[TimSJ]

With our next selection in the East of the Miss category I will select one of my favorites Blues Traveler.. Another band that I have been lucky enough to see 10 or 12 times. Actually got a Harmonica from Popper at one show.

Overview
While Blues Traveler is best known among fans for their improvisational live shows, the general public is most familiar with the group from their fourth studio album Four. Released in 1994, the two singles "Run-Around" and "Hook" gained mainstream radio popularity.
Blues Traveler's subsequent releases were not as successful as the quintuple platinum sales of Four, though the band has maintained a loyal fanbase from the beginning of their career. Their albums with A&M in the later 1990s include Straight On till Morning and Bridge.
Sheehan's death in 1999 and Popper's struggle with obesity put a damper on the group's success, and A&M dropped the band after low sales of their 2001 album Bridge. However, the band took this transition period as an opportunity to start in new directions musically.
The group signed with Sanctuary Records and released Truth Be Told on August 5, 2003. Their latest album, ¡os!, was released on September 13, 2005 by Vanguard Records.
Blues Traveler has recorded a "best-of" collection of older songs reinterpreted with acoustic instrumentation called Cover Yourself. The band recently played an acoustic session on A&E's Private Sessions.
The band finished recording a new album in early 2008, "North Hollywood Shootout" is set for release on Verve Forecast on August 26, 2008.

[edit] History


[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 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.

Mountains win again: One of my favorites


Gina