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{{Short description|American blues musician (born 1951)}}
{{Infobox Band
{{Infobox musical artist
| band_name = Seasick Steve
| imagename = Seasick Steve
| captionimage = Festival des Vieilles Charrues 2017 - Seasick Steve{{rfu -c|[[2007-02-05]]}} 074.jpg
| caption = Seasick Steve in 2017
| years_active = Unknown–Present
| birth_name = Steven Gene Leach
|origin = [[Oakland, California]]
| countrybirth_date = [[United{{birth Statesdate ofand America]]age|1951|3|19}}
| music_genrebirth_place = [[BluesOakland, California]], U.S.
| alias = Steven Gene Wold
| record_label = Dead Skunk Records <br /> [http://www.bronzerat.co.uk Bronzerat]<br />
| origin =
| website = [http://www.seasicksteve.com http://www.seasicksteve.com]<br/>}}
| genre = {{hlist|[[Country blues]]|[[blues]]|{{nowrap|[[blues rock]]}}<ref>{{Allmusic|class=artist|id=mn0001939829|label=Seasick Steve|first=Kenyon|last=Hopkin|access-date=November 29, 2015}}</ref>}}
| occupation = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter|recording engineer}}
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar|[[diddley bow]]|[[stomp box]]|[[banjo]]|harmonica}}
| years_active =
| label = {{hlist|[[Caroline International]]|[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]]|[[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]|[[Bronzerat Records|Bronzerat]]|[[Third Man Records|Third Man]]|Dead Skunk}}
| associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Shanti (band)|Shanti]]|Crystal Grass|[[Modest Mouse]]|The Level Devils|[[Jack White (musician)|Jack White]]|[[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]]}}
| website = {{URL|seasicksteve.com}}
}}
 
'''Steven Gene Wold''' ([[née|né]] '''Leach'''; 19 March 1951),<ref name=":0">[https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/sse.dll?dbid=5247&h=4743576&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=1144 California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, CA, USA: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics, ''Ancestry.com'']. Retrieved August 4, 2019</ref> commonly known as '''Seasick Steve''', is an American [[blues]] musician. He plays mostly personalized guitars and sings, usually about his early life doing casual work.<ref>{{Cite news
'''Steven Wold''', more commonly known as '''Seasick Steve''', is an American [[bluesman]]. He plays guitars (mostly personalised), and sings.
| last = Op de Beeck
| first = Geert
| title = Humo's Pop Poll de Luxe: goed gerief van Seasick Steve
| magazine = [[HUMO]] NR 3467
| page = 158
|date=2007-02-16
}} {{in lang|nl}}<!--Dutch--></ref> From the late 1960s, he worked as a musician and [[recording engineer]] in the US and Europe; he played bass in [[Shanti (band)|Shanti]] and was in a disco band called Crystal Grass as well as other bands.<ref name=stanley>{{cite news|last=Stanley|first=Bob|title=How Seasick Steve turned out to be Session Man Steve|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/sep/29/seasick-steve-session-musician-ramblin-man-book|work=The Guardian|access-date=2 July 2019|location=London|date=2016-09-29}}</ref> He also pursued other works, including producing an album for [[Modest Mouse]]. He achieved his breakthrough, initially in the UK, at the end of 2006 when he appeared on [[Jools Holland]]'s annual ''[[Jools' Annual Hootenanny|Hootenanny]]'' as Seasick Steve.<ref name="ind13">{{cite news|last=McNair|first=James|title=Seasick Steve: I'll keep playing till the wheels fall off|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/seasick-steve-ill-keep-playing-till-the-wheels-fall-off-8588782.html|work=The Independent|access-date=30 September 2013|location=London|date=2013-04-26}}</ref> He has since released a number of commercially successful albums, including ''[[I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left]]'', ''[[Man from Another Time]]'', and ''[[Sonic Soul Surfer]]''.
 
==HistoryLife and career==
 
The publicity about Wold at the time he first became successful in Britain, in the mid-2000s, suggested that he was then aged in his sixties, and emphasised his past as a [[hobo]] in [[Tennessee]] and [[Mississippi]]. In a 2008 interview in Memphis, Wold was quoted as stating: "I came down here as a young feller looking for the blues, but I didn't find them... Wasn't in [[Clarksdale, Mississippi|Clarksdale]] but an hour before a big, old redneck policeman ran me right out of town again. That was how it was back then, and there were some places hereabouts you just didn't go if you were a hobo."<ref name = ObserverSept08>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/sep/14/folk|newspaper=The Observer|title=Only a Hobo|last=O'Hagan|first=Sean|date=2008-09-14|location=London}}</ref> By his own account, he would travel long distances by [[Freighthopping|hopping freight trains]], looking for work as a farm laborer or in other seasonal jobs.<ref name=OGrady/><ref name="Op de Beeck, p. 159">Op de Beeck, p. 159</ref> He claimed that he had worked at a [[carny|carnival]], as a [[cowboy]] and as a [[migrant worker]].<ref name="Bringing it all back home">On the BBC Four documentary ''Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home''</ref> In a 2007 interview, he said: "I rode them <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[freight trains]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> for 14 years off and on..", adding "I've been married to this one girl for 25 years, so I’m a little bit settled down now..."<ref name=dyverse>[http://www.dyversemusic.com/2010/01/rina.html Mike Butler, "Seasick Steve 2007 Interview", ''Dyverse Music'', 9 January 2010]. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref>
His parents split up when he was four years of age. He left home at 14, and spent many years living on the streets in the States. He used to travel long distances by hopping freights. He now lives in [[Notodden]], [[Norway]]. Before becoming a professional blues musician he had dozens of jobs, including being a [[carnie]], [[cowboy]] and a [[migrant worker]]. He has been well received in the U.K, being championed by DJs [[Charlie Gillett]] and [[Andy Kershaw]], and playing at such festivals as [[The Big Chill (music festival)|The Big Chill]] and the [[Tartanheart Festival]].
 
In 2016, an unauthorized biography by Matthew Wright presented evidence that parts of Wold's [[backstory]] may have been exaggerated.<ref name=wrightarticle>[https://theartsdesk.com/new-music/seasick-steve-%E2%80%93-myth-unravels Matthew Wright, "Seasick Steve – A Myth Unravels", ''The Arts Desk'', 7 June 2016]. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref> Wright drew on interviews with Wold's estranged eldest son as well as previously published material covering his career in music since the late 1960s, and commented that Wold was "retiring about facts of his own life".<ref>{{cite book |last= Wright|first= Matthew|date= 2016|title= Seasick Steve: Ramblin' Man |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47L0CwAAQBAJ&q=matthew+wright+seasick+steve |location= London |publisher= Music Press|isbn= 978-1-78418-988-4|page=263 }}</ref><ref name=stanley/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/he-may-be-a-fraud-but-seasick-steves-brilliant-wembley-show-sile/|title=He may be a fraud but Seasick Steve's brilliant Wembley show silenced his booing critics - review|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|access-date=2018-03-30}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/music/bob-dylan-seasick-steve-and-rocks-great-hits-and-myths-20161122-gsuxho.html Barry Divola, "Bob Dylan, Seasick Steve and rock's great hits and myths", ''The Age'', 23 November 2016]. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref>
He also performed on [[Jools Holland]]'s 'Annual [[Hootenanny (UK TV series)|Hootenanny]]' BBC TV show (Broadcast on New Year's Eve [[2006]]) where he stunned the audience with a live rendition of Dog House Boogie on the 'Three-Stringed Trance Wonder' (see below).
 
===Childhood and early life===
==Instruments==
Steve Wold was born in [[Oakland, California]], as Steven Gene Leach, though his biographer suggests that he may have been [[adoption|adopted]] as a baby. He took the surname Wold in the early 1980s, from that of his second wife.<ref>Wright, 2016, p.145</ref> In 2000, he gave his age as 50,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/reluctant-icon/Content?oid=6010|title=Reluctant Icon|first=Rick|last=Levin|website=Thestranger.com}}</ref> though later publicity implied that he was older. Official birth records confirm his birth year as 1951.<ref name=":0" />
 
When he was four years old, his parents split up and he continued to live with his mother. He claimed that as a child he was taught to play the guitar by [[K. C. Douglas]], who worked at his grandfather's garage, and later realised that he had been taught the blues.<ref name=OGrady>{{YouTube|tmgfVPXI2Zc|Interview on The Paul O'Grady Show}} 15 Oct 2008</ref> Douglas wrote the song "[[Mercury Blues]]" and had played with [[Tommy Johnson (blues musician)|Tommy Johnson]] in the early 1940s.<ref name="Harris">Harris, S (1989). Blues Who's Who, 5th paperback edition. New York, Da Capo Press, pp. 160-161</ref> His mother remarried, to a [[Korean War]] veteran who Wold characterized as abusive, and, at the age of about 13, Wold claimed that he left home following a violent confrontation with his stepfather.<ref>Wright, 2016, p.59</ref>
Seasick Steve plays [[guitar]], and foot [[percussion]]. He owns a few obscure instruments along these lines:
 
