the BLUES DOCTOR
Pat O'Brien
Pat O'Brien is a Pittsburgh native who began his musical career at the age of eleven. He began immersing himself in the works of Elmore James and Albert King. In his early twenties he was billed with such blues legends as Willie Dixon and Howlin' Wolf. After which, he became a veteran of numerous recording sessions throughout the United States and Japan.
​
One of Pat's more celebrated efforts, "Dog Party" with noted jazz guitarist Scott Henderson, won Guitar Player Magazine Readers Poll Winner for Best Blues Album of the Year (beating out B.B. King's, "Blues Summit" and Eric Clapton's, "From the Cradle" in the process). Pat's searing harp solo on "Milk Bone" simply must be heard to be believed!
​
While most musicians would be content with half of Pat's ability to lay down scorching runs on the blues harp, his passionate vocals and uncanny ability to interpret the works of Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughan have turned the little night club in Arcadia, California where he works his magic into a cash cow for the owners, packing the place every Friday and Saturday night.
Throwing his head back, ripping of scalding runs on the blues progressions and sliding the neck of his '66 Strat down the mike stand, Pat is a frantic combination of Keith Richards, Buddy Guy and Jimi Hendrix, with a little Brian Setzer thrown in for good measure!
"Pat is truly one of my favorite blues musicians. He plays the best harp in the world and it's just not fair that he's also a killer guitarist. Truly scary!"
-Scott Henderson