Josh Travis and his band heat up the studio in ‘Secondhand Smoke’. This is the first song on Travis’ first full-length album. The song digs deep into the compromises made to create a decent middle-class life as a working musician. Pedal steel floats throughout as meaty telecaster lines push the song forward. After writing at home for several years Travis and his band took the songs to the stage to hone them into their final form. The band, Sam Krahe on guitar, Dan Cephas on drums, and Kasi Borden on bass, joined him in the studio to retain the raw feel of their live show. They were joined by Read Connolly on pedal steel and producer Al Torrence on B3, vocals and tambourine.
Reflecting on the process Travis says, “I wrote half the song and forgot about it for a year or two, only to come back to it later while flipping through an old notebook. That’s an unconventional way of writing for me, but I still found the same theme of the song relevant. That theme of resting in a purpose that’s already laid out for my life was enough to stir me to see this song to the end.”
