When Steve Miller announced that he was cancelling all future dates due to “extreme weather” and “unacceptable risks” earlier this summer, he caught plenty of flak from the social media matrix. Of course, he’s earned the right to make whatever decision he wants to in regard to his life and career, but he shouldn’t be surprised if fans question his explanation when every other band is out there facing similar circumstances.
Take Two Wolf, for example, the new project featuring original Blackfoot bassist Greg T. Walker. Their debut album suggests a band whose ferocious take on Southern rock and blues is not going to be derailed by anything of the sort.
After speaking with Walker recently, I’m convinced that these guys approach rock and roll like Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez approached baseball, i.e. “rain, shine, tidal wave, whatever,” so expect to see that passion in full effect when the band takes the stage at Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Liverpool, NY on Sept. 19.
MNOD: So, I had a chance to listen to the album recently and got into it right away. How did you get in touch with Lance Lopez to start the band?
Walker: I met Lance back in 2015. He was actually the first of two guitarists for Two Wolf at that time when I formed the band, but he had a lot going on at the time, so he left pretty quickly and it was a few years before I got him back in the band. In the meantime, Kris Bell came into the fold, same thing. He had a lot going on and I got ’em both back at the same time. So, I got my dream lineup. That’s what I wanted all along. I had known Kris from about 2011. So before Two Wolf.
MNOD: Because people had known you from Blackfoot for all those years, how did you want to differentiate this band from what people had previously heard from you?
Walker: Well, I think Two Wolf kind of picks up where Blackfoot left off. It’s kind of that in your face. Hard Rock doesn’t quite fit into what the terms often called Southern Rock, which we have inflections of that of course, because we grew up in the south, so there’s no getting away from it and proud of it, I should say. So it stood that hard driving rock. That’s what we chose to do from the get go. And it just so happened that Lance and Chris both really loved the Blackfoot catalog. So when we started writing it was kind of a given. We were going to sound a lot like that older school rock that we call it today.
MNOD: What was the process like for the songwriting and recording? Were you guys able to get together all in the same room?
Walker: We each brought songs to the table and went through ’em and we selected the ones that we all agreed to, including the drummer. And yeah, it was very seamless. And it was a great recording, the most fun recording of my life. I can tell you that we had the perfect studio, perfect world-class engineer, the owners of the studio, number one. So, it was such a joy to record where we did and when you’ve got all those elements surrounding you, it makes it easy to work. Not distracted by anything, but we all brought songs to the table and then we went through the selection process, so we always have some left over. And during the final stages of the recording that turned in to be the completed Two Wolf’s record, we were talking already about, ma’am, we can’t wait to get started on the second one. Every musician’s goal is always looking for that next one.
MNOD: What I like about these songs is they sound like they were just basically live in the studio, and they sound like they could be easily replicated on the stage. Is that something you guys thought about?
Walker: Yeah, it was. I won’t say, well, yeah, I mean, it was live in the studio. We were all in the same room, myself and Kris and Lance and Rusty all in the same room by the so we can hear as well as feel through the headphones. If you pull one side of the phones off your ear, you hear the room and then the Marshall Heads and Cabs, they were in isolation booths. You could see ’em and of course there’s mic bleed through that glass. So, it made us feel like we were actually on stage. We all had eye contact and I think that made the difference in past recordings I did in my career sometimes, and it wasn’t our choice, it just turned out it became a bit sterile in the recording process. Normally we all were in the same room, but sometimes we were separated by glass and that’s not rock and roll. It’s too sterile. You’re still playing the best you can, but it kind of loses a feel.
MNOD: Was there a particular inspiration behind the name Two Wolf?
Walker: Two Wolf is actually my tribal name and I was urged to use that and I was uncomfortable with it at first. I said, this isn’t about me, this is about the band, because the band is a band. But everybody said, no, it sounds good, it’s legitimate. And I said, well, okay. So, to this day, I’m still not 100% comfortable with it, but I’m happy about it.
MNOD: Yeah, I think it definitely fits, and the cover art for the album is really cool too. What was the thought behind that image?
Walker: Actually, that cover art was done by a graphics girl over in France that I had met, and she had done some posters and print media for us in previous years, and then we asked her to come up with a concept. We definitely wanted wolves, and so she sent about seven or eight different images and artwork all in color, and then we selected the one that is on the cover that you see. In fact, today was her birthday. I sent her a happy birthday all the way over to France.
