Wolf Mail (born 1972) is a Canadian blues rock guitarist and singer. Mail has recorded 6 full-length albums, internationally distributed and has toured in over 26 countries. He is influenced by blues,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

Early years

Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, and raised in the

South of France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

and California, Mail spent much of his early years traveling. He began playing the guitar at the age of 10, heavily influenced by

Elmore James Elmore James ( Brooks; January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and bandleader. Noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice, James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ...

and John Lee Hooker. Later, Mail received some guitar lessons from David Goodman, and went on to perform his first gig at 14. He left home at 17 to tour with his own band.

Career

Mail recorded two independent albums in the mid-'90s before signing up with ZYX records. Since then he has released nine albums. His first effort, ''Solid Ground'', included the ballad "Hello" which stayed in the best selling music charts in Japan for three weeks and had fans declare their "favourite love song of all time". Blue Fix followed up which was recorded with the help of the

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1966 in San Francisco, California. The band is led by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles that are staples of classic rock, as ...

Mail then recorded a live CD and DVD Live Blues in Red Square in Moscow, Russia. His fourth album '' Electric Love Soul'' was recorded in 2009 in LA at Doghouse studios by Grammy Award winner BB "Chung" King, and

Robert Cray Robert William Cray (born August 1, 1953) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards. Early life Robert Cray was born on August 1, 1953, in Columbus, Georgia, while his father was statione ...

producer Dennis Walker. His follow-up '' The Basement Session'' was recorded in Sydney, Australia, at the Basement, which has hosted artist such as Prince and

Albert Collins Albert Gene Drewery, known as Albert Collins and the Ice Man (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993),Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. ...

. His sixth album, '' Above The Influence'', was released in October 2013. Rhythms Music Magazine said it "sees Mail return to where he cut his teeth, our teeth, everyone's teeth – again, searing electric blues."

International

Wolf Mail playing in concert in Australia

Mail has played several world tours during his career, with Russian and European tours in 2009 and 2010, and Asian and Australian tours in 2010 to 2012. Mail has a global presence and has played to sell-out tours around the world.

Awards and recognition

''Player Magazine Japan'' selected Mail as the "Close-up" artist of the month in June 2005. Other artists have included

and

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

. MusicOz Australia gave Wolf Mail best top 10 international performer of the year award for 2012.

Musical instruments and gear

Wolf uses Mark Gilbert WM1 signature bearing his name and Mark Gilbert BC electro-acoustic guitars and Fender 1957 vintage

Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes Paul had built a prototype solid body ...

and Greg Bennett Blackbird semi-acoustic guitars. Wolf is endorsed by Carvin amplifier, and was one of the first artists with

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr ...

to use the Carvin Bel Air vintage series. Wolf has been using the Bel Air since 1993.

Discography

Wolf Mail *2002 – ''Solid Ground'' *2004 – ''Live!Live!Live!'' (unofficial release). *2005 – ''Blue Fix'' *2009 – ''Live Blues in Red Square'' *2010 – ''Electric Love Soul'' *2011 – ''The Basement Session'' *2012 – ''Soho Strays'' *2013 – ''Above The Influence'' *2015 – ''Oseana Auditorium'' Collaborations *2015 – ''Blues Christmas'' (with

Leslie West Leslie West (born Leslie Abel Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. Life and career Early years: 1 ...

Eric Gales Eric Gales (born October 29, 1974), also known as Raw Dawg, is an American blues rock guitarist, originally hailed as a child prodigy. , Gales has recorded nineteen albums for major record labels and has done session and tribute work. He has a ...

Kenny Neal Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American blues guitar player, singer and band member. Neal was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Raful Neal, and he comes from a musical family. He has often performed with his brothers in his ...

Pat Travers Patrick Henry Travers (born April 12, 1954) is a Canadian rock guitarist, keyboardist and singer who began his recording career in the mid-1970s. Early life Travers was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. Soon after picking up the guitar at ag ...

Joe Louis Walker Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW (born December 25, 1949) is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playi ...

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

). *2018 – ''Live at the Lazy'' (with Milena Barrett)

DVDs

*''Live Blues in Red Square'' was released in 2009, and recorded at the Jazz Town Theater, in Moscow, Russia. *''Oseana Auditorium'' released in 2014 was recorded during Wolf's 2013 tour of Scandinavia, while supporting Blues legend Johnny Winter.

Bibliography

*'' Rock my world Canada'' by Mike Carr. A reference and collector's guide on Canadian Blues artists.

Record labels

*Japan/ Asia – BSMF Records *Europe – ZYX Music *North America – Cleopatra Records

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mail, Wolf 1972 births Living people Blues rock musicians Canadian blues guitarists Canadian blues singers Canadian male guitarists Musicians from Montreal Electric blues musicians 21st-century Canadian guitarists 21st-century Canadian male musicians