Blues Traveler
is an American rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock. They are known for extensive use of segues in their live performances.
Currently, the group comprises singer and harmonica virtuoso John Popper, guitarist Chan Kinchla, drummer Brendan Hill, bassist Tad Kinchla and keyboardist Ben Wilson. Tad Kinchla and Ben Wilson joined the band following the death of original bassist Bobby Sheehan in 1999 of a drug overdose in New Orleans, Louisiana.
While Blues Traveler is best known among fans for their improvisational live shows, the general public is most familiar with the group from their singles "But Anyway", "Run-Around" and "Hook". They gained
mainstream radio popularity from their fourth studio album Four
, released in 1994.
Sheehan's death and Popper's struggle with obesity put a damper on the group's success, and A&M dropped the band in 2002. However, the band took this transition period as an opportunity to start in new directions musically, going largely independent and releasing on smaller experimental labels.
Recently, Blues Traveler recorded a "best-of" collection of older songs reinterpreted with acoustic instrumentation called Cover Yourself
, released October 2007; a new studio album, North Hollywood Shootout
, was released on the Verve Forecast label August 26, 2008.
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BLUES TRAVELER TICKETS
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History
Formation
The genesis of Blues Traveler was a
high school garage band formed in Princeton, New Jersey in the mid 1980s. Harmonicist, singer and guitarist John Popper and drummer Brendan Hill formed a group they called The Establishment (later renamed Blues Band) with Hill's brother on bass and a rotating roster of guitarists. The band produced a few
cassette tape demos. In addition to some original songs, their repertoire included upbeat
covers of "
Gloria" and "
The Battle Hymn of the Republic".
The group added guitarist and
football player Chan Kinchla. Although he was a promising athlete, Kinchla decided to commit to playing music instead after a knee injury. Popper met bassist Bobby Sheehan and the two became good friends, with Sheehan becoming the new bass player for Blues Band in 1987.
The quartet held a basement
jam session (later christened The Black Cat Jam) which spawned the core
grooves for several songs on their first album. A
black cat happened to be nearby, and the group took this as a
sign and adopted the Black Cat as their
mascot figure.
The group changed their name to Blues Traveler, taking the latter part from the name of the primary
demon in the film
Ghostbusters
, Gozer the Traveler.
Early years
After graduating
Princeton High School and moving to
New York City, Popper, Hill, and Sheehan enrolled in the music program at
The New School while Kinchla attended
New York University. Blues Traveler began playing gigs along the New York-area
club circuit, sometimes nightly, the most prominent contract was playing Wednesday nights at a club called
the Wetlands. The group shared an apartment together, along with Popper's friend, singer
Chris Barron, and developed a close relationship with Barron's band,
Spin Doctors (which formed out of another group Popper and Hill had founded). The two groups would often share the stage, playing non-stop concerts of multiple sets.
The group attracted the attention of David Graham, son of the world-famous concert promoter
Bill Graham, and became one of Graham's many acts. Blues Traveler then started a relentless touring schedule, expanding their reach up and down
the east coast.
During this time, Blues Traveler acquired a devout follower, Gina-Z (subject of the band's song "Gina") who is involved with the group's business to the present day. At one New York show they were discovered by an
A&M Records talent scout,
Patrick Clifford, and the band signed their first recording contract.
First albums
Blues Traveler released
their self-titled debut album in 1990, with the song "But Anyway" getting airplay on college radio stations. The album included
Joan Osborne on backing vocals on two tracks.
A second album,
Travelers and Thieves
, followed in 1991. Upon Bill Graham's death that year, they released a live
EP,
On Tour Forever
, as a tribute to Graham, which featured guitar legend
Carlos Santana. The group was becoming well-known in the new wave of
jam bands that was developing in the early 1990s.
Around this time, the mainstream national audience was exposed to Blues Traveler by
television host David Letterman, who has introduced them as "[his] favorite band". The band has since made more appearances on
The Late Show
than any musical artist. Letterman's band leader
Paul Shaffer has played on a number of Blues Traveler recordings.
