Walter Trout
Going the Distance
By Pat Ferris

Sometimes coincidence leads to great things, and the way I was introduced to Walter Trout is no exception. A series of events over a 3 week period led me to my discovery of one of the finest blues artists alive and touring.

HotBands.com lead graphics webmaster (Bruce Kelton) introduced me to his newest blues CD called Go the Distance... the latest release from a band I had not heard of till that moment. We were trying to figure out if Walter Trout was from Germany or the US and several people made comments about the CD while it was blaring at Bruce's party. That same week (mid-August of 2001), I was doing review research for last month's featured artists, and Carolyn Wonderland's bio of bands she's played with included the Walter Trout. Finally, a couple of days later while catching up on old email, I saw an email with the subject title of 'Walter Trout' which ended up being a promo letter sent to us from Syd at Evolution Promotion. After listening to 'Go the Distance', I knew I had to have Walter as a featured artist.

The Los Angeles Times describes the Southern California resident as “a torrential, gladiator guitar player - the kind the term ‘guitar hero’ was coined to describe.” With his arresting technique, relentless tour schedule, (Trout plays upwards of 200 dates/year) and exhilarating showmanship, Trout merited the cover of Blues Revue in October ‘00, and his first American live album, Live Trout (released in 2000), hit #15 on the Billboard Blues charts. Now Go the Distance propels the forward momentum. The 13 original tunes were recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis and produced by Jim Gaines, (Blues Traveler, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan) who also worked on Trout’s 1999 Livin’ Every Day and Live Trout. As cuts like "Ride 'Til I'm Satisfied" and the title track attest, Walter Trout & The Radicals' final destination may be unknown, but they have embarked on the journey and are enjoying the ride, picking up rabid fans along the way.

Playing live is something Trout knew, even as a youngster, that he wanted to do. A chance meeting during his childhood with the mighty Duke Ellington catapulted Trout’s interest in pursuing a professional music career. “That was the turning point in my life,” he recalls. “I was there for two hours while Duke, Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges and Paul Gonsalves sat in a circle and talked to me about music and life. They were so warm and generous and kind to me. I was in awe.”

As a teenager Trout got bit by the rock bug, plugged into an amp and never looked back. It didn’t take long for him to gain entry into the major leagues. His ability to tear up the neck made him a sought after sideman for John Lee Hooker, Big Mamma Thornton, and Canned Heat... eventually launching a solo career after cutting his chops the way Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor did, by playing with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.

Go the Distance is a power-packed CD with 13 killer tracks. From straight ahead electric blues to Americana rock, the production quality and level of musicianship makes Go the Distance a top contender for the 2002 grammys as best blues album. There wasn't a song on the album that I found below the 'blistering hot' level on the HotBands music indicator.  Go the Distance is a must for any blues aficionado's CD collection.

Because of an incredibly rigorous schedule, it was nearly impossible to nail down Walter for a live interview, but I was able to have a brief phone interview with him September 30th before one of his gigs.

<HotBands> Hi Walter! I guess it's always good to start at the beginning, so tell me where you're originally from, how you got involved with music, when you decided to make it a career choice and how the music industry has treated you.

<Walter> Boy that's a lot for one question! I'm originally from (New) Jersey and I've been playing music as far back as I can remember...it's all I've ever really wanted to do. I played trumpet for a while, but I took up the guitar when I was 10, so I've been at it for 40 years.

<HotBands> I checked out your biography on your website (http://www.waltertrout.com) and saw that you had a chance encounter with Duke Ellington at an early age. How young were you, and how did that happen?

<Walter> That was my 10th birthday and my mother arranged that. I was really lucky to have an incredibly hip set of parents. They used to take me to see people like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Ray Charles, Harry Belefonte...an endless list. We used to go to a lot of black jazz clubs in Atlantic City. My mother went to the stage door of the theatre where Duke Ellington was playing and knocked on the door, asked if she could speak with Mr. Ellington and he came out. She said "My son is going to be 10 and I wanted to know if you could say hello to him? He's an aspiring trumpet player" I ended up getting to spend the whole afternoon with Duke and his orchestra. It was pretty incredible really...a big day in my life and I can remember it very very vividly. I remember sitting in that room with those guys...all these incredible musicians talking with me about music and showing me licks on the trumpet, and Duke talking with me one-on-one. Tony Bennett was there...it was an amazing afternoon for a 10 year old boy.

