Seasick Steve

Seasick Steve is the stage name of Steven Gene Wold, an American blues musician from Oakland, United States, born in 1941. His work is rooted in acoustic blues, blues, country blues, modern blues, blues rock, folk and country. He is known for playing customised guitars and for singing about his early working life and travel.

Early life

Wold grows up in Oakland, California. When he is four, his parents split up. His father plays boogie-woogie piano, and Wold tries to learn piano when he is five or six, but cannot. He starts guitar at the age of eight, learning from K. C. Douglas, who works at his grandfather’s garage. Wold later realises that this is his first exposure to the blues. Douglas also writes “Mercury Blues” and has previously played with Tommy Johnson in the early 1940s.

He leaves home at 13 to avoid abuse from his stepfather. For the years that follow, until 1973, he lives rough and travels through Tennessee, Mississippi and other places. He often moves by freight train and looks for seasonal work as a farm labourer or in similar jobs. At different times he works as a carnie, a cowboy and a migrant worker. He later sums up this period by saying that he has been all three of the hobo, tramp and bum categories.

Name and image

The name Seasick Steve comes from an episode on a ferry from Norway to Copenhagen, when he is ill and a friend starts using the nickname. Wold says the name fits because he gets seasick and does not like boats. His stage identity becomes closely linked with “The Trance Wonder”, a worn guitar he credits with much of his success.

Recording and live career

His first UK television appearance is on Jools Holland’s annual Hootenanny on New Year’s Eve 2006, where he performs “Dog House Boogie” using the “Three String Trance Wonder” and the “Mississippi Drum Machine”. After that performance, he becomes much more widely known in Britain. In 2007 he wins the MOJO Award for Best Breakthrough Act and appears at major UK festivals including Reading, Leeds and Glastonbury. That year he plays more UK festivals than any other artist.

He tours the UK extensively through 2008 and is joined on stage by drummer Dan Magnusson. KT Tunstall duets with him at the London Astoria in January 2008. He also appears at festivals in other countries in 2008, including Fuji Rock in Japan, the East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival in Australia and Roskilde in Denmark.

Albums, collaborators and later recognition

His major-label debut, I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left, is recorded with Dan Magnusson on drums and released by Warner Music. The album includes contributions from Ruby Turner and Nick Cave’s Grinderman. In 2009 he is nominated for a Brit Award in the International Solo Male Artist category, and BBC Four broadcasts Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home, a documentary following him through the southern United States. He also hosts Folk America: Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers at the Barbican in London, in a programme shown on BBC Four alongside the documentary.

In January 2010 he appears on Top Gear as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car, becoming the last star to drive the blue Chevrolet Lacetti. He is nominated again for the Brit Award for International Solo Male Artist in 2010. That summer he appears at festivals including Glastonbury, V Festival and Hop Farm Festival.

In 2011 he signs to Play It Again Sam for a new album, with Third Man Records handling the US release. You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks follows, and former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones plays on the album and performs with him in support of it. In 2014 he headlines Beautiful Days in Exeter and Victorious Festival in Southsea.