2004 - ISSUE 17 OF

"Walter Trout Between the Lines"

by Calliope

"It's hotels, vans and night clubs / Just to sing my song / Sometimes I wonder / Have I been out here too long"

Being on the road is "The Life I Chose," blues guitarist Walter Trout tells us on his recent CD "Relentless": He started touring in 1969 with John Lee Hooker. In trying to interview him over a few days, Walter called from South Dakota, Des Moines, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. "It's been constant touring since 1979, with Canned Heat, then [John] Mayall [and the Bluesbreakers]" he explains. Even with cell phones, wife Marie says "he may be sleeping during a 450-mile drive, or he may not have phone service. You never know."

"All the nameless faces / Blend in to one / I forget all the places / When the journey's done / But deep inside me / My spirit knows / That this is the life that I chose"

Playing internationally 250 days a year as Walter Trout and the Radicals do "is really young man's territory--we're a hard-workin' band. After a while the novelty wears off, and you get a little beat up: not much sleep, crappy food. For every awesome place like the festival we just played to 5,000 in Omaha right along the river, there's some stinking little blues club with puke on the floor. But I still love it."

For Walter, writing "The Life I Chose" "was sort of like giving birth, standing naked before the masses. It was almost painful. I chose this, pushed hard, devoted--and devote--everything to it. It's what I wanted, and here it is." The song itself came together quickly, leaving no question about its authenticity and soul. "I wrote it on tour in Germany, one of those days with no sleep, a long drive, with a gig at the end. I was riding along in the back seat thinking about life, how we get what we choose. The lyrics poured out in probably 2 minutes. I still have the page I wrote it on, the back of one of our itinerary pages. There are no cross-outs, no corrections, it came out as is. Then I pulled my guitar out and put it to music, so about 5 minutes start to finish. When we got to town I showed the song to the band, we went over it once at sound check and played it that night."

Such band chemistry can only come from sharing so much on the road. Bassist Jimmy Trapp (with Walter since 1978), B-3/keyboardist Sammy Avila, and drummer Joey Pafumi "pretty much understand what I'm looking for." Throughout the song their instruments and varied tempos emphasize especially important lines. Walter's powerful vocals effuse raw emotion, and his guitar sings its own harmonies. And yes, they do bring the B-3. "We cut the wooden legs off and put on metal ones, so it's semi-portable. I always wanted a different sound than another guitarist. I can cover rhythm and leads, and [keyboards have] freed me up to develop my own playing."

In between the 2nd and 3rd verses, Walter spins out a massive, groovy, 3-verse-long guitar solo. Live, "all these songs are different every night." "Relentless" and its related DVD and SACD were recorded live at Holland's Paradiso. "I love that venue. It's an old church in Amsterdam. We're playing where the pulpit used to be. There's spirit there. And good acoustics, beautiful stained glass, old wooden balconies."

"It can get so lonely / That you lose your mind / Some take comfort / In women, drugs and wine / But it leaves them empty / Like a hollow shell / Are you gonna survive / Only time will tell / But I look in the mirror / 'Cause that's where the truth still shows / Because this is the life that I chose"

What keeps him going? "I'd been through all that [in verse 2], before I fell in love. I've been sober 17 years. I'm getting my music out there, doing the best I can every night. I'm supporting my family by playing guitar and singing, and I don't intend to quit. I could've stopped years ago, so I'd better not bitch and moan about being out here. To get out there every night and look somebody in the eyes...hopefully people feel moved by the music. At the Duluth Blues Festival you get up and look 25,000 people in the face, and you can feel their energy and involvement." In Europe, where album "Prisoner of the Dream" went to #1, "I get much more of a buzz, people know me on the street. We did a free outdoor concert at The Hague and 500,000 people showed up."

"The hardest part / Of livin' this gypsy life / When I'm out on the highway / I miss my children and my wife / But I get home / For a couple of weeks and then / I start gettin' itchy / To get back on the road again / But my family understand me / And in their eyes the love it glows / They know that this is the life that I chose"

"When I fell in love and got married, things changed. When I sing this [verse] I get choked up on stage if I haven't seen them for a while." This summer Marie and their younger sons join the tour at several stops, "and my oldest son is with me. He likes being on the road, the long drives. He definitely has a good idea what to expect if he chooses this route."

"Am I living' my childhood dreams / You might say it's true / But be careful what you wish for / It just might come to you"

"It's really all right there in those lines," Walter says. "[The road] is a mixed blessing. There's no glamour involved. Staying sober and staying faithful, all this can be done...and you can still be a musician. That's the life I chose."

Walter Trout and the Radicals will be back on stage locally this fall in Huntington Beach, "where it all started in 1974." Find out more about "The Life I Chose" at WalterTrout.com.

by Calliope

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