| In 1959, at the age of 14,
Travis was sought out by some kids from Natick, Massachusetts. They
had a rock 'n' roll band, but they needed a singer to get jobs. They
had heard Travis could sing and wanted to know if he would audition for
the group. Why they came all they way from Natick to Newton to ask
Travis to join their band remains a mystery to this day. Who told
them Travis could sing? It really doesn't matter. The band
rehearsed a few times, mostly to discover which songs they knew in common
and what key Travis would sing them in, and suddenly, they had a gig!
They needed a name! Travis does not remember who came up with “The
Jesters,” but “The Court Jester,” starring Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns,
Basil Rathbone, Cecil Parker, Angela Landsbury and Mildred Natwick was
one of Travis' all time favorite movies, a medieval comedy - adventure
featuring a large ensemble cast, plenty of musical numbers and a
brilliantly convoluted plot! (You'll want to remember that for
later.) |
 “I'm
Just A Lonely Boy” A Catholic Church in Needham (conveniently
half way between Natick and Newton), booked “The Jesters” for a
“sock hop” to be held Friday night in the church basement. The band
was to be paid $5.00 (for gasoline). The evening started slowly,
with kids drifting in and out, but by the end of the night, they had a
full house! The astonished priest who ran the affair had never seen
anything like it and paid the band $20.00 dollars on the spot! He
explained that the church had a strict policy that once kids paid the $1.00
admission fee, they could not leave the sock hop or they would have to
pay again to get back in. The idea was to discourage kids from sneaking
out for drinks or other mischief! In the event, the first kids had
come and left to return with all their friends, bringing in the biggest
crowd ever. Some had paid as many as three times to go in and out
to fetch friends they knew would not want to miss hearing the new band!
“The Jesters” happily divided the money, $8.00 to the kid who had
borrowed his mother's car to get them to and from the gig and $4.00 apiece
for the rest of the band, which they immediately spent at the local HoJo's
where they rehashed the wonders of their first gig late into the night. |
| “Ain't That A Shame”
In
all, the band may have performed twice more (at least once at an Oddfellow's
Lodge, memorable because Travis had never heard of them, before), but never
in Newton. Travis was still outré in his new home town, but
he was learning from his experiences. He learned it was important
to play out of town, where you could be judged on your performance, not
by who you knew. He learned he was comfortable performing, interacting
with complete strangers from the inviolate safety of the stage. And
he learned he could sing. Not only could he mimic most pop stars'
styles exactly, he could stylize songs to suit himself and the kids really
liked it! Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it was all over. “The
Jesters” were no more. The oldest boy, whose mother had let him
drive her car, a critical necessity for rehearsals as well as gigs, had
found a girl friend! |
