Abby Travis has played with quite a variety of artists during the years. Some include Brit-rockers Elastica, psychedelic sex-pop rocker Beck and industrial metal kings K.M.F.D.M.

Then she went solo.

She will be performing material off both her debut and her most recent solo album, “Cutthroat Standards and Black Pop,” tonight at Mac’s Bar, 2700 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing.

And Travis admits she prefers expressing herself musically through solo work.

“This record is a lot more cohesive and works well,” she said. “It’s important to me to make an album that just isn’t a collection of songs, but has a sort of theme.

“It has a beautifully dark standard to it.”

She said unlike her first solo effort, this album is primarily piano-based, which helps the live performances come together better.

“Basing the album primarily around the piano enabled me to travel with less and still have the music sound similar to the way it sounds on the album,” she said.

Norm Zebrowski is the editor in chief of the online ’zine “Vox Pop,” and has booked bands at Mac’s for more than four years.

“(Travis) is a mix of the lush gothic aspects of Siouxsie and the Banshees with the 21st century cordial and lyrical approach,” he said.

“If you apply a touch of Queen, (David) Bowie and The Beatles-esqe spark, you have Abby Travis.”

Travis said her experiences with the variety of artists she’s toured with has taught her more about people skills and how the music industry works.

“It also enabled me to travel around the world and that was certainly a lot of fun,” she said.

She also noted one experience when she played in 1993 at the Olympia in Paris.

“There was a bar backstage for just performers and guests and there was a woman who had been working there for 45 years,” she said.

“It was cool to think that the woman who handed me a drink was the same woman who handed drinks to people like Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and The Beatles.”

She said the most rewarding aspect of her career is simply performing.

“Since I’ve put out my record on my own label, I’ve done so much administrative work getting plane tickets, sending out posters to clubs and dealing with distributors,” she said.

“Minutes of my day-to-day life is so grueling and can be boring at times. So when I go on the road and play, it reminds me why I spend so much time and energy into it.”

The show starts around 10 p.m. For more information, including cover charge, call Mac’s at 484-6795.