The blues is a curious thing. It’s structure is simple, primarily composed of five-note scales within simple chord progressions. Lyrically it’s not all that complex, though subject matter can span from the comedic to the heartbreaking. Also, it’s not terribly heavy, nor terribly soft.

Yet it remains arguably one of the most influential, widely-loved musical styles in the Western music canon.

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“It’s the energy. The intertwining of the whole thing is what makes it. Music is sharing your life energy. You’re giving something of yourself, and you hope somebody responds,” says Duke Tumatoe. “Who are you and what are you saying and does that relate.”

Tumatoe, who will be closing out the Thursday Night Blues Series at the Eagles Theatre this week, is a devout student of the blues. “I grew up on the south side of Chicago, and, at that time, they played that stuff on the radio,” he says. “All these artist who later became the icons of the whole genre, were right there in front of you. It was my vocabulary and nobody else was speaking my language.”

“I’ve been in my own band since 1969,” says Tumatoe. Duke Tumatoe is stage name, by the way. He performed under his given name, Bill Fiorio, with REO Speedwagon in the late 60s before adopting the moniker.

In 1970, he formed Duke Tumatoe and the All-Star Frogs. He would perform with that group from then until 1983. During this time, he toured relentlessly throughout the Midwest and cut three albums. In ’83, he disbanded the All-Star Frogs and founded Duke Tumatoe and the Power Trio, the band he still plays with to this day.

Tumatoe – influenced by Chicago blues greats like Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy and Howlin’ Wolf – developed a style all his own. A distinct combination of gritty, rocking blues tones and often comedic lyrical content.

“After 20 some albums, I’ve had a fantastic life,” Tumatoe says. “It’s been curious at times to see how things fit together.”

Over the course of his career, Tumatoe has opened for the likes of Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, George Thorogood, Fabulous Thunderbirds, the Doobie Brothers and John Fogerty. Fogerty liked his style so much that he produced Tumatoe’s 1988 live album, “I Like My Job.”

In recent years, Tumatoe has been a regular on the Bob and Tom radio show. He’s also in the process of putting together a new record.

“I’m working on a new project. Primarily, it’s tunes from my Chicago background. We recorded a couple of the songs at this place in Chicago called Kingston Mines. We’ve got about eight tunes in the can. I’d like to put about five more on there.”

He’s seen the industry change significantly in his nearly 50 year career. “When I first started recording – my first album was in 1977 – we recorded on a 16-track tape machine, which was state of the art at the time,” he says. “The differences are monumental as far as technology, but as far as everything else, the way you play music hasn’t changed. It’s still performance that matters.”

Tumatoe long ago relocated to the Indianapolis area, perhaps drawn by the modest blues scene that sprung up there following the migration of the art form out of the Mississippi Delta. Though his bushy beard is now lily-white, and his hair’s not as thick as it once was, he still plays some 200 shows a year throughout the Midwest.

Duke Tumatoe and the Power Trio will be at the Eagles Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 the day of the show.

Later this summer Duke Tumatoe and the Power Trio will be in Warsaw on Friday, July 10 for the Warsaw Parks Department’s Blues and BBQ Festival. The Elwood Splinter Blues Band will open.