On the Road Again: George Thorogood
On the Road Again, Paste BN's spotlight on artists on tour, this week looks at bluesy rockers George Thorogood and the Destroyers.
Six-string extravaganza. When George Thorogood and the Destroyers hit the road with Brian Setzer's Rockabilly Riot! May 27 in Red Bank, N.J., concertgoers will get a double shot of rock-and-roll guitar. With hits like Bad to the Bone and One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer, Thorogood bases his sound in Chicago blues and boogie, while Setzer carries the flag for rockabilly. "There's a passion from both angles, but it's a clear-cut distinction of styles," says Thorogood, 65.
Off to a fast start. After playing a few acoustic shows on his own, Thorogood formed the Destroyers in 1973 with drummer Jeff Simon, who still plays with him. The group played its first gig at University of Delaware's Lane Hall. "We had only had one or two practices, and it was kind of a lark," Thorogood says. "When we started playing, the room took off. Jeff and I were quite alarmed by this. We hadn't even done with the first set, and people were going, 'Where are you playing next?'"
Thank goodness for grandmothers. Early in the Destroyers' touring career, the band destroyed the transmission of their used Volkswagen van. Simon's grandmother saved the day by dipping into her pension fund and buying the group a brand-new Chevrolet van. "This is what saved our life," Thorogood says. "We used it as a motel, we practiced our guitars in it, we drove it. Having that happen to us was a big, big break for us."
B-b-b-b-bad. Thorogood wrote signature hit Bad to the Bone after touring with the Rolling Stones and the J. Geils Band in 1981 and realizing he needed a song that would be identifiable from its first notes, like the Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfacton or Geils' Centerfold. "I heard them doing that and thought, 'That's what you have to do.' All rock classics have that intro where you immediately turn the radio up and start driving faster."
Hey! Bo Diddley. Thorogood has opened for Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, jammed with Muddy Waters, but Bo Diddley will always have a special place in his heart. "Bo Diddley is one of the people who was close to me, technically," says Thorogood, who played with the first-generation rocker and Albert Collins at Live Aid in 1985 and on several other occasions. "We became, if you can become close to Bo Diddley … let's put it this way: He was always nice to me."
The big game. Like most musicians who've achieved the luxury of taking off days, Thorogood makes a point of not playing on certain anniversaries, birthdays and key family events. And Super Bowl Sunday. "I did a Super Bowl gig once," he says. "That was part of the ticket, to watch the Super Bowl on the big screen, then our band was going to play. Big mistake. First of all, they served a turkey dinner, which has that tryptophan in it that makes you drowsy. And it was a self-seater. And the game went into overtime. By the time we hit the stage, everyone was zonked out."
Dates for the George Thorogood/Brian Setzer co-headlining tour follow:
May
27 - Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, N.J.
29 – Beacon Theatre, New York, N.Y.
30 - CMAC, Canandaigua, N.Y.
31 – Pier Six Pavilion, Baltimore, Md.
June
2 – Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio
4 – Casino Rama Entertainment Centre, Rama, Ont.
5 - DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit
6 - Grand Victoria Casino, Elgin, Ill
8 - Riverside Theater, Milwaukee
9 - Surf Ballroom, Clear Lake, Iowa
10 - McGrath Amphitheatre, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
12 - Jackpot Junction Casino, Morton, Minn.
13 – Harrah's Council Bluffs – Stir Concert Cove, Council Bluffs, Iowa
14 – Hudson Gardens, Littleton, Colo.
16 - Sandia Resort & Casino, Albuquerque, N.M.
18 – Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, San Diego
19 - Thunder Valley Casino, Lincoln, Calif.
20 - Mountain Winery, Saratoga, Calif.