<HotBands> That would be an amazing afternoon for anybody! There's a turning point in everybody's life where they have a major influence. Would say that was the crux of what got you thinking you wanted to be a professional musician?

<Walter> Well...I already wanted to perform and had already been to a lot of concerts with my parents, but that was the first time to really get to meet and spend time with legendary, incredible musicians, and they were so kind, generous and warm to me. They also had a great sense of humor and made me feel at ease because I was nervous as hell as you can imagine. They were so warm and open and giving to me...it just blew my mind. I thought they were the coolest people I had ever met. Just to be that young and meet them and have them be that nice to me was a real turning point, and made me want to be like them.

<HotBands> How old were you when you played professionally for the first time?

<Walter> It depends upon what you mean by professional gig because I was always playing. When I was 9-11 years old I was in a drum and bugle corps and we were very very successful...marching in competitions in Roosevelt Stadium in front of 60,000 people. That was professional...I was playing horn solos...having them applaude. I was just a little kid at that point. The first time I played a real gig on guitar with a band was the grand opening of a record store in New Jersey. I was probably 14 or 15 and we went there with some buddies of mine and we entertained in the record shop for the patrons. We played the afternoon and for pay I got a Dean Martin album and a Frank Sinatra album. So if you want to call that professional, that was where I started and it didn't stop from then on.

<HotBands> You got hooked up with some pretty amazing musicians along the way. You played with Big Mama Thornton, Canned Heat, John Mayall...how did you get your breaks?

<Walter> I moved to CA when I was 23 to seek a career as a musician because it wasn't going so good for me in New Jersey and I wanted to give it a go. I played in a few club bands...for a while I was a stand up lead singer in a country band, played mandolin in a bluegrass band, I did a bunch of stuff. I started getting side-man jobs, and what I found was that one side man job would lead to another. For instance, I was playing with Pee Wee Crayton, and someone in their band said "Hey I got a gig tomorrow night with Big Mama Thornton and she needs a guitar player" and I'd show up and she'd say "I got some more gigs for you" and I started playing with her and through that I played with John Lee Hooker, and John Lee Hooker would hear me and say "hey..I got some gigs and I want you to play some gigs with me" and through that I was seen by some members of Canned Heat who came to see John Lee play and they said "I have a gig for you with Canned Heat, we have a tour" and I went out and did the tour and ended up spending 4 years with those guys. While I was in Canned Heat, we got a gig opening up for John Mayall and his original 'Blues Breakers' with Mick Taylor and John McVie. When John heard me play, he said "I have some gigs in California, and I'd love to hear you play second guitar to Mick Taylor" so there I was playing second guitar with the original Blues Breakers, even though when they were the original Blues Breakers I was a kid in high school in Jersey. John went out on tour with the original band and I went back with Canned Heat. About six months to a year later, he called up and said "I'm starting a new version of The Blues Breakers and you're the first person I thought of" so I said sure. So being a side-musician is cool because in this genre of music, it's a small world out there and I just developed a reputation. Once I got known, I was never out of work. When I was in The Blues Breakers, that was kind of the pinnicle for this genre of music. I realized I wasn't going to do anything beyond that, so one night on my birthday, I realized that I had to do my own thing. When I moved to California, I had a dream of doing exactly what I'm doing now. The side gigs came in, I traveled the world had a great time, but eventually I had to take the gamble and do it on my own, and that was 11 years ago.

<HotBands> So how many CDs have you put out in the past 11 years?

<Walter> Eleven

<HotBands> In the photographs on your website, I saw you playing with Coco Montoya who, I'm assuming, replaced you in John Mayall's band because he was their guitarist when I saw him in the early '90s.

