Road Runner

Last month, Texas blues guitar slinger Pat Boyack spent his 30th birthday the same place where he spends most of his time--on the road.

“I was in Tallahassee [Fla.]. It was just another night,” Boyack said. “I was sitting in a hotel room somewhere.”

Such is the glamorous life of an up-and-coming musician with a CD to promote--traveling is part of the job.

During a rare visit to his Dallas home, Boyack took some time out last week to talk on the phone.

“I’m home for a week,” Boyack said. “I’d say about 250 days a year I’m on the road.”

And for the next couple of weeks, it’s L.A.’s turn. Pat Boyack and the Prowlers play Friday night at B. B. King’s on Universal CityWalk and July 19 at Cozy’s in Sherman Oaks.

Boyack is riding into town to show off his guitar licks and promote his new album, “Super Blue & Funky.” The CD, released Tuesday, is his third album for Bullseye Records, a Rounder subsidiary.

“Personally, I think it’s the best one I’ve done yet,” Boyack said. “But, of course, every new record’s going to be the best one.”

Raised in the small town of Helper, Utah, Boyack might have headed for work in the coal mines, like his dad and his brothers before him. Instead, he went to Utah State University, where he majored in music. He had been playing rock guitar since he was 15. At Utah State he discovered the blues.

In 1991, he moved to Dallas and dived headfirst into that city’s flourishing blues scene. In 1993, he teamed up with singer Jimmy Morello, and Pat Boyack and the Prowlers was formed.

By 1994, Boyack and his bandmates were recording their debut album, “Breakin’ In,” in Memphis, Tenn. They followed up with “On the Prowl” in 1996.

Shortly after the release of the second album, the original band broke up. Morello split to pursue a solo career. The situation briefly left Boyack without a band. But not for long.

He hooked up with a new producer, Mark “Kaz” Kazanoff. And Boyack left the green pastures of Memphis, where he recorded the first two albums, for the greener pastures of Austin, Texas.

Boyack wrote 10 of the 14 tracks on “Super Blue & Funky.” He’s the lead guitarist, but he doesn’t sing. So blues singer W.C. Clarke, known for his early work with Stevie Ray Vaughn, guests on two tracks--”Righteous Love” and “Why Must I Suffer?” And the new Prowler lead singer, Spenser Thomas, handles the rest.

“I’ve known Spenser for about five years,” Boyack said. “I’ve always liked Spenser’s singing. He’s a great guy, he’s a class act, he’s professional.”

Rather than using the same set of Prowlers on every song, Boyack allowed himself the luxury of using some of the best musicians available in Austin’s deep talent pool.

“Since I was in Austin, I was able to get a lot of great musicians,” Boyack said. “I was able to pick and choose according to the style of the song.”

And “Super Blue & Funky” shows off a variety of musical styles. Boyack seems to be trying each on for size, one by one, looking for one that fits completely right. Possibly reflecting his working-class background, Boyack’s music retains a blue-collar, workmanlike quality. Some cuts have horns, some don’t, but each has Boyack’s guitar front and center.

“I want to develop my own sound,” he said. “I don’t want to be a copy.”

So those birthdays in hotel rooms will probably continue for awhile. Still, Boyack’s current goals are relatively modest.

“I’d like this record to outsell the last one, to play for more people and to try to play better and write better,” he said. “Sure, I want to become rich, but I want to do it playing my music.”

*

BE THERE

Pat Boyack and the Prowlers play Friday night at B. B. King’s, Universal CityWalk. $12 cover. (818) 622-5464. Also July 19 at Cozy’s, 14058 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. $5 cover. (818) 986-6000.