Wold claimed to have lived rough and on the road in Tennessee, Mississippi and elsewhere, until at least the late 1960s.<ref name=allmusic>[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/seasick-steve-mn0001939829/biography Kenyon Hopkin, "Seasick Steve"], ''[[AllMusic]]''. Retrieved 14 August 2019</ref><ref name=ObserverSept08/> However, Wright's biography claims that Wold lived in [[Haight-Ashbury]], San Francisco, for some time from 1965.<ref>Wright, 2016, pp.15-16</ref> He attended the [[Monterey International Pop Festival|Monterey Pop Festival]], regularly saw bands such as [[The Grateful Dead]] perform in the area, and became acquainted with [[Janis Joplin]] and [[Jimi Hendrix]].<ref>Wright, 2016, p.72</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.telen.no/kultur/ikke-skremt-av-novembervaret/s/2-2.3402-1.4640555|title=Ikke skremt av novemberværet|website=Telen.no|date=13 November 2000}}</ref>
*The Three Stringed Trance Wonder
**This is a standard guitar, but with only the A string, G string and B string in place. It also has an old Harmony pickup added (with [[duct tape]]) and is played tuned to G, G and B using an E string in the A position, a D in the G posistion and a G in the B position. He often tells the story that he bought it for $75 in this condidtion in [[Como, Mississippi]] from a man named Sherman Cooper, and vowed never to add another string, and that he would tour the world telling his story of how Sherman ripped him off. He has since done this, telling the story at all his gigs.
 
===Early musical activities===
*The One Stringed Diddly-Bo
In about 1969, he toured clubs in the region as a backing musician with [[Lightnin' Hopkins]].<ref>Wright, 2016, p.105</ref> In 1970, as Steve Leach, he became the bass player in an innovative band, [[Shanti (band)|Shanti]], who performed a [[world music|fusion]] of [[Indian music|Indian]] and rock music. Other band members included [[Zakir Hussain (musician)|Zakir Hussain]] and [[Aashish Khan]], and all the band members were adherents of [[Transcendental Meditation]].<ref name=wright2/> In [[liner notes]] for a 2015 reissue of Shanti's only album, writer [[Richie Unterberger]] states that "bassist Steve Leach has reinvented himself as the blues musician Seasick Steve",<ref name=wright2>Wright, 2016, pp. 83-84</ref> and his participation in Shanti was confirmed by Seattle band the Tremens.<ref name=tremens/>
**This is a one stringed string instrument played with a [[guitar slide|slide]]. It consists of a 2 foot long [[2x4]], with a semi-loose guitar string nailed to it at both ends. It was made especially for him by the mysterious 'Super Chicken'.
 
He left California in 1972 and moved to Paris, France, where he [[busking|busked]] in the [[Paris Métro|Métro]].<ref name=IrishNews>{{cite news | title = Seasick Steve flouts Tube alcohol ban | work = Irish News | date = 2009-02-18 | url = http://www.irishnews.com/break.asp?tbrk=brk&par=brk&catid=5834&subcatid=642&storyid=399522 | access-date = 2009-03-11}}</ref> He occasionally returned to California where he married Victoria Johnson in 1974; they had two sons together but later divorced.<ref>Wright, 2016, p. 115</ref> Wold also spent time in the 1970s in Hawaii, and worked as a session musician and studio engineer, as well as in occasional manual jobs. He has claimed to have played with other musicians including [[Son House]], [[John Lee Hooker]], [[Albert King]], and [[Joni Mitchell]] around this time.<ref name = ObserverSept08/> In 1976, he worked with French producer Lee Hallyday and fronted the [[disco]] group Crystal Grass.<ref name=stanley/> Leach appeared on two Crystal Grass albums released by [[Philips Records]] in France, ''Dance Up a Storm'' and ''Ocean Potion'', the latter credited to Steve Leach with the Crystal Grass Orchestra. The group also released several singles including "You Can Be What You Dream".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/104916-Crystal-Grass|title=Crystal Grass|website=Discogs.com|access-date=12 May 2021}}</ref><ref name=stanley/><ref>[https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/lets-listen-to-seasick-steves-disco-album-759115 Thomas Smith, "Let’s All Listen to Seasick Steve’s 1970s Disco Group", ''NME.com'', 30 September 2016]. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref> He also sang on the first album released by [[Mike Love]]'s side project [[Celebration (1970s band)|Celebration]], a collaboration with members of the Paris-based band [[King Harvest]].<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/Celebration-Celebration/release/1680693 "Celebration", ''Discogs.com'']. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref>
*The 'MDM', The Mississippi Drum Machine.
 
