"I believe it’s important to preserve the blues and all roots music in general because it speaks to the human heart like no other form before it or after it and its role in society will always be that."

The Smoke Wagon Blues Band: Jam Blues

Featuring whisky-stained soul vocals, funky blues harmonica, slick R&B/roots guitar, swinging piano work, soulful organ, riveting saxophone, with a racy, taut rhythm section, The Smoke Wagon Blues Band, in one form or another, has been performing on festival stages for over two decades. Formed in 1996, the band first became crowd favourites in Hamilton, Ontario’s famous Hess Village. Seven independent album releases, international radio play, and a large local fan base propelled the band to venues across the continent. Smoke Wagon's latest 13-tracks release "The Ballad of Albert Johnson" (2020) won two 2021 Maple Blues Awards. Ontario's The Smoke Wagon Blues Band are back after their multi-award-winning Ballad of Albert Johnson LP with two brand new side singles. A swampy blues rocker depicting the haunting legend of Louisiana voodoo priestess “Julia Brown”, and their live heartfelt acoustic tribute to the Canadian Blues DJ icon Patrick Monaghan with “Onward Through the Fog”.

(The Smoke Wagon Blues Band / RSL Photography)

The band is a seven-piece with frontman Corey Lueck on vocals and harp, Mike Stubbs on guitar, slide and lap-steel, Steve Sherman on guitar and percussion, Peter Beacock on keys, Gordon Aeichele on sax, flute and washboard, Jason Colavecchia on bass and Tibor Lukacs on drums. The Smoke Wagon Blues Band are some of the finest original Canadian blues troubadours on the circuit today, performing on festival stages for over two decades. Eight Independent releases, international radio play, and a large Canadian blues following propelled the band to venues across the continent. The groups last three albums were award winning international hits reaching the top of the roots & blues charts earning the band: four independent blues awards in the USA; two Maple Blues awards in Canada and 5-star reviews in blues magazines around the globe.

Interview by Michael Limnios      Archive: Smoke Wagon Blues Band, 2016 interview

How do you think that you have grown as an artist since you first started making music? What has remained the same about your music-making process?

Corey: I think the most notable thing about our music as we've grown, is that we've found a balance in the way we craft our projects and songwriting. We turned a corner many years ago with putting the song first and we've gotten more particular about it as time goes on. We've become much more attuned with the listener as opposed to getting our own rocks off. Mind you we still do wacky things that only ourselves might understand musically like an "inside joke", sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but we just can’t help ourselves haha. I think that's something that always remains the same with us. Someone came up to me after a show recently and mentioned that they "really love how our humor and philosophy comes out in our music". I feel like we are still that same group of guys laughing, drinking whisky, and making music in the basement. That's the real joy of making music as a band which I think still resonates.

When we first started out the blues world was full of hot shot smoking guitar players, harp players, piano players etc. We didn't try to compete with that, our love of the blues relied completely on our own unique dynamics and witty song writing. It was the only thing that set us apart because those guys for whatever reason just weren't doing that. The funny thing is after all these years it's still those little things that give us our seasoned sound if you want to call it that. 

Why do you think that The Smoke Wagon Blues Band continues to generate such a devoted following?

Corey: I believe it's a few things which revolve around our diversity and unique story telling ability as a band. The diversity of our members allows us to step out of the blues and experiment with various world music that always challenges and surprises our audience, and we’ve been told our story telling has an authenticity to it that never grows old. We have the word "Blues" in our name, but our music has always swung in and out of the box like a saloon door at the right times. Possibly the biggest reason that we've held an audience might be the fact that we are still just a little old band from Hamilton that has stayed together and built a personal comradery within the local and national blues community. It feels more like a musical family that has no borders than a following. Economically, as the blues world ages and thins, there seems to be more solo artists with jobbers or special guests then actual bands staying together and developing their own sound. Sometimes we feel like we are the last of that dynamic.

"I think the most notable thing about our music as we've grown, is that we've found a balance in the way we craft our projects and songwriting. We turned a corner many years ago with putting the song first and we've gotten more particular about it as time goes on." (Photo: The Smoke Wagon Blues Band)

How did the idea of band come about? With such an illustrious career, what has given you the most satisfaction musically?

Corey: Haha I'm not sure “illustrious” is the word but honestly, I think the idea of the band has always been the kid like dream of making music with your friends and the idea of always trying to reach a larger audience regardless of how old you get. The most satisfaction I've had musically for myself has always been the act of writing/creating and the unbelievable fortune of sharing the stage with great players. 

What's the balance in music between technique and soul? How do you prepare for your recordings and performances to help you maintain both spiritual and musical stamina?

Corey: The balance between technique and soul is so important when it comes to telling your story. I seem to gravitate to soul musicianship over technique when it comes to expressing yourself and I think real music fans do to. For example, B.B King can tell you more in one note then the greatest technical player in the world can. Our number one rule when preparing for recording is to not lose our original inspiration and feel for how we wrote the song to begin with and how we want to tell the story. How we prepare for recordings is always different depending on the song and the dynamics of the song. Some songs we know need to be cut right away, some will only work live, and others need to germinate on the road to reach their full potential. You have to be invested emotionally in your work. The audience will know if you’re going through the motions or if you’re speaking from your soul.

