Smokey Hormel

Smokey Hormel (born circa 1958-59) is an American guitarist known for his blues and country style and working as a session musician with a wide array of performers.

Hormel was born and raised in Los Angeles. He is a grandson of George Hormel who founded the meat company Hormel, and Smokey was his legal name from birth. As a teenager he studied with Jimmy Wyble, guitarist for Texas Playboys and Benny Goodman.

In the mid-1980s, Hormel played lead guitar with the Radio Ranch Straight Shooters and later joined The Blasters to replace founding member Dave Alvin, with whom he toured the US and Europe 1988–1992. At the same time, he formed The Blue Shadows with Lester Butler, performing weekly in West Hollywood's King King club. Throughout the early 1990s, he toured and recorded with John Doe, the pair appearing in the movie Georgia.

In 1996, Hormel joined Beck for his Odelay world tour and played on the albums Mutations, Midnight Vultures, and Sea Change. Two years later, he played with Tom Waits on the Grammy award-winning Mule Variations and was featured on Waits' Get Behind The Mule tour in 1999.

In 2000, Hormel moved to New York City, where he and Miho Hatori formed Smokey & Miho. In 2003, Forro in the Dark was formed with Rob Curto and Mauro Refosco. The group recorded and performed with David Byrne, Seu Jorge, Bebel Gilberto and Steve Earle. In 2005, Hormel formed Smokey's Secret Family, which plays Brazilian-, Caribbean-, and African-styled surf music; and Smokey's Round-up, a western swing band.

In the early 2000s, Smokey was a primary player on Johnny Cash's final album, American Recordings, which included the Grammy Award-winning cover of Nine Inch Nails' "Hurt".

From 2004 to 2010, Hormel was a composer and guitarist for the Nickelodeon TV cartoon series The Backyardigans.His other film score work includes Be Kind Rewind, The Cowboy and The Frenchman, The Straight Story, Star Maps, Chuck & Buck, Trees Lounge, Lonesome Jim, Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy, Night Moves,Certain Women, and I'm Not There.

In 2010 Smokey recorded and toured with Norah Jones. They appeared together in the feature film Ted.

In 2012 he rejoined Beck for a tour and the recording of the 2014 Grammy Award-winning Album of the Year, Morning Phase.

Today Hormel plays clubs around New York City with Smokey's Secret Family. Smokey's Round-up plays dances every Wednesday night at Sunny's Bar in Brooklyn.

He has also recorded or performed with Adele, R. L. Burnside, Cibo Matto, Neil Diamond, John Doe, the Dixie Chicks, Erasmo Carlos, Steve Earle, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Josh Groban, Marianne Faithfull, Wanda Jackson, Mick Jagger, K. D. Lang, Sean Lennon, Jennifer Nettles, Beth Orton, Kid Rock, Joe Strummer, Justin Timberlake, Rufus Wainwright, and Tom Waits.