For the past six years, Chickasha native Travis Linville (my space page) has played at The Deli in Norman every Monday night, strumming guitar-rich ballads, full of iconic Oklahoma imagery and whining steel guitar riffs.

"I think The Deli is a really cool place that has something special going on," Linville said.

Linville moved from Chickasha to Norman to attend the University of Oklahoma and starting playing shows as a part of The Burtschi Brothers, as well as solo gigs at The Deli.

"I moved to Norman when I went to college in '96, partly for a music scholarship and partly for a music scene," he said. "I think staying here worked out well for me."

INFLUENCES
With his viscous, twangy rhythms and plucking, tiptoe guitar style, Linville pays homage to the Oklahomans who played and crooned before him.

"I am influenced musically by everything I've ever heard, but Oklahoma musicians like Charlie Christian, Joe Settlemires and Chet Baker come to mind."

Lately, Linville has been staying busy:
" touring as lead guitarist for Hayes Carll and the Gulf Coast Orchestra out of Austin, Texas;
" performing solo and with a new six-piece band;
" producing and engineering music at his own Dirty Bird Studios;
" and "appearing by surprise only with my red dirt cronies," he said.

"I don't know if my music is a prominent part (of the Oklahoma music scene), but I am a footnote in the big book of Oklahoma music," he said. "Graham Lee Brewer