Travis (2015)

Blues guitarist Travis Haddix was born on November 26, 1938. A native of Walnut, MS, Haddix was inspired in his early years by B.B. King's broadcasts on WDIA out of Memphis. In Cleveland, OH, where he has lived since 1959, Haddix developed into a fine modern bluesman and songwriter with an original and soulful touch. While he had been developing his chops in front of rowdy audiences at juke joints and blues festivals throughout the '70s, he didn't begin his recording career in earnest until he signed with the Ichiban label in 1988. His stylish and poppy albums Wrong Side Out (1988), Winners Never Quit (1991), and What I Know Right Now (1992), were, incredibly, released while Haddix continued his job as a postal worker in Ohio. As his popularity continued to grow, he began traveling to Europe several times a year and won numerous blues awards in both Europe and the States…

Stevie Ray Vaughan had always been a phenomenal guitarist, but prior to In Step, his songwriting was hit or miss. Even when he wrote a classic modern blues song, it was firmly within the genre's conventions; only on Soul to Soul's exquisite soul-blues "Life Without You" did he attempt to stretch the boundaries of the form. As it turns out, that was the keynote for In Step, an album where Vaughan found his own songwriting voice, blending blues, soul, and rock in unique ways, and writing with startling emotional honesty.

Bad Boys Blue is a multinational dance-pop group formed in Cologne, Germany, in 1984 and originally featuring British lead singer John McInerney, American Andrew Thomas, and Jamaican-born Trevor Taylor. After Taylor left the group in 1988, he was replaced by Trevor Travis; upon scoring a number 89 chart hit in 1993 with "Save Your Love," Travis exited as well, and Bad Boys Blue continued as a duo until adding Mo Russel in 1995. His 1999 departure made way for Jo Jo Max.

Throughout American Graffiti’s runtime, one may be inclined to say that Strawberry Girls have matured. In comparison to French Ghetto, the songs are tighter, the production crisper, and their trademark groove, if anything, is stronger than ever. However, that would imply that the band that made French Ghetto was somehow less mature than the band now, which is simply untrue. From their inception, Strawberry Girls have displayed an amazing level of finesse with their songwriting that normally takes years to develop, striking a perfect balance between their trademark aggressive groove-laden sound and a progressive edge that keeps each song fresh. So what then could you call the sound found American Graffiti if not a maturation" How about an expansion"…