We recently connected with Travis Owens and have shared our conversation below.

Travis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I have the ADHD superpower of hyper-fixation, haha.
I started learning drums in 9th grade because my best friends wanted to start a pop-punk band together and I was the appropriate Travis for the job (we loved Travis Barker and Blink-182). I actually didn’t have a drum set for the first year of this journey. I made a pair of HUGE drum sticks in wood shop, by hand, and used those to air drum in my room, it was super corny, but it worked for me.
I learned by memorizing albums from start to finish, and just solved the puzzle of “what hand and where”.
I have always had good eyes and ears for fine details. Something I discovered a bit late into my career is “it’s not WHAT you learn, but HOW you learn”.
If I could change one thing on my journey, I wish I would have taken drum lessons when I was younger. By not doing so, I spent a long time breaking bad habits.
I stood in my own way by not leaning on other, smarter musicians, locally.
I wanted to be 100% self- taught for ego reasons, I’m sure. Maybe more for my self-worth like ” I conquered this with no one’s help”. But I’ve had help from my friends the whole time.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Drums have been a 24-year ongoing project with the main goal of crafting songs and meeting people who love music as much as me. In 2020 I decided to persue another sleeping passion for photography/ videography. I left my job of 14 years, sold everything and moved out to Portland Oregon. I started an Instagram under the moniker TwoShotFoto as a word-play of my initials, TWO and a ” two-shot”.
As far as services go, I offer in-person OR online drum lessons just through my social media platforms, but I’m planning on starting a photography/ pet sitting service locally in North Portland and Vancouver Washington. I also shoot weddings and fun portraits and I sell prints on my website twoshotfoto.com.

I think what really sets me apart from everyone else is how genuinely excited I am about developing your passion. Your journey is a part of mine and the lasting friendships I’ve made from students and colleagues alike have been worth every bit of hard work.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One word, ” Inspiration”. My “legacy” as an artist is pretty limited in the grand scheme of the industries I love, but I have found that there are other ways to add to the conversation, even if I’m not as loud as the big guys. Teaching is probably my greatest passion. Seeing a drum groove finally *CLICK* into place and how excited my students get when they’ve accomplished something really difficult is so rewarding.

We’re all at the bottom when we start. Nothing makes us special intrinsically, so put in the hard work and set reasonable goals for what ” success” looks like to you.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Ok, really REALLY hear me here, lift your creative friends up! The amount of money/ time/ rejection that creative have to work with, especially in today’s over saturated market, is astounding. Video production, lighting gear, music equipment, we spend our lives putting together elaborate setups just to afford to have a voice, then after pouring tens of thousands of hours into learning HOW to use it, we’ll create something that means so much to us, but only a handful of people will see, and if it’s the wrong crowd, that’s where the story ends…

It sucks to put all of that effort in just to be overlooked, so even if you don’t finish the video or aren’t personally interested in the contents of the piece, give your friends a like or follow. That one little click gets them an extra minute of visibility that might get their art in front of the right audience.
At no cost to you, you can help incredible, unknown artists find their fans and that’s so important.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Twoshotfoto.com
• Instagram: @travodrums
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/c/travodrums
• Other: Tiktok @travodrums

Image Credits

All shots are done by me.
@twoshotfoto