For those people who don't know about your music how would you describe it to them?[Laughs] I just kinda say I play a little primitive music, y'know?
I don't really call it blues or nothing - I don't know what you'd call it, Mississippi Mud or something ... kinda like that with a bit of a beat. I've done blues my whole life, but when a lot of people think about the blues they just think of the guys doing [sings twelve bar riff] ... I don't do that kinda thing, so I just let people figure it out.
Young people just come and want to know if it's rock or not rock ... they kinda think I rock and that's a great compliment.
How do you go about writing your songs?
I just play with the guitar a little bit and if I do something I like then I just think about something that happened to me in my life. I write things that happen to me y'know?
Most of the stuff I write about happened a long time ago. I actually got a tune I wrote and it was about my dog that died last year ... they usual start with this thing on guitar, this fooling around and I just think 'oh I better make some words to go with this'?
The guitar for me always comes first; it's just a way for me to tell a story.
How would you describe your album 'Dog House Music'?
I don't know man, it's just a record of stories about me.
I made it in my kitchen. I wasn't making a record, I was making some recordings my wife wanted me to. I didn't view it as a record, I just wrote songs about myself ... like, this happened to me, then that happened there, this happened there ... that's all it is.
When you play blues live do you think your show works as solo or having a group appeal?
I don't even think that I'm playing blues; for my kind of music it works much better by itself. It's not that I won't play with someone again, but I think the reason people like me so much is that when you see a band up there you expect something to happen, maybe 4 or 5 people up there and you're like 'show me your stuff' ... but if one guy gets up on the stage, they kinda give him a break, 'ah he's just one guy'.
It's like psychological stuff and if you rock them you're ahead of the game. Also, when you're by yourself you can stop when you want, like I don't necessarily keep in time and I'll slow down and speed up again. I'm free to do what I want; I can do another song or I just stop in the middle and start to tell stories.
So if you're not in the mood then you better get in the mood cos you're the only person in the band. It keeps you on your toes a bit. [Laughs]
Do you enjoy playing the festivals?
Oh yeah, I love playing for people... the more people the better. It's just a bit tiring playing every weekend, with festivals there is a lot of sitting around and waiting to go on and play - you might be there for a day or two and you'd play just 45 minutes.
When you played at Leeds Festival recently I saw you watching The Hold Steady from the side of the stage. At festivals, do you like watching other bands?
Yeah - if it's not to hard for me to get around. Obviously Leeds was real easy.
If I have time Ill go see something.
What kind of music do you listen to?
I'm into my music! [Laughs]
When I'm by myself I listen to old blues and music from the 40s. I like old music but I don't really like new music.
I just don't go out and get records any more, but I like hearing bands when people take me to see stuff. I used to produce people's records and that kinda made me pay attention to what was going on, so I don't listen to that no more. I like festivals 'cos you can stomp around and see different bands.
Do you ever get offended at being branded a hobo?
I never get offended 'cos that's what I do. I was one, it's all good. I don't have a problem with that, people have been pretty nice to me about what they say and stuff.
I'm just glad people are paying attention to me.
I was wondering if you could tell me one of your infamous stories now?
[Laughs] I have a dog that runs through some of these old stories back in the 60s ... there at the end of the record there's a whole story about the dog.
I lost the dog for a couple of years and I ended up down in LA somewhere and I met this girl. I was playing a gig and I proposed to her, but I had no business getting married at this time and I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
I was living with some other people - she was living with me too - I went out and called my friend who live up in Washington State on an island. The last time I'd seen this dog was on this island a couple of years before, so I just said to him 'man I'm gonna go to Mexico do you wanna come?'
He said he knew some people driving down from San Francisco, so we agreed to meet in San Francisco and rent a boat down to Mexico 'cos I was gonna get away form this gal ... was a terrible thing.
So I crawled out a window of this house I was living in - like a thief in the night - and drove up to San Francisco in an old Volkswagen Bug.
He came down with these people; he didn't really know them, but they were heading for San Francisco and to get off this island you've got to drive to a ferry dock and take a ferry over to the mainland and then ya drive about 7 or 8 hundred miles ... a long, big deal.
No one had seen this dog, the one on this record, for 2 years almost; my friend gets a ride in this pick-up truck and they're driving off the island ... when out of the woods runs this dog and stands in front of the car - he just looks and goes 'what the hell?'
He opened the door and she just ran and jumped in the van; of course, he's no way of telling me as we had no mobile phones. He drives down 700 mile to San Francisco and we meet in a parking lot and he gets out of this van and there's that dog again!
The stuff with this dog is like summat out of space.
We hung out there and I hid away from that girl. That's what I did, I never really treated women badly, but that was a shameful experience.
You start your UK Tour in October what can we expect?
I've got eight shows. I come to Leeds in November. I'm gonna do the same as I always do - play the guitar, jump around and tell a few stories and hope that people like it [Laughs] ... they seem to like it ok. I actually had a good time at that Leeds Festival ... I remember that now, it's a nice crowd. It was nice the next day too when the Kaisers played in that same tent - that was kinda their home sneak gig in there that was real fun to watch.
Would you ever consider doing a secret gig at a festival?
Yeah sure! That'd be fun!
Are you going to try and check out Leeds while you're here?
I don't know how much time I'm gonna have; sometimes I end up having a bit of time. I have a good feeling about that town. It was nice up at that festival I enjoyed it very much.
How did you achieve the raw sound on your album?
I had a 4 track tape recorder and 2 microphones, both of them from the 1940s. A lot of songs were just me sitting with a guitar; it's as simple as you can get and I sing raw so if you put a microphone in front of someone who is raw, you're gonna get something raw. You don't mess with it to much.
Have you started any work on new material yet?
Oh yeah, I'm gonna start making a new record in November - probably after the Leeds gig, maybe even sometime before.
Have you already had any ideas for songs you're going to record?
Oh yeah, I know what I'm gonna play, we might have a few surprises on this record. I think it's gonna be alright this one; I'm looking forward to it actually. When I made the other record I wasn't even making a record, now I'm gonna make a record on purpose.
Do you think your gigs will influence this new album?
Not on the one in November. I've been trying things out, seeing what people like and what they don't like. You get inspiration from the people.
Seasick Steve plays Leeds' Cockpit venue on 12th November (sold out). He returns to play at LMUSU on 31st January 2008 - tickets are still available from See Tickets and Ticketline.
