We had the good fortune of connecting with Travis Raab and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Travis, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Leaving the safety of my hometown, then my safe teaching gig, then my safe cover band gig have all lead to better things for me. I left a group that had a recording contract when I was about 23 which was a good choice. It’s all a risk. If you’re going into the arts, it’s better to shoot for the stars. You can always quit and do something else. That way you’ll never worry you didn’t take a big chance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Like most people in LA, I moved out to here when I was young (20 years old in my case) and I didn’t know anyone who lived here. A few years later I found I was traveling 40 weekends a year for gigs, teaching all week, and doing sessions between everything. I would take an early flight back on sunday mornings and teach all day sunday and by monday I was always completely burnt out (And I’ve always enjoyed that feeling!). They say if you enjoy what you’re doing you’ll never work a day in your life!

I’m lucky that I get to work with a big range of clients. My students include Diplo, Kyle Richards, Rebecca De Mornay, Missi Pyle, and I also teach folks who have never picked up a guitar. I’ve played with Kat McPhee, and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness, Sean Kingston and more.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would have to focus on my little area of the city, which is mid-city, Beverly Grove. Most people don’t even know this place exists, but there’s so much great stuff here and they are even about to open the train station connecting it to the rest of the city. LACMA is a great place to see art, have a coffee, see some prehistoric fossils, and listen to some jazz. Then you have pan pacific park, where you can play some basketball or have a BBQ, walk around the Grove, check out the cool shops on Fairfax (all of which is free!). And of course there’s Canter’s, which has good food, live music in that funky old bar. All of this is in walking distance, another rare thing in LA!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would give the biggest shout out to my parents who gave me every opportunity to succeed and also gave me the necessary encouragement to do what I was passionate about. I have also had a number of teachers of the years, some very inspiring, and even those who weren’t perfect still taught me important lessons.

Website: www.TravisRaab.com

Youtube: http://youtube.com/travisraab

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.