes I play by the rules and sometimes I should break those rules. I think people appreciate that.”
Travis tailored his method to the James Barker Band just as he would with any artist. He keeps the “sound” of the band in his thoughts and often comes with a few prepared ideas or notes. The James Barker Band contains not only just a great singer but, a line-up of consummate musicians who lend themselves to exciting recordings. Travis is always most demanding of a singer as he comments, “I can definitely be very specific about how a song is sung by every singer I work with. I think every melodic and lyrical nuance is important, maybe to a fault sometimes. Right from the initial demo recordings of a song, to the final mix stages…I am often asking for this word instead of that word. I will ask for some small detail, like a vocal ad-lib for example, to be taken out or moved to a different spot in the song. Having said that, James happens to be a tremendous singer, so working with him was less tedious than with other singers.”
The James Barker Band album release is set for 2017 and contains numerous offerings from Travis and his fellow writers. Travis wrote “Chills” with Gavin Slate, Donovan Woods, and James Barker. It’s sung for the perspective of a guy who can’t wait to go pick up his girl and take her out on a Friday night. “Chills” is romantic and moodier than the first two singles. Wood also contributed “It’s Workin’” to show the James Barker Band in a bit of a different light. It’s up tempo, with a combination of bluegrass meets modern country music. It’s a fun song about a guy who can’t quite put his finger on why he’s so interested in a girl he sees out at the bar. Through the verse he guesses, “might be those Levis, or that rock n’ roll t shirt, but you’re do something right”. Then, in the chorus we land on the title, “keep doing what you’re doing cause girl it’s workin.”
Travis Wood is taking all of his success in stride. He seems in no way to be assuming that the credit rests on his shoulders nor is this type of success assured for anyone. He concedes, “The success of these songs has created a lot of forward momentum and many new opportunities for everyone involved. We had a string of songs do really well on Country radio in 2016, and people definitely started to notice. It’s been an exciting time. James is brand new artist. Highest charting debut single of all time was a massive achievement. People in the business who were watching ‘Lawn Chair Lazy’ achieve what it did were likely thinking ‘Who the hell are these guys?’, which I like. As a songwriter, not every song you write gets cut. That’s just an inevitability of the job. So it’s just really nice to have songs you wrote get out there. It’s nice to get those wins as a songwriter. When the songs do as well as ‘Lawn Chair Lazy’ and ‘Just Sayin’ have done, it’s especially exciting.”