Robert Wagner and Xavier Muriel of Black Smoke Sinners rocked the ship with us last year, and we are excited that they are back onboard this October!

Check out this Q&A with Robert and Xavier where they reflect on what made 2022 so great, and what they are looking forward to in 2023.

How did Black Smoke Sinners get started? How did the band get its name?

Robert: “Xavier and I met in ’97 on an expedition to climb the highest peak in Nebraska, where we somehow had the same Sherpa if memory serves. Lol. But seriously, Chris (Callen) and X were hitting all the rally’s around the country doing bike shows and promoting Cycle Source Magazine, and I wanted to tag along! Putting a band together just made sense, and ‘Black Smoke Sinners’ came to me after a night around a fire talking about our departed fathers and their influence on us as men.”

Black Smoke Sinners performs at rallies around the country all year round. Do you have any wild rally stories to share?

Xavier: “Stories from the road traditionally stay on the road, I’ll just say that! Lol But rolling out a freshly completed build, entering bike shows, doing media (gratefully) surviving the general rally chaos, all while doing my level best to represent my fledgling company *Providence Cycle Worx* while in the same arena as all the legendary builders I’ve worshiped for years AND my contemporaries is all the ‘wild’ my old a** can take!”

What’s new for the Black Smoke Sinners this year? What’s coming up next?

Robert: “We’re hoping to bring our band (and the party!) to a number of rally’s around the lower 48 in 2024, certainly! Sturgis and Daytona are always on the list, but we’d love to spring ourselves on the unsuspecting public at some other events! Lol. We also have plans to record a 4-song EP of original songs we’ve been sitting on, just to flex that creative muscle we all have individually.”

Smoke Sinners were a huge hit onboard High Seas Rally 2022. What are you most looking forward to onboard High Seas Rally 2023?

Xavier: “For me, it’s friends. Dear friends of many years, all those friendly faces from the 2022 cruise, and making some new ones somewhere out on that deep blue water. And of course, my ultimate passion and what means the most to me: The High Seas Rally Dialysis Fund and partnership with the Wounded Warrior Project. Providing dialysis patients and their caregivers the ability to travel to these beautiful, exotic locations, and the freedom from the expense we can provide is an honor and a privilege.” 

Who inspires you the most musically? Who inspires you the most when it comes to performing?

Robert: “My father had a pretty amazing career in music, and I’ve wanted to hit the stage myself from my earliest memories. So I would start with him, then sprinkle in all the greatest singers of my generation and the bands they fronted, some Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Van Halen, The Stones, Tina Turner, The Carpenter’s and f’n Sly Stone…and I’ll sing Black Crowes songs for ya all night long!”

Xavier: “As the drummer, I’ve had to stare at Robert’s a** dancing around in front of me on-and-off for 25 years now, and somehow I’m still not sick of it. So I guess I’ll give him a little the love for that. Lol”