Chrissys Blues Compass
CHRISSY'S BLUES COMPASS
Moses Walker: The Man behind the Bearded Clam
By: Chrissy Marie Hammett
So who is Moses Walker one might ask, and what exactly is his story? Well, most of us in the Colorado Blues Scene have heard the name before. In fact, most of us can immediately associate it as being synonymous with the deep voice behind one of Denver’s hardest working bands, “The Clamdaddys.” But who actually is the man behind the beard? When asked, he simply replied, “I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth and got the blues at the age of four when I lost my father. The rest is history.”
I am happy to relate that he has agreed to share a bit of that history with us today. Thank you my friend, for allowing me to interview you and for sharing your story! Much love!
Moses Walker’s story begins in London, England. Mo told me he spent his formative years in a suit and tie. “Children at this time were to be seen and not heard and expected to entertain at social functions. I was singing, dancing and playing piano for the likes of NBC’s 'Who’s Who' from the time I can remember,” he said.
“NBC’s Who’s Who,” I queried?
He answered, “My mother worked for NBC and enjoyed throwing house parties. People such as Ozzie and Harriet, Shirley Booth and Danny Thomas were not uncommon among her guests. I learned how to behave early on and my brother and I were built to be the perfect little gentlemen.”
Life changed considerably however after Moses’ father passed away when he was just four. His mother found herself unable to care for her two young sons and soon thereafter, he and his brother (two years his senior), found themselves indentured to a “Fatherless Boys School” in the heart of Philadelphia. “I remember being aware for the first time that life truly is an adventure into the unknown,” said Mo.
Although Moses had lost and learned much at an early age, his love of music never left him and was in fact, his true salvation in the orphanage. “Music, whether it was playing in the band or singing in the choir, always made me happy.” Mo told me that he began singing in the school’s choir at the age of five and was a 2nd bass by the time he was thirteen. He then added that he picked up trumpet about this same time. I asked him why he chose that particular instrument and his immediate response was, “That’s easy! Louis Armstrong of course! The happiest man in show business!” Some of Moses’ other early musical influences include Elizabeth Cotton, Reverend Gary Davis, Bessie Smith and Muddy Waters to name just a few.
Moses’ happiness in the orphanage was isolated however. At age fourteen he began running away, becoming incorrigible and quite the problem child for the authorities around him. When Mo was fifteen years old, he took it upon himself to become an emancipated minor, without legal papers. At sixteen, he married his first wife in Maryland. “This gave me my first real headache and my second child,” said Mo. At seventeen, and in need of a job, Moses joined the Army. This was not long lived and although Mo’s early dreams for his future were geared toward having a family and being a responsible parent, he soon realized that his ‘wanderlust’ and ‘adventurous spirit’ were getting in the way. Divorce soon followed.
By his eighteenth year, Moses was learning how to play the harmonica at the insistence of a guy he met while hitchhiking through Atlanta, Georgia. Happy with his newly found skill, he was able to play all over the country picking up spare change on the street. “I played harmonica well into my twenties, sitting in with numerous bands and solo acts. It was an easy instrument to tote.”
Moses didn’t pick up the guitar until he was in his late twenties. “I started playing guitar mostly to amuse my step-children” (from his second wife). His first live solo guitar performance was at a county fair in Florida. “There was a high school band behind me waiting to go on and my wife at the time was in the front row screaming at them to help me. All I could think was I can’t wait until this is over.” Mo persisted, however, and continued to play his guitar and harmonica for many more audiences down the road.
After moving back to Pennsylvania, Moses met Thommy Knox (his Clamdaddy partner) on the north side of the Blue Mountain. The way it was told to me was that he was sleeping one off on the couch at a friend’s house when he came to around sunrise. He glanced out the open window and saw Thommy strolling toward the house. “He was walking down the driveway with a six-pack of beer and a cup of coffee in hand. I knew right then that that was my man.” Thommy (who also plays harmonica) and Moses played in many bad bands together until such time as Thommy moved away with his second wife, Mo’s room-mate. Note to readers: I have chosen not to pursue this potential web! Ha ha!
