The Chandler Travis Three-o, like most things in life, started by mistake, as a result of Chandler having a hard time finding rooms large enough to house his nine-piece Chandler Travis Philharmonic. In 2009 or so, a couple of small, friendly bars opened on Cape Cod (the first being the Harvest Wine Gallery in Dennis) that asked Chandler about doing something with just another person or two, which wasn’t at all the direction he’d been going in.
These offers coincided happily with the arrivals in the Philharmonic of string bassist John Clark and jack of all trades (but especially saxophonist, keyboardist, and clarinetist) Berke McKelvey. Chandler had dabbled in smaller formats before, but in Clark and McKelvey he suddenly had two extremely talented and enthusiastic players who shared his passion for detailing, arranging, and rehearsing. Both played beautifully on his recent solo album, 2009’s well received “After She Left“, which turned out to be sort of a petri dish version of the live group to come, and with the frequent addition of vocalist and longtime supporter Fred Boak, aka The Valet (for what good is a Three-o with only three people?), the Three-o was born.
At least two unexpected surprises followed: it gradually became evident that the Three-o could play just about anything the full version of the band could play, once they put in the time to adjust the arrangements, plus a few things it couldn’t; and it immediately became evident that audiences responded to the tighter focus in a delightful way, clearly picking up on the songwriting, which has always been at the heart of the matter in all of Chandler’s bands, in a way they didn’t when confronted with all the many distinctive personalities and riotous pageantry of the full CTP or the hell-bent-on-filling-the-dance-floor high energy of his other band, the Incredible Casuals. The vast simplification seemed to engage people in a disarming and unassuming way, quieter and more direct. Lo and behold: it was dug!
2012 saw the release of two digital songs to commemorate the new year (January, Drunk Angry People Shut Up),and the debut album, This is What Bears Look Like Underwater, arrived in January of 2013. The Three-O also contributed three tracks to the 2015 compilation Bocce & Bourbon: the Comfortable Songs of Chandler Travis & David Greenberger, including the opener, Air Running Backwards.
http://www.chandlertravis.com
If Jack Scott and Ingrid Rosenback had met earlier, chances are Last Chance may never have happened, given their vastly different respective musical histories. While Ingrid was studying classical music and mastering the violin, learning Bach and Mozart, Jack was listening to folk and rock music, toying with songwriting and teaching himself 5-string banjo. By the time they met, Jack had decided to take his music more seriously and Ingrid was expanding her repertoire and improvisational skills. The two quickly discovered that playing and singing together was not only enormous fun, but also actually sounded good.
In 2011, Jack persuaded Ingrid to join him and become fiddler for Whirled Peas, a Wilmington based band in which both still play. In the following year, they formed Last Chance. As a duo, they perform exclusively original songs. Both sing, Jack plays guitar and 5-string banjo and Ingrid plays fiddle and harmonica.
Last Chance appears throughout Philadelphia and the surrounding counties at festivals, coffee houses, theaters, blues clubs, library events, senior centers, bookstores and other venues. The band is fully insured. Among their many memorable shows, some highlights include performing at the 55th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Suzanne Roberts Theater, the Twisted Tail, the Lansdowne Folk Club, Chaplin’s Spring City, Burlap & Bean, World Cafe Live Wilmington at the Queen and Philadelphia's Hard Rock Cafe. Last Chance proudly participates in the WXPN Musicians on Call program. The group's two CDs, "Endless Flight" (2016), and “We Came to Play” (2013) are both available on iTunes, CD Baby, Amazon, and at their concerts. WXPN has played two of their songs, "Same Moon" and "Sacramento." Check the Last Chance You Tube Channel (link below) to see videos from their live performances.
http://www.lastchanceband.org/