Patrick Henry "Pat" Travers
(born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career with Polydor Records in the mid 1970s. Pat Thrall, Nicko McBrain, Tommy Aldridge, Peter "Mars" Cowling, Jerry Riggs, and Carmine Appice are some of the noted musicians that have been members of the Pat Travers Band
through the years.
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Early years
Pat Travers was born and raised in
Toronto,
Ontario. Soon after picking up the guitar at age 12, he saw
Jimi Hendrix perform in
Ottawa. Inspired by Hendrix, as well as other artists including
Jeff Beck,
Eric Clapton and
Jimmy Page, Travers began playing in bands early in his teens; his first bands were
The Music Machine, Red Hot, and Merge, which played in
Quebec-area clubs.
While performing with Merge, he was noticed by rock artist
Ronnie Hawkins, who invited Travers to perform with him. Next, the young guitarist moved to London and landed a deal with the Polydor label in his early 20's. His self-titled debut album was released in 1976, and featured bassist
Peter "Mars" Cowling, who would become a mainstay in Travers' band for several years. An appearance on the German TV show
Rockpalast
in November 1976 was later released on DVD under the title
Hooked On Music
. This performance showcases an early version of Travers' band featuring Cowling and drummer
Nicko McBrain.
Rise to popularity
During 1977 Travers added a second guitarist to his band, changed drummers twice including using
Clive Edwards, and by the time
Heat In The Street
was released in 1978 had put together the Pat Travers Band. This grouping featured Travers on vocals and guitar,
Pat Thrall on guitar, Cowling on bass, and
Tommy Aldridge on drums and percussion. The band toured heavily, also supporting
Rush (band) on their
Drive til You Die
tour in support of
A Farewell to Kings
.
[1] The band's next release was a live album entitled
Live! Go for What You Know
, which charted in the Top 40 in the
United States and included "Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)". This was followed by the 1980 release
Crash and Burn
, which climbed even higher on the charts, entering the Top 20.
Snortin' Whiskey
was a major American radio hit from this album and Pat Travers began the 1980s as a hot item in the hard rock music scene.
Things began to slide downward for Travers in August 1980. After an appearance before 35,000 people at the
Reading Music Festival in England, both Thrall and Aldridge announced they were leaving the band to pursue other projects. Travers and Cowling forged on with drummer
Sandy Gennaro and released
Radio Active
in 1981. A co-headlining tour with
Rainbow followed, and the two bands performed in major arenas across North America. Although the tour was Travers' most successful road outing, the
Radio Active
album barely made it into the Top 40. It was much different than Travers' previous work, with more emphasis on keyboards than heavy guitars. Disappointed with the lack of sales,
Polydor dropped Travers from their roster, and he in turn sued the record company on grounds that he was under contract with them to record more material. He won the lawsuit, and was able to release
Black Pearl
in 1982. This release also featured more mainstream music rather than the hard-driving rock Travers had recorded earlier.
Hot Shot
was Travers' last major label release of original music, and was a return to a harder-edge style of rock than his previous two albums had been. One of Travers' best-recorded projects, it went basically unnoticed and is best remembered for the single "Killer". It was during this time that Travers also released
Just Another Killer Day
, a 30-minute home video featuring music from
Hot Shot
that was a sci-fi type short story about sexy alien women searching for information on music here on earth. In 1984, Travers was again supporting Rush--
Alex Lifeson is one of Travers' many admirers, and
Neil Peart got along well with
Tommy Aldridge.
[2]
Before the release of
Hot Shot
, longtime bassist Cowling left the band, and Travers would work with several different bassists until Cowling's return in 1989. Also at this time
Jerry Riggs joined the Pat Travers Band, and he and Travers created a guitar team that fans considered diffiicult to rival. After
Hot Shot
's release in 1984,
Polydor made plans to issue a greatest hits package, and then ended their relationship with
Travers.
The latter half of the 1980s were quite grueling for Travers. Having entered the decade at the top of the music game, he found himself in 1986 without a record contract and being forced to earn a living once again playing nightclubs and touring constantly. By 1990, he had gained a deal with a small European label and released
School Of Hard Knocks
. Totally ignored by radio, the project was solid and contained some of Travers' best material. A full-length concert video
Boom Boom - Live At The Diamond Club 1990
was shot in
Toronto to be released in audio version as CD
Boom Boom
next year, but Travers was still not able to return to the success he had ten years earlier.
1990s, return to form
Shortly after, Travers signed a deal with American-based Blues Bureau International Records, a company formed by noted producer
Mike Varney. Travers' first recording for the label was
Blues Tracks
released in 1992. It earned positive reviews from critics. Several more releases on the BBI label followed during the 1990s. In 1993, Travers parted company with both Jerry Riggs and Peter "Mars" Cowling, and Riggs was briefly replaced by former
Foghat guitarist
Erik Cartwright. The relationship was very brief, and Travers has worked with a variety of musicians since that time.
