An interview with Pat Savage...

I had the pleasure of doing an interview with Canadian biker and rocker Pat Savage. If you are a subscriber to our National biker's Weekly - the Busted Knuckle Chronicles, you got to read that interview in the paper on Thursday.  I thought I would share that interview with everyone else today.

Tomorrow I will share my review of his new CD - Wind & Fire.

Pat Savage Interview Q & A - Wind & Fire CD Release & Pay Per View Series

BDB - I have known you for about 10 years now, I remember you playing at the Redneck Run in Beaverlodge Alberta years back – you were still playing at 7 in the morning because there were still people up grooving to the tunes you were playing.

·      What gives you such a passion for making your fans happy?

  PS -I’m generally a happy go lucky biker bear, riding & singing my life away for over 30 years now & what makes me happy is to inspire others to embrace life & live it to the fullest. I’m also a passionate guy who knows how to write songs about our biker’s lifestyle & make a decent living from it. It enables me to then able to tour the entire world wherever there are Harley folks & share it with them. 

·    BDB - You took some time off recently, to recharge the batteries and reconnect with your music and soul, is that how John the Revelator came to be? It’s a pretty powerful song about the bible, faith and motorcycles so I am curious…what inspired that song?

·          PS - I’d been touring nonstop for over 29 years & needed a real break to make some personal changes. For example my hatred of the dentist & my ignorance about how much you’re teeth actually affect your physical wellbeing. Mine were very bad & I was overweight & somewhat lazy doing lots of time in front of the computer making music or editing film & promotional tasks. I went to Thailand & got myself new teeth, lost 20 kilos & developed a much healthier lifestyle. I got the inspiration from the last episode of the first season of Sons Of Anarchy at the funeral scene when this fine old traditional gospel song started playing giving me the willies. I grabbed my guitar & started my own bluesy version. I’m a devout Buddhist but raised Catholic so it struck many spiritual chords in me.

·     BDB - Your music reflects not only your love for the road and your motorcycle, it seems to reflect a certain loyalty to the first responders of the Fire Department, tell me about how the Wind & Fire Motorcycle club inspired this album.

  PS -  I signed with SONY Europe in 2003 & subsequently moved over to Germany to be closer to my new biker market after having toured every state & province in North America. I performed at Harley Davidson Club Kempen’s rally in Belgium & there I met Eddy Styveson & Berry DeGynst, the European president & VP of Wind & Fire MC. They asked me to be the European Representative & I agreed. After moving back to Canada I was asked to be the International Celebrity Representative, which I am currently. The title track is dedicated to them & the lyrics are about riding Harley after risking their lives everyday in their perilous jobs. 

·      BDB - You have played with some of the best of the best in the industry, which musician, which singer has inspired you the most…that’s 2 questions rolled into one.

  PS - Well this is a tough one wrapped up into two! BB King & Joe Cocker is at the top of a very long list of inspiring artists I’ve had the pleasure to warm up the stage for. Both of these guys are good examples of career longevity & are constantly upping their game rather than fading away. I have played with many great artists & am blessed.

·     BDB -   I know from our discussions about Savage Roads the Pay per View series that you have and are riding with motorcyclists around the world experiencing their little piece of heaven on earth, what drove you to doing a series like this? It has to be a massive undertaking.

 PS - The premise of my upcoming series The Savage Roads is simply this. We travel to exotic places with our cameras & get up on Harley’s and, with the local biker folks as our guide, we explore local, regional & national art, music, cuisine, history, architecture & biker friendly hangouts and & stops along the road. We are traveling to exotic places therefore we’re rollin down the road less traveled. The “Savage” roads if you will. It is a huge undertaking but we shoot simply & without all the catering & huge trucks. More commando style we just roll film & capture it all.

Pat Savage 

·       BDB - Do you think that this series will inspire future albums?  I know, silly question – you get your inspiration from the road and the people you connect with, but something tells me you have already got another album in mind…care to share a little about that?

    

        PS - Well this Wind & Fire CD took us one full year to record in Legend Studios in Phuket Thailand with South African producer Gary Crause writing & recording the tunes with me. It’s a very good CD & hope you will agree & more importantly the thousands of biker fans I’ve got all over the planet. Next up I’m recording an acoustic unplugged style CD called “Savage Steel”. I’m working with my step dad Fred Steele & two very talented biker poets Larry Scerri & Eddie Sorez to write some ballad type biker tunes. Also covering David Allen Coe’s “That Old Pan Head Of Mine” & writing tributes to my friends “Ode To Billy Lane” & “Indian Larry”. Acoustic guitar based ballads with banjos, mandolins & harmonicas playin along. This is will come out early next spring & you will be the first to get a copy!

·       BDB - What has it been like for you the last two years, working on both an album and a video series?  Have you been “enjoying the ride?’ It seems to me that even after entertaining for 30 years you are enjoying your work more now than at any point in your career, and it comes through in your album, there seems to be an honesty that shines through in this album in a way it never has before.

      PS - Well thank you for this compliment my friend. It’s very true that after 30 years of nonstop “rippin it” onstage & off all around the globe, I went through some personal changes & went deeper into my soul than ever before & taking a long overdue break from touring to shoot an episode of “The Savage Roads” in Krabi Thailand & recording “Wind & Fire”. The road is long & winding, but we always keep on finding, brand new roads to travel & some well-deserved stops along the ride.

Thank you for this opportunity to let my Canadian bikers fans know about the best Harley ridin music I’ve ever written & recorded Betty. ML&R

Pat Savage

Visit Pat's Web Site at: www.savageroads.com/wind-fire

In other news:

The Hell's Angels in London Ontario are under close scrutiny

In Surrey BC - Monte Robinson, the RCMP officer involved in a crash that killed rider Orian Hutchinson will finally appear before a judge.

 In the US - Arizona Bike Week has released their concert information

Also in the US, Prince Harry rides a Harley in Nevada

In sports - Suzuki takes a break from MotoGP

There's a ton of other news from the week end that may be of interest to you, you can check out the daily news feeds at www.beltdrivebetty.com

I leave you with a few of the funnies from around the net that have tickled my funny bone...

Happy Monday everyone,

Belt Drive Betty

Editor & Rider