Meanwhile, during Thommy’s absence, Moses found himself in a duo with Dave Antonio called Nosmo King. This particular duo’s claim to fame was that they were the opening act for what they affectionately referred to as, “The Has Been Tour.” Nosmo King opened for the likes of David Bromberg, John Sebastian, Rick Danko of The Band and Robert Hazard to name a few. They parted ways after Mo divorced his third wife.
Upon hearing this, I could no longer show restraint and thus asked Moses his opinion on marriage and children.
His reply was simple and forthright, “Children are great as long as they are other peoples.’ Marriage is wonderful, it’s a shame I’m no good at it.”
While Moses was pondering new directions, Thommy’s second wife called Mo and asked if he could put Thommy to work. Thommy returned to Pennsylvania (without said wife) in order to drive to Colorado and hopefully muster up some gigs. “It was a good ride. We had some fun musical adventures playing in Branson and Eureka Springs.”
Aren’t they in Missouri and Arkansas I asked?
He replied with, “Yeah, yea. We weren’t in a real big hurry.”
The two finally arrived in Colorado and upon meeting up with Jimmy Seville, became a trio called “Clueless.” Jimmy left the band shortly after joining, but not without first dubbing them “The Clamdaddys.” I asked Moses how Jimmy came up with that name and Mo replied, “I don’t know but I’ve got a million lies I can tell ya.”
For a short period of time, the boys played strictly as a duo in various venues in and around Denver.
Moses recruited Joseph Barton as the third member of, “The Clamdaddys,” a few months later. “I met Joseph at a jam that was hosted by John Harris. It was mostly minor blues until John told me to pick a tune. I played something very up tempo. I think it may have been, ‘Viper,’ and Joseph was the only one left standing. I asked him if he wanted a job, never getting his phone number. A month later, Thommy and I had a gig at Terra of the Earth where Joseph was the barrista. I asked him where his bass was and he said at home and I told him to go get it. He said he was working and couldn’t, but the manager overheard our conversation and sent him home to get it. That was his first gig with us and two weeks later he was on tour with us. It’s fifteen years later and he still plays guitar and bass with us on occasion.”
The Clamdaddys have been playing The Appaloosa Grill in Denver on Sunday nights for a number of years. Every week they have a different lead guitarist join them that they call their Witchita. When I asked Moses why he refers to them as such, he said, “Well, the Statler Brothers have a great album out called Lester Moran. It pokes fun at country music and performance art and they refer to the lead guitar player as Witchita. By the way, that’s also where ‘Mighty Fine’ comes from.” Sundays also consist of the band being prominently a five piece although I have seen other configurations as well. When mentioning this, Moses told me that “All of the five piece and most of the four piece bands are supported by the rhythm section of R.D. Jones on bass and Tony Hagar on drums. The trios are usually Thommy and I with Jodie Woodward or Joseph Barton on bass. We still do duos as well.”
Moses’ other musical endeavors include occasionally playing dances with Ronnie Shellist (blues harpist) as well as a few duos with Aden Harrell of The O-Tone Brass Band. “I am always looking for new musical experiences which is one of the reasons I host a jam,” said Moses.
You can find Mo’s jam at the Dnote in Arvada every Wednesday night. One thing that is highly unique about his jam, however, is that he does not have a sign-up list. When I asked him about this, he said “One night Thommy and I walked into a bar full of more hats and vests and sunglasses, i.e., blues guys, than you could shake a stick at. I knew it would be sometime next month before we got to play even if we signed up. I decided if I was going to host a jam, I never wanted the responsibility of someone not getting to play. I started a jam at the Abstract Café in Arvada in the mid-90s. In the late 90s, the Abstract closed and shortly thereafter I got the opportunity to start a jam up at the Dnote. We host our transcendental blues jam there every Wednesday night. Sometimes it‘s a little clustery and sometimes it‘s absolutely amazing.”
The Clamdaddys have often found themselves recognized and listed in the blues genre although they are not a traditional blues band. Mo’s reaction to this comment was, “We play some blues. Townes Van Zandt said, ‘There are two types of music, the Blues and Zippity Do Dah.’ In my opinion, we play Blues-Based Zippity Do Dah, but mostly we just have fun.” Truer words were never spoken.
“Go to www.clamdaddys.com and through the miracle of technology it will send you through cyberspace to calendars, music and videos. Thanks for coming, or however you reacted.” ~Moses Walker
