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Two Wolf is a new Southern Rock band that is composed of a veteran from that genre, Greg T Walker from Blackfoot and Lance Lopez who has worked and played with blues legends like Johnny Winter, Buddy Miles and Billy Gibbons.

 

Their self titled debut album was released on June 6, and it is a good one!

 

We had the opportunity to speak with Greg to discuss his new record, his career in the music business and his future.

 

Greg Drugan:  Hey Greg!  Thanks for taking some time with me today.  I wanted to congratulate you on your new record Two Wolf.  How did that project come about?

 

Greg T Walker:  I started this in 2015.  It’s a way I can keep playing the way I’m used to playing from the Blackfoot days. I got Chris and Lance and Rusty, the rest coming up, will be history. 

 

GD: Very good.  I got the chance to listen to the album a few times and I really like the songs “Too Hard To Handle” and “Traveler.”  Do you have a favorite track on the record?

 

GTW:  I could not pick a favorite. We worked really hard for this and I’m proud of everything we did. 

 

GD:  A lot of musicians say their songs are like their children, you can’t pick a favorite one, right?

 

GTW:  Yeah. “Traveler” has come up a few times.  That’s one of my compositions and I had to sing it. I thought I’d never do that again and Chris and Lance can sing my part. I’m not a lead singer but I gave it everything I had. 

 

GD:  I think it sounds fantastic.  LIke I said, it’s one of my favorites for sure. What is different creatively about working in Two Wolf compared to Blackfoot?

 

GTW:  Not a whole lot of difference. We have the same work ethic that  we did in Blackfoot. Back in that day, most bands really practiced a lot and honed their craft. When you’re playing five sets a night, six nights a week, you get pretty good pretty quick. That’s the same work ethic we applied to Two Wolf. 

 

GD:  Did you guys record all of it in the studio together, or did you do some file sharing?

 

GTW:  It was all in the studio, old school. 

 

GD:  I think that’s a different vibe when everyone is face to face in the studio.

 

GTW:  Yeah, we were all in the same room, all four of us. We were all in the same room rather than being isolated. That’s the way to do it, pretty much recording it live. 

 

GD:  Do you approach songwriting today versus the ‘70s and ‘80s?

 

GTW:  Yeah, I never had a formula myself. Sometimes you start with a lyric and write the music to it and vice versa. Then you pull in the other guys sometimes and they have ideas. It’s still a group effort even though one or two people write the song. It’s the contribution of the band as a whole that gives you the final result. You gotta have all four. 

 

GD:  How did you come across Lance Lopez?  I’ve heard some of his solo stuff and he’s a brilliant guitar player.  How did this band form?

 

GTW:  I met him through the first drummer we had in Two Wolf, they were friends.  We brought Lance in, but he had a lot going on at the time so he didn’t stay very long.  Then we brought Chris Bell in, but same thing he was kinda tied up.  Then eventually  we got them both in the band at the same time and that was the magic.  That was kinda my dream, if we could get both of those guys in this band at the same time, we would have it made. 

 

GD:  Do you have plans to go out and play this new music live?

 

GTW:  Yeah, I just got back from a show we did Saturday. We did Southern Rock Woodstock in Woodstock, Virginia.  We’re playing in September in Syracuse, we have another Woodstock we’re playing in August and we’ve got another one in October in Ohio. 

 

GD:  Very good. I’m based out of Cleveland so if you are anywhere close, I will come and check you guys out.   You were a founding member of Blackfoot—what are some moments from that time that still stand out to you from that time?  

 

GTW: I could not put that in a capsule. It was just incredible.  We went from playing clubs, to opening up for bands that we toured with extensively.  Then we kept pecking away at it.  Our first album bombed, then our second album bombed.  Went three years without a label.  Then Strikes came out and it went gold in eight months, then it went platinum and we were like “wow!” The first two did like 60,000 combined.  Luck of the draw I guess, right place at the right time.

 

GD:  Why is it that it seems that bands from the ‘70s and ‘80s it’s the third album that connects?

 

GTW:  I never thought about that.  They always say that the third time is the charm.  

 

GD:  Right!  It’s weird, Springsteen’s Born To Run was the third album and a lot of bands it’s the third album. Obviously, for Blackfoot too.

 

GTW:  I don’t know.  I was talking with Ted Nugent two weeks ago and he said the same thing. His third record was when he dropped The Amboy Dukes and he was just Ted Nugent.  That was number three for him. 

 

GD: How did the band’s connection to Southern rock and Native American identity shape the music that you guys play?

