From Bullying to Music: Travis Bolt and his Journey of Resilience and Emotional Healing Through Songwriting

Music Saved Me. Welcome to Music Saved Me, the podcast where we dive into the raw, real stories of artists who found their lifeline in a melody, in a riff, or a lyric when everything else felt like it was just falling apart. I'm your host, Lynn Hoffman, and today, lucky us, we are sitting down with someone whose journey hits especially close to home for anyone who's ever felt like the world was telling them that they couldn't make it. Travis Bolt is the East Texas singer-songwriter behind the powerful debut album Burning Bridges. He grew up facing challenges that most kids never have to even imagine. Diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome at the tender age of 11, he dealt with ticks that made everyday life tough, he dealt with bullying that cut deep and worse. Even doubts came from, get this, teachers and doctors who told him that he would never achieve his dreams. That's incredible. And soul-crushing. And then Travis picked up a guitar and something remarkable happened. When he played and when he sang, his symptoms slowed, the ticks quieted, the chaos in his body and mind found a rhythm and a calm. Music didn't just speak to Travis Bolt, it literally calmed his nervous system and gave him a reason to keep going. He went on to rack up over 45 million streams, open shows at the Ryman Auditorium, touring Europe at the Country to Country Festival, and releasing his most personal album yet Burning Bridges. Really amazing album that I feel blessed to have had a chance to listen to before talking to you. It's soulful, rock Americana country. I'm Lynn Hoffman and this is Music Save Me and this is a conversation today with a man whose story is the very definition of this show. Travis Bolt is next on Music Save Me. Don't go anywhere. This is an I Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. Hey there. This is Josh from Stuff You Should Know with a message that could change your life. The Stuff You Should Know ThinkSpring Podcast playlist is available now. Whether Spring has sprung in your neck of the woods yet or not, the Stuff You Should Know ThinkSpring playlist will make you want to get your overalls on, get outside, and get your hands in the dirt. You can get the Stuff You Should Know ThinkSpring playlist on the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Music Save Me. Travis, welcome to the show. It's so great chatting with you, especially the conversation before the show that was even more enlightening. Yeah, thank you for that introduction, Lynn. That was beautiful. Well, you're beautiful. I want to talk about when this all sort of started. Take us back to when you were first diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. You were just 11. What was life like for you before you found the guitar? What changed the moment that music entered the picture in your world? As you can imagine, I was in middle school. I was dealing with, like you said, getting picked on, bullied, beat up, all this stuff. I was just kind of getting into music because in middle school you got to be in the band. I was a bigger kid. I was pretty chunky. I wanted to go in and play drums. My dad bought me a drum kit because I was really excited about playing drums and I was practicing on it and I walked into the band to pick an instrument. They saw me coming from a mile away and said, that's a tuba player right there. Wow, because you were a bigger kid. Yeah, because I was chunky. I ended up playing the tuba for like six years, which I can probably still play it, to be honest with you. So I was overweight, had this Tourette's thing that I really didn't know much about. I was just interrupting and getting in trouble. And then I played the tuba. So I had all three going for me, you know what I'm saying? So yeah, it was rough. It was rough to answer your question. You know, I was getting picked on, bullied, beat up in the hallways, in the bathroom, all that stuff and it got to where my counselor at the time, I was going to a band. No, I'm school affiliated like a therapist. And you know, thank God for my parents that got me that kind of help, you know, when I needed it because I didn't know. And they had said that my mom needed to go to the school with me and like shadow me for a while and she had to take notes for the doctors and like for the therapist and to really dial in what's going on with me. So as you can imagine, you know, that was the worst thing getting picked on probably, you know, but I mean, it had to be done and, you know, God bless her. I mean, she had to do what she had to do. I didn't understand it at the time because I was a kid. I was like, oh, this is just to suck. She's making it worse. But but no, she and she still got stacks of those little ring binders of notes she had to take and it's sad. I went back and read them. I was like, man, shit. So so anyway, yes, school, school was tough. And they were taking me to a pediatric neurologist to, you know, as you explained, did as much as they could do to help. You know, I was on the placebo trials back in the early 2000s doing the experimental medication that I got paid for at the end of the year. Grim weight gain was a big side effect of some of these medications. So it made it worse. You know, we were talking about teeth. One of the medications I was on experimental wise was a liquid medication and it actually damaged all of my enamel. So moving forward, no matter how well I try to take care of my teeth, they just didn't matter. Yeah, it didn't matter. There's no enamel. So it was just they were just screwing up, you know, you poor thing. What a horrible ordeal at such a young age. Yeah, we made it. Yeah. Well, then you found music. I, how did you said that playing guitar, speaking of the medication was the best medicine because you tried all the other medicines? When did that occur? When did you find that? So I had a little Les Paul Lotus, there's a little electric guitar, it's U-sized, you can't see it on the stream, but it was probably about like three, like two and a half foot long. It was a little guitar my parents got me when I was a baby. I kind of played around on that. But as I went through these trials, as I got older, obviously I was, I was bigger and needed a full size guitar. I used some of that money. It was like 1200 bucks, but when you're 13, you know, you're rich. So that's a lot of money. Yeah. Yeah. I went and bought, which looking back now, my parents trying to raise, you know, three kids and I had 1200 bucks. So, you know, I wish I would have just given it to them, but I bought an Xbox and a guitar. I bought a Washburn, Hollybody Electric with it and started going to these little bluegrass revival concerts with my grandparents. They would take me to Quitman, Texas, a little place called the Carol Green Civic Center every Saturday and they had a bluegrass thing and I'd sit back in the back room with all the old men playing in a circle, you know, and they taught me how to pick real fast. So that's where I kind of learned how to play guitar. And just as I got older, you know, I bought a couple of more guitars with money I was making through high school and, you know, little first jobs and things. And I really honed it. And by the time I left high school, I had, you know, my sister's went off to college. As soon as I graduated, I bought a Suburban and some speakers and just started honky-tonking and I've been doing that. You're on tour? Yeah. I was on a, I was on my own tour. Well, no, but what you, what you said though, it's very important, you invested in yourself. Yeah, I did. And your skill. And that's a, that's a pretty big deal. A lot of people, you know, don't realize that if you invest in yourself sometimes it does pay off. I mean, it was 15 years of doing that, you know, it was, it was quite a long, well, 13 to 15 years give or take, you know, before I was discovered. So when you're deep in a song, what's actually happening in your head like physically or even emotionally when you're playing? It's really more emotion than anything as cliche as that sounds. You know, like if I'm singing something, it's not usually just because, oh, it's a cool song. Like I'm playing something because I resonate with it, right? Yeah. So in my own songs that I write or the songs that I co-write with people, my, my touch is on it and it's enough for me to get into my head about it. So when I'm on stage singing these songs, even if it's a cover song, it means a lot to me in one way or another. I've went through whatever that person went through at one point or another so I can really relate to it and I feel like the crowd can too. So when I'm singing on stage, I'm really trying to, I'm trying to feel the emotion, which is not hard to do, but I'm also trying to project that onto the audience and make them feel the same thing. I've done a really good job of that, I think over the years, you know, really honing that skill to where the audience can, you know, get the goosebumps and get thrown back and be like, wow, you know, I think that's why, you know, my single never tried cocaine really hit a lot of people because that's, that's, that's true heartbreak story. You know, a lot of people have been through it. It wasn't just me, you know. Yeah. Yeah. And that, that went viral. That was huge. And, and it's a testament to like you just said, how many people that song touched because of what they went through in their life. I'm curious just to backtrack a little, did you, when, did you realize that the music was doing something with your ailments? Oh yeah, very. How, when did you realize that? How did that all come about? Early days for sure. I, I started realizing when I was really concentrating on play and that this goes back to when I was a kid playing bluegrass. Your mind's so busy, you know, trying to figure out all the chords and like remembering where to go next and all this stuff. And then you start adding in lyrics. I mean, that's a whole another animal. You got to not only play and do all this crazy stuff, then you have to know where the words are going in, how to like phonetically. Yeah. I think that's the word. Well, I'm smart. Come on. Phonetic. Yeah. Like put those words where they go with the guitar, right? So your mind's very busy. There's neurons, fire and often stuff. So what I've chalked it up to is your brain doesn't have time to misfire when it's that busy is, and I'm not a scientist. I have no idea if that's the case or not, but that's the way I kind of explain it to people. And, you know, I did partner with the Terrest Association of America and I got to tell my story to some of the younger kids coming up with it. Like, you know, like I was in middle school, which is very important to me that they have somebody that has went through it. Yeah. Because like back when I was a kid, I didn't have that. You know, I had a very good support system