WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.819 Hey everybody, this is Walter Trout and you are 00:00:02.819 --> 00:00:06.780 right here listening to My Weekly Mixtape with 00:00:06.780 --> 00:00:22.140 your host Brian Colburn. Here we go! Welcome 00:00:22.140 --> 00:00:24.859 to My Weekly Mixtape, a podcast that takes the 00:00:24.859 --> 00:00:28.100 classic mixtape approach to building a modern 00:00:28.100 --> 00:00:30.660 playlist. I'm your host, Brian Colburn. Tonight, 00:00:30.820 --> 00:00:34.219 I am so grateful to be joined by a blues rock 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:37.840 legend, Walter Trout. Walter, it's an absolute 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:40.140 honor to have you on My Weekly Mixtape. Thank 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:42.960 you for joining me. Well, thanks for having me 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:45.859 here, Brian. Glad to be here. Glad to be anywhere 00:00:45.859 --> 00:00:49.649 at this point of life. Amen. Well, I'd like to 00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:52.710 start by asking you the same question I ask all 00:00:52.710 --> 00:00:55.869 of my first time guests, and that is, what does 00:00:55.869 --> 00:01:01.090 the word mixtape mean to you? Well, I'm 72 years 00:01:01.090 --> 00:01:04.489 old. I'm going to be 73 in a month here. So to 00:01:04.489 --> 00:01:08.450 me, it's when you used to make cassettes and 00:01:08.450 --> 00:01:12.010 you would record off of your vinyl records, but 00:01:12.010 --> 00:01:14.849 you would record songs in a row that you wanted 00:01:14.849 --> 00:01:17.560 to hear. On your cassettes, and then you could 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:20.340 actually play the cassettes in your car if you 00:01:20.340 --> 00:01:23.459 wanted. So it goes way back. I don't know if 00:01:23.459 --> 00:01:25.299 that's what you're getting at, but that's what 00:01:25.299 --> 00:01:29.379 it means to me. That is exactly the mindset that 00:01:29.379 --> 00:01:32.299 this show was based on creating memories based 00:01:32.299 --> 00:01:34.760 on music from all different albums, sometimes 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.340 all different artists. And what I've done tonight 00:01:37.340 --> 00:01:40.659 is I put together a mixtape of some of my favorite 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:43.579 Walter Trout songs. And then we're going to transition 00:01:43.579 --> 00:01:47.920 that into your brand new album that is just dropped 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:50.819 called Broken. But the first song I'd like to 00:01:50.819 --> 00:01:53.280 touch on is going way back. It's the song that 00:01:53.280 --> 00:01:55.659 introduced me to your music. And I'm going to 00:01:55.659 --> 00:01:58.049 take. you back to my early days in radio some 00:01:58.049 --> 00:02:01.969 two decades and change ago i was jamming out 00:02:01.969 --> 00:02:05.769 to some music on mp3 .com that was definitely 00:02:05.769 --> 00:02:09.069 a site and i stumbled across a little track called 00:02:09.069 --> 00:02:12.270 looking for the promised land and i was immediately 00:02:12.270 --> 00:02:16.530 blown away breaking the fourth wall here we're 00:02:16.530 --> 00:02:19.050 actually recording this episode the day after 00:02:19.050 --> 00:02:22.229 martin luther king day and with that i felt like 00:02:22.889 --> 00:02:25.810 That made this song extra fitting to kick things 00:02:25.810 --> 00:02:28.610 off. Can you talk about the message of this song 00:02:28.610 --> 00:02:31.789 and how it still remains relevant almost 25 years 00:02:31.789 --> 00:02:34.629 later? It's amazing you bring that up because 00:02:34.629 --> 00:02:38.050 yesterday was Martin Luther King Day and I actually 00:02:38.050 --> 00:02:41.949 posted that song, which I do every year on that 00:02:41.949 --> 00:02:45.610 day. You know, I had the idea for the song. I 00:02:45.610 --> 00:02:48.110 mean, it is an old song of mine. It's got to 00:02:48.110 --> 00:02:51.590 be at least 20 years old. But the thing of looking 00:02:51.590 --> 00:02:54.729 for the promised land, I don't know, I might 00:02:54.729 --> 00:02:56.849 have been watching a movie or something, but 00:02:56.849 --> 00:03:00.789 that became kind of a metaphor for me. I think 00:03:00.789 --> 00:03:04.330 everybody is sort of doing that in their life. 00:03:05.250 --> 00:03:07.250 Metaphorically, they're looking for a better 00:03:07.250 --> 00:03:10.789 life. They're looking for a happier life, a more 00:03:10.789 --> 00:03:14.909 stress free life, a fulfillment in their life. 00:03:15.430 --> 00:03:18.469 So I started off to write it like that. And then 00:03:18.469 --> 00:03:21.689 it became. There's a couple of Bible stories 00:03:21.689 --> 00:03:24.409 in there. I started off with Moses, and then 00:03:24.409 --> 00:03:27.969 I went to Daniel in the lion's den. When it was 00:03:27.969 --> 00:03:31.569 time for the third verse, I went right to Martin 00:03:31.569 --> 00:03:38.030 Luther King, who I think was a modern, amazing 00:03:38.030 --> 00:03:43.509 hero that we need to look up to. He gave his 00:03:43.509 --> 00:03:46.729 life for what he believed in, and you can't ask 00:03:46.729 --> 00:03:50.180 for more than that of a human being. And also 00:03:50.180 --> 00:03:54.599 recently before I wrote it, I had played in Memphis 00:03:54.599 --> 00:03:59.039 and my wife and I had gone to the National Civil 00:03:59.039 --> 00:04:03.400 Rights Museum, which is located in the old Lorraine 00:04:03.400 --> 00:04:06.360 Motel where Martin Luther King was assassinated. 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:10.060 So it just seemed to all come together when I 00:04:10.060 --> 00:04:13.300 wrote that song. Well, I want to take this moment 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:16.060 to personally thank you because way back in the 00:04:16.060 --> 00:04:20.500 late aughts. 2008, I saw you perform at the Mexicali 00:04:20.500 --> 00:04:23.860 Blues Cafe in Teaneck, New Jersey. Yes. You were 00:04:23.860 --> 00:04:27.540 out promoting the Walter Trout Power Trio CD, 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:31.019 Hardcore. My buddies and I were sitting front 00:04:31.019 --> 00:04:34.220 row and in between songs, I elbowed my buddy. 00:04:34.779 --> 00:04:38.319 And I thought I whispered to him, here's to hoping 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:41.980 we get promised land tonight. My wife has informed 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:44.879 me many a times over the years that when I think 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:47.180 I'm whispering, I'm actually yelling at the top 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:50.199 of my lungs. And apparently you heard me from 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:52.180 the stage. You looked me dead in the eye and 00:04:52.180 --> 00:04:54.920 said, promised land, huh? All right, boys, let's 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.519 give it to him. Two, three, four. And you went 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.540 right into the song. I've been waiting. Some 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:02.920 15 years to thank you for that moment. That was 00:05:02.920 --> 00:05:06.360 just absolutely unreal. Oh, well, thank you. 00:05:06.379 --> 00:05:11.439 But you got to watch that whispering math. It 00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:14.620 doesn't get any better. But I want to stick with 00:05:14.620 --> 00:05:17.160 that hardcore CD for a moment as there's a version 00:05:17.160 --> 00:05:20.040 of a song that really opens up from the original. 