Pat Thrall
| Pat Thrall | |
|---|---|
| Origin | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Guitarist |
| Instruments | Guitar, percussion |
| Years active | 1972-present |
| Associated acts | Hughes/Thrall, Asia, Meat Loaf |
Pat Thrall is an American rock guitarist. A native of the San Francisco area, he began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album New Day in 1972.
Thrall was born and raised in Alameda, California. Starting as a drummer at 11, then moving to guitar at 13, by age 15 he joined the Alameda band “Cookin’ Mama”. The band had some success in the San Francisco Bay Area and released the album “New Day” in 1972. At age 18 Thrall was involved in the first ever instructional book for rock guitar titled “Improvising Rock Guitar Vol 1”.
Thrall has worked with former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes on the Hughes/Thrall project, and was a member of the Pat Travers Band during the peak of their success. He co-wrote one of Pat Travers' biggest hits, a hard-driving tune entitled Snortin' Whiskey, which became one of the most requested songs on American radio in 1980. Thrall later joined Asia, and played lead guitar for Meat Loaf during that artist's major comeback in the 1990s.
He began attracting attention as a guitarist in 1976 after the release of "Automatic Man" (signed by Chris Blackwell-Island Records), a band that was put together by former Santana drummer, Michael Shrieve. The band recorded their first album in London with Keith Harwood producing (Led Zeppelin "Presence", Rolling Stones "Black and Blue"). In 1978, Thrall was chosen for the co-lead spot with Pat Travers. He recorded on three LP's with Travers: Heat In The Street, Go For What You Know and Crash And Burn. Their first hit was "Boom Boom Out Goes The Lights". The latter LP featured the FM hit, "Snortin' Whiskey", which Thrall co-wrote with Travers.
Thrall came to the attention of Glenn Hughes; the chemistry between the two clicked immediately when they formed Hughes/Thrall in 1981 in Los Angeles. The album was co-produced by Andy Johns and Rob Fraboni. The record was not a commercial success but furthered Thrall's reputation with many musicians at the time citing the Hughes/Thrall record as a major inspiration. Gary Moore gave Thrall a nod crediting him for "inspiration" on the Gary Moore & G-Force album.
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