His Way
Bluesman Walter Trout thrives in
obscurity
By Richard Abowitz
Sure, in interviews the rock stars say it's all about the music. But
then why not play jazz—or, as Frank Zappa called America's great art,
the music of unemployment? The truth is that even the most heavily
tattooed and pierced deviant in this week's mtv instant hit is there to
live out a fantasy of acclaim and fortune. It isn't like these folks have
a lot of other avenues to get rich and famous if rock star doesn't worked
out for 'em: Most guitarists I've met would otherwise be going through
life asking folks if they want their fries supersized and letting the
girlfriend pay the rent. And then there are the drummers ...
But I have no doubts that for the New Jersey-born guitar player Walter
Trout, the music really was the only thing calling him to his vocation.
Why else would he specialize for more than a decade now in making the sort
of blues-rock that hasn't been popular since the heyday of Foghat? Trout
actually lands more on the blues side of things. In reviews, Trout's
playing—on a 1973 Stratocaster—is frequently compared to Stevie Ray
Vaughan. The comparison is fair if you keep in mind that Trout's playing
is in no way derivative. Trout's notes can whiz and sing a melody all
their own. But he has only the chops while Vaughan also had magic and
charisma. So Vaughan died in 1990 a superstar, the year Trout's debut
received a European-only release. By then, Trout—who, being three years
older than Vaughan, was pushing 40—could be under no illusions that his
playing was ever going to land him on radio or MTV.
"Am I livin' my childhood dreams / you might say it's true,"
he sings on "The Life I Chose," from his new disc, Relentless,
concluding, "But be careful what you wish for / It just might come to
you." As a child, Trout managed to meet Duke Ellington and his
legendary band. By then, the fame of these musicians had long been
eclipsed by rock stars. But in his biography, Trout recalls the profound
impact the encounter had on him. "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. I was in awe." Trout walked away
with a sense of the true rewards that can come from a life dedicated to
music that has nothing to do with fame. Walter Trout taught himself to
play guitar and chose his future before he was 16.
If he didn't find instant success, Trout's prodigious, torrid playing
got him plenty of work as a sideman. He backed John Lee Hooker and Big
Mama Thornton; he also did a five-year stint in John Mayall's
Bluesbreakers. In 1981, Trout got his dubious break when he replaced the
late Bob Hite as the singer for Woodstock veterans Canned Heat. Of course,
by the '80s, this was a nostalgia-circuit going nowhere. But it kept Trout
working and playing.
Despite the odds, Trout's extraordinary playing managed to get noticed
one night in 1989 by a Danish concert promoter, who offered to help Trout
finance the launch of a solo career. So it was in Denmark that Life in the
Jungle, his solo debut, was recorded and there that it was originally
released. Trout's playing is on fire as he rips through honed takes on
songs from the repertoire established by his former employers, from Canned
Heat to John Mayall. The disc went unreleased in America until earlier
this year, but its impact helped establish Trout as high-profile player in
Europe. In fact, a BBC Radio poll ranked Trout the sixth greatest guitar
player of all time. A major label briefly picked him up.
But the years have gone by and Trout has never had a shot at the big
time. He hasn't even come close. There are no hits, no Grammy awards, no
gold records. Not even a No. 1 record on the Billboard Blues Chart. But
Trout has achieved something far more precious in the music industry than
commercial success. He has a career. He has released 13 CDs, and thanks to
his brilliant playing and relentless tours has built a loyal fan base to
buy them. Screw the fashions and screw the fickle tastes of the
PlayStation generation. Walter Trout gets to keep making music his way.
Walter Trout performs a free show at 8 p.m. August 28 in the Boulder
Station's Railhead Saloon.
Contributing editor Richard Abowitz
covers entertainment for the Las
Vegas Weekly. August 28 - September 3, 2003