00:05:20.180 --> 00:05:22.560 It's a track called Gotta Leave This Town, which 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:25.560 was originally featured on your Go The Distance 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.360 album. In this live version, you incorporate 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:32.620 volume swells into the guitar solo. And as a 00:05:32.620 --> 00:05:35.879 guitarist myself, who's not good at that technique 00:05:35.879 --> 00:05:38.639 in any way, shape or form, I'm completely blown 00:05:38.639 --> 00:05:41.560 away when you pull it out in a live performance. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:44.319 I'd love to know your thought process behind 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:47.620 incorporating volume swells like that. Well, 00:05:47.720 --> 00:05:51.560 there actually is no thought process behind it. 00:05:51.620 --> 00:05:55.079 When I start playing guitar solos, I don't want 00:05:55.079 --> 00:05:57.740 to think at all. As a matter of fact, I tell 00:05:57.740 --> 00:06:01.079 people if I had wanted to think, I wouldn't, 00:06:01.079 --> 00:06:04.220 you know, have played music. I played music so 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:08.680 I can stop thinking this overly active brain 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.480 of mine here, you know. And the one that kind 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:15.500 of gave me the idea to do that was when I was 00:06:15.500 --> 00:06:18.860 a kid, I was a huge fan of Roy Buchanan. And 00:06:18.860 --> 00:06:22.680 I went to see him many times. He played in Cherry 00:06:22.680 --> 00:06:25.100 Hill, New Jersey in a little bar. And me and 00:06:25.100 --> 00:06:28.180 my buddies went to see him. And after the gig, 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:30.980 we carried his Fender amp to his car for him. 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:34.740 And then when I was with John Mayall, Roy became 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:37.620 a friend of mine. And there's actually another 00:06:37.620 --> 00:06:41.839 guitar player whose name was Mike Deasy. And 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:46.120 he played on a live Cannonball Adderley album. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:52.540 And he was doing volume swells. And I just found 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:57.839 it to be such an amazing technique. Now, if we 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.399 have time, I would like to go back through the 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:04.740 history of the Stratocaster. Sure. Because Leo 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:08.360 Fender had the Telecaster and he had a friend 00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:12.199 named Bill Carson who played guitar in a country 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:15.899 western band. And Bill Carson said to his friend 00:07:15.899 --> 00:07:20.220 Leo, hey, if you move the volume button. right 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:25.639 under my pinky and you put a whammy bar vibrato 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:30.399 bar on the guitar i can imitate a steel guitar 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:34.939 so the stratocaster was actually the first stratocaster 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:38.759 was actually invented with that technique in 00:07:38.759 --> 00:07:42.819 mind wow learn something new every day i love 00:07:42.819 --> 00:07:46.310 it yeah The next album I want to focus on is 00:07:46.310 --> 00:07:48.310 one of my favorites of yours from across your 00:07:48.310 --> 00:07:50.709 whole catalog, and that's Relentless. It was 00:07:50.709 --> 00:07:54.170 an album of brand new original material that 00:07:54.170 --> 00:07:57.170 you chose to record live in concert in Amsterdam. 00:07:57.610 --> 00:08:00.930 So the first time any fans heard songs like The 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:04.790 Life I Chose, Jericho Road, and I'm Tired, it 00:08:04.790 --> 00:08:07.889 was in a live setting, which is an extremely 00:08:07.889 --> 00:08:10.790 unique approach to releasing new music. Can you 00:08:10.790 --> 00:08:12.949 talk about the mindset behind that approach? 00:08:13.709 --> 00:08:16.290 Well, I'm going to give credit where it's due 00:08:16.290 --> 00:08:20.050 here. For the last 32 years, my career has been 00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:23.449 very well managed by someone who also happens 00:08:23.449 --> 00:08:27.290 to be my wife. And she came up with the idea. 00:08:27.430 --> 00:08:29.670 She said, Walter, what would you think about 00:08:29.670 --> 00:08:33.990 your next album doing it live in front of people? 00:08:34.970 --> 00:08:38.750 And I was like, well, that's interesting. She 00:08:38.750 --> 00:08:42.799 goes, you do all original songs. But you go in 00:08:42.799 --> 00:08:45.899 front of people. And we had first come up with 00:08:45.899 --> 00:08:48.740 the idea that we would rent out a big recording 00:08:48.740 --> 00:08:53.460 studio in Los Angeles. And we would set up chairs 00:08:53.460 --> 00:08:56.440 and we would record it in front of people sitting 00:08:56.440 --> 00:09:00.159 there. And we'd actually gone to the studio and 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:04.120 we're setting that up when Elton John rented 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:06.679 out the studio for a month. There was a huge. 00:09:07.179 --> 00:09:10.039 studio where sinatra and these other people had 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:13.759 recorded so at that point we're like let's just 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:16.980 do it in the venue and the man who owned the 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:20.580 record label thomas roof said what's your favorite 00:09:20.580 --> 00:09:24.299 venue in the world and i said paradiso in amsterdam 00:09:24.299 --> 00:09:28.519 he said well let's do it there so that was my 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:32.480 wife's idea let's call her my manager my manager 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:35.759 came up with that as sort of something different 00:09:36.190 --> 00:09:39.309 Let's try something, you know, not many people 00:09:39.309 --> 00:09:41.690 have done. I think Neil Young did that once, 00:09:41.909 --> 00:09:46.070 one or two other people, but it was high pressure. 