rock market.įeaturing drummer Tommy Aldridge, guitarist Pat Thrall, and bassist Mars Cowling, the new Travers band lineup premiered on 1979's Heat in the Street. A performance at England's annual Reading Festival the same year only piqued further interest, which resulted in two more releases in 1977, Makin' Magic and Putting It Straight (both of which followed a pre-Iron Maiden Nicko McBrain on drums), before Travers returned to North America and set his sights on the U.S. Shortly after touchdown in the U.K., Travers recorded a demo that would land him a recording deal with Polydor and result in the release of his debut, Pat Travers, during the spring of 1976. His first true touring gig came his way when he hooked up with '50s rock & roll vet Ronnie Hawkins (best known for performing with a backing cast that would eventually transform into the Band).īut Travers' main love was hard rock, so after a year, he packed up his belongings and headed to London. It wasn't long before Travers was studying the other top rock guitarists of the day (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, etc.), and paying his dues by playing in bar bands in Quebec. Power Trio, 2005's Bazooka with drummer Carmen Appice, and 2015's Retro Rocket.īorn in Toronto on April 12, 1954, Travers first picked up the guitar just prior to entering his teens after witnessing a local performance by the great Jimi Hendrix. In the 21st century, Travers has continued to record for a variety of labels in North America and Europe. One of rock & roll's bona fide road dogs, he has toured over 150 dates a year for more than 40 years. As evidenced by his catalog, Travers is equally adept at playing funk and prog. Arriving during the reign of hard blues-rock guitar slingers such as Johnny Winter, George Thorogood, and Robin Trower, his eight-album run for Polydor from the self-titled 1976 debut through 1984's Hot Shot, netted seven Top 200 chart placements (all but one in the upper half) and two Top 40 singles, including the party anthem classic "Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights)." Subsequently, he placed four singles in the Hot 100, and two more - including 1981's "New Age Music" and 1984's "Killer" in the upper rungs of the Mainstream Rock Songs charts. Canadian singer/guitarist/keyboardist Pat Travers with his hard, edgy tone, rough and rowdy vocals, and barroom boogie aesthetic is a stellar example. While most bluesy hard rock acts of the '70s and '80s hailed from the United States, there were several exceptions to the rule.