Blues Traveler

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Blues Traveler is an American jam band from Princeton, New Jersey. Currently, the group is led by harmonica virtuoso John Popper (vocals, harmonica) along with Chan Kinchla (guitar), Brendan Hill (b. March 27, 1970, in London, England, UK) (drums), Tad Kinchla (b. February 21, 1973, in Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A.) (bass) and Ben Wilson (b. November 17, 1967, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.) (keyboards). Tad Kinchla and Ben Wilson joined the band following the death of original bassist Bobby Sheehan in 1999 of a drug overdose in New Orleans.

While Blues Traveler is best known among fans for their improvisational live shows, the general public is most familiar with the group from their fourth studio album Four. Released in 1994, the two singles "Run-Around" and "Hook" gained mainstream radio popularity.

Blues Traveler's subsequent releases were not as successful as the quintuple platinum sales of Four, though the band has maintained a loyal fanbase from the beginning of their career. Their albums with A&M in the later 1990s include Straight on Till Morning and Bridge.

The group signed with Sanctuary Records and released Truth Be Told on August 5, 2003. Their latest album, ¡Bastardos!, was released on September 13, 2005.

Sheehan's untimely death in 1999 and Popper's struggle with obesity put a damper on the group's success, and A&M dropped the band after low sales of their 2001 album Bridge. However, the band took this transition period as an opportunity to start in new directions musically. Popper, who at one point weighed in at a dangerous 420 pounds, had gastric bypass surgery in 2000 and is no longer obese.

Contents

1 Blues Traveler live concert recording subculture
2 Trivia
3 Discography

3.1 Studio albums
3.2 Live albums
3.3 Miscellaneous

4 External links

Blues Traveler live concert recording subculture

Blues Traveler's fanbase includes a subculture devoted to recording and distributing live shows. This is legal, as stated in the band's taping and distribution policy [link], as well as encouraged by the band members themselves, provided that no money changes hands and no profit is made.

The band has also given permission for live fan-made recordings to be hosted on the [Live Music Archive]. Recordings available there span from 1986 through the present day.

Trivia

Blues Traveler shared stories of their evolution as a band on the VH1 television program Behind the Music.
The band appeared in a 1995 episode of the sitcom Roseanne, as the former band of character Dan Conner. Later, the band recorded the theme song for the show.
Blues Traveler appeared as an Amish band in the film Kingpin.
Blues Traveler appeared as themselves in the movie Blues Brothers 2000. They also appear on the soundtrack with the song "Maybe I'm Wrong".
On September 19, 2005, Blues Traveler played their cover of Beetlejuice's song "This is Beetle" on the Howard Stern radio show.
Super-fan Dave Mallick maintains the unofficial fan website http://bluestraveler.net and has been a central mover and shaker in the distribution of live concert recordings.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Image:LiveFromtheFall.jpg|Live From the Fall
(1996) Image:BT_wyaihbt.jpg|
(2002) Image:BT_OnTheRocks.jpg|Live on the Rocks
(2004)

Miscellaneous

Image:BT Travelogue.jpg|
(2002)

External links

Blues Traveler

John Popper | Chan Kinchla | Brendan Hill | Tad Kinchla | Ben Wilson

Discography

Live albums: Live from the Fall | | Live on the Rocks

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