Why is it important to preserve and spread the blues? What is the role of Blues in today’s society?

Corey: I believe it’s important to preserve the blues and all roots music in general because it speaks to the human heart like no other form before it or after it and its role in society will always be that.

"I believe it's a few things which revolve around our diversity and unique story telling ability as a band. The diversity of our members allows us to step out of the blues and experiment with various world music that always challenges and surprises our audience, and we’ve been told our story telling has an authenticity to it that never grows old. We have the word "Blues" in our name, but our music has always swung in and out of the box like a saloon door at the right times." (Corey Lueck / RSL Photography)

What touched you from the haunting legend of Louisiana voodoo priestess “Julia Brown”, and the Canadian Blues DJ Patrick Monaghan?

Corey: I’ve always loved history, tales, and folklore. I spent some time in the late 90’s playing in Louisiana, Mississippi and in the French Quarter of New Orleans exclusively for a little while, so the Acadian connection with the south musically has always been alluring to write about. With that in mind “Julia Brown” felt like a fun subject to explore. As legend has it, Julia Brown was a hoodoo or as some would say a voodoo priestess who lived in the swamps in a very small Acadian town called Frenier. She was known for her charms and her curses as well as singing eerie songs with her guitar on her porch in the night. The town went to her often for help but started to take her for granted which angered her in later years. She started to scare ungrateful locals or people that crossed her by predicting terrible things happening to them. She knew her death was near, and people could hear her singing “one day I’m gonna die and I’m gonna take all of you with me” On the day of her death sept 29^th, 1915 the town gathered to bury her when a hurricane swept in, wiped out the entire town, and left no survivors vilifying the curse. Today the tale lives on that she still haunts the swamps, and that people can hear her singing and playing guitar.

Onward Through the Fog was written on a much more personal note as a tribute to a dear friend of ours Patrick Monaghan. People always tag the phrase “Larger Than Life” to people after they’ve passed but he really was just that in the Canadian Blues community. We originally wrote the song only to preform as a memorial in his hometown of the Haliburton highlands but decided to record it afterwards. Everyone who met Pat had a profound personal relationship with him. We’ve all had a hard time dealing with the fact that he is no longer backstage with us. He was a great supporter of The Smoke Wagon Blues Band so much so that he was planning on becoming our manager before he got sick. He was a great friend. “Onward through the fog” was his signature signoff on his weekly radio show, “The Buckslide Blues Cruise”. 

"Possibly the greatest lesson is; there’s no room for egos in art, the song always has to be number one and what’s best for the song is best for the song. Separating yourself as a song writer from a musician." (Corey Lueck on vocals and harp & Mike Stubbs on guitar, slide and lap-steel / RSL Photography)

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

Corey: I think as we get older, we learn that music and art is not a competition, envy will kill you in this business, if you’ve chosen music as your path in life then it must be just that, “a way of life” for better or worse instead of a measuring stick, really that’s what a true bluesman is “a way of life”. Playing in an actual band the biggest lesson you learn is patience haha, patience with people and patience with the music world in general. It can be agony keeping a band together long term, but the art and musical friendship made along the way is worth it. Possibly the greatest lesson is; there’s no room for egos in art, the song always has to be number one and what’s best for the song is best for the song. Separating yourself as a song writer from a musician.  

Do you think there is an audience for blues music in its current state? or at least a potential for young people to become future audiences and fans?

Corey: This is a tough question, and I hate to sound dispiriting or pessimistic, but the fact is the blues audience is shrinking more and more each year and there is no way around it. We have fantastic blues societies and blues festivals, but nothing can slow down or cure musical gentrification. Our festivals, award shows, and venues creep smaller and smaller; not just the blues, but live music in general. We have amazing young players that we rave about being the future of the blues, but the reality is as much as they excite, they don’t bring a young audience along with them on their musical journey. I think the key moving forward is to not alienate or genderize the blues. The blues will always be there like a master soup base, expanding and encouraging the box might be more productive than purifying. Outside of the blues world we’ve never shied away from playing family festivals or cultural stages where people would not normally see or even understand what the blues is. This year we played to an all-East Indian cultural audience and a few years ago we played right inside City Hall for a Chinese Newyear celebration. We must stop our politicians, corporations, and society from eliminating the arts in general from our schools and local culture. For example, right in our hometown of Hamilton, ON, the music program from Mohawk College was just cut. One of the founders of The Smoke Wagon Blues Band was hired from NFLD Canada to play Celtic music in Ireland for a year because they no longer had any young people in their own country that could play traditional Celtic. Think about that for a second, that’s where we are heading if we continue down this path. The potential for young people to become future audiences and fans of the blues, I believe lies there at the root of the problem.

The Smoke Wagon Blues Band - Home

(The Smoke Wagon Blues Band: Corey Lueck on vocals and harp, Mike Stubbs on guitar, slide and lap-steel, Steve Sherman on guitar and percussion, Peter Beacock on keys, Gordon Aeichele on sax, flute and washboard, Jason Colavecchia on bass and Tibor Lukacs on drums / RSL Photography)