MNOD: Is the album made available in a physical copy or is it just a digital download at this point?
Walker: No, the CD was released June 6th. It’s actually, it’s selling very well. I don’t know the numbers, but I know that Cleopatra Records wanted to wait and see how well the CDs actually sold before releasing vinyl. And in fact, two weeks ago today they called and said, we have approved to go ahead, go forward with duplication for vinyl. But vinyl, it takes about 10 to 12 weeks normally to duplicate and probably looking around October 1st between the first and the 15, somewhere in that range. But yeah, the actual vinyl, I’m excited about that.
MNOD: I collect vinyl myself, so I would definitely get a copy of it on vinyl.
Walker: Yeah, it’s interesting, because in the early stages of talking to Cleopatra, we mentioned vinyl and they said ‘Oh no, since COVID vinyl sales dropped way off,’ and I’m like, are you kidding me? Everybody I know first thing they ask, will it be on vinyl? I don’t mean a few. A lot of people like yourself, there’s a lot of us that prefer vinyl, because I think vinyl sounds better. It’s a little bit warmer. It’s not so sterile and digitized though it is digitized to a point. Of course, that’s part of the production, but I know vinyl always had a warmer sound to me.
MNOD: Within the last 10 years or so, vinyl’s definitely been making a comeback.
Walker: Oh yeah, I think so. I mean, you’ve got some mom-and-pop boutiques opening up around the country. You’ve got Walmart, target and other businesses like that that are now stocking vinyl, not as much as years ago, but enough to make a difference. It’s readily available, so you can still order it through Cleopatra for the CD or the vinyl when the vinyl’s released, you can go ahead and do pre-orders, but it will be in the stores as well as here and in Europe, because Cleopatra has great distribution overseas and not many record companies do. So, we’re real happy about that.
MNOD: I interviewed Lance a couple of years ago and he’s a really interesting guitar player. What was it about his sound that kind of thought he would work for your band?
Walker: Yeah, he’s a great guitarist. And got great stage presence, and that’s what I was looking for. We are more animated than a lot of bands you’ve seen in the last 20 years. A lot of ’em kind of stand there and tap their foot. We have a lot of energy, but that’s a throwback to the old school. Lance and Chris have been playing all their lives just like I have, so we didn’t even have to work on that. But I met Lance through a mutual friend originally, and when he came into a rehearsal right away, I said, this is the guy. So it was that easy. And then Chris came in after Lance, but like I say, I knew Chris from some years before he worked with me in the later years of Blackfoot and he did a great job. And it just turned out I got ’em both back at the same time. I said, now we’ve got the band. That was an easy decision, really didn’t have to think about it. And they play so well against each other, Chris and Lance, the different styles of guitar, but the harmonies, the trade-offs, it’s just smooth as silk. And don’t forget old Rusty back there behind the drums because that’s the heartbeat, the rhythm section with bass and drummer. Rusty’s a hard hitting drummer, which is something else I really wanted, and he turned out to be the guy.
MNOD: Yeah, I think his drumming really shines through on the album. You can tell the production capture captured his drum sound pretty well.
Walker: Yeah, and in the old days of recording, you had tape or something on drumheads, you had little baffles on the symbols and the engineers saying, don’t hit so hard. I’ll turn it up in the mix. That’s the kiss of death. I can tell you. We heard that from so many engineers through the years, and we were able to go in with Marshall Stacks, SVT Ameg, full kit drums, no baffles, just wide open. That’s why that record sounds as good as it does. Everything’s on 10.
MNOD: So, thinking about the early Blackfoot days, when you look back on all those classic records and the hits you guys had on the radio, do you miss anything about that time in particular?
Walker: Oh, parts of it I miss. I mean, I should say all of it I miss, but what we have today in Two Wolf is right down the same avenue, but our Blackfoot days, that started in 1969, and three of us grew up together since kindergarten. So, we had been playing since we were kids. We had our first band at 10, and we worked hard. All bands did. Back then, you played six nights a week, five sets a night for months at a time. And so, we had a very good work ethic. We rehearsed a lot, as most bands did back then and once, I mean, it took 10 years really. It was our slurred record strikes that brought the band to the world’s attention. We had two before that that I think are great albums. They just bombed right out of the shoot. They didn’t get a chance, but then Strikes came out, kind of helped put us on the map. And then from that point on, we just did what we did. I’m really, really proud of how hard we worked and the success that we had. But it goes back to that work ethic of just being the very best you can be. So many great memories, and that’s what I have in Two Wolf now. Same approach.
