Mark Scott Travis (born September 6, 1961) is an American metal musician, best known as the drummer for the English heavy metal band

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

, the Irish rock band

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...

and the supergroup

Elegant Weapons Elegant Weapons is a heavy metal supergroup composed of guitarist Richie Faulkner from Judas Priest, vocalist Ronnie Romero of Rainbow (rock band), Rainbow and Michael Schenker Group, MSG, drummer Christopher Williams from Accept (band), Acce ...

. He was also a longtime member of the American heavy metal band Racer X during their initial run and then reformation up until their 2009 breakup.

Biography

Born in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia B ...

, Travis was a well-known drummer in the local music scene of a region known as

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic ...

during the early 1980s. Playing with bands in clubs throughout Norfolk,

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous ci ...

, and

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the Uni ...

. Travis moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the early to mid-1980s and performed in various local bands, such as Hawk, later moving on to perform for the critically acclaimed band Racer X, and very briefly performed in Saints Or Sinners, which later changed their name to

The Scream ''The Scream'' is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including ...

, and also featured Travis's Racer X bandmates

Bruce Bouillet Bruce Allan Bouillet (; born February 3, 1965, in Memphis, TN) is an American guitarist. He has played guitar for a variety of bands, most notably Racer X, The Scream, DC-10, and Epidemic. Bouillet is known for his technically proficient play ...

and

Juan Alderete Juan Alderete de la Peña (born September 5, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the longtime bassist of Racer X, the Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson. Biography Alderete was born in Los Angeles, California the fourth of five children. ...

. His big career move came about late in the decade after

's longtime drummer

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

left the band in 1989, citing personal reasons. Travis had always wanted to be the drummer of Judas Priest. As a teenager, he had often thought about setting up his drum kit in the parking lot at the

Hampton Coliseum Hampton Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Hampton, Virginia. Construction began on May 24, 1968. The venue held its first event on December 1, 1969, with the nearby College of William & Mary playing North Carolina State University in a colle ...

in hopes that the band would notice him as they went past with their tour bus. He finally decided to wait at the back of the arena to hand the band a tape of his playing. Holland was still the band's drummer at the time, so nothing ever came out of the encounter. When Holland did leave Judas Priest in 1989, vocalist Jeff Martin heard about it through his friendship with

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has b ...

. Martin called up Travis one day and said, "Guess who needs a drummer." Travis auditioned for the vacant position and became their new member, thus becoming the first non-Briton to perform for the band. He has been with the band ever since and also handles drum duties for Racer X as well. Travis also performed drums in Halford's band

Fight Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

from 1992 to 1995, but to date, he is best known for his work with Judas Priest, for which he has been widely acclaimed ever since his debut on the 1990 album ''

Painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic (American English), analgaesic (British English), pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used to achieve relief from pain (that is, analgesia or pain management). It i ...

''. Travis was largely responsible for hiring Tim 'Ripper' Owens as Halford's replacement in Judas Priest in 1996. Owens would remain in the band until the 2003 reunion with Halford. Travis takes credit as the co-writer for the song "Cyberface", which appears on Judas Priest's 2001 album ''

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

'', making it his first and only contribution in the band. In April 2016, Travis joined the reformed line-up of

for reunion shows and has remained in the band as their official member. He is commonly mistaken to be left-handed. In reality, he is

ambidextrous Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that ...

, and plays with an open style. He stands at 6'4".

Equipment

Travis always used

Tama Drums Tama Drums, (from Japanese: (Kanji), (Kana), read as ) is a brand of drum kits and hardware manufactured and marketed by the Japanese musical instrument company, Hoshino Gakki. Tama's research and development of products, along with producti ...

until 2008. On the first leg of the Judas Priest " Nostradamus Tour" he played a

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

kit and then switched to a DW kit for the second leg. He was also seen using a DW kit at the

NAMM show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

with his band Racer X. His DW setup is: two 23"x24" bass drums, 14"x6.5" snare,8"x8" 10"x9" 12"x9" and 14"x10" rack toms and 16"x14" and 18"x16" floor toms. Travis has played

Paiste Paiste (English pronunciation: , ) is a Swiss musical instrument manufacturing company. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. is an Estonian word that means "shine". Apart from cymbals and gong ...

cymbals since May 1987. He also plays

Evans Evans may refer to: People *Evans (surname) *List of people with surname Evans Places United States *Evans Island, an island of Alaska *Evans, Colorado *Evans, Georgia *Evans County, Georgia *Evans, New York *Evans Mills, New York *Evans City, ...

drum heads and uses Vater drumsticks.

Discography

Racer X

*''

Second Heat ''Second Heat'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Racer X, was released on February 11, 1987, through Shrapnel Records. Critical reception In a contemporary review, '' Rock Hard'' defines ''Second Heat'' "a thoroughly ...

'' (1987) *''

Extreme Volume Live ''Extreme Volume Live'' is the first live album by the American heavy metal band Racer X. It features solos from four members of the band. It was recorded at The Country Club in Reseda, California. Track listing Personnel ;Racer X * Jeff M ...

'' (1988) *''

Extreme Volume II Live ''Extreme Volume II Live'' is the second live album by Racer X, released by Shrapnel Records. Although it succeeds the release of ''Extreme Volume Live'' by four years, the songs on the album were actually recorded at the same time. At the time ...

'' (1992) *'' Technical Difficulties'' (1999) *''

Superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

'' (2000) *'' Getting Heavier'' (2002)

Judas Priest

*''

'' (1990) *''

Jugulator ''Jugulator'' is the thirteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released in Japan on 16 October 1997 and the rest of the world on 28 October 1997. It was their first studio album since ''Painkiller'' in 1990 an ...

'' (1997) *'' '98 Live Meltdown'' (1998) *''

'' (2001) *'' Live in London'' (2003) *''

Angel of Retribution ''Angel of Retribution'' is the fifteenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in 2005. It is the band's first album since 1990's ''Painkiller'' to feature Rob Halford. The album debuted at on the US Billboard 200 c ...

'' (2005) *''

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection o ...

'' (2008) *'' A Touch of Evil: Live'' (2009) *''

Redeemer of Souls ''Redeemer of Souls'' is the seventeenth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, which was released in the US on 8 July 2014, in Europe on 11 July, and in the UK on 14 July. It is their first album without founding guitarist K.& ...

'' (2014) *''

Battle Cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious ...

'' (2016) *''

Firepower Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potent ...

'' (2018)

Fight

*''

War of Words War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

'' (1993) *''

Mutations In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mi ...

'' (1994) *''

A Small Deadly Space ''A Small Deadly Space'' is the second and final studio album by Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Fight (band), Fight, released in April 1995. A music video was made for "Blowout in the Radio Room". Track listing Lyrics written by Rob Halford ...

'' (1995)

Hawk

*''

Hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

'' (1986) *'' Let the Metal Live'' (2009)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Scott 1961 births Living people American heavy metal drummers American rock drummers Judas Priest members Racer X (band) members The Scream (band) members Musicians from Norfolk, Virginia American expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Animetal USA members