Mike Zito and the Wheel are making a transatlantic journey to appear at the Burnley Blues Day on Saturday night.

John Anson put some questions to the band’s lead singer You’re heading to Burnley with the Wheel. Who can we expect to see on stage with you?

Myself, Jimmy Carpenter on sax and vocals, Scot Sutherland on bass and vocals, Lewis Stephens on piano and organ and Rob Lee on drums – the full Wheel band!

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For first timers to one of your shows, what can we expect?

Rock n Roll! Blues! That’s kind of what we do all night long. Pretty straight forward. All the musicians are really talented and we have a lot of good material, I think that resonates with audiences.

Some music fans may have seen you with the Royal Southern Brotherhood. What was it like to play alongside some pretty major names ie Cyril Neville and Devon Allman.

Cyril and Devon are dear friends and fantastic musicians, it was a joy.

Will you ever go out of the road again with the Royal Southern Brotherhood?

Maybe, I guess so if the time was right. I don’t see why not, but I am not doing that right now so we are on the road with The Wheel.

Your recent material –I’m thinking particularly of the album Gone to Texas –is highly personal. You speak of how one trip to the Lone Star State saved your life. How low were you at that point and how are you now?

Well, I was bad off, but maybe not as bad off as I had been in the past.

But I had a very confident feeling that things would get worse if I kept going with the drugs and alcohol.

Luckily for me I had a woman by my side that loved me and a program that saved my life.

Today I couldn’t be happier! I am playing my music and raising my children and I married that wonderful woman. The thought of using or drinking seems so distant, and I keep very spiritual to stay focused.

Has music and working with The Wheel in particular given you a new lease of life both creatively and personally?

Music has always been my focus until drugs and alcohol got in the way.

It is exciting to have music be my life again and I am excited to play. I put this band together about three years ago based on the individuals as people and musicians. They are all very good people with good spirits and also excellent musicians. I found that when you surround yourself with winners, you win.

As well as having a chance to see you in Burnley, what else can UK fans look forward to from you this year?

I believe we have a two week tour at the end of October in the UK - although I do not have the details as of yet. We are trying to make sure we come over at least twice a year.

For fans who may be put off because next Saturday is called Burnley Blues Day and “they don’t like blues” how would you win them over to come along?

Blues is a pretty generalised term these days. I would tell folks if you like real music, raw heartfelt songs, if you like to dance and move and want to have your soul filled with joy, get to Burnley on Saturday!!!

  • Mike Zito and the Wheel play Burnley Blues Day at Burnley Mechanics, Saturday, May 2. The line-up also includes multiple UK Blues Award winners King King. For details contact the box office on 01282 664400.