Seasick Steve

A classic storytelling singer whose takes influence from traditional country blues, Seasick Steve hopped freight trains and worked odd jobs for decades before finding success with the release of his 2006 sophomore effort, Dog House Music, which reached number 37 in the U.K. Albums Chart. Constant touring and a steady stream of well-received albums like Hubcap Music, Can U Cook?, and Love & Peace have allowed him to extend his second act into the 2020s. After the minimalist, totally solo Blues in Mono, he returned with the 2024 full band set A Trip a Stumble a Fall Down on Your Knees. Seasick Steve (born Steven Gene Wold) spent his childhood in California but left home at 14. As a hobo, he traveled for several years, jumping trains and working odd jobs. After drifting around the U.S. and Europe, he finally ended up in Norway. Aside from his respectable musical background (which includes recording early Modest Mouse, appearing on BBC television, and playing with John Lee Hooker), Wold is also noted for his unusual custom-made stringed instruments. By the time he was in his sixties, he'd finally released some official material. His first solo album, Doghouse Music, out in late 2006, was performed almost entirely by Wold. Another record, Cheap, was recorded with the Swedish rhythm section the Level Devils. An amorous seven-track Valentine's Day EP called Songs for Elisabeth (six of the cuts were culled from previous releases) arrived in 2010. With a rustic and at times almost punk-blues approach to his material, Wold increasingly merged country-blues-trance-boogie with a street-holler vocal that makes Tom Waits seem like a mainstream crooner, and the best of his songs carry a hard-earned wisdom that can only come from living on the street one block over from the edge of civility. He released the stark and powerful You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks in 2011, and returned in 2013 with his sixth offering, Hubcap Music, which featured guest appearances from Jack White and Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. In 2015, Seasick Steve showed that his blues power was still running strong with the release of the album Sonic Soul Surfer and its 2016 follow-up Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground. He continued touring and playing the festival circuit, eventually heading to Florida with his band to re-enter the studio. The resulting record, 2018's Can U Cook?, captured Steve's sunnier side and led to one of his most consistently upbeat albums yet. The musician's tenth set arrived two years later: titled Love & Peace, it featured contributions from Dan Magnusson (Crazy Dan), Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), and Malcolm Arison (The BossHoss) and saw release in May 2020. Later that November, Wold issued Blues in Mono, a 12-track solo set of country-blues classics recorded directly on a 1940s microphone to an old tape machine. After this decidedly lo-fi set, he returned to full band work on 2024's rousing A Trip a Stumble a Fall Down on Your Knees. ~ Kenyon Hopkin & Steve Leggett