Tuesday, December 14, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 203 #246)

Recital Recap and Christmas Songs!!!

Our 15th recital last Friday was a huge success! Joe particularly noticed that people were much better prepared and the time between songs was much shorter than in the past. It was a fun, quick-moving show and we even had lots of audience members hanging in there until the end.

Using a couple Christmas songs with bends in them Joe had a discussion last night about note bending. He recapped the five levels of note bending, in order of difficulty:

1. Ornamental bends
2. The full bends in each hole that does bend
3. "In between" bends (ie: the half step and whole step missing notes)
4. Playing all the bends with tone and resonance that makes them richer and fuller than unbent notes.
5. Viewing the diatonic harmonica like a piano.

Practice your bending with melodies like Christmas songs and remember that bending is not like riding a bike. You don't learn it and forget it. Bending is something that takes constant attention.

Happy Holidays!!!


We reported recently on a grade-school harmonica ensemble taught by Jason of Old Town. Here is a fun video of the Coonley school kids doing Jingle Bells. (check out the adults up front with the flip cards!)

video: Jingle Bells

In The Reeds!!!

- The folks behind the film Pocket Full of Soul have released a secondary DVD called In The Reeds which is a collection of interviews and outtakes from their extensive footage. This includes film shot in B1 so get your hands on this great video. Here is a review by our own Tom Gilmore:

"This is a good video with comments, opinions and stories from many great harp players. Through many interviews, it covers where the harmonica fits into music, their lives and the future of harmonica music. I always enjoy listening to my favorites -- Jason Ricci, Charlie Musselwhite, Jerry Portnoy, Dennis Gruenling and, of course, Joe Filisko. The DVD has great harp background music and some excellent short performances. No matter what level you play, it will leave you with a good feeling about your own playing.

This is one man's opinion.

From Tommy G"

Grammy Nominees!!!

- Thanks to our friend Bob Corritore for reporting on the recently announced Grammy nominees. Lots of harp players (even on Cyndi Lauper's disc!) and our local legend Willie Smith is nominated twice!

Best Traditional Blues Album
1. James Cotton - Giant!
2. Cyndi Lauper - Memphis Blues
3. Charlie Musselwhite - The Well
4. Pinetop Perkins & Willie "Big Eyes" Smith - Joined At the Hip
5. Jimmie Vaughan - Play Blues, Ballads, & Favorites

Best Contemporary Blues Album
1. Solomon Burke - Nothing's Impossible
2. Dr. John - Tribal
3. Buddy Guy - Living Proof
4. Bettye LaVette - Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook
5. Kenny Wayne Shepherd feat. Bryan Lee, Buddy Flett, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith, and Hubert Sumlin - Live In Chicago

Class Notes
  • Joe is excited to announce we'll have Matthew Skoller as our special guest in class Monday, February 28, 2011. It's a ways off, but mark your calendars!
  • Old Town School is on winter break. Nothing happening in B1 now until January 3, 2011. See you then!
  • Unless we get breaking news, the newsletter staff is taking the rest of the year off. Remember that we will continue to update the YouMissedMonday website and gig calendar, so stop in there for your fix. In the meantime, use your Mondays (and your Tuesdays) to practice, grasshopper, and we'll hit you again with a newsletter on January 4!
For Sale!!!

- Our B1 buddy Tom Gilmore has a few amps for sale. Give him a call if you're interested:

Roland Cube 30X - $135.00

Roland Cub RX - $135.00

Peavey Transtube 112 with factory pedal board 60 Watts - $225.00

tel: 773-960-6274

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 202 #245)

Recital Practice!!!

We rehearsed our songs for this Friday's recital last night. Remember to have a simple page drawn up with your song titles, keys and groove so you can quickly communicate it to the band. Get on stage and into position immediately following the previous performer and work to minimize the time between your songs.

It's inspiring to see people ratcheting up their performance skills and songwriting chops for this big show at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. Bring your friends, bring your mother, get out to see this one!

Huge thanks to Gavin Tun (bass) for coming out to B1 the last couple weeks to rehearse with us...and Happy Birthday Gavin!

Morry Sochat Interview!!!

There is a very nice interview with Morry Sochat in the current issue of the Buddy Guy's Legends Newsletter. Check it out online or pick up a copy when you're at Legends next. Morry Sochat and the Special 20s put on a great show and have a fantastic CD out - catch 'em soon!

Class Notes
  • Joe is excited to announce we'll have Matthew Skoller as our special guest in class Monday, February 28, 2011. It's a ways off, but mark your calendars!
  • The last class this session is Monday, December 13th.
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 201 #244)

That Ain't It!!!

Joe taught the second half of That Ain't It this week and talked at length about Walter Horton. Joe calls him the "diatonic harmonica player's harmonica player" because he is so well-rounded. Horton has an extremely large range of sounds, tones and dynamics that he employs to captivate listeners and this song is full of great examples. Check it out!

Learn to Play Savagely!!!

Joe announced that B1's own Zoe Savage is now offering one-on-one harmonica lessons and needless to say, he highly endorses her! If you live in the Chicago area, shoot her an email to set something up: Zoe Savage.

Filisko Solo (or is it duo?) Show Tonight!!!

Brave the snow and get out to the Harlem Avenue Lounge tonight for another Filisko Solo show starting at 8:00pm. No drums, no guitars, just harmonica and vocals. In addition to lots of Christmas songs, there will be a duo set of Joe and Zoe - as Joe put it, "Me and the Z", and there may be others sitting in with him as well!

PowerBender Review!!!

For those of you interested in the PowerBender offered by Brendon Power, our friend Jim Lucas offers these thoughts:

While I was at the SPAH convention in Minneapolis, I attended Brendon Power's demonstration of his new PowerBender harmonica. I was impressed enough to buy one and I've been experimenting since with the one a bought there. I bought the "Introductory POWERBENDER Book/CD and Harp Package" which is now offered and shown on the PowerBender web page.

It is a Suzuki Harpmaster harmonica in A, pretuned to the PowerBender tuning. I am very impressed by the instrument and have enjoyed playing it. The tuning layout is intuitive and I love being able to use my bending skills to get all those extra chromatic notes.

What is the PowerBender tuning? Here is a comparison of the PowerBender tuning and the standard (Richter) tuning, using two C harps:

Richter Tuning in C:
Blow:
C,E,G,C,E,G,C,E,G,C
Draw:
D,G,B,D,F,A,B,D,F,A
Draw Bends: 1/D (down to Db), on 2/G (down to F# and F), on 3/B (down to A, Ab, and G), on 4/D (down to Db), and 6/A (down to Ab)

PowerBender Tuning in C:
Blow:
C,E,G,C,D,F,A,C,E,A
Draw:
D,G,B,D,E,G,B,D,G,C
Draw Bends: All those of the Richter Tuning, plus 5/E (down to Eb), 7/B (down to Bb), 8/D (down to Db), 9/G (down to F# and F) and 10/C (down to B and Bb)

As you can see, you have access to many more bends in the top half of the harp. This allows you to play more chromatic notes on a diatonic, