An Interview with Travis Mccoy

Cupid’s Chokehold has been in the charts for months. Are you fed up with it?
I’m getting fed up with it. It’s just one of those things. All artists get bored with their material, it’s what keeps them creative. At the same time, you have to keep people happy. I’m sure sooner or later people will get as sick of it as we are.

You were together for almost ten years before you started having hits. Did you nearly give up?
No, my body’s totally covered with tattoos so I had no other choice but to become a rock star. There was no way I could get a real job.

How did you pay the bills?
I was a tattoo artist. I mainly did graffiti stuff, I was into it as a kid and that’s the kind of tattoo artwork I do.

What’s your favourite tattoo?
A portrait of myself on my right arm. It’s a picture of me when I was in second grade. I had it done about six years ago.

What’s the weirdest promotional thing you’ve done?
It was for Japanese TV, their shows are f***ing insane. They have like live cartoon shows, it looks like it’s a video game but it’s actually people. The weird thing is they show all this crazy s*** but they won’t show pubic hair. I don’t get it. Anyway, I had to send a verbal love letter to someone who inspires me. I had to say: ‘Dear so and so’ and then why they inspired me and then end with: ‘love from Travis.’ I did it to Daryl Hall [of Hall & Oates] as he’s my most favourite guy in the world. Luckily, they didn’t make me do it in Japanese.
What’s the worst gig you’ve ever done?
We’ve been the black sheep playing shows with metal bands, with the crowd shouting: ‘What the hell is this s***?’We’ve never run away from anything or compromised to make a crowd happy. We played a show in Manchester with Fall Out Boy. I don’t normally let hecklers get to me but for some reason these pair of kids were being really persistent and making gestures. At the end of the show, I walked through the crowd and found them. I’m 6ft in and more than 200lb, so they were scared s***less. I just said: ‘Dude, you paid money to be here, if you don’t like it go and have a beer and come back to see the band you wanted to see later.’ The best bit was when I pretended I was going to hit one of the kids and instead kissed his cheek. The crowd went apes***. That was one of my more rock star moments.

What’s been your most extravagant purchase?
I have a really bad sneaker habit. Nikes are my favourite. I have a pair called the Houston Allstars. There were only 25 pairs made and I have one. People are willing to pay $6,000 (£3,000) for them. It’s stupid but I have them.

What’s your best chat-up line?
Anyone else who is remotely successful would use their band to chat up the ladies. Not me. I have this crazy look where I lift up one eyebrow. Then I pick my nose and wipe it on the girl. It usually works for me.

It’s a risky strategy isn’t it?
Yeah, it super-risky. I’ve been slapped, I’ve been spat at but I’ve also ended up making passionate love. If you find a girl who smiles or who is into that line then you’ve found a keeper.

What excuses did you use to get off PE at school?
The s***s always work. No one wants a kid in their class who is going to s*** themselves. If you do a real smelly fart and then tell the coach you think you might be having an accident, he’ll let you off. Or go one step further and s*** your pants. I didn’t use it much. My teachers knew I didn’t care about class. I just spent time writing songs and drawing pictures and they let me do what I wanted.

By www.metro.co.uk