In 1992, the group founded the
H.O.R.D.E. festival as an alternative to others such as
Lollapalooza, along with other bands such as
Phish and Spin Doctors. Blues Traveler began recording their third album,
Save His Soul
. Recording was temporarily interrupted by John Popper's
motorcycle accident, although the band resumed touring shortly thereafter with Popper in a
wheelchair. Two singles were released from the album, "Defense & Desire" and "Conquer Me", which reached #34 on the
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Mainstream breakthrough
The band's fourth album, titled
Four
, was released in late 1994. The upbeat pop single "
Run-Around" became a smash hit and was followed by the catchy "
Hook". "Run-Around" won a
Grammy Award and broke a record for most weeks on the chart.
Blues Traveler appeared at
Woodstock '94 and later became an opening act for
The Rolling Stones.
The band played on the 1995 season premiere of
Saturday Night Live
as a last-minute replacement for
Prince. They were featured in an episode of the sitcom
Roseanne
, and later recorded the show's
theme song for its final season. The 1996 comedy film
Kingpin
featured the group playing their song "But Anyway" during the closing credits. The song then became the band's third
top 40 hit, peaking at #12.
The group recorded the
Johnny Rivers song "
Secret Agent Man" for the film
Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
and the
Bob Seger song "Get Out of Denver" for the film
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
, as well as
Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" for
Rebel Highway: Cool and the Crazy
. Several previously-recorded Blues Traveler songs were included on film soundtracks, including
The Last Seduction
,
Speed
,
Very Bad Things
,
White Man's Burden
, and
The Truth About Cats & Dogs
. The band also appeared in the 1998 film
Blues Brothers 2000
and on its soundtrack, playing "Maybe I'm Wrong".
Blues Traveler recorded the
Sly & the Family Stone song "
I Want to Take You Higher" for the
NORML compilation album Hempilation
and the
John Lennon song "
Imagine" for the Lennon
tribute album Working Class Hero
. The original song "Christmas" was included on the benefit album
A Very Special Christmas 3
.
The double live album,
Live from the Fall
, was released in 1996. It featured recordings from the band's autumn 1995 concerts and showcased the strength of the band's live performances.
The next studio album,
Straight On till Morning
, was released in 1997. It achieved
platinum status, reaching number 11 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart, but did not perform as well as
Four
. The single "Carolina Blues" peaked at number four on the Mainstream Rock Tracks.
The band made an appearance performing in the 1999
independent film Wildflowers
.
By the end of 1998, the band had prepared a
concept album called
The Sun, The Storm and The Traveler
, based on
Aesop's fable of
The North Wind and the Sun
, and they planned to record it after a recess in the fall of 1999. That summer, John Popper had emergency
heart surgery due to
artery blockage, forcing the band to cancel their annual
July 4th Red Rocks shows at the last minute.
During the hiatus, Popper released a solo album with a backing band consisting of
Dave Matthews Band drummer
Carter Beauford and members of the group Cycomotogoat.
Sheehan's death and new lineup
On
August 20 1999, Bobby Sheehan was found dead in his
New Orleans, Louisiana home, where he had been recording music with some friends the night before. Sheehan's death was ruled an accidental
drug overdose, with
cocaine,
diazepam, and
heroin found in his system.
The remaining members of Blues Traveler convened and agreed that Sheehan would have wanted them to continue as a band. Auditions for a new bassist were held in concert, and included Chan Kinchla's younger brother Tad, who was unanimously determined to be the best choice for the role. Additionally, an open call was sent for a permanent keyboard player, a role of which Sheehan had often been a proponent. Ben Wilson of the band Big Dave and the Ultrasonics was chosen, and has since become a central contributor to the band's songwriting.
The band discarded their concept album material, instead releasing a smaller online EP,
Decisions of the Sky: A Traveler's Tale of Sun and Storm
, and went to work collectively composing a new set of songs with the new lineup. The resulting album was
Bridge
, which had the working title
Bridge Outta Brooklyn
as a tribute to Sheehan (with both the acronym B.O.B. and his nickname "Brooklyn Bobby"). The songs "Girl Inside My Head" and "Just for Me" received airplay, but the album's sales fell somewhat short of expectations.