00:09:46.370 --> 00:09:50.289 And we did two nights there and we ended up using 00:09:50.289 --> 00:09:53.909 the second night. The whole album is the second 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:56.529 night because we were much more relaxed at that 00:09:56.529 --> 00:09:59.779 point. Well, I absolutely love the album. I've 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:02.120 always wondered, and I'm guessing the answer 00:10:02.120 --> 00:10:04.580 is because it wasn't an original, but on the 00:10:04.580 --> 00:10:08.559 DVD, you actually open up with a cover of Elmore 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:11.519 James dust my broom, which you had included on 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.419 your no more fish jokes album. But this version 00:10:14.419 --> 00:10:18.850 to me is my all time. favorite version of dust 00:10:18.850 --> 00:10:21.289 my broom and i was always curious why it didn't 00:10:21.289 --> 00:10:24.110 make the cd was that because it was a cover yeah 00:10:24.110 --> 00:10:26.850 because it was a cover and let me tell you one 00:10:26.850 --> 00:10:31.190 thing about my live performances i always start 00:10:31.190 --> 00:10:36.330 off with kind of a up -tempo shuffle jam and 00:10:36.330 --> 00:10:38.950 the reason we do that and i play a while and 00:10:38.950 --> 00:10:42.470 i sing a while and the keyboard solo and it's 00:10:42.470 --> 00:10:46.679 to kind of Sometimes you can get so adrenalized 00:10:46.679 --> 00:10:51.340 before you get up there to play. That first song 00:10:51.340 --> 00:10:53.720 is a way for us to just kind of blow it out. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:57.360 Also get used to the crowd, get used to the sound 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:01.759 on the stage. And so I do that at every performance. 00:11:01.840 --> 00:11:07.220 I do just a kind of a shuffle jam to start the 00:11:07.220 --> 00:11:10.779 show. And that's our way of just easing into. 00:11:11.529 --> 00:11:14.289 OK, we're going to play for two hours here. Here 00:11:14.289 --> 00:11:18.250 we go. And not being completely overdosing on 00:11:18.250 --> 00:11:22.629 adrenaline, you know. Well, I want to take the 00:11:22.629 --> 00:11:25.409 approach you used on Relentless and move up a 00:11:25.409 --> 00:11:29.210 couple of years to your 2006 Full Circle album, 00:11:29.450 --> 00:11:33.889 which you recorded live in the studio all in 00:11:33.889 --> 00:11:36.149 one take. And one of the songs I'll just mention 00:11:36.149 --> 00:11:38.529 right off the top of my head is Clouds on the 00:11:38.529 --> 00:11:41.610 Horizon that you did with Joe Bonamassa. Did 00:11:41.610 --> 00:11:45.269 the experience of working on Relentless live 00:11:45.269 --> 00:11:49.289 on stage make you want to take that energy and 00:11:49.289 --> 00:11:51.789 bring it into the studio for that Full Circle 00:11:51.789 --> 00:11:55.730 album? You know, I don't know if it did that, 00:11:55.769 --> 00:11:59.309 but that was an album that I came up with the 00:11:59.309 --> 00:12:02.970 concept. I mean, I'm always up for trying new 00:12:02.970 --> 00:12:06.690 things. And I came up with this idea, like, how 00:12:06.690 --> 00:12:10.840 about if we go into a studio? We invite people 00:12:10.840 --> 00:12:14.179 to come into the studio. And with that special 00:12:14.179 --> 00:12:17.960 guest, we sit down right there and we write a 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:21.259 song together. We show it to the band and we 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:24.879 record it live. Warts and all, however it comes 00:12:24.879 --> 00:12:27.480 out. So with every one of the guests on that 00:12:27.480 --> 00:12:30.500 album, they had to come in and they had to be 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:33.620 in the studio with us. And we had to write the 00:12:33.620 --> 00:12:37.179 song together. That's unbelievable because Clouds 00:12:37.179 --> 00:12:39.659 on the Horizon is such a monster. I think I read 00:12:39.659 --> 00:12:42.299 somewhere that there was only one take on the 00:12:42.299 --> 00:12:45.080 album where your headphones fell off and they 00:12:45.080 --> 00:12:46.980 stopped it right there because you couldn't hear 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:50.279 anything at that point. I can tell you Clouds 00:12:50.279 --> 00:12:54.519 on the Horizon, Joe came in and he was going 00:12:54.519 --> 00:12:57.460 to play through one of my Mesa Boogie amplifiers. 00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:01.299 And he went over to the amplifier and he was 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:04.559 testing it, trying to set it. So he was playing 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:08.200 the guitar with one hand and turning knobs on 00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:15.019 the amplifier. And he was going, then I went, 00:13:15.059 --> 00:13:17.539 what's that lick? And he said, it's not a lick 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:20.159 I'm trying. And I said, let's take that lick 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.960 and we'll make a song out of it. And so we sat 00:13:23.960 --> 00:13:28.320 down, we put that song together. And what you 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:31.519 hear on that album is the rehearsal. Now the 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:35.870 drummer, was Richie Hayward of Little Feet, one 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:39.509 of the greatest drummers in history. Richie was 00:13:39.509 --> 00:13:42.450 playing, and that was the rehearsal. And at the 00:13:42.450 --> 00:13:45.590 end of it, he said, okay, let's record it now. 00:13:46.250 --> 00:13:48.830 And I said to the producer, Eric, I said, hey, 00:13:48.830 --> 00:13:51.909 did you just record what we just did? And he 00:13:51.909 --> 00:13:54.610 said, yeah, I did. And I said, well, then that's 00:13:54.610 --> 00:13:58.289 it. And Richie's like, no, let's do it again. 00:13:58.470 --> 00:14:00.269 I said, we're never going to beat that, man. 00:14:00.750 --> 00:14:03.190 So what you hear, we only played it once. That 00:14:03.190 --> 00:14:07.769 is the rehearsal. Unbelievable. And Richie was 00:14:07.769 --> 00:14:10.909 kind of like, come on, man, we can do better. 00:14:11.070 --> 00:14:12.789 And I'm like, I don't think we're going to do 00:14:12.789 --> 00:14:16.110 better. You know, considering that's a top three 00:14:16.110 --> 00:14:19.549 favorite of your songs for me, I'd love to hear 00:14:19.549 --> 00:14:22.330 what a quote unquote better version of that song 00:14:22.330 --> 00:14:24.889 is. But moving on to some other tracks that I'm 00:14:24.889 --> 00:14:27.389 a huge fan of. Fast forwarding a couple of years 00:14:27.389 --> 00:14:30.529 later on your album, The Outsider. You have a 00:14:30.529 --> 00:14:33.330 track, Welcome to the Human Race, which is just 00:14:33.330 --> 00:14:37.029 filled with this monster swagger to it. And on 00:14:37.029 --> 00:14:40.129 the same album, you have a gorgeous ballad, A 00:14:40.129 --> 00:14:43.320 Matter of the Heart. Every album that you've 00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:46.320 created over the years, I've noticed truly strikes 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:50.279 a perfect musical balance between the blues, 00:14:50.299 --> 00:14:54.019 the rock, the acoustic ballads, the shuffle blues, 00:14:54.179 --> 00:14:56.740 and all of the styles that have incorporated 00:14:56.740 --> 00:14:59.179 through your whole career on every album you 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:02.600 put out. Is that something that when you're going 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.179 into write an album is always on the top of your 00:15:05.179 --> 00:15:07.120 mind, or is it just the songs that come out? 