The iconic US blues-rock guitarist Walter Trout has revealed the Official video for ‘Ride‘ taken from his 30th solo album of the same name, which will be released on 19 August via Provogue/Mascot Label Group.
You can pre-order the album: here
Ahead of this he has announced the support acts for his June 2022 UK Tour and will be joined by Elles Bailey in Chester, Buxton, Brighton, London, Holmfirth, Bury St. Edmunds and Frome (13 -21 June), with Blue Milk opening for him on 19 June in Edinburgh and Mollie Marriott opening on 22 June in Southampton. Tickets are available from here
Arriving on the US West Coast two weeks before sessions began, Trout settled to write the ‘Ride‘ material in his now-deserted house in Huntington Beach, California. But even in this beachside paradise, amongst the swaying palms and ocean breeze, the past came calling. As long-standing Trout fans know, the Golden State has been the bluesman’s home for 47 years.
In time, Trout joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers lineup in ’85, before embarking on an acclaimed solo career from ’89 onwards. But before that came his chaotic, self-destructive years as a jobbing lead guitarist, whether for revered-but-tricky blues pioneers like John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton, or an unhinged tenure in an ’80s Canned Heat line-up controlled by the Hell’s Angels.
Trout’s well-documented excess in this era was darker than a young rock star cutting loose. It could all be traced back to his troubled childhood in New Jersey, he explains, where an unstable stepfather – himself the victim of shocking cruelty as a prisoner of war – was a terrifying presence. As ‘Ride‘ took form, such memories couldn’t help but flavour the music. “This album is obviously what I was going through mentally and emotionally,” he considers. “All I did was express it. I spent a lot of time crying, because I would dig down into my emotional core. I want my songs to have some sort of truth to them.”
Some memories are long-distant but eternally poignant. Try the title track, recounting the locomotive that rattled past his childhood home each night and enticed him to freight-hop to freedom. The stormy ‘Hey Mama‘ takes inspiration from the same period, with Trout debating whether his trauma could have been averted. “I’m not pissed off with my mom and I love her memory,” he says, “but my wife says, ‘Your mom probably could have done more to protect you from your stepdad’. Yeah, maybe she could have. But it’s easy to say that looking back.”
By now, Trout knows that nobody ever really leaves their old selves behind. But with ‘Ride‘ providing an emotional release-valve – both for its creator and his loyal listeners – perhaps this veteran artist can reconcile with his past, accept his future and live in the present as it unfolds. “I think you can interpret this album title a few different ways,” he concludes. “I mean, this album is definitely a musical ride and I certainly tried to cover a lot of ground. But, really, life is kind of a ride too, isn’t it? And I want to live mine to the fullest.”
UK Tour Dates:
Tickets are available from here
13 Jun – Chester, Live Rooms w/Elles Bailey
14 Jun – Buxton, Pavilion Arts Centre w/Elles Bailey
16 Jun – Brighton, Concorde 2 w/Elles Bailey
17 Jun – London, Islington Assembly w/Elles Bailey
18 Jun – Holmfirth Picturedrome w/Elles Bailey
19 Jun – Stramash, Edinburgh
20 Jun – Bury St Edmunds, The Apex Arts Centre w/Elles Bailey
21 Jun – Frome, Cheese and Grain w/Elles Bailey
22 Jun – Southampton, 1865 w/Mollie Marriott
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