The live album
What You and I Have Been Through
and the compilation
Travelogue: Blues Traveler Classics
were both released in 2002.
Recent years
Blues Traveler were one of dozens of artists who were jettisoned as part of
A&M's corporate restructuring. The band signed with
Sanctuary Records for their next album,
Truth Be Told
, which only reached number 147 on The Top 200 chart.
The band's 2003 Independence Day concerts at Red Rocks Amphitheatre were released on the CD
Live on the Rocks
and the DVD
Thinnest of Air
.
The band left Sanctuary for
Vanguard Records and released
¡Bastardos!
, which was produced by
Wilco's
Jay Bennett and was touted as the band's return to music that they wanted to play. The album charted at 49 on the
Top Independent Albums, and
a live EP of songs from the album was released to independent record stores.
On
September 19,
2005, Blues Traveler played their cover of
Beetlejuice's song "
This is Beetle" on the
Howard Stern radio show.
In April 2006, the band headlined the first annual "OH-Fest" concert in Oneonta, New York.
Blues Traveler have been featured on
VH1's
Behind the Music
,
A&E's
Private Sessions
, and
Austin City Limits
. The group recorded the title track to the
Sandra Boynton children's album
Dog Train
, which was also used as the promotional music for the
American Kennel Club's
National Championship event. The band's music has been used in video games (
NASCAR 2000
) and commercials (
Busch Beer). The songs "Business as Usual" and "Money Back Guarantee" are used as transitional music on the
public radio finance program
Marketplace
and its sister show
Marketplace Money
.
The group recorded "Rag Mama Rag" for the 2007 tribute album
Endless Highway: The Music of The Band
.
Blues Traveler's latest album was
Cover Yourself
, a "best-of" album of previously-released songs re-recorded and reinterpreted with acoustic instrumentation. It was released October 30, 2007 through Columbia/Red Ink Records.
[1]
Blues Traveler
appeared at the 2008
Lollapalooza festival. At their June 2008 shows, the band debuted new songs off their new album
North Hollywood Shootout
. The album, which features a guest appearance by
Bruce Willis, released in August 2008.
Concert recordings
Blues Traveler allows and encourages fans to record and trade live performances
[2], provided that no money changes hands and no profit is made.
The band has also given permission for live fan-made recordings to be hosted on the . Recordings available there span from 1986 through the present day.
Concerts can also be found at .
On their current tour, Blues Traveler sells recordings of that very night's performance. Fans can pre-purchase a copy of the show until 30 minutes into the performance and then pick up the CD after the show.
Discography
Studio albums
- Blues Traveler
(1990)
- Travelers and Thieves
(1991)
- Save His Soul
(1993)
- four
(1994)
- Straight On till Morning
(1997)
- Bridge
(2001)
- Truth Be Told
(2003)
- ¡Bastardos!
(2005)
- Cover Yourself
(2007)
- North Hollywood Shootout
(2008)
Live albums
- Live from the Fall
(1996)
- Live: What You and I Have Been Through
(2002)
- Live on the Rocks
(2004)
Miscellaneous
- Travelogue: Blues Traveler Classics
(2002)
Singles
| Year
| Song
| Chart peaks
| Album
|
| US
| Main. Rock
| Mod. Rock
| US AC
|
| 1993
| "Conquer Me "
| —
| 34
| —
| —
| Save His Soul
|
| 1995
| "Run-Around"
| 8
| 13
| 14
| 4
| Four
|
| "Hook"
| 23
| 15
| 13
| 28
|
| 1996
| "But Anyway"
| —
| 19
| 17
| —
| Blues Traveler
|
| 1997
| "Carolina Blues"
| —
| 4
| 30
| —
| Straight On till Morning
|
| "Most Precarious"
| —
| 27
| 25
| —
|