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:10.080 Those are the songs that come out, but I can 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:15.649 tell you. I love ballads. And if I could get 00:15:15.649 --> 00:15:18.929 away with it, I'd just do a whole album of original 00:15:18.929 --> 00:15:21.649 ballads. I could sit down and write you a ballad 00:15:21.649 --> 00:15:24.889 very quickly. I find them just a perfect way 00:15:24.889 --> 00:15:30.129 to express feeling. And Matter of the Heart, 00:15:30.289 --> 00:15:34.090 I love that song. And that song basically says 00:15:34.090 --> 00:15:37.769 that love is an emotion. It's not something in 00:15:37.769 --> 00:15:40.840 your brain. It's something in your heart. But 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:44.960 then Welcome to the Human Race, you know, I think 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:48.879 I was a little maybe annoyed. It's a few things 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:53.919 when I wrote that. I don't know. But I do like 00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:58.100 if I have a ballad that I like and I put it on 00:15:58.100 --> 00:16:02.139 the album and I sing it very quietly, then I 00:16:02.139 --> 00:16:05.940 want to do a song where I'm screaming, you know. 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:12.259 I want to kind of explore my vocal range. And 00:16:12.259 --> 00:16:17.340 so it's funny. They just end up that way. But 00:16:17.340 --> 00:16:21.379 I do like to try to, like my wife says, my albums 00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:24.240 are like a roller coaster. You know, they got 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:27.299 the up and the down. And, you know, like on the 00:16:27.299 --> 00:16:31.539 new one, you have this rocking song with Dee 00:16:31.539 --> 00:16:35.100 Snider. And then. Right out of that, you have 00:16:35.100 --> 00:16:38.940 an instrumental that has an orchestral harp on 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:42.480 it, and it's very quiet, you know. And for context, 00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:44.919 for those listening, the track with Dee Snider 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:47.899 is called I've Had Enough, and the orchestral 00:16:47.899 --> 00:16:51.379 instrumental is Love of My Life. Since we're 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:54.440 talking about Broken right now, let's just dive 00:16:54.440 --> 00:16:57.159 into the new album, starting with the opening 00:16:57.159 --> 00:17:01.710 track, a blistering ballad. with the amazing 00:17:01.710 --> 00:17:04.630 Beth Hart that just so happens to be the title 00:17:04.630 --> 00:17:33.599 track of the album, Broken. And all that I have 00:17:56.490 --> 00:17:59.309 Can you talk about how that collaboration came 00:17:59.309 --> 00:18:01.829 together and what Beth brought to the song's 00:18:01.829 --> 00:18:06.430 kind of overall emotional arc? Man, I'll go back 00:18:06.430 --> 00:18:09.430 a little bit through history. I had a song a 00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:12.970 few years ago called All Out of Tears, and it 00:18:12.970 --> 00:18:15.769 was written with the great blues singer Teenie 00:18:15.769 --> 00:18:18.430 Tucker, and it was also written with my wife, 00:18:18.470 --> 00:18:22.869 who is also an award -winning songwriter. And 00:18:22.869 --> 00:18:25.980 that song was about... Teenie had lost her son, 00:18:26.180 --> 00:18:29.660 and the song was about grief. And it won Song 00:18:29.660 --> 00:18:32.819 of the Year at the Blues Music Awards that year. 00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:37.240 But it had a line in it. It's a very emotional 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:40.440 song. It had a line in it, I know I'm broken. 00:18:41.119 --> 00:18:44.059 And every time I would sing that on stage, I 00:18:44.059 --> 00:18:47.119 would think, I need to write an answer to this, 00:18:47.180 --> 00:18:50.240 which is, I don't want to be broken. I want to 00:18:50.240 --> 00:18:54.000 get out of this mental box that I'm in and I 00:18:54.000 --> 00:18:58.599 want to get past this grief. And so I started 00:18:58.599 --> 00:19:04.079 writing that song and it started. I had the first 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:06.839 verse pieces of myself seemed to break away. 00:19:07.059 --> 00:19:10.779 I lose a little more each and every day. And 00:19:10.779 --> 00:19:14.440 I realized it was really about when I was thinking 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.519 about it, it was about my years as a drug addict 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:21.500 and an alcoholic. and my ears with mental issues 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:26.119 that I had to go into therapy for. And then some 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:28.559 of the lyrics, it was hitting too close to home. 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:32.859 And I told my wife, I'm stuck. I want to finish 00:19:32.859 --> 00:19:36.259 this song. And she's never been a drug addict 00:19:36.259 --> 00:19:39.059 or an alcoholic, but she's been with me for 33 00:19:39.059 --> 00:19:42.779 years. She sat down and finished the lyrics for 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:46.319 me. And I went in and sang it in the studio with 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:49.670 the band. And the whole time I was singing it 00:19:49.670 --> 00:19:53.369 in my head, I could hear Beth. And Beth is a 00:19:53.369 --> 00:19:56.710 dear friend. And she's been through a lot in 00:19:56.710 --> 00:20:00.049 her life. And I figured she could relate. So 00:20:00.049 --> 00:20:04.089 I sent her the song. And the next day she said, 00:20:04.269 --> 00:20:08.009 oh, I want to be part of this. This speaks to 00:20:08.009 --> 00:20:12.769 me. And she came in and sang with an emotional 00:20:12.769 --> 00:20:17.059 impact. which few people, few artists on the 00:20:17.059 --> 00:20:21.000 planet have. She is one of the greatest artists 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:26.119 on the planet. Nobody sings like her. And she 00:20:26.119 --> 00:20:30.200 came in and she elevated that song emotionally 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:36.119 to an entirely new level. And I've played that 00:20:36.119 --> 00:20:38.559 song for a lot of people and a lot of them have 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:42.599 wept at the end. including one well -known musician 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:46.140 who I won't name, but he was at my house with 00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:49.559 his wife. And I played them that song and they 00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:52.339 embraced at the end and they both started crying. 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:57.559 Her emotional impact is one of a kind. And what 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.720 she did with that song, that's something when 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:04.319 I'm on my deathbed and look back at my career, 00:21:04.420 --> 00:21:07.859 that's one that I'm proud of. And the same with 00:21:07.859 --> 00:21:11.170 my wife who wrote it with me. We think we did 00:21:11.170 --> 00:21:14.549 something there with that song. And people who 00:21:14.549 --> 00:21:18.150 are going through those problems, maybe they 00:21:18.150 --> 00:21:22.069 can realize you're not alone. And that is an 00:21:22.069 --> 00:21:24.769 extremely powerful sentiment to put out in music. 