Fred Travers is the Dobro player in the Seldom Scene. He joined in 1995, when Mike Auldridge left the band. Travers had studied the Dobro with Auldridge. He has held the band’s Dobro chair for three decades.
Why Travers matters
Travers followed Mike Auldridge, the Seldom Scene’s first Dobro player, into the band. He had studied with Auldridge, and he has held the chair ever since. The band has kept recording with him for Sugar Hill, Smithsonian Folkways, and Rounder.
Life and career
Travers took Dobro lessons from Mike Auldridge. In 1995 Auldridge left the Seldom Scene with two bandmates to form Chesapeake. John Duffey and Ben Eldridge, the two original members still in the band, brought in Travers on Dobro. They also added bassist Ronnie Simpkins and singer and guitarist Dudley Connell. The new lineup released Dream Scene in 1996.
Duffey died later in 1996. The band carried on with Ben Eldridge as leader and Lou Reid back on mandolin. Travers played on Scene It All (2000) and Scenechronized (2007), which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Bluegrass Album. Later records include Long Time… Seldom Scene (Smithsonian Folkways, 2014) and Changes (Rounder, 2019). In recent lineups he has played beside Ron Stewart and Clay Hess.
Playing style
Travers learned the Dobro from the player whose chair he later filled. He has posted videos of himself working out other players’ parts on the Dobro, such as Ben Eldridge’s banjo licks.
Influences and legacy
Mike Auldridge was Travers’s teacher and his model. Travers has now played Dobro in the Seldom Scene for longer than Auldridge did. Auldridge was in the band from 1971 to 1995, and Travers has been there since 1995.
Essential recordings
Dream Scene, the Seldom Scene (Sugar Hill, 1996) Scene It All, the Seldom Scene (Sugar Hill, 2000) Scenechronized, the Seldom Scene (Sugar Hill, 2007) Long Time… Seldom Scene (Smithsonian Folkways, 2014)
Watch and listen
Travers plays Ben Eldridge’s banjo licks on the Dobro.
What to learn from Travers
Travers borrows ideas from other instruments. Pick a banjo player you like and learn one of their licks on the Dobro. Play it note by note until it sits under your bar. Then use it as a fill in a song.
Sources
Travers, Fred, BluegrassBios.com The Seldom Scene, Wikipedia Bluegrass Unlimited Podcast with Fred Travers, Bluegrass Unlimited
Related players
See the Dobro players hub and the Dobro guide. Mike Auldridge was his teacher and the Seldom Scene’s first Dobro player. Tom Gray played bass in the band’s first lineup.