Review Fix: Review Fix Exclusive: Travis Steever Talks ‘Damned Renegades’

Review Fix chats with Davenport Cabinet guitarist and vocalist Travis Stever, who discusses the band’s newest album, “Damned Renegades.” Steever, who is also the lead guitarist for Coheed and Cambria, breaks down the band’s creative process, goals for the future and how their newest album is a different endeavor than their previous work.

Review Fix: How was the overall reception to the original EP?

Travis Stever: The reception to the “Risks in Magic” EP was overwhelmingly awesome. It was the first time Davenport Cabinet had worked as a band as opposed to just Tyler and I. And the fact that it was so well received was exciting.

Review Fix: Did that reception play a role in this album?

Stever: Absolutely. It made us more ambitious and eager to experiment and stretch out sonically. There were numerous ideas already there and the positive reinforcement just made us more driven.

Review Fix: How is this album different than your previous work as a group?

Stever: The first record “Nostalgia in Stereo” was more of a lone venture aside from Rory Hohenberger playing drums. Then the next record “Our Machine” Tyler Klose my cousin and an ultra talented singer songwriter joined on with me sharing guitar and vocal duties. Aside from Rory playing drums on some songs and some other guest appearances by friends I played all the other instruments. “Risks in Magic” was the first full band release. With Tom Farkas on bass and Michael Robert Hickey on drums. As I said before it went so well we set out to make a full length. And it finally brought to life the full band sound I always wanted with Davenport Cabinet.

Review Fix: What was the creative process behind “Everyone Surrounding”? How was the song written? Is there a story behind it?

Stever: With Everyone Surrounding I had a bunch of guitar riffs and I basically arranged them into a song format. I originally had it all done on acoustic. Fully recorded. I had sent it to Claudio a while back to see if he had any interest in making it something for Coheed. He immediately felt like it was something more fit for Davenport Cabinet. I had vocal ideas but wasn’t as happy with them. So I sent it to Tyler and he was ultra excited. He basically came up with vocal melodies on the spot. So with him having a rough idea of what he wanted to do vocally we had Mike play drums on it. Then I rerecorded my guitars, now using electric and acoustic combination, to Hickeys drums. Then Tom added Bass and Tyler a few more guitar parts. Then Tyler cut his vocals. The subject became a very personal matter for Tyler but one we can all understand. When it comes to our personal demons at times we all have to deal with the judgment of  “Everyone Surrounding”.  It’s easy for Tyler and I to share the vocal and lyric duties as we generally write about a lot of similar things. Subjects we both understand and deal with. Subjects I think a majority of people understand and deal with.

Review Fix: How does the success of this group affect Coheed and Cambria?

Stever: I think anything a member of Coheed does if it’s good will help the band. It’s a family affair. If someone likes Davenport Cabinet and it leads them to Coheed, I am positive they will fall in love with it. It’s the creative source for each member. Our home base. So all things lead back. It’s like leaving a trail full of tasty treats to lure someone in. But in this case it’s music. At least that’s how I like to look at it.

Review Fix: How do you want this album to be remembered?

Stever: I want it to be remembered for what I know it to be. Music from the heart and soul that kept me sane while awaiting the birth of my son and going through huge changes. I hope that vibe carries over to the listener. And they can find the enjoyment and pleasure they want within the music.

Review Fix: What’s next for the group?

Stever: We do shows and spread the word about “Damned Renegades.”

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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