00:21:24.869 --> 00:21:27.230 And for one, I thank you for that because your 00:21:27.230 --> 00:21:29.190 music has helped me through tough times in my 00:21:29.190 --> 00:21:32.750 life for various reasons. I relate to the lyrics. 00:21:32.829 --> 00:21:35.190 I relate to these songs. And that's what's made 00:21:35.190 --> 00:21:38.660 me a fan for so many years. Another track I'd 00:21:38.660 --> 00:21:41.099 like to touch on off the new album is the first 00:21:41.099 --> 00:21:43.900 single, Bleed, featuring Will Wilde on harmonica. 00:22:05.339 --> 00:22:09.440 You know to be prepared for love, you must be 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:16.480 prepared to bleed. Oh yeah, oh yeah, you must 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:21.559 be prepared to bleed. In the press leading up 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:24.299 to the album, you were quoted as saying, I've 00:22:24.299 --> 00:22:27.519 always tried to write positive songs and this 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:30.500 album is not quite that, but I always hold on 00:22:30.500 --> 00:22:32.980 to hope. I think that's why I wrote this album. 00:22:33.789 --> 00:22:35.910 Could you elaborate on that? Because you've dealt 00:22:35.910 --> 00:22:38.869 with some extremely heavy and powerful themes 00:22:38.869 --> 00:22:41.470 over the years. Just throwing out there for an 00:22:41.470 --> 00:22:44.730 example, a song like Almost Gone from the album 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:47.569 Battle Scars, which chronicled your battle with 00:22:47.569 --> 00:22:50.650 liver failure and the weight you endured for 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:52.789 a donated liver to become available. And yet 00:22:52.789 --> 00:22:56.769 there was still hope. Why is this album different? 00:22:57.730 --> 00:23:00.589 Here's the thing with Battle Scars. It chronicles 00:23:00.589 --> 00:23:04.059 that whole thing. But it ends with a song called 00:23:04.059 --> 00:23:07.880 I'm Going to Live Again. So it ends with hope 00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:12.059 and it ends on a positive note. This one, I have 00:23:12.059 --> 00:23:15.799 to say, I was kind of looking around at the world 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:18.779 and at my life and life and different people. 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:23.220 And when I said that this album is not that, 00:23:23.339 --> 00:23:26.500 I mean, this album starts with a song called 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:30.380 Broken. It is with a song called It Falls Apart. 00:23:31.230 --> 00:23:33.990 I have a song on there, there's no more magic 00:23:33.990 --> 00:23:38.390 on the street anymore. It kind of, I don't know, 00:23:38.390 --> 00:23:41.450 man. I took a look at what was going on around 00:23:41.450 --> 00:23:46.109 me and in certain people, and I still want there 00:23:46.109 --> 00:23:49.509 to be hope. And if you read the liner notes I 00:23:49.509 --> 00:23:53.109 wrote in the record, you'll see it ends with, 00:23:53.210 --> 00:23:57.789 I choose love, I choose hope. But it is, I am 00:23:57.789 --> 00:24:00.599 trying to, I think. point out some things you 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:04.599 know the song falls apart as a line of lyric 00:24:04.599 --> 00:24:08.019 i tried so hard to find peace but it's just too 00:24:08.019 --> 00:24:12.200 difficult you know but there's got to be hope 00:24:12.200 --> 00:24:15.420 um without hope we all might as well jump off 00:24:15.420 --> 00:24:19.279 a cliff you know i i try to look at the future 00:24:19.279 --> 00:24:23.240 and and be positive about it but i can't say 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:26.619 that i this album is full of feel -good songs 00:24:26.619 --> 00:24:29.869 you know Well, there are songs that make you 00:24:29.869 --> 00:24:32.710 feel good, even though the message is definitely 00:24:32.710 --> 00:24:35.529 critical. And this is one you mentioned earlier, 00:24:35.970 --> 00:24:39.069 the hard rockin' track, I've Had Enough, that 00:24:39.069 --> 00:24:42.029 features Twisted Sister's Dee Snider, which is 00:24:42.029 --> 00:24:44.950 a very interesting collaboration because one 00:24:44.950 --> 00:24:48.750 doesn't usually put Dee into the blues. You usually 00:24:48.750 --> 00:24:59.130 think hard rock and metal. Too many fools Too 00:24:59.130 --> 00:25:03.970 many lawyers Too many banks Too many soldiers 00:25:43.980 --> 00:25:45.920 Yeah, Walter, I'm going to have to ask to hear 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:48.579 the story behind this amazing collaboration with 00:25:48.579 --> 00:25:54.660 Dee. Well, I can tell you two years ago, Dee 00:25:54.660 --> 00:26:00.140 Snider on his Twitter put up a song of mine and 00:26:00.140 --> 00:26:03.200 said, who is this guy? This guy is just blazing. 00:26:03.200 --> 00:26:07.099 He's my new favorite guitar player. So I just 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:09.299 answered him on Twitter and I said, thanks a 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:12.259 lot, man. And he sent me a message and said, 00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:15.079 give me your cell number. And we started talking 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:17.759 and we become great friends. We talk all the 00:26:17.759 --> 00:26:22.579 time. And he's an amazing guy. And he said, man, 00:26:22.680 --> 00:26:26.880 I would love to sing on your record. And I thought, 00:26:26.900 --> 00:26:29.640 well, that would be a really interesting collaboration. 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.539 So then I thought, OK, I got to write a song 00:26:33.539 --> 00:26:38.099 to do with D. And I thought, well, his big hit 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:42.309 is We're Not Gonna Take It. And in keeping with 00:26:42.309 --> 00:26:46.650 the theme of broken and falls apart, I kind of 00:26:46.650 --> 00:26:48.970 looked around and I thought I've had enough. 00:26:49.150 --> 00:26:53.789 It's easy to relate to, you know. And so I wrote 00:26:53.789 --> 00:26:58.009 that tune and he came in the studio and he sang 00:26:58.009 --> 00:27:02.289 his ass off, man. He's singing great on there. 