**A small wooden box that is stamped to provide percussion. It is decorated with a Mississippi licence plate, and a small piece of carpet.
Around 1980, Steve Leach returned to Europe.<ref>Wright, 2016, p.119</ref> In 1982, he appeared as singer and guitarist on an album, ''Women and Sports'', by the band Clean, Athletic & Talented (C.A.T.), co-writing their single "I Love To Touch Young Girls".<ref name=stanley/> He met Elisabeth Wold in a blues bar in [[Oslo]], Norway, and adopted her surname after she became his second wife. For a time in the early 1980s, he lived in London, and then with Elisabeth in [[Skelmersdale]], England, which biographer Wright notes is the location of a major [[Transcendental Meditation movement]] center.<ref>Wright, 2016, p.140</ref> He later claimed to have run a recording studio in Europe before selling it.<ref name=levin/>
 
After returning to the US, he trained as a [[paramedic]],<ref>Wright, 2016, p.148</ref> before moving with his wife and their three sons from [[Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], to [[Olympia, Washington|Olympia]], near [[Seattle]], in 1991.<ref>Wright, 2016, p.175</ref> The move was partly motivated by Elisabeth Wold's desire to live in an area reminiscent of her native Norway, but also reflected the area's developing [[indie label|indie]] music scene.<ref name = ObserverSept08/> In Olympia, Wold established his own guitar store and recording studio, Moon Music.<ref name=levin/> He was acquainted with [[Kurt Cobain]], and began producing records by local musicians, including [[Kathleen Hanna]] and [[Fitz of Depression]].<ref name=levin/> Wold produced the 1996 debut album by [[Modest Mouse]], ''[[This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About]]'',<ref>Op de Beeck, pp. 159-160</ref> and recordings by the band P.E.Z. on which he played guitar. He also worked closely with a local band, the Tremens, and with them started to form a band, Dr Steel and the Forty-nines, with himself as singer and lead guitarist, but this fell through. A 2001 interview with the Tremens described Wold as a "[[Pacific Northwest]] music icon... who has put his recording stamp on some of the most influential bands to come out of [[Puget Sound]]."<ref name=tremens>[https://earpollution.com/vol3/apr01/profiles/tremens/tremens.html "The Tremens", ''EarPollution'', April 2001]. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref>
 
In 2001, Wold closed Moon Music, after being involved in up to 50 albums made there. He said at the time: "I'm finished with America. I'm 50 years old now, and I've been watching greed play the main stage since I was a teenager. I just can't stand it anymore."<ref name=levin>[https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/reluctant-icon/Content?oid=6010 Rick Levin, "Reluctant Icon: Goodbye to Moon Music", ''The Stranger'', 21 December 2000]. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref> With his wife and their sons, he moved to [[Notodden]] in Norway, home of the [[Notodden Blues Festival]], and set up a studio, Juke Joint, with vintage equipment that he had acquired over the years. After Wold became ill on a boat trip between Norway and Denmark, he adopted the name "Seasick Steve" as a parallel to that of blues musician [[Homesick James]], and started to form a band, Seasick Steve and the Level Devils.<ref>Wright, 2016, p.221</ref>
 
Wold released his first album, entitled ''[[Cheap (album)|Cheap]]'', recorded in 2004 with the Level Devils as his rhythm section, with Jo Husmo on stand-up bass and Kai Christoffersen on drums. His debut solo album, ''[[Dog House Music]]'' was released by [[Bronzerat Records]] on 26 November 2006, after he was championed by an old friend, Joe Cushley, DJ on the ''Balling The Jack'' blues show on London radio station [[Resonance FM]].
 
