Interview by Paul Salfen
TED NUGENT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER –
I was raised and inspired by the American rock founding fathers Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Little Richard, James Brown and allthings Motown soul music. Vanilla Fudge epitimised the combination of all that fiery music. When my Motor City music monsters Jim McCarty and Rusty Day teamed up with the most powerful rhythm section of Tim Bogart and Carmine Appice to form Cactus, I thought my musical world would surely spin off its axis! The raw Detroit energy of Rusty and Jim with the definitive thrust of Tim and Carmines richter scale groove made every band in the world practice harder! Cactus were a serious force to reckon with.
dUg PINNICK EVIL & ONE WAY OR ANOTHER –
“It was 1971, Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top, Deep Purple and Yes were my go to bands, and one day I went to visit a musician friend who played me” Long Tall Sally” by Cactus! From the beginning Jim’s guitar intro I was hooked! The riff was so heavy, and when Rusty sang the first verse my mind was blown. A Little Richard cover!!!!..the reason I play rock music was because of Little Richard! So I listened to the whole album. Great song writing, Carmine’s brutal drumming, TIM’s bass and Jim’s guitar playing, So inspirational they were! Rusty had a special knack for writing amazing down to earth lyrics! I loved his voice! I learned to sing and play every song and I never looked back. These albums still stand the test of time!! Cactus is one of my ALLTIME favorite bands. This is why I said “Yes” to playing on this record…
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Pat Travers (born Patrick Henry Travers on April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career with Polydor Records in the mid-1970s. Many noted musicians have been members of the Pat Travers Band over the years.
While most bluesy hard rock acts of the ’70s and ’80s hailed from the United States (the south, to be exact), there were several exceptions to the rule, such as Canadian singer/guitarist Pat Travers. Born in Toronto on April 12, 1954, Travers first picked up the guitar just prior to entering his teens, after witnessing a local performance by the great Jimi Hendrix. It wasn’t long before Travers was studying the other top rock guitarists of the day (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, etc.), and paying his dues by playing in bar bands in the Quebec area.
His first true touring gig came his way when he hooked up with ’50s rock n’ roll vet Ronnie Hawkins (best known for performing with a backing cast that would eventually transform into The Band). But Travers’ main love was hard rock, so after a year, he packed up his belongings and headed to London. Shortly after touchdown in the U.K., Travers recorded a demo that would land him a recording deal with Polydor and result in the release of his debut, Pat Travers, during the spring of 1976. A performance at England’s annual Reading Festival the same year only peaked interest, which resulted in two more releases in 1977, Makin’ Magic and Putting It Straight (both of which featured a pre-Iron Maiden Nicko McBrain on drums), before Travers returned to North America and set his sights on the U.S. rock market.
Hooking up with a fine backing band comprised of drummer Tommy Aldridge, guitarist Pat Thrall, and bassist Mars Cowling, the new Travers band lineup premiered on 1979’s Heat in the Street. This led to Travers’ most commercially successful period, resulting in a pair of Top 30 releases, 1979’s Live! Go For What You Know (considered by many Travers fans to be his finest hour) and 1980’s Crash and Burn.
