Pat Travers
May 31, 2025 · Doors open at 7:00 pm
Pat Travers
Pat Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. Soon after picking up the guitar at age 12, he saw Jimi Hendrix perform in Ottawa. Travers began playing in bands early in his teens; his first bands were the Music Machine (not to be confused with the Californian psychedelic/garage band of the same name), Red Hot, and Merge, which played in clubs in the Quebec area.
While performing with Merge, he was noticed by rock artist Ronnie Hawkins, who invited Travers to perform with him. In his early twenties Travers moved to London and signed a recording contract with the Polydor label. His self-titled debut album was released in 1976, and featured bassist Peter “Mars” Cowling, who would become a mainstay in Travers’ band for several years. An appearance on the German TV show Rockpalast in November 1976 was later released on DVD under the title Hooked on Music. This performance showcases an early version of Travers’ band featuring Cowling and drummer.
During 1977, Travers added a second guitarist to his band, changed drummers twice including using Clive Edwards, and by the time Heat in the Street was released in 1978 had put together the Pat Travers Band. This grouping featured Travers on vocals and guitar, Pat Thrall on guitar, Cowling on bass, and Tommy Aldridge on drums and percussion. The band toured heavily, also supporting Rush on their Drive til You Die tour in support of A Farewell to Kings.
The guitar Travers most often appeared with on stage and on album covers in the band’s early years was a 1964/65 model double cutaway, double humbucker pickup Gibson Melody Maker.
The Pat Travers Band (PTB) currently consists of Pat Travers (guitars, vocals, keyboards), drummer Alex Petrosky and David Pastorius (bass/vocals) who have been together for the last several years, and recorded two studio albums together.
More…
Taz Taylor
Taz Taylor was exposed at a very early age to the golden era of Rock Guitar playing. Michael Schenker in UFO and then in his own band MSG, Gary Moore in his late-70s/early-80s heyday, Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee and of course the early Van Halen albums, all left an indelible mark on the musical psyche of Taz.