(RockAndMetal.com) (08/13/04)

By Michael Bennett

NEW YORK, NY, USA - Whenever rock icons like guitarist/vocalist Pat Travers and drummer Carmine Appice work together, enlisting the support of bassist T.M. Stevens into the bargain, the result is bound to be a technically accomplished project oozing sheer energy and power.

The upcoming album by TRAVERS & APPICE, "It Takes A Lot Of Balls," scheduled for release October 4th via SPV Records, looks like it'll live up to its promising title by the sound of things so far.

Powerful Blues/Rock with gritty guitar riffs, driving drum sounds and intricate bass grooves mark the album's 13 tracks, be it the compelling opener 'Better From A Distance,' the ripping 'I Don't Care,' the Southern Rock vibe of 'Can't Escape The Fire,' or the sober sounds of 'Hey You.'

Pat Travers proves to be not only an expert when it comes to dynamic power chords and fast solos, he also sprinkles in fantastic slide parts and demonstrates with 'Stand Up' that he knows his Funk/Rock.

"The recordings were cut in one go, the album was written almost exclusively at the studio," Carmine Appice enthuses.

"We'd planned one or two tracks, but the material seemed to almost write itself."

"I've been a fan of Pat's for a long time. This collaboration was definitely worth waiting for all those years."

Pat Travers has been one of America's more renowned Blues/Rock guitarists for close to thirty years now.

His 1977 album, "Makin' Magic," is considered a milestone of the genre, his early shows (frequently performed barefoot and marked by wild gesticulations) were indications of a great career in the making.

Travers was born on April 12, 1954, in Toronto, Canada.

He saw Jimi Hendrix live, played with Rock 'N' Roll legend Ronnie Hawkins and emigrated to London, where he brought out his first album.

Towards the end of the Seventies, Travers had his most successful era in commercial terms, releasing the top sellers "Pat Travers Band Live! Go For What You Know" and "Radio Active," featuring the singles 'Boom, Boom' and 'Is It Love,' before moving to Orlando, Florida, where he concentrated increasingly on the American market.

Enlisting the support of renowned musicians like Jeff Watson (Night Ranger), Rick Derringer and Tim Keiffer (Cinderella) for his tours, 2001 saw Pat Travers participate in the Voices Of Classic Rock tour, which presented to enthusiastic audiences popular musicians from major Seventies and Eighties bands, among them Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes and vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, John Cafferty, Spencer Davis and Gary U.S. Bonds, to name but a few.

Every artist got to play three of his own tracks during that tour, Travers standing out with the anthems 'Boom Boom', 'Snorting Whiskey' and 'Hot Shot.'

Drummer Carmine Appice has garnered countless awards and prizes during the course of his long career, having formed the legendary Vanilla Fudge in the Sixties, followed by all-star troupe Cactus, a few years later.

He went on to play with guitar legend Jeff Beck and bassist Tim Bogert in the trio Beck, Bogert & Appice, worked for jazz rock bassist Stanley Clarke and played with Rolling Stone Ron Wood.

Appice also toured with Rod Stewart and co-wrote mega hits with him like 'Do You Think I'm Sexy' and 'Young Turks.'

In the mid-Eighties, he founded the heavy metal band, King Kobra, and later joined Ozzy Osbourne and Ted Nugent, Pink Floyd also being among the bands on Appice's resume.

He also published the textbook, 'Realistic Rock', which has sold over 300,000 copies to date, his drum workshops and clinics commanding large attendance throughout the world.

Bassist T. M. Stevens has also played with some of the most prestigious artists from both the Pop and Rock music scenes, recording with James Brown, Nona Hendryx, Joe Cocker (Unchain My Heart, One Night Of Sins, Nightcalls), The Pretenders, Little Steven (Freedom - No Compromise), Tina Turner (Foreign Affairs), Billy Squier (Enough Is Enough), James Brown (Gravity), Billy Joel (River Of Dreams) and Steve Vai (Sex And Religion).

In the Nineties, Stevens also substantiated his excellent reputation as a producer, responsible for the 1997 tribute album Black Night: Deep Purple Tribute, featuring guests like Joe Lynn Turner, Corey Glover, Will Calhoun or Bernie Worrell.

T. M. Stevens also released three successful solo albums, "Boom" (1995), "Sticky Wicked" (1997) and "Radioactive" (1999) during that period, his fourth solo effort seeing the light of day in 2001.

"It Takes A Lot Of Balls" highlights the trademarks of these three exceptional musicians, and the result is a timeless, ambitiously-recorded, powerful Blues/Rock album that highlights not only the technical competence of each musician but also their songwriting ability.

As Carmine Appice describes "It Takes A Lot Of Balls": "These are some of the best songs that I've ever written and recorded."

"It Takes A Lot Of Balls" Track Listing:

1. Better From A Distance
2. Taken (The Iguana Song)
3. I Don't Care
4. Remind Me
5. Gotta Have Ya
6. Hey You
7. Stand Up
8. Can't Escape The Fire
9. I Can't Let You Go
10. Rock Me
11. Never Saw It Comin'
12. Keep On Rockin'
13. PT Slide

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