00:27:02.509 --> 00:27:06.890 And shortly we're going to do a video of the 00:27:06.890 --> 00:27:10.390 song, he and I together. He's an amazing guy, 00:27:10.569 --> 00:27:14.130 man. It was really fun doing this music with 00:27:14.130 --> 00:27:18.130 him. And I think that song came out really good, 00:27:18.269 --> 00:27:21.730 too. And I listened to the rhythm section. I 00:27:21.730 --> 00:27:24.609 mean, my drummer, Mike Lazor, this is his 10th 00:27:24.609 --> 00:27:27.970 album with me. But before me, he was with Edgar 00:27:27.970 --> 00:27:31.869 Winter. And the bass player on this album, Jamie 00:27:31.869 --> 00:27:36.250 Hunting, he was with Roger Daltrey and David 00:27:36.250 --> 00:27:39.710 Lee Roth. And Eddie Money. I mean, these guys 00:27:39.710 --> 00:27:43.990 are rockers. So we're rocking. Well, I want to 00:27:43.990 --> 00:27:47.990 ask about over the last decade and change, it 00:27:47.990 --> 00:27:50.809 seems like not every year, but almost with every 00:27:50.809 --> 00:27:54.069 passing year, we're getting new Walter Trout 00:27:54.069 --> 00:27:58.710 music. And every album has been just as good 00:27:58.710 --> 00:28:01.289 as the last, if not better, each and every time. 00:28:01.410 --> 00:28:04.109 How do you keep up this consistency with each 00:28:04.109 --> 00:28:07.430 and every album? You know, that's an interesting 00:28:07.430 --> 00:28:11.029 question, Brian, and I don't know how to answer 00:28:11.029 --> 00:28:14.670 it. I sit down to write. I'm not somebody that 00:28:14.670 --> 00:28:17.829 writes all the time because I have to get into 00:28:17.829 --> 00:28:21.589 a certain zone emotionally and mentally. And 00:28:21.589 --> 00:28:24.809 the best way for me to do an album is my wife 00:28:24.809 --> 00:28:27.769 goes to Denmark, where she's from, and we have 00:28:27.769 --> 00:28:31.069 a house there and my kids are over there. I will 00:28:31.069 --> 00:28:33.789 stay in this house in California for a couple 00:28:33.789 --> 00:28:38.549 of weeks. by myself and get into that zone. And 00:28:38.549 --> 00:28:41.750 my wife and kids know that when I'm in that zone, 00:28:41.990 --> 00:28:45.470 I'm very hard to communicate with. As my wife 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:49.529 says, okay, she used to tell my kids, dad's writing 00:28:49.529 --> 00:28:54.210 an album. He's not on the planet right now. But 00:28:54.210 --> 00:28:59.730 if I start writing a tune and it doesn't grab 00:28:59.730 --> 00:29:07.390 me, I get rid of it. So as far as the consistency, 00:29:07.869 --> 00:29:11.410 that's a tough one. I don't have any way, and 00:29:11.410 --> 00:29:13.890 I'm glad you think that they're good and they're 00:29:13.890 --> 00:29:17.250 getting better, because it is part of me that 00:29:17.250 --> 00:29:21.049 I want to keep creating and I want it to improve. 00:29:21.289 --> 00:29:25.630 I want to get better at what I do. So it's not 00:29:25.630 --> 00:29:28.349 something I know how to do consciously. I just 00:29:28.349 --> 00:29:31.359 set out, okay, I'm going to make a record. Let's 00:29:31.359 --> 00:29:34.099 see what I can come up with. Here's an interesting 00:29:34.099 --> 00:29:38.099 story. Every time my wife who managed me says, 00:29:38.299 --> 00:29:41.240 okay, you got to make a record. I go through 00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:44.259 a couple of days where I sit down and I get very 00:29:44.259 --> 00:29:48.160 morose and depressed and go, I don't think I 00:29:48.160 --> 00:29:51.640 have anything more to say. I don't know how I 00:29:51.640 --> 00:29:57.420 can do this again. Am I out of ideas? And I get 00:29:57.420 --> 00:30:01.759 into this kind of depression. And then. I hear 00:30:01.759 --> 00:30:04.880 one day, I'll try to get this out without losing 00:30:04.880 --> 00:30:07.799 it. It happens all the time. I hear the voice 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:12.180 of my mom and she says, Walter, from the time 00:30:12.180 --> 00:30:15.839 you were five years old, all you wanted to do 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:20.680 was be a musician and you are a musician and 00:30:20.680 --> 00:30:24.180 you make music and that is what you do and it's 00:30:24.180 --> 00:30:28.480 easy for you. So quit bellyaching and sit down 00:30:28.480 --> 00:30:32.029 and make some music. And as soon as I have that 00:30:32.029 --> 00:30:35.029 epiphany, man, I can write an album in a week. 00:30:36.470 --> 00:30:40.210 Wow. Completely floored by that. That's just 00:30:40.210 --> 00:30:43.609 a beautiful story. A few weeks ago on episode 00:30:43.609 --> 00:30:47.849 55, we had Jax Hollow on the program, who's an 00:30:47.849 --> 00:30:51.200 up and coming female blues guitarist. Her and 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:54.539 I curated the ultimate modern blues rock playlist. 00:30:54.779 --> 00:30:57.740 And one of the song choices, without spoiling 00:30:57.740 --> 00:31:00.759 it for the My Weekly Mixtape listeners who might 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:03.420 not have heard the episode yet, is your song 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:06.319 Wanna Dance from your Ordinary Madness album. 00:31:06.599 --> 00:31:12.140 Whoa, cool. This song to me is distinctly a Walter 00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:15.380 Trout song. But when I listen to the guitar tone. 00:31:15.880 --> 00:31:18.000 And you mentioned them earlier, which is why 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:21.259 I'm bringing it up now. I hear elements of Neil 00:31:21.259 --> 00:31:24.180 Young and Crazy Horse in the sound of the guitar 00:31:24.180 --> 00:31:30.119 on that song. And I'm curious, was that something 00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:32.819 that was in the back of your mind? Because to 00:31:32.819 --> 00:31:36.420 me, it's distinctly Walter Trout tipping his 00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:39.420 hat to Neil Young on that track. Let me tell 00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:42.299 you, I did not do that intentionally, but I've 00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:45.799 had many people tell me that. And when that song 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:49.759 was released as a single, a lot of people commented, 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:52.400 who does this guy think? Is this Crazy Horse 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:56.400 or what is this? But an interesting story behind 00:31:56.400 --> 00:32:01.660 that song was out here in California in Long 00:32:01.660 --> 00:32:06.740 Beach some years back. There's an old hotel from 00:32:06.740 --> 00:32:11.619 the 30s. It was owned originally by Conrad Hilton. 00:32:12.319 --> 00:32:16.200 And he had a restaurant up on the top of the 00:32:16.200 --> 00:32:20.160 hotel with swing bands. And it's where he and 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:23.000 Elizabeth Taylor had had their honeymoon. And 00:32:23.000 --> 00:32:26.759 there were photos up of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:29.460 Bacall sitting in the booths. And there were 00:32:29.460 --> 00:32:34.000 swing bands that played. And my wife and I would 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:37.900 get suits and clothes from the 30s. And people 00:32:37.900 --> 00:32:41.180 would go there on Saturday nights. And the swing 00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:44.519 band would play and we would have dinner and 00:32:44.519 --> 00:32:47.200 we would dance. And we actually took swing dance 00:32:47.200 --> 00:32:51.660 lessons. Wow. And the beautiful fun of it was 00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:55.539 I went there and nobody knew who I was. We just 00:32:55.539 --> 00:32:58.380 had dinner and we'd go out and dance and nobody 00:32:58.380 --> 00:33:00.900 watched us. The fact that we couldn't dance very 00:33:00.900 --> 00:33:05.359 well, but we had smiles on our faces and it was 00:33:05.359 --> 00:33:08.970 something that we loved. And whenever I was home, 00:33:09.069 --> 00:33:12.369 we would do that like every weekend. And that 00:33:12.369 --> 00:33:15.789 song is that's exactly what that song is about. 