Where's my bailout?

I’m waiting to hear what the president has to say about why I don’t have any money. Somehow I don’t think he’s going to give me a raise, but you never know. The talking heads at CNN have set expectations so high for this speech that anything short of an immediate economic 180 will be a deemed a failure.

While I am waiting, I thought there’d be no better way to pass the time than to listen to some 70’s guitar rock. Specifically, some Pat Travers-style 70’s guitar rock.

Pat Travers is one of those guitar cult heroes. With the exception of a couple of late 70’s singles, he never seemed to really hit it as big as he could have. Travers is a fantastic blues rock guitar player, heavily influenced by the likes of Hendrix and Jeff Beck. His 1979 live album, Live! Go For What You Know, was my introduction to the Pat Travers band. This album and the band’s follow-up, Crash and Burn, both recorded with band members Pat Thrall, Tommy Aldridge, and “Mars” Cowling, are probably Traver’s best releases.

Following those two albums, Travers was on the cusp of stardom when both Thrall and Aldridge left the band to pursue other projects. Then, in 1981, Travers released Radio Active, which was more keyboard-oriented than his previous efforts, serving to alienate his new fans and getting him dumped from his record label.

Travers battled through the 1980s and 90s, returning to small club shows but still recording and releasing albums through small, independent labels. He’s still recording and playing live, and is now – almost ironically, it seems – considered one of rock’s most influential guitarists.

So, as the president prepares to take the podium, if you get tired of listening to him, turn the sound down and check out some classic Pat Travers. You can always catch the highlights later.

Boom Boom (Out Go the Lights) (live).mp3
Snortin’ Whiskey.mp3
Last Child (Aerosmith cover).mp3

Labels: Aerosmith, classic rock, covers, guitar heroes

posted by aikin @ 9:12 PM