MNOD: Do you get a chance to listen to younger bands at all or any bands that you think you capture the sound that you guys had back then?
Walker: I think it’s real close, and it was unintentional. It just turned out, which is a blessing. Kind of picking up where you left off in my viewpoint, found the monster drummer, the great guitarist who are both extremely great vocalists. I’m a backup singer. I had to sing two of my three songs on the record. I promised the guys that I’ll never do that again. I said, next time I submit songs, one of you guys are going to sing it. Not me. I’ll do background, but no lead. Kris and Lance, awesome vocalists. Lots of power.
MNOD: You’ve always embraced your Native American heritage. Do you find any younger up and coming bands from the Native American scene that you think could break through to a mainstream level?
Walker: There was a kind of surge back in the late nineties. At that time. I was involved in the, it’s called nama, the NAMA Awards, and I met a few bands when I would go for presentations, and there were a few that really stood out that rocked, but none quite as hard as the way we used to and we still do today in this new band Two Wolf. So since then, though, I haven’t heard, to my knowledge, I’m sure they have to be out there. I have not heard any native bands whatsoever playing hard rock.
MNOD: It’s unfortunate that the industry as a whole has kind of de-emphasized hard rock from a radio perspective. I would think in the ’80s a band like Two Wolf would have a fair shot at being on the radio, but it’s just not that way anymore.
Walker: Yeah, radio’s pretty much dead. It’s streaming and downloads, but you do it for the love of it. This stage in life, you’re happy to be out there. We just did a show two weeks ago. We’ve got more on the books coming up through the summer and fall, and we’ll be on the Rock Legends Cruise in February. The Native American Heritage Association has been extremely kind to me. I was on the very first one, and next year will be number 13. That’s 13 in a row, and we love doing it, and so do the patrons that get on that boat. That’s a big ship. I mean, it was like 4,000 paying customers. So each band plays three times in the five days and to get a chance, pretty much to see every band if you schedule it right. A lot of fun. I mean, there’s some good cruises out there. You’ve got marches of rock, you’ve got heavy metal crews, and there’s a romance cruise. But when it comes to just straight-out rock, rock legend cruise is what it says, it’s classic rock bands. They usually have about three newcomers each year that have been around for a few years. Not very well known, but it gives him a chance to play in front of a big audience, and a couple of them have done well enough to be asked to come back a second and third time. But it’s great for me because I get on this boat every year, and it’s like a musician’s family reunion. Some of us have been friends for 40 years, so that’s funny. Deep purple. We toured with the Who we toured with, they run into the Doobie Brothers in Kansas and on and on and on and on. It was like, wow, man, I hadn’t seen you in a long time. Then you start swapping stories. So, it’s real good for me, especially because I know at least 80% of the band members, if they’re original members of all these classic rock bands I get to see every year and perform with. You need to go on one of those. It’s really, really exciting.
MNOD: So, when you guys play a live show, you put, are you going to play the majority of the new record or you just kind of pick some songs here and there?
Walker: We’re doing, I had a set list here earlier today. Lemme see if I put my hands on it. We’re doing some of the classic Blackfoot stuff and then we’re doing, here’s a set list. Let me see what we got here. Yeah, we’re doing, let’s see, 1, 2, 3. I see four or five, I think we do like six Blackfoot songs and then the rest are originals. We had usually about 18 songs in the set. Our songs aren’t that long. You went through the seventies and eighties and there are a lot of songs for 5, 6, 7 minutes, and we’ve always stayed around four and a half to six, so we’re able to squeeze in a few more in the 90-minute set, but I think there’s 18 songs in our set list, so Blackfoot and then Two Wolf. I’m having a lot of fun with this, and we’re also excited. I mean, for us, the sky’s the limit. It’s just always looking onward and upward. We don’t have any signs of slowing down. Like I say, we can’t wait to start it on the next album.
Two Wolf’s self-titled debut is available now wherever music is disseminated, but do us all a favor and pay for a physical copy.
Two Wolf plays Sharkey’s Bar and Grill in Liverpool, NY on Sept. 19
See https://sharkeysbarandgrill.com/allevents/ for details.
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