Walter Trout
set to unleash 13th CD, Relentless

Press release date: August 8, 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Blues Rocker WALTER TROUT set to unleash 13th CD, Relentless (Ruf) CD Features Debut Performance of New Songs Recorded Before Audience at Special Recording Session in Amsterdam
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Band currently on US tour August 8, 2003 See Concerts

Walter Trout, who in a BBC Radio poll, ranked #6 out of the top 20 all-time greatest guitarists right behind Clapton, Hendrix, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler and Jimmy Page, is set to release Relentless (Ruf). Trout, whose worldwide album sales are now closing in a million, is best known for his spell-binding performances, stratospheric guitar playing, honest song writing, powerhouse vocals and mesmerizing showmanship. "Relentless," which features 14 original tunes, captures the essence of Walter Trout and his band the Radicals; the live performance. They laid it all on the line in front of a studio audience at the 300 year old Paradiso Theater in Amsterdam, performing the new songs for the first time as they were being recorded. "Relentless" is raw and unpolished, in your face, spontaneous - and yes, relentless. This release also marks Trout's 5th collaboration with legendary modern blues producer Jim Gaines (Blues Traveler, Santana, Stevie Ray Vaughan). Later this fall, "Relentless" will be issued in 5.1 as an SACD, followed by a DVD documentary of the recording in 5.1 surround sound.

Trout, along with his band is currently touring nationally in support of the release.

Backed by an exceptionally tight trio, which features James Trapp on bass guitar, Sammy Avila on Hammond B-3 organ / backing vocals, and Joey Pafumi on drums, Walter Trout and the Radicals have made a name for themselves both in Europe and the US. "Relentless" offers much of what the fans have come to love about the band: hard driving blues rock tempered by 3-part harmonies and acoustic ballads that inspire the soul as much as soothe it. From the ferocious and molten "Mercy" which shows none, to the autobiographical blues rocker "Life I Chose," to the slow blues ditty "My Heart is True" to the lilting and soulful ballad written for Trout's son, "Cry If You Want To" to the acoustic folk song "Lonely Tonight," this batch of new tunes is a reflection of a once 15 year old boy who threw everything else away with reckless abandon and picked up his guitar and played until his fingers bled, and then played some more. This CD is the product of years of his hard work since then, total dedication, years of driving to the next gig, sleepless nights - the road life that follows when a career of music is chosen. That road life is a risk, as is recording songs live that have never been performed. For Walter Trout, it was a risk worth taking - he instinctively knew the energy of his audience would carry him.

Trout's ability to tear up the neck made him a sought after sideman, playing along some of the greatest blues players of all time including legends like John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton. But, it was Trout's 5 year stints with each Canned Heat and John Mayall and the Blues Breakers that gave him a decade to hone his impeccable fretwork into an immediately recognizable style. In 1989, Trout launched a solo career which spawned a Top 10 hit in Europe, and has led to performances with Elton John, Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, Led Zeppelin kingpins Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Fanfare overseas set the trend for audiences here at home which have applauded his releases, several of which have become top-selling blues albums in the States. Born and raised in New Jersey and now living in Southern California, Walter Trout, for 35 of his 50 years, has been rocking the strings on his trademark '73 Fender Strat, faithful to a promise he made to himself as a teenager to always play guitar for those will listen.

Ruf Records, founded in Europe in 1994, was born of the need and love to promote what they believe in ... the communicating power of music. Specializing in the very best of roots music worldwide, their mission is to enhance the boundaries of one of America's oldest musical forms. Ruf...where Blues crosses over.

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Further information: Veronique Cordier
V Entertainment Network • (908) 889-6639 • ventnet@aol.com www.waltertrout.com • www.rufrecords.de

Veronique Cordier

V ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK
Marketing, Advertising & Public Relations
Vox (908) 889-6639
Fax (908) 889-6621
ventnet@aol.com