Observations: Seasick Steve: Stranded by modern life

Fiona Sturges
Friday 20 November 2009 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Steve Wold, the American bluesman better known as Seasick Steve, is dressed in his usual garb of check shirt and trucker's cap. The title of his recently released fourth album, Man From Another Time, neatly sums up Wold's current musical status, and goes some way towards explaining his success.

When he first appeared on our screens on Jools Holland's Hootenanny in 2006, the show that effectively launched his career, Wold – a former hobo – was like no other musician around, an unvarnished, unaffected troubadour with a beaten-up guitar and a twinkle in his eye. Within a matter of weeks he was booked in to perform at just about every major British festival, while sales of Doghouse Blues, his second LP, went through the roof.

For Wold, the new album's title points to something more personal – his feeling of displacement in the modern world. "Man From Another Time is about how weird I feel walking down the street," he explains. "Somehow I got stuck 40 years ago. Everything I think about and surround myself with comes from then. Like in my car, I got an eight-track player in it. I never had a cassette player and certainly not a CD player. I don't like new things. Now is the best time of my life, for real, but if I could have this time and move it back, then it would be a lot better for me." Wold sloshes whisky into his tea. If he is suspicious of the music industry, he is nevertheless thankful to the fans who have kept him financially afloat for the past three years. "I don't have to worry about how I'm gonna pay my rent next month, or where I'm going to get my next job," he smiles. "Three years ago no one had heard of me. Now I got people paying money to come see me. It's a goddamn miracle".

Man From Another Time is out now on Warner

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in