00:33:16.009 --> 00:33:19.750 That place has since closed and there's no place 00:33:19.750 --> 00:33:23.599 like it around here. And we miss it. Well, earlier 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:26.500 we talked about your cover of Dust My Broom, 00:33:26.599 --> 00:33:30.920 and I'm a huge fan of cover songs. In 2015, you 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:34.440 blew my mind with an EP of five covers called 00:33:34.440 --> 00:33:38.200 In Session, which included your take on Jeff 00:33:38.200 --> 00:33:41.559 Beck Group's Blues Deluxe, ZZ Top's Gimme All 00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:44.319 Your Lovin', The Black Keys' Tighten Up, Stevie 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:47.079 Ray Vaughan's Say What, and Leonard Skinner's 00:33:47.079 --> 00:33:50.210 Gimme Three Steps. When you're covering someone 00:33:50.210 --> 00:33:53.630 else's music, how do you strike a balance between 00:33:53.630 --> 00:33:57.390 honoring the original song and putting the quote 00:33:57.390 --> 00:34:00.569 unquote Walter Trout stamp on it? Well, this 00:34:00.569 --> 00:34:04.009 is very interesting because all of those covers, 00:34:04.329 --> 00:34:08.869 I did them. There were tribute albums and I played 00:34:08.869 --> 00:34:12.829 on all those tribute albums and I had no idea 00:34:12.829 --> 00:34:16.579 they had all been released as an EP. Really? 00:34:16.579 --> 00:34:19.659 So I have a feeling that EP is a bootleg, but 00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:23.440 I'm OK. It doesn't matter. But I did those on 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:26.519 tribute albums and I did a lot more than that. 00:34:26.599 --> 00:34:29.360 Actually, I did a whole lot of tribute albums 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:33.280 for a while and it was great. I'd go up to L 00:34:33.280 --> 00:34:37.199 .A. and do these tunes that I love. They always 00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:40.900 let me pick the song, too, which was great, you 00:34:40.900 --> 00:34:44.239 know, except for one time I played on one called 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:48.119 Blues on Blonde. which was Blonde on Blonde by 00:34:48.119 --> 00:34:51.940 Bob Dylan, but done by bluesers. And they made 00:34:51.940 --> 00:34:55.400 me do Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, which was my 00:34:55.400 --> 00:35:00.320 least favorite Bob Dylan song of all time. As 00:35:00.320 --> 00:35:04.679 far as covering those songs, I've always tried 00:35:04.679 --> 00:35:08.360 to do it, but make it my own. I'm not out to 00:35:08.360 --> 00:35:13.119 be a tribute band, you know, and tribute bands 00:35:13.119 --> 00:35:17.239 now are huge. It's something that I don't quite 00:35:17.239 --> 00:35:22.579 get when guys dress up like Tom Petty and they 00:35:22.579 --> 00:35:25.019 come out and they put on a wig and they do it. 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:28.739 Because what's missing is the original spark 00:35:28.739 --> 00:35:32.760 of genius. Tom Petty had the spark of genius. 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:35.360 And when some guy comes out and imitates him, 00:35:35.460 --> 00:35:40.239 it's not Tom Petty. So I'm not really a tribute 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:45.090 band aficionado. But so when I did those albums, 00:35:45.250 --> 00:35:50.829 I very deliberately tried to do them my way. 00:35:51.309 --> 00:35:55.570 When I did the ZZ Top tune, I didn't try to sing 00:35:55.570 --> 00:35:58.409 like Billy Gibbons or, you know, I didn't try 00:35:58.409 --> 00:36:01.750 to play the guitar solo like was on their record. 00:36:01.829 --> 00:36:06.389 I do it my own way. And I've done that from the 00:36:06.389 --> 00:36:10.340 beginning. First album, I had a live version 00:36:10.340 --> 00:36:13.159 of Red House, but I didn't do it like Jimi Hendrix. 00:36:13.280 --> 00:36:16.760 My second album, I had a version of Girl from 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:19.780 the North Country by Bob Dylan. And I did it 00:36:19.780 --> 00:36:24.420 my own approach, you know. That version of Red 00:36:24.420 --> 00:36:26.739 House, I told you that Looking for the Promised 00:36:26.739 --> 00:36:28.860 Land was the song that I discovered you with. 00:36:29.519 --> 00:36:33.300 Red House is my favorite blues song of all time. 00:36:34.059 --> 00:36:36.460 from the jimi hendrix experience that was the 00:36:36.460 --> 00:36:38.219 song that my father said if you want to hear 00:36:38.219 --> 00:36:39.900 guitar playing when i was growing up he said 00:36:39.900 --> 00:36:43.079 you need to listen to this song and the first 00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:45.820 time i heard red house i fell in love with the 00:36:45.820 --> 00:36:48.579 blues and when i heard your nine minute version 00:36:48.579 --> 00:36:52.619 of it i said this guy speaks my language when 00:36:52.619 --> 00:36:55.179 you're tackling something like red house by jimi 00:36:55.179 --> 00:36:58.860 hendrix which everybody has kind of ingrained 00:36:58.860 --> 00:37:03.780 in their musical dna how do you set yours apart 00:37:03.780 --> 00:37:07.139 but still show that you're a fan that you could 00:37:07.139 --> 00:37:09.239 tell in your version that you love the original 00:37:09.239 --> 00:37:14.400 how do you strike that well when you get to when 00:37:14.400 --> 00:37:17.139 you get into the song once again you have to 00:37:17.139 --> 00:37:21.599 consciously do your best to make it your own 00:37:21.599 --> 00:37:25.480 i also did a cover on an album of i shall be 00:37:25.480 --> 00:37:29.159 released by bob dylan but i approached it completely 00:37:29.159 --> 00:37:33.329 different than every other band I've ever heard 00:37:33.329 --> 00:37:36.710 do it. For example, when they get to the chorus, 00:37:36.829 --> 00:37:39.690 they have harmony. I decided not to do that. 00:37:39.989 --> 00:37:43.949 And I told the band, I want to approach this 00:37:43.949 --> 00:37:50.150 song as if it's Otis Redding doing it or Wilson 00:37:50.150 --> 00:37:53.909 Pickett. And I tried to sort of sing it in my 00:37:53.909 --> 00:37:57.449 own way, but it's like the way Wilson Pickett 00:37:57.449 --> 00:38:01.510 did Hey Jew or Sonny. You know, make it your 00:38:01.510 --> 00:38:05.349 own. And so with Red House, plus that was recorded 00:38:05.349 --> 00:38:10.530 live in front of about 80 ,000 people. So I was 00:38:10.530 --> 00:38:14.469 off, you know, that was at a festival in Denmark. 