ROBIN TROWER at the Grove of Anaheim Jun 17
Long-time 60s guitarist, Robin Trower, heads to The Grove of Anaheim Jun 17 reviving his legendary atmospheric take on blues-rock a la Cream as well as the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
“I still love to come out and play shows – particularly in America – because quite often the response of the audience can get me to places on guitar that I can’t get to any other way,” Trower said.
Trower has a number of classic, iconic songs that he’s been performing for an untold number of years, yet he is still able to relate to the older tunes.
“I enjoy playing the old material mainly because it still has great potency,” Trower confirmed. “Songs like ‘Lady Love’, and ‘Day of the Eagle’ are fun to play and ‘Daydream’ and ‘Bridge of Sighs’ still challenge me.
“The current set is laid out to feature the most popular songs from the early albums with a cross section of more recent material plus one or two from the current CD.”
With over 20 studio albums, the current CD, Something’s About To Change, was written in a slightly different way to previous releases.
“With this new album I found myself writing songs that were a lot more personal to me, particularly as I had decided I would sing all the songs,” Trower said.
The striking blue cover with a sun-shaped icon in shades of gold grace the album jacket, making it the third cover designed by Trower.
“The original idea came from the first working title of the CD, Dreams That Shone Like Diamonds,” he explained. “I realized that Something’s About to Change was a better title but we decided to keep my art anyway.”
Being a master guitar-player and owner of multiple axes, Trower travels with surprisingly few instruments.
“I’ll be playing three or four guitars. I always leave some behind,” he confirmed. “My current favorite is a new one that the Fender Custom Shop built for me last year – that will be my number one for the forthcoming tour.
“My dad bought me my first guitar for Christmas. It was a cello-type instrument, and cost £7.10 (seven pounds and ten pence).”
The tour lineup will be the same as for the previous US tour with Richard Watts on bass guitar and vocals, and the powerhouse Chris Taggart on drums.
Trower claims he doesn’t get nervous before playing but he does have one ritual/routine.
“I always warm up on the guitar for twenty minutes or so, and I usually feel a special excitement before I go on.”