THUNDER BAY – It’s been four long years since George Thorogood, the rocker behind hits like Bad to the Bone, Move it on Over, and I Drink Alone, has played to Thunder Bay audiences, but that doesn’t mean anything has been forgotten.
“For better or for worse, whether you love us or you don’t, once you see us you remember us,” Thorogood said in an interview with Tbnewswatch. “If you haven’t seen us, I would say have a good night’s rest and a good meal because you are going to need your energy.”
Thorogood and the Destroyers will be playing the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium on Tuesday, May 1. With more than 15 million albums sold and more than 8,000 live shows, Thorogood has been making hit music for the last 40 years.
But even in all that time, there are some things Thorogood still hasn’t done, at least until now. In August 2017, Thorogood released what he called his first and last solo album, Party of One.
“It was something that was long overdue,” he said. “I was meaning to do it ever since I picked up a guitar.”
The album was released by Rounder Records and includes Thorogood performing 15 songs from traditional blues, modern blues, and rock artists, including John Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Brownie McGhee, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, and Johnny Cash.
“When we first started doing the many acoustic things I used to do before, some of them were songs I’ve been doing alone and then we did the rock and roll versions,” Thorogood said. “We did those and halfway through it, we said is that enough material to stretch these things out? Why not start doing songs by people who admired or influenced you.”
Bringing his own distinct high energy sound to some of these artists was challenging, not only musically, but physically.
“It put a lot of pressure on me,” Thorogood said. ”It put pressure on my hands. How I prepare for it is a lot of rest and a lot of sleep the night before.”
And while this is his first solo effort, Thorogood said there will not be another because there is nothing more for him to do.
“I’ve run the gauntlet of what I can do,” he said. “This is pretty much all I’ve got in me to do that. It wouldn’t make it as special. That’s why I say it’s Party of One. There will be no Party of One part two.”
Audiences in Thunder Bay can expect to hear all their favourites, which are just as much fun to play for Thorogood and the band as it is for the audience to hear.
“They've become favorites, popular or whatever, and that’s what did them for,” he said. “Now what we achieved that, we’re going to keep playing them. That’s why people pay for the tickets.”