at home, but I didn't have a musician tour in the world saying, hey, I have Tourette's too. You can do whatever you want. You know, I want to be that voice for those kids, right? So I really want to push that anything artistic, whether it's painting, playing guitar, singing, like whatever it is really helps more than any of the medicine I ever took, you know. Yeah. I mean, that it would make sense. There's so many different things that can, you can have issues with whether you're a veteran coming back from war with PTSD and you need, you know, those stories similar to yours in the sense that when they had that time playing the music or writing the music or creating or performing and touring, they were so busy and focused on that that they realized that the issue they were having was sort of in the background. It was, it wasn't affecting them. And it's amazing that that can happen for you with music. It really is. And it's great that you're out there doing what you're doing for kids too, because like you said, even just one kid listening to this right now who suffers from Tourette's is like, wait, what? And he had 45 million streams and he's touring Europe and doing all of these incredible things. Exactly. It's a huge component of it. I want to talk about Burning Bridges. It feels like a deeply confessional record. Songs like Coming Home, which came from the night your, I believe your ex-wife came back after leaving you. And how do you find the courage to put the most painful chapters of your life, Travis, directly into your music? That's not easy. No, it's not. You know, and it, you know, I will say it's part of the job. You know, that's our responsibility to do, you know, for the audience, for the fans and things. But for me, it's, you know, like some people journal, some people keep a diary or a journal or things. I have to get it out of here. Like there's no more room for any of that. I can't, I can't bottle it up and hold it in. So I write about it, right? And being a singer, I write songs. So whenever that happened that night, actually, you know, as you can imagine, that was just a, there was a lot going on up, up in the head. And whenever I went inside, finally I was awake, you know, it's 2 30 in the morning. By the time she left, it was probably three something. I just sat on my couch, grabbed my guitar and started just thinking back over everything and like, you why, you know, and I wrote, I wrote Coming Home. I wrote about three quarters of it that night, you know, but yeah, songs like that come from that real place. And I really want to drive that home because, you know, there's, you know, with all this AI stuff out there, people don't, you know, music starting to lose its soul, I feel like, but there is still real music like, like this out there, you know, people, I'm not the only one that someone's ex showed up at their house at two in the morning, you know, so that song is out there for people that went through that. And they could be like, man, here's a song I can listen to. And I try to do that with all of my songs, you know, I really try to drive that like whatever I'm talking about, I really try to make the point. We'll be right back with more of the music safety podcast. Hey, there, this is Josh from stuff you should know with a message that could change your life. The stuff you should know, think spring podcast playlist is available now. Whether spring has sprung in your neck of the woods yet or not, the stuff you should know, think spring playlist will make you want to get your overalls on, get outside and get your hands in the dirt. You can get the stuff you should know, think spring playlist on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back to the music save me podcast. You said something upfront in your answer about responsibility, which it's an interesting word because not everyone thinks the way that you think with your platform and having such tremendous reach and so much power to be able to get the word out there and to help people. How important is it to you to not squander that responsibility? It's highly important. Like I said, I feel a sense of duty almost, or if I have a song like that in my head about something very important because I am very lucky that I have very good friends and family, a very awesome support system through things like that. I'm actually sitting with one of my best friends right now, him and my other friends and my family really brought me up out of those dark places. But there's a lot of people out there that went through the same thing that don't have that support system. They don't have the people to help them and they can go to a very dark place with some of this stuff. It ain't easy. So having these kind of songs out there so that someone going through those dark times without any support can sit back and go, you know what, someone is going through the same thing I'm going through and I'm going to listen to this and know that I ain't the only one. That's a big thing to me and that's why I said I feel like it's my responsibility even if it hurts to, you know, you write a song like Coming Home and it goes big and you have to sing at every show, you know, you're reliving that night, like the rest of your life, but that's okay, you know. It is. It's almost like when something good happens to you, even if it's bad and you can turn it into something good, you need to share it from the highest rooftop with everybody so that everybody knows. But it's what makes you