===Breakthrough and subsequent career===
[[File:Steve.JPG|left|thumb|Wold performing in 2009 at the [[Hard Rock Calling]] festival in London's [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]]]]
Wold made his first UK television appearance on [[Jools Holland]]'s annual ''[[Hootenanny (UK TV series)|Hootenanny]]'' BBC TV show on New Year's Eve 2006. He performed a live rendition of "Dog House Boogie" on the "Three String Trance Wonder" and the "Mississippi Drum Machine". After that show his popularity exploded in Britain, and he commented "I can't believe it, all of the sudden I'm like the cat's meow!"<ref name="Op de Beeck, p. 159"/>
 
He was well received in the UK, winning the [[2007 MOJO Awards|2007]] [[MOJO Awards|MOJO Award]] for Best Breakthrough Act and going on to appear at major UK festivals such as [[Reading and Leeds Festivals|Reading, Leeds]] and [[Glastonbury Festival|Glastonbury]]. In 2007 he played more UK festivals than any other artist. At that time, it was claimed in press coverage that he was 66 years old, though he was later demonstrated to be ten years younger.<ref name=stanley/>
 
Wold toured early in 2008, playing in various venues and festivals in the UK. He was joined on stage by drummer [[Dan Magnusson]]. [[KT Tunstall]] also dueted with Wold at the London Astoria in January 2008.<ref name=ThisIsLondon>[http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig-23352910-details/Seasick+Steve/gigReview.do?reviewId=23434159 Raucous night of hobo blues] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080129040717/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig-23352910-details/Seasick+Steve/gigReview.do?reviewId=23434159 |date=29 January 2008}} This is London, 25 Jan 2008</ref> Wold also played many other festivals throughout the world in 2008, including [[Fuji Rock]] in Japan, [[East Coast Blues & Roots Music Festival]] in Australia, also in April 2008,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/3393/seasick-steve-returns-to-australia-this-april/ |title=Seasick Steve Returns to Australia This April — Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Culture |magazine=Music Feeds |date=2009-02-12 |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref> and [[Roskilde Festival|Roskilde]] in Denmark.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bandsintown.com/SeasickSteve |title=Seasick Steve Tour Dates and Concert Tickets |publisher=Bandsintown.com |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref>
 
Wold's major-label debut, ''[[I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left]]'' was recorded with Dan Magnusson on drums, was released by [[Warner Music]] on 29 September 2008, and features [[Ruby Turner]] and [[Nick Cave]]'s [[Grinderman]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Andrew |last=Perry |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/3561266/Seasick-Steve---I-Started-Out-With-Nothin%27-and-I-Still-Got-Most-of-It-Left-pop-CD-of-the-week-review.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505102817/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/cdreviews/3561266/Seasick-Steve---I-Started-Out-With-Nothin%27-and-I-Still-Got-Most-of-It-Left-pop-CD-of-the-week-review.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-05-05 |title=Seasick Steve — I Started Out With Nothin' and I Still Got Most of It Left: pop CD of the week review |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=2008-09-27 |access-date=2010-05-03 |location=London}}</ref>
 
He has toured the UK extensively since 2007 being supported by performers including [[Duke Garwood]], [[Gemma Ray]], [[Billie the Vision and the Dancers]], [[Amy LaVere]], [[Melody Nelson]] and [[Joe Gideon & The Shark]]. His tours in October 2008 and January 2009 were all sold out and included performances at the [[Royal Albert Hall]], the Edinburgh [[Queen's Hall, Edinburgh|Queen's Hall]], the [[Grand Opera House (Belfast)|Grand Opera House]] in Belfast, the [[Manchester Apollo|Apollo]] in Manchester, the [[Newcastle City Hall|City Hall]] in Newcastle and the London [[Hammersmith Apollo]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Rich |last=Thane |url=http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/2009/01/joe-gideon-the-shark-album-news-tour-with-seasick-steve/ |title=Joe Gideon & The Shark album news, tour with Seasick Steve |publisher=The Line Of Best Fit |date=2009-01-21 |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/40313/Seasick-Steve-Opens-UK-Tour-With-KT-Tunstall-As-Guest |title=Seasick Steve Opens UK Tour With KT Tunstall As Guest |work=Gigwise |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.egigs.co.uk/index.php?a=12087 |title=Seasick Steve / Billy The Vision And The Dancers — Leeds Metropolitan University on Thursday 31 January 2008 |publisher=eGigs.co.uk |date=2008-01-31 |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref>
 