Travers has not been able to regain the level of commercial success he once had, but he does have a very large and loyal fan base who call themselves "Hammer Heads". He tours regularly in the U.S. and has made several trips to Europe in the last decade as well. In 2001 he was part of the “Voices of Classic Rock” tour, and had a minor hit with
Leslie West from the band
Mountain called "Rock Forever". In 2004 he started a project with the veteran session drummer
Carmine Appice and started touring the US; as of now there are 3 albums released. Travers was still rocking in 2006 with the Power Trio playing cover tunes from bands such as
Led Zeppelin,
Montrose,
Queen,
Trapeze under the album name
P.T. Power Trio 2
, and they toured Europe in November 2006.
Travers has lived in central
Florida for several years, and is now married with two children.
Travers, in retrospect, is generally considered one of the most influential rock guitarists who emerged from the 1970s hard rock genre. Numerous guitarists such as
Paul Gilbert, and
Metallica's
Kirk Hammett have cited Travers as a major influence.
The Pat Travers Band currently consists of Pat Travers (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Kirk McKim (guitars, vocals), Randy Lane (drums), and Rodney O'Quinn (bass).
Discography
- 1976 Pat Travers
- 1977 Makin' Magic
- 1977 Putting It Straight
- 1978 Heat In The Street
- 1978 The Pat Travers You Missed Mini-Album
(EP)
- 1979 Live! Go for What You Know
(live 1978)
- 1980 Crash and Burn
- 1981 Radio Active
- 1982 Black Pearl
- 1984 Hot Shot
- 1990 School Of Hard Knocks
- 1991 Boom Boom
(live 1990)
- 1992 BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert
(live 1977 & 1980) (rereleased in 2000)
- 1992 Blues Tracks
- 1993 Just A Touch
- 1994 Blues Magnet
- 1995 Halfway To Somewhere
- 1996 Lookin' Up
- 1997 King Biscuit Flower Hour
(live 1984)
- 1998 Blues Tracks 2
- 2000 Don't Feed The Alligators
- 2000 Boom Boom - Live At The Diamond Club 1990
(CD & DVD)
- 2003 Etched In Stone
(2-CD live 2002)
- 2003 P.T. Power Trio
(also called Power Trio
)
- 2003 From The Front...Live!
(DVD-Audio live 1984)
- 2005 PT=MC2
- 2006 P.T. Power Trio 2
- 2007 Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights)
(live)
- 2008 Stick With What You Know - Live In Europe
(live 2007)
- 2009 Travelin' Blues
Singles released during major label career
- 1976 "Makes No Difference" (promo single to debut album)
- 1976 "Stop And Smile"
- 1977 "Stevie"
- 1977 "Rock & Roll Susie"
- 1977 "Gettin' Betta"
- 1977 "Life In London"
- 1978 "Heat In The Street"
- 1978 "Go All Night"
- 1979 "Boom, Boom (Out Go The Lights) - Live!" (UK single)
- 1980 "Is This Love" (US single)
- 1980 "Snortin' Whiskey" (US single)
- 1980 "Evie" (Holland only single)
- 1980 "Crash And Burn"
- 1980 "(Your Love) Can't Be Right"
- 1981 "My Life Is On The Line"
- 1981 "New Age Music"
- 1982 "I La La La Love You"
- 1982 "Rockin'"
- 1982 "I'd Rather See You Dead"
- 1984 "Women On The Edge Of Love"
- 1984 "Killer"
Compilation albums
- 1985 Boom Boom: The Best Of Pat Travers
- 1990 An Anthology Vol.1
- 1990 An Anthology Vol.2
- 1991 The Best Of Pat Travers
- 1997 Best Of Blues + Live!
(studio & 1997 live recordings)
- 2003 20th Century Masters: The Best Of Pat Travers
- 2004 Rock Solid: The Essential Collection
(Germany)
- 2008 8+8: The Best Of '70-'80
(live recordings) (Germany)
Travers & Appice albums
- 2004 It Takes A Lot Of Balls
- 2005 Live At The House Of Blues
- 2005 Bazooka
Pat Travers is credited on the following CDs
- 1977 Glenn Hughes Play Me Out
- 1983 Valley Girl (Soundtrack)
- 1993 L.A. Blues Authority, Vol.III: Hats Off To Stevie Ray
(Various artists)
- 1993 L.A. Blues Authority, Vol.IV: Fit For A. King
(Various artists)
- 1993 Songs From The Better Blues Bureau
(Various artists)
- 1993 Masters Of Metal - Live The 70's Ten Hits
(Various artists)
- 1994 L.A. Blues Authority, Vol.V: Cream Of The Crop
(Various artists)
- 1995 Animal Magnetism
(Various artists)
- 1997 Summerhaze
(John Kay & Steppenwolf, Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, Pat Travers) (live)
- 2001 Voices Of Classic Rock: Voices For America
(Various artists)
- 2001 Glenn Hughes Building The Machine
- 2004 Sideways (Soundtrack)
References
- Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away
- Contents Under Pressure: 30 Years of Rush at Home and Away