00:38:15.369 --> 00:38:20.210 And I was getting off, man. Plus, we went on 00:38:20.210 --> 00:38:23.170 right before a little feed. So my buddy, Richie 00:38:23.170 --> 00:38:25.769 Hayward, was standing in the monitor booth watching 00:38:25.769 --> 00:38:29.360 me play. So I'm like, I got to. I got to go here, 00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:32.960 man. I got to play. Well, we have talked about 00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:35.679 a lot of my favorite songs tonight, and I feel 00:38:35.679 --> 00:38:37.840 that's a little selfish. So I'd like to kind 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:40.659 of turn the tables a little bit as all of the 00:38:40.659 --> 00:38:42.739 songs we are talking about tonight are going 00:38:42.739 --> 00:38:46.599 to be embedded in a playlist over at myweeklymixtape 00:38:46.599 --> 00:38:49.019 .com for the listeners of the show to go listen 00:38:49.019 --> 00:38:52.460 to the songs after. If you had to pick one song 00:38:52.460 --> 00:38:54.980 from across your entire body of work, all the 00:38:54.980 --> 00:38:57.980 songs you've recorded, that truly stands out 00:38:57.980 --> 00:38:59.940 to you, and I'm not saying it's your favorite 00:38:59.940 --> 00:39:02.800 song, but it's a song that holds a deep personal 00:39:02.800 --> 00:39:06.440 meaning for you, Walter Trout, the person, which 00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:09.800 one would you pick and why? Number one, I would 00:39:09.800 --> 00:39:13.579 pick The Bottom of the River. I don't know if 00:39:13.579 --> 00:39:15.639 you've heard that one, but that's one of the 00:39:15.639 --> 00:39:20.000 heaviest things I've ever come up with. The reason 00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:26.480 is this. I was dying of liver failure. And I 00:39:26.480 --> 00:39:30.679 was down to about 110 pounds. And my body was 00:39:30.679 --> 00:39:34.659 racked with cramps from head to toe. And I was 00:39:34.659 --> 00:39:39.639 determined to make one last album before I died. 00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:46.699 I expected to die. I was dying. And I had part 00:39:46.699 --> 00:39:49.550 of the liver failure. I had it. thing called 00:39:49.550 --> 00:39:52.329 ascites and that is where your abdomen fills 00:39:52.329 --> 00:39:56.769 up with fluid and I would go in once or once 00:39:56.769 --> 00:39:59.150 every two weeks and they would stick a drain 00:39:59.150 --> 00:40:02.590 in my abdomen and they would take out literally 00:40:02.590 --> 00:40:09.210 25 to 50 pounds of liquid out of my abdomen and 00:40:09.210 --> 00:40:12.429 it was pressing on my diaphragm and my lungs 00:40:12.429 --> 00:40:16.130 and I could not breathe and my wife one day said 00:40:16.130 --> 00:40:20.539 to me oh Walter dear Dear Walter, it's like you're 00:40:20.539 --> 00:40:23.840 drowning because I couldn't breathe. And I got 00:40:23.840 --> 00:40:28.219 this image in my head of a man who falls into 00:40:28.219 --> 00:40:32.320 a river and the current pulls him to the bottom 00:40:32.320 --> 00:40:35.440 and he starts drowning. He can't breathe. And 00:40:35.440 --> 00:40:39.980 he looks up. He can see the light above him out 00:40:39.980 --> 00:40:42.780 of the water, but it's too hard of a fight against 00:40:42.780 --> 00:40:46.179 the current. And he's ready to drown. But then 00:40:46.179 --> 00:40:50.610 in a split second. As the lyrics say, I saw all 00:40:50.610 --> 00:40:53.389 the people I had loved and all I had done wrong. 00:40:53.630 --> 00:40:57.750 The places I had left behind and the places I 00:40:57.750 --> 00:41:02.869 belonged. He starts seeing his whole life and 00:41:02.869 --> 00:41:06.289 he sees people he did wrong, all the people he 00:41:06.289 --> 00:41:09.690 loved, what he had been through. And he decides, 00:41:09.909 --> 00:41:15.110 I'm not going to die today. And he fights with 00:41:15.110 --> 00:41:19.000 all his strength. that he can muster, and he 00:41:19.000 --> 00:41:23.000 forces his way to the top. And when he gets above 00:41:23.000 --> 00:41:28.980 the water, his head pops out, and he's gasping 00:41:28.980 --> 00:41:33.760 for breath. It says, I cried in realization as 00:41:33.760 --> 00:41:37.440 I was gasping for my breath. I cried in realization 00:41:37.440 --> 00:41:41.880 that I had cheated death. And then he swims to 00:41:41.880 --> 00:41:45.239 the shore, and as he crawls up on the beach, 00:41:45.639 --> 00:41:48.400 He sees the beauty of the world in a way he has 00:41:48.400 --> 00:41:52.320 never seen it before. He looks at the world completely 00:41:52.320 --> 00:41:56.360 different. And the last line is, that day I changed 00:41:56.360 --> 00:42:00.719 forever from who I was before. And that song 00:42:00.719 --> 00:42:04.760 to me is like a short story. And I did that song 00:42:04.760 --> 00:42:10.579 on that album. And I had to, it was so hard to 00:42:10.579 --> 00:42:13.079 catch my breath. The only way I could do the 00:42:13.079 --> 00:42:17.769 vocals. I would have to sit. I'd have the microphone 00:42:17.769 --> 00:42:20.309 in front of me. The producer would be in the, 00:42:20.369 --> 00:42:23.769 and I would gather my breath and I'd point to 00:42:23.769 --> 00:42:25.969 him and he'd push record and I would sing one 00:42:25.969 --> 00:42:30.289 line. And then I had to stop and I had to gather 00:42:30.289 --> 00:42:32.630 my breath again. And I'd point to him and I'd 00:42:32.630 --> 00:42:36.489 sing the next line. And I was determined I had 00:42:36.489 --> 00:42:39.750 to do that whole album like that. But that song 00:42:39.750 --> 00:42:47.920 to me is, Something that I don't know where it 00:42:47.920 --> 00:42:53.739 came from. It was given to me, but it is an optimistic 00:42:53.739 --> 00:42:57.500 song because in the song I live, even though 00:42:57.500 --> 00:43:03.239 I expected to die. And that is one of the, I 00:43:03.239 --> 00:43:07.099 have a hard time listening to that one. Wow. 00:43:09.109 --> 00:43:11.650 I don't get speechless often, but I'm speechless 00:43:11.650 --> 00:43:13.989 after that story. Well, sometime now that I've 00:43:13.989 --> 00:43:16.710 described it, give that song a listen. Oh, I'm 00:43:16.710 --> 00:43:18.570 a huge fan of the blues came calling. It's an 00:43:18.570 --> 00:43:21.090 amazing album. And as soon as we're done recording, 00:43:21.230 --> 00:43:23.010 I'm going to have to go listen to that song again 00:43:23.010 --> 00:43:25.550 and hear it with that story in mind. Cause now 00:43:25.550 --> 00:43:27.809 I'm going to hear that song in a completely different 00:43:27.809 --> 00:43:31.829 light. Yeah. And that came from my wife. Well, 00:43:31.909 --> 00:43:34.889 I am just grateful that you're here making incredible 00:43:34.889 --> 00:43:38.719 music to this day. So thankful for. decades of 00:43:38.719 --> 00:43:41.280 amazing music. And I'm just going to say it for 00:43:41.280 --> 00:43:43.380 decades more to come, because considering the 00:43:43.380 --> 00:43:46.039 output that you've done over the last decade, 00:43:46.360 --> 00:43:48.960 I can't expect that you're slowing down this 00:43:48.960 --> 00:43:52.440 train anytime soon. Thank you so much for joining 00:43:52.440 --> 00:43:54.360 me on my weekly mixtape. It's been an honor. 00:43:54.699 --> 00:43:57.039 Well, thank you for having me, Brian. This has 00:43:57.039 --> 00:43:59.619 been a pleasure. Anytime you want me to come 00:43:59.619 --> 00:44:01.780 back on your show, I'd love to do it. You've 00:44:01.780 --> 00:44:04.579 been a great interviewer and I've enjoyed this. 00:44:05.199 --> 00:44:07.539 And just a reminder to those listening, all of 00:44:07.539 --> 00:44:09.679 the songs we've discussed today, I'm embedding 00:44:09.679 --> 00:44:13.500 in a playlist over at myweeklymixtape .com. And 00:44:13.500 --> 00:44:15.360 while you're there, be sure to check out the 00:44:15.360 --> 00:44:18.780 full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. If 00:44:18.780 --> 00:44:20.139 you like what you're hearing on the show, you 00:44:20.139 --> 00:44:22.480 can help me out by either telling a friend, leaving 00:44:22.480 --> 00:44:24.400 the show a five -star review wherever you're 00:44:24.400 --> 00:44:27.559 tuning in, or becoming a Patreon mixtaper at 00:44:27.559 --> 00:44:31.969 patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. That's 00:44:31.969 --> 00:44:33.690 all for this week. Thanks again for listening. 00:44:33.789 --> 00:44:36.190 And until next time, enjoy the tunes.