special though because not everybody thinks that way and sadly. But thank goodness for people and musicians and artists like you. You set up front, you've been supporting the Tourette's Association of America and you've been sharing your story very publicly. What do you want that kid who's listening right now, the one getting picked on, maybe dealing with something nobody around them understands to hear and to know from you, Travis Bolt? You know, I really want them to feel comfortable within their own body and their own mind, knowing that no matter what anyone says, no matter what the doctors tell you that you can always find your calling and nothing's going to stop you, you know, whether it's music, whether it's, you know, you want to be an engineer, you know, anything. You can get through all of that, you know. People grow up, I have people all the time now that message me, it hadn't happened in a while actually, but I've had people message me back from school, you know, from Facebook and things like that and said, man, I was terrible to you, you know, I hate that and I want to apologize, you know, that stuff's going to happen to these kids too, you know. I mean, it's tough because you're different, you know, but difference is not always a bad thing. In fact, you know, it's helped me be different in my career, you know. I'm surrounded by millions of musicians and, you know, I get to tell my story and so it's almost like a superpower is as funny as that sounds, you know. It doesn't sound funny at all. It's true. I mean, being different isn't a sentence of that means you're bad or you should be marginalized and forgotten about. Right, right, right. And yeah, so I mean, to basically put a bullet point on your question is that I want that kid, like if I could go back in time and tell me this, hold tight, stay strong, you know, you're going to do fine. The stuff's not going to hold you back and just keep pushing through, man. Everything's going to be going to be dope. Dope. Is that word coming back again? I mean, I'll say it. I love it. I think it's like, is it lit or something these days? No, I didn't go that far now. I don't put that in there. No, I didn't. I don't even use that. Never tried cocaine, went viral and opened, obviously, tremendous doors for you. Obviously, today, now with Burning Bridges, it feels like you're sort of planting a flag and saying, this is who I really am. And I don't really care what you think. What does it mean to you to arrive at a record this personal at this moment in your career? It's pretty early on. You're just beginning. I mean, I've felt like it's been a long time coming. This is, you know, my last EP was more surrounded by the divorce and the heartbreak and I, you know, being depressed and things. This album has a few more, you know, trickles of those sad songs in there about different situations, not just me, you know. Like I said, I've gotten to write with some amazing people and put more stories into this stuff. So there's still some heartbreak in the album, but I feel like this album is a lot more redemptive, you know, the songs on there about getting the negative people out of your life, you know, the people you've been wasting your time on, whether that's friends, relationships, business, whatever, you know. Anything holding you back, anything holding me back is gone. I ain't letting anything stop me now. It's rolling and it ain't going to stop. So you start weeding that out. So there's redemption in this album, which is very important to me because now I feel like I'm transitioning from, you know, the sad, depressive, like the never tried cocaine era into this new era, or it's like, all right. Now we're starting to kick it out. We're starting to have fun. The music's a lot more happy and redemptive. Yeah. So I think that's amazing. Travis, I don't like to compare voices and I don't know how you feel about that at all, but I was reading about you earlier. And for those of you who haven't heard Travis Bolt's incredible vocal skills and music, forget it. The musicality is like other levels that I can't even explain. It's just wonderful. Your voice is a cross between, and I didn't say this, but I read it, Chris Cornell and Chris Stapleton. How did you feel when you read that? And do you mind being compared to such incredible talent? Oh, and it's very, it's very humbling to hear that really, because I mean, those are great, great artists, you know, to be to be put on that level is is extreme compliment. And, you know, it's fun. It's a lot to live up to. So I really got to keep pushing out here, you know. Yeah, you got to definitely, and wasting my time, I happened to catch the music video for that. My husband walked in the room and he's like, wow, he reminds me of Greg Allman. And I'm like, yeah, I've interviewed him, by the way, and you do even your mannerisms. Like he was just such a lovely, wonderful person, just like you. So it's it's been a pleasure to meet you and. Yeah, it's been great. Great to talk and meet with you as well. Yeah, I got my hair up today. I didn't fix it. I was going to ask, I didn't know if it was under the hat or not. That's under the hat. Yeah, I've got really long hair, but I can I can hide it really well. So yeah, whenever I don't feel like doing all the blow drying and the moose, and I just do this. So. You don't have people for that yet? No, no, I got to sing a little better to have a hair person, I think. I love that. Oh, you know what? Before I let