<Walter> No, I was with John before Coco, but when I went back with John after Canned Heat, he wanted two guitar players, so for almost five years, it was me AND Coco...dueling guitar players and we did three albums with that line up. Any time you went to see John Mayall it would be me and Coco doing battle up there...good natured of course, but it was sure inspiring.

<HotBands> So what from here? You are currently playing all of the major clubs in the country and have been cranking out CDs at a rate of one per year. Do you see yourself doing anything like 'retiring'?

<Walter> Hell no! I didn't go into this to stop. People retire because they don't like their job. I'd love to find myself one day like John Lee Hooker and be 85 years old, sitting on a chair, singing to people. I enjoy this immensely and it's a major part of who I am as a person. About seven weeks ago I had a shoulder injury and couldn't play guitar at all. It came back through a lot of praying really, and I've had to retrain myself to use different muscles. I'm playing okay now, but it's still tight. As far as retiring, as long as God grants me the ability to do this, I'll keep playing

<HotBands> How did the European connection come in to play? It seems you are very successful in Europe, you were voted as the sixth greatest guitar player of all time in a BBC poll...how did that happen?

<Walter> Well, I was touring over there constantly with Mayall and was given the opportunity to do my first CD with a label in Stockholm. I jumped at the opportunity, and that's when I quit John's band. I started touring over there to support the CD. On my second CD, I had a top 10 hit and began doing shows with Elton John, (Jimmy)Page and (Robert)Plant. So that happened to me with one song, and it's become a standard over there. It's called "The Love We Once Knew". It's a ballad that I wrote when I was 16 because I didn't have enough songs, so we put it on there and it became a major hit. When it was out and in the top 10 in Holland, I played a free concert in The Haige at the city park in front of 500,000 people.

<HotBands> Is that the biggest crowd you've played for to date?

<Walter> Yes it is. It was exciting because they were there to hear me. Granted it was free, and it was in the park, but that was the amount of people I drew, and it was incredible.

<HotBands> Your most recent CD 'Go the Distance' is fantastic. You're an excellent singer, guitarist, songwriter, and I'm interested to see how the grammy judges see this one. I think it has potential as best blues album for 2001.

<Walter> Yeah...I think grammys have a lot to do with if you're on a major label and are a big seller. Unfortunately I think that's what it's about, but we'll see.

<HotBands> How long have you been with your current band?

<Walter> Jimmy Trapp has played bass with me on every album since I started, so he's a charter member. I have a new keyboard player and drummer than the guys that are on the CD. My band right now is just rippen live. On drums I have Kenny Soule (Nantuckett, Dag) and Sammy Avila on keyboards (formerly with Chris Cane).

<HotBands> Walter, a lot of people that read our site are aspiring artists. What type of advice or wisdom could you offer somebody that wants to make a career in the music industry?

<Walter> When I was 10 and sat down with Mr. Ellington, one of the things that he said to me that has stuck with me and shaped my values is this: "If you go into this for your living, there's a line you cross between having this as a hobby and making this your job. If you cross that line and try to become a professional musician, keep your focus on being the best musician you can be, and don't get caught up in the trappings that go with it...the fame, the glory, the money. Make the focus be on creating something of beauty. The day that focus is on the ego rather than being the best musician God gave you the potential to be, is the day you lose the whole reason you started this. I still strive every day to get better at what I do. I want to become as good and as honest a musician as I can be. Keep that in your vision and don't deviate from it. It's only natural to get caught up in the crap that goes along with doing this because there's a lot of it. Along your path you'll also be ripped off, you'll run into a lot of leaches and a lot of weasles who will try to squeeze you and bleed you, but if you keep your focus on being creative and following your vision, nobody can touch you.

<HotBands> Thank you Walter! I want to thank you for your time and wish you success for a great gig tonight.

<Walter> Thanks Pat and I look forward to seeing you when we get up to Seattle.

To find out more about Walter Trout, CLICK HERE

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