 

GTW:  Interesting story.  I formed Blackfoot in September of ‘69.  We did a battle of the bands with The Allman Brothers, it was their first show as The Allman Brothers.  We adopted the name, Hammer.   Six months later we arrived in New York City with the promise of a record deal that wasn’t there when we arrived.  The band was sitting in a one bedroom apartment, we were watching TV and we saw that there was a band from California with the name Hammer that released an album.  So we had to change the name of the band. So we said, “let’s call it Free.”  Two weeks later “All Right Now” comes out and we were like, “now what do we do?”  We were watching Johnny Cash’s variety show on a Sunday night and he always had a different tribe that he honored. This night happened to be Lakota.  Jackson, our drummer said “Blackfoot, that’s what we’ll call the band, Blackfoot.”  We said, “Yes!”  Jackson was Chyanne, Cherokee and French, I’m Miscogee Cree.  Why not?  It’s kind of a neutral name and we are neither one of that tribe. We’re from different tribes, it’s that simple. 

 

GD: I did not know that story, that’s very cool. Can you tell us about your experience working with bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd or touring with other legends of the era?

 

GTW:  We were friends with Skynyrd when we were playing in Jacksonville in 1969, seven nights a week.  We had been friends and went to the music stores and all, we all got along great but it was like three years later when I joined Skynyrd because Blackfoot had a hiccup.  I wound up going into Muscle Shoals and we recorded a full album. I think I was only in the band eight months or so, but I really wanted to reform Blackfoot, so I did.  Ricky (Medlocke) was also in the band at the time.  We both left and went and got the other two guys and the rest is history. 

 

GD:  I think you made the right choice.

 

GTW:  Yeah, but what a great experience!  That also led us going back to Muscle Shoals as Blackfoot and doing the first two albums.  Muscle Shoals, what a vibe that place had.  They were known as R&B but they also did Bob Seger’s album that did four times platinum.  That was the first quadruple platinum record ever released in America, to my knowledge.  They were doing Sam and Dave, Otis Reading, people like that so it was more like a soul studio.   We gave it everything we had, it sounded great but it just didn’t sell. 

 

GD:  Did you guys ever tour together in the ‘70s, Blackfoot and Skynyrd?

 

GTW:  I think we maybe only did two shows,  I saw a picture a while back, I want to say it was either Nashville or Knoxville. I know it was Tennessee. It’s a picture of Ronnie and I, setting in chairs facing each other and talking.  That would have been the end of ‘76 or early ‘77.   We always got along great, right up until the plane crash. 

 

GD:  You’ve always proudly represented your Native American heritage including songs like “Great Spirit”. How has that influenced your music and life over the years?

 

GTW:  It’s always been a part of me so it’s nothing I had to work at.  Actually, “Great Spirit” was co-written with Richard Luciano in Montana.  I had spent a year up there and we had written a lot of songs, but that’s the one that stood out- “Great Spirit.”  He already had most of the lyrics and he had most of the chords.  I just put the finishing touches on it  I credit him more having to do with that song than me. 

 

GD:  Do you feel rock music still has the power to influence culture the way it did in the past?

 

GTW:  Not like it did back then. I guess because it’s all been done. I don’t think there will ever be a big change again, unfortunately.  That was a magic time.  You had all kinds of genres of rock, and each one had their place.  We got through the hair band days, and then grunge hit in the ‘90s.  I don’t know if we’ll ever recover from that. I couldn’t make any sense of that, but there were many great players nonetheless.  I think the songwriting lacked but you had some that emerged that were really, really good. 

 

GD:  I always have to ask, being from Cleveland, Do you have any memories of playing in Cleveland and did you ever stay at the legendary Swingos hotel?

 

GTW: I remember The Agora. I remember the Coliseum.  We did a live gig up there one day, at about noon on a weekday.  That was broadcast live, that was somewhere in Cleveland. 

 

GD:  It was probably at The Agora.  It was the old WMMS Coffee Break Concerts. 

 

GTW:  MMS, yeah.  I don’t remember if it was The Agora or not because I remember the stage at The Agora and this was a different stage.  Ken Hensley was in the band at the time, too. 

 

GD:  Ok. So what are your plans for the future? You said you have written a lot of music, are there plans to release it?

 

GTW:  We were talking when we were in the studio making the last one, saying we can’t wait to start on the next one.  We were in the last days of finishing what we had started and we were already talking about the next one.  There’s always going to be a next one for the rest of our lives.  I mean, what else are we going to do? (laughs)

 

GD:  It’s in your blood!  Well, I wish you nothing but success with this new record.  I’m going to tell everyone in Northeast Ohio to check you guys out.  Safe travels on the road and hopefully I will see you soon.

 

GTW:  Thank you very much and I hope we do this again soon! 

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Be sure to check out Greg T Walker's new band, Two Wolf on their self titled album!

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You can watch the full Zoom call below! 

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