In 2009, Wold was nominated for a [[Brit Award]] in the category of [[List of BRIT Awards ceremonies#2009|International Solo Male Artist]],<ref name="brits.co.uk">[http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/seasick-steve] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430004817/http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/seasick-steve|date=April 30, 2010}}</ref> That same year, [[BBC Four]] broadcast a documentary of Wold visiting the southern USA entitled ''Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00gvk8x |title=Four Programmes — Seasick Steve: Bringing It All Back Home |publisher=BBC |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref> On 21 January, Wold hosted "Folk America: Hollerers, Stompers and Old Time Ramblers" at the [[Barbican Centre|Barbican]] in London, a show that was also televised and shown with the documentary on BBC Four as part of a series tracing American roots music.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/arts-and-culture/2009/01/america-hollerers-barbican |title=Voice of the people |magazine=New Statesman |date=2009-01-29 |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/musictv/folkamerica/documentary/ |title=Folk America — Documentary Series |publisher=BBC |date=2000-12-31 |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref>
 
In an interview with an Australian magazine, Wold attributed much of his unlikely success to his cheap and weather-beaten guitar, "The Trance Wonder" and reveals the guitar's mojo might come from supernatural sources.
 
<blockquote>I got it from Sherman, who is a friend of mine down in [[Mississippi]], who had bought it down at a [[Goodwill Industries|Goodwill]] store. When we were down there last time he says to me, 'I didn't tell you when you bought it off me, but that guitar used to be haunted'. I say, 'What are you talking about, Sherman?'. He says, 'There's 50 solid citizens here in [[Como, Mississippi|Como]] who'll tell you this guitar is haunted. It's the darnedest thing – we'd leave it over in the potato barn and we'd come back in and it would be moved. You'd put it down somewhere and the next morning you'd come back and it would have moved. When you took that guitar the ghost in the barn left'. He told me this not very long ago and I said to him, 'Sherman! Why didn't you tell me this before?' and he said, 'Well the ghost was gone – I didn't want it around here no more!'<ref>[http://www.ripitup.com.au/interviews/13634] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090912035839/http://www.ripitup.com.au/interviews/13634|date=September 12, 2009}}</ref></blockquote>
 
On 3 January 2010, Wold appeared on the popular [[BBC]] motoring show ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'' as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear |title=Top Gear — Home |publisher=BBC |date=2008-10-16 |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref> A friend of Steve's had given him a guitar made with hubcaps off a [[Morris Minor]] (he owned one at the time), and he played it on air.
 
In February 2010, Wold was nominated for a [[Brit Award]] in the category of [[List of BRIT Awards ceremonies#2010|International Solo Male Artist]] for the second consecutive year.<ref name="brits.co.uk"/>
 
In 2010, Wold made numerous festival appearances throughout the summer, including the Pyramid Stage at the [[Glastonbury Festival]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/line-up-poster/ |title=Glastonbury Festivals — Line-up |date=2010-06-26 |access-date=2010-06-26}}</ref> the main stage at [[V Festival]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vfestival.com/artists/line-up |title=Line Up |publisher=Vfestival.com |access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref> the main stage at the [[Hop Farm Festival]] and many more.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seasicksteve.com/summer2010.htm |title=2010 Summer Festival Photo Diary |publisher=Seasicksteve.com |access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref>
 
In February 2011, Wold signed to [[PIAS Recordings|Play It Again Sam]] to release his new album with the exception of the US, where it will be released on [[Third Man Records]]. Subsequently, his new album ''[[You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks]]'' was released on his new labels and it was announced that former [[Led Zeppelin]] bassist [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] had played on the new album, and performed alongside Wold to promote it.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/later/#p00h2kwz |title=Later with Jools Holland - Latest show information and exclusive performances filmed for the web |publisher=BBC |date=2011-07-12 |access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref> This caused some to believe that he will tour with Wold as a part of his backing band, joining his then-current drummer Dan.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} John Paul Jones did indeed appear onstage to play with Wold at the Isle of Wight 2011 festival<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv590cPhQFc |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211217/Fv590cPhQFc |archive-date=2021-12-17 |url-status=live|title=Seasick Steve - Interview on BBC Breakfast |publisher=BBC |date=2011-05-31 |access-date=2011-06-08}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and on the main stage of Rock Werchter 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rockwerchter.be/en/news/article.aspx?aid=ae77696f-48f3-4697-9df1-572d95034c27|title=Rock Werchter announcement - John Paul Jones to join Seasick Steve on stage|website=Rockwerchter.be |access-date=2011-07-07}}</ref>
 
On 16 August 2014 he was the headline act at ''[[Beautiful Days (festival)|Beautiful Days]]'' in Honiton, Devon, and on the 24 August he headlined at 'Victorious Festival' in Southsea, [[Portsmouth]], England.
 
Seasick Steve released his eighth album on 7 October 2016, called ''[[Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground]]''.
 
This was followed by ''[[Can u Cook?]]'' in 2018.
 
==Musical equipment==
{{OR section|date=July 2012}}
Wold owns and plays several obscure and personalized instruments.
 
===Guitars===
====The Three-String Trance Wonder====
This is a normal guitar that resembles a GHI Guitar made in Japan in the 1960s. It has a 1950s [[Harmony Company|Harmony]] pickup added with [[duct tape]], and is tuned to G, G, and B (middle G is one octave higher than the bottom). He was given the guitar by a friend who had it nailed to his wall as a decoration,<ref name = ObserverSept08/> but at his gigs, he often tells the story that he bought it for US$75 in this condition from a man who later told him he only paid US$25 for it the day before, and claims to have vowed never to add another string, and that he would tour the world telling his story of how the seller ripped him off.<ref name="Op de Beeck, p. 159"/> A lot of the time he also adds, while picking up or putting away the guitar, that it is the "biggest piece of shit in the world, I swear."{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} In a BBC interview Wold claimed that the guitar was found by a friend, just with the three strings on it, and he decided to keep it that way.
 
====Hubcap guitars====
When on the TV show ''[[Top Gear (2002 TV series)|Top Gear]]'', presenter [[Jeremy Clarkson]] commented that Wold's car history of over 100 cars included a [[Morris Minor]]. Wold then presented a four-string guitar that his friend Davey Chivers had made out of two old [[hubcap]]s from a 1970 Minor 1000 named Cynthia joined back-to-back and his wife's broomstick. Wold then played it a little in the episode. Clarkson replied that it was the best use of a Morris Minor he had ever seen.
 
A similar guitar was made out of Hudson [[Terraplane]] hubcaps, one of them given to him by [[Jack White]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/seasick-steve-performs-bluesfest/1310360/ |title=Seasick Steve performs at Bluesfest |publisher=Sunshine Coast Daily |date=2012-03-19 |access-date=2015-11-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gigwise.com/photos/68422/2/seasick-steve-interview |title=Seasick Steve: Interview |work=Gigwise |date=2011-11-03 |access-date=2015-11-03}}</ref> referring to "[[Terraplane Blues]]" by [[Robert Johnson]].
 
===Other===
====The Mississippi Drum Machine====
A small wooden box that is [[stomp box|stomped upon]], providing percussion. It is decorated with a Mississippi motorcycle [[Vehicle registration plates of the United States|registration plate]] ("MC33583"), and a small piece of carpet.<ref name = ObserverSept08/>
 
====Roland CUBE====
A [[Roland CUBE]] 30&nbsp;W [[amplifier]] placed on a chair to his left and set to the 'tweed' setting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/article/2778-seasick-steve-and-the-cube-30x-amp.html |title=Seasick Steve and the Cube-30X amp |website=Dolphinmusic.com |date=2008-12-02 |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref>
 
====Fender Bassman====
A [[Fender Bassman]] amplifier, used at the [[Pinkpop Festival]] 2012.<ref>{{YouTube|iru0NKm63OY}}</ref>
 
==Nickname==
When asked about his nickname, Wold has said: "because it's just true: I always get [[Seasickness|seasick]]". When he was ill on a ferry from Norway to Copenhagen, later in his life, a friend began playfully using the name and, despite Wold not rising to it for a while, it stuck. When asked about his name on British Sunday morning television show ''[[Something for the Weekend (TV programme)|Something for the Weekend]]'', he replied, "I just get sick on boats".<ref name=OGrady/><ref>Op de Beeck, pp. 158-9</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep7FyZAMqiE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2FSeasickSteveOfficial&feature=player_profilepage |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606221643/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep7FyZAMqiE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2FSeasickSteveOfficial&feature=player_profilepage |archive-date=2014-06-06 |url-status=dead|title=Miquita interview |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2010-08-27}}</ref>
 
==Personal life==
Wold has five adult sons,<ref name = ObserverSept08/> and has married twice, marrying his second wife in the early 1980s.<ref name = ObserverSept08/> Wold has said that he has problems putting down roots in one place, and he and his wife have lived in 59 houses to date, including Norway and the United Kingdom.<ref name = ObserverSept08/>
 
Wold's son Didrik is an illustrator, and has designed his father's album artwork, merchandise, print ads, and websites.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seasicksteve.com/news,who-designs-seasick-steves-artwork_41.htm |title=new album "Man From Another Time" out now! &#124; news |publisher=Seasick Steve |date=2009-10-18 |access-date=2010-05-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100309105353/http://www.seasicksteve.com/news,who-designs-seasick-steves-artwork_41.htm|archive-date=2010-03-09}}</ref> His youngest son, Paul Martin Wold, played drums on ''Dog House Music'' and first made a guest appearance with him on percussion at the Astoria in January 2008.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} He has since performed with Wold frequently, playing washboard, shakers, tambourine, floor tom and occasionally guitar. He also works as Steve's guitar tech. Paul Martin Wold, aka "Wishful Thinking", released his debut album ''A Waste of Time Well Spent'' on 2 November 2009, and showcased a selection from the album whilst touring the UK with his father.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whisperinandhollerin.com/incoming/item.asp?id=1941 |title=Wishful Thinking tours with Seasick Steve |website=Whisperinandhollerin.com |access-date=2010-05-03}}</ref>
 
==Discography==
{{Main|Seasick Steve discography}}
===Albums===
* ''[[Cheap (album)|Cheap]]'' (2004)
* ''[[Dog House Music]]'' (2006)
* ''[[I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Man from Another Time]]'' (2009)
* ''[[Songs for Elizabeth]]'' (2010)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://991.com/Buy/ProductInformation.aspx?StockNumber=496733&PrinterFriendly=1|title=Songs For Elizabeth|website=991.com|access-date=January 27, 2023}}</ref>
* ''[[You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks]]'' (2011)
* ''[[Hubcap Music]]'' (2013)
* ''[[Sonic Soul Surfer]]'' (2015)
* ''[[Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground]]'' (2016)
* ''[[Can U Cook?]]'' (2018)
* ''Love and Peace'' (2020)
* ''Blues in Mono'' (2020)
* ''Only on Vinyl'' (2022)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.totalntertainment.com/music/seasick-steve-only-on-vinyl/|title=Seasick Steve – 'Only On Vinyl'|website=TotalNtertainment|date=September 7, 2022|access-date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>
* ''[[A Trip A Stumble A Fall Down On Your Knees]]'' (2024)
 
==Backing band==
*Seasick Steve and the Level Devils: ''cheap''
;Current members
*Seasick Steve: ''[[Dog House Music]]''
* Dan Magnusson – drums, percussion <small>(2008&ndash;present)</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/seasick_steve/reviews/12191 |title=Album review: Seasick Steve - Review |publisher=Uncut.co.uk |access-date=2011-12-30}}</ref>
* [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] – bass guitar <small>(2011&ndash;2013)</small><ref name="bbc.co.uk"/>
* Isiah Ferrante - Backup Vocals
 
;Former members, as "The Level Devils"
*Jo Husmo – bass guitar <small>(2001&ndash;?)</small>
*Kai Christoffersen – drums, percussion <small>(2001–2004)</small>
*Dan Magnusson – drums, percussion <small>(2004&ndash;06)</small> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://themonkalways.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/seasick-steve-and-level-devils-cheap_22.html |title=themonkalways: Seasick STEVE and The Level Devils - Cheap 2004 |publisher=Themonkalways.blogspot.co.uk |date=2010-04-22 |access-date=2015-11-03}}</ref>
 
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=nb}}
 
==References==
{{Reflist}}
 
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.seasicksteve.com www.seasicksteve.com] Official site
* [http://www.seasicksteve.com Official website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GvoqSx0ReI&feature=PlayList&p=47A35620C8123A5F&index=0 Seasick Steve playing Doghouse Boogie on Youtube]
* {{youtube|u=seasickstevevevo}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090108140705/http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/seasick-steve_0908.htm Seasick Steve interview at musicOMH]
* [http://www.bluesinlondon.com/interviews/int_seasick_steve.html Seasick Steve interview at Blues In London]
* [http://www.bronzerat.com Record Label — Bronzerat recordings]
 
{{Seasick Steve}}
{{Authority control}}
 
[[Category{{DEFAULTSORT:American blues guitarists|Seasick, Steve]]}}
[[Category:American1951 blues singer-guitarists|Seasick, Stevebirths]]
[[Category:American_buskers|Seasick,Living Stevepeople]]
[[Category:Blues_musicians|Seasick,American Steveblues guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American street performers]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American slide guitarists]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Atlantic Records artists]]
[[Category:Hoboes]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Norway]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]
[[Category:Fiction Records artists]]
[[Category:Third Man Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:Musicians from Oakland, California]]
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