travis wittmeyer

“Checkered Soda Displays Travis’s unique voice on guitar and his eclectic mix of styles; like a tidal wave this new instrumental album is a wild ride from start to finish. - -20th Century Guitar

“California guitarist Travis Wittmeyer serves up a guitar treat for fans of instrumental guitar music on Checkered Soda, which blends heavy rock sounds, fusion and jazz elements, creative arrangements, and Wittmeyer's killer chops. Checkered Soda finds the guitarist boldly adopting the ways and means of a rock player while delivering a listener-friendly instrumental album that will continue to delight, even after repeated listening. Highlights include "Bucket Of Rats", "Cronosaurusraffagus" and "Cold Here" - but there's not a weak track on the CD.” - -Guitar nine records

“There is no doubt that Wittmeyer has the chops. His playing can be both melodic and powerful. His sound is clear and precise and if you like rocking guitar, this is a good CD to listen to… The playing will wow you…Travis Wittmeyer’s talent is obvious. This CD is for anyone who wants to take in that talent.” - -Sea of tranquility

“Travis definitely has an identity on this album… Travis is one of those maniacs that have a plethora of influences that range from Jazz to Metal. This 9-track effort is a balance between serious and humorous…The main focus of the album is a lot of Jazz-fusion and bluesy type take-ons and throwing in some unorthodox timing and other genre elements. That's what makes this album very interesting and hard to just sit here and pick it apart and assume what you'll hear next; you won't be able to…playing this a few times makes it all make sense and offers a mere appreciation for talented players like Travis. I hope to hear more from him down the road. ” - - Quintessence magazine

“You don't have to be well known to release some kick-@$$ music these days. I've spent a lot of time with it (and Witmeyer's other release Silent People) and I can safely say I don't feel like tossing either of these into the pile of obscurity. On the contrary, 'imaginative and original are some adjectives I’d use to describe Checkered Soda (and Silent People). Fans of Garsed/Helmerich, Allesandro Benvenuti and Tony Macalpine as well as other instrumental rock, jazz, prog music fans will enjoy this album.” - - ProGGnosis

“The musical talent of Travis is obvious without any doubt. The music shows a lot of variation with a mix of fusion, jazz and even a bit country. 'Journey Between' a very melodic track with dreamy guitar solos and Little Bug contains some steady 'heavy rock'. The most interesting track is 'Tri Manta Si', inspired mainly by jazz and classical music, with acoustic pieces (à la Django Reinhardt) alternated by electric fragments. 'Novel Sting' sounds a bit bluesy after a short country intro, while Cronosaurusraffegus (what a title) starts in Satriani style and then continues with some complex fusion. You surely can find nice moments on this album…. especially 'would be' guitar players will like this stuff.”
- - Prog-nose

“Don’t let the cover art of the debut CD from Cayucos, California guitarist Travis Wittmeyer fool you. Behind the bizarre imagery of his album Checkered Soda is some incredibly gifted fret board work. Help from a pair of bassists and the fine drumming of Mike Daillak, helps Travis realize his true strength mixing instrumental rock fusion music with the melodic sensibilities of surf music. As the post-punk inspired cover art indicates, with Travis looking like a man possessed on the back tray card, this stuff hits hard and fast.” - - Mwe3.com