you go, and there's so much that goes on when we talked earlier about investing in yourself and you went and spent that money on the guitar and and the Xbox, which I was guilty of as well. Something that we don't really talk about on the show in terms of being well, not just the music, but the whole the whole combination of coming from somewhere, making it and really surviving and thriving in the industry. And then there's the other side of it. Like you want to be able to continue to maintain what you're doing so you can help others. I mean, that's sort of a driving thing within you, it sounds like. And that will always be with you. I can't imagine somebody like you getting on stage just to do it just because you have to because you really want to know that be the last day I ever got on stage. If that's the way I was feeling, I promise you. Right. And so there's so many things that go along with this, especially like you with these young up and coming phenoms, which I like to call finance. And I know this isn't really part of the music world, but in a way, if you don't have everything all wrapped up and you're taking care of yourself, how can you help others? So I'm just curious in this crazy world we live in, do you have anybody like that that you talk to? Like, so when you start going really gangbusters, do you know how to make sure that that's there and lasts for you so that you can continue to help others for the rest of your life? I know that's a really convoluted. Like an accountant, I guess, that kind of helps manage things. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you have to have things like that because, you know, growing up with not a lot of money, whenever you start coming into it, how do you know you don't know what you're doing? You have no idea. And, you know, the people that amass tremendous amounts of wealth, which is not me at this point, but the people that do, you have to learn how to handle that. And I've learned this from my successful friends. I have a lot of wealthy, successful friends and I talk to them all the time because I'm trying to get the knowledge before I get to that point. And so I know what I'm doing because the last thing you want to do is build this amazing career for yourself, be successful and have that nest egg and then just blow it. You know, you see it a lot with people that win the lottery, you know. Yes. Yeah. Well, you know, I heard of statistics not too long ago and it really shocked me that 99% of us are financially illiterate. So we're all in the same basket. There isn't, you know, there's that 1% of genius that knows, but we really weren't ever taught it. Well, they don't teach it in school. And, you know, and if you're, you know, if you grew up like 90% of us did, you know, your, your family and their parents and their parents and their parents going way back, they never knew either. So it's like, it's, it's, it's just a revolving door. Like someone's got to sit down and, and, and learn that. But I mean, you have to be in a position to even have to learn it, you know, and I'm getting to that point. So, you know, I'm just excited. I can't wait to be able to, you know, help mom and dad to help my sisters more. My nieces and nephews, make sure everybody's comfortable. Like I'm, you know, I love it all from music, all from being told, I'd never be able to do what I'm doing right now and I'm doing it. So. Exactly. And that's old saying, oxygen mask on yourself first, then you're able to help others. And that was the point I was getting at, not, you know, not just to amass riches and be rich and all that. It was more that you want to continue to be able to give that message, but how can you do that if, you know, things fall apart in other ways. So I always wanted to sort of bridge that gap and someone knew like, you know, I just wanted to put it in your head there. Cause, you know, I feel very maternal. Yeah. No, I thank you for bringing it up. I need to be reminded because I do enjoy them all. So I need to be careful. And it's like salespeople, you know, there's a lot of them that have a lot to sell you, but you have to pick the right one. So anyway, the best of luck to you with everything, Travis, thank you so much for sharing your story and coming on and being so open, not only here, but in your whole career and your music, helping people and, um, and come back and see us again. No, thank you so much for having me on. It was a blast and, uh, look forward to seeing y'all again. Burning bridges out now. Please go get a copy. It's amazing. You will not be disappointed. I'm Buzz Knight and thanks for listening to Lynn Hoffman and the music, save me podcast produced by Buzz night media productions. Please check out our other shows. Taken a walk, Nashville hosted by Sarah Harrelson, comedy, save me hosted by Lynn Hoffman and taken a walk hosted by yours truly. All shows are available on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and are part of the I heart podcast network. Hey, there, this is Josh from stuff you should know with a message that could change your life. The stuff you should know, think spring podcast playlist is available now. Whether spring has sprung in your neck of the woods yet or not, the stuff you should know, think spring playlist will make you want to get your overalls on, get outside and get your hands in the dirt. You can get the stuff you should know, think spring playlist on the I heart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.