Charles Wheal first got the inspiration to play the guitar after seeing Bob Margolin (Muddy Waters' guitar player for most of the 70s) performing in and around Blacksburg, VA.
In 1997, Wheal got the call from harmonica player Mark Hummel to fill the guitar chair in his band. He played on all of Hummel's releases since then, including three Harmonica Meltdown CDs (Mountaintop) and Hummel's Electro-Fi CDs, "Golden State Blues", "Blowing My Horn", and "Ain't Easy no More".
Over the years, Wheal has played with a virtual who's-who of blues greats, including James Cotton, Snooky Pryor, Sam Myers, Joe Beard, Steve Freund, Charlie Musselwhite, Kim Wilson (The Fabulous Thunderbirds), Rod Piazza, Rick Estrin (Little Charlie & The Nightcats), James Harman, Paul Delay, Jerry Portnoy, Lee Oskar, Magic Dick, Huey Lewis, Jody Williams, Jr Watson, Billy Branch, Curtis Salgado, Maria Muldaur, Bob Margolin, Anson Funderburgh, Cal Valentine, Detroit Jr, Barrelhouse Chuck, Billy Boy Arnold, and of course Mark Hummel.
In October of 2006, Wheal decided it was time for a change and left Mark Hummel in order to devote all of his energy to his own band. They can be found playing at all of the best Bay Area clubs, providing a mix of Chicago, Texas, and West coast blues that gets crowds on their feet and keeps them there.
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Thanks for the show at the Cafe Van Kleef in Oakland last night. Both you and Steve Freund are the best blues players around and to see you together is so amazing. Anyone who is in the Bay Area should definitely check out this gig, 3rd Friday of every month. Love your new CD too, awesome old school, authentic Blues. It's all good, very very good. Thank you for the music.
Thank you very much for letting me join your circle of friends. I hope to see you out on the road real soon. Keep the blues alive and keep on keeping the faith! Peace and Love! Shirley King, Daughter of The Blues
Really great show last Friday with Steve Freund at CVK in Oakland. No one could ever accuse you of "phoning it in." Hot guitar and vocals. Anyone local should try not to miss these 2 great bluesmen together, you have another chance next month.
