Wolf Mail (born 1972) is a Canadian-born guitarist, singer-songwriter who embarked on his

Blues & Roots ''Blues & Roots'' is an album by Charles Mingus, recorded in 1959 and released on the Atlantic label in 1960. It has been reissued on CD by both Atlantic and Rhino. Inspiration Mingus explained the origins of this record in the album's liner ...

music journey at the age of fourteen. Mail has recorded eight full-length albums, internationally distributed and has toured in over twenty-six countries. He is influenced by

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

Early years

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, raised in the

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

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Mail spent much of his early years traveling. He began playing the guitar at the age of ten, 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 John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues that he develo ...

. Later, Mail received guitar lessons from fellow Canadian guitarist David Goodman. At age seventeen he put his own project together and left home shortly after to tour with his band.

Career

Mail recorded two independent albums in the mid-'90s before signing up with ZYX records. Since then he has released eight 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 "favorite love song of all time". Pre-production for his second album ''Blue Fix'' started in Los Angeles with

Gary Mallaber Gary Mallaber (born October 11, 1946, in Buffalo) is an American musician from Los Angeles, mostly known as a drummer, but plays percussion, vibraphone, and keyboards. In addition, he is a songwriter, arranger, composer, producer, engineer, a ...

on drums and Gerald Johnson on bass. The recording was completed in France with Niko Sarran on drums. Mail then recorded a live CD and DVD ''Live Blues in Red Square'' in Moscow. His fourth album ''Electric Love Soul'' was recorded in 2009 in Los Angeles at Dawghouse studios by Grammy Award winner Alan Mirikitani, 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 stationed at ...

producer Dennis Walker. His follow-up ''The Basement Session'' was recorded in Sydney, Australia, at the Basement by Chris Mysinski. 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." Mail wrote and recorded his seventh album "''The Wolf is at our door" in Sydney, Australia. The album was released in March 2023. "''A contemporary bluesy vibe, slow burn vocals, and moments of psych-like sound that bring to mind Muddy Water’s Electric Mud, wrote the ''Blues Rock review''

Influences

is the artist that Wolf cites as his first inspiration. Wolf's playing style is a fusion of traditional blues, soul, and rock influences. He draws inspiration from guitar legends such as

Albert Collins Albert Gene Collins (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. He was noted for his powerful playing ...

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums, live performances, and slide guitar playing from the late 1 ...

and Peter Green who have contributed to his playing style. Wolf's playing ranges from stop-start staccato runs to Winter's more fluid style with lightning-fast runs. His intense, feverish style cuts a swathe between

Buddy Guy George "Buddy" Guy (born July 30, 1936) is an American blues guitarist and singer. He is an exponent of Chicago blues who has influenced generations of guitarists including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaug ...

and

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as "Ireland's first rock star", he is known for his virtuosic style of guitar playing and live performances. He has sometim ...

International

Wolf Mail playing in concert in Australia

For over two decades, Wolf has toured the US,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, performing at clubs, festivals, small towns, and big cities. His passion for music has earned him a dedicated following, and he has developed a niche but loyal global audience.

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 a Mark Gilbert WM1 signature bearing his name along with the Mark Gilbert BC electro-acoustic guitars. For recording sessions Wolf also uses a 1957

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...

and a 1972

Gibson Les Paul The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1952. The guitar was designed by factory manager John Huis and his team with input from and endorsement by guitarist Les Paul. Its typic ...

Deluxe. His guitar rig also includes several effects pedals such as an original 1978 Boss OD1 overdrive, a Boss CE-2 and a custom boost pedal. For many years, Wolf was endorsed by Carvin Audio, and was one of the first artists with

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

to use the Carvin Bel Air vintage series. Although Wolf still owns several Bel Air amps, he now uses Mesa Boogie Lonestar amplifiers.

Discography

Wolf Mail *2002 – ''Solid Ground'' *2005 – ''Blue Fix'' *2009 – ''Live Blues in Red Square'' *2010 – ''Electric Love Soul'' *2011 – ''The Basement Session'' *2013 – ''Above The Influence'' *2015 – ''Oseana Auditorium'' *2023 – ''The Wolf is at Our Door'' Collaborations *2015 – ''Blues Christmas'' (with

Leslie West Leslie Abel West (born 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. West was named the 245th greatest guit ...

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 19 albums for major record labels and has done session and tribute work. He has also co ...

Kenny Neal Kenny Neal (born October 14, 1957), is an American blues guitar player, singing, 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 broth ...

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

Joe Louis Walker Louis Joseph Walker Jr. (December 25, 1949 – April 30, 2025), known as Joe Louis Walker, was an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his u ...

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of th ...

). *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 comprehensive and historic reference book 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