Seasick Steve, Electric Ballroom

Hobo-turned-bluesman gets down and dirty with his eccentric collection of guitars

by David ChealFriday, 27 May 2011

Seasick Steve: The fewer the strings, the better

A guitar with one string? There is indeed such a thing. It’s played by Seasick Steve, and it consists of a stubby plank of wood, a pick-up and a couple of nails. And a string. The man born 70 years ago as Steven Wold plays it with a slide, and it makes a fabulous, sleazy sound. It’s one of a collection of manky-looking instruments played by Seasick Steve, the former hobo, drifter, session musician and studio engineer who has experienced a late blossoming in popularity as a bluesman and raconteur.

There’s something about the sound of a slide guitar that quickens the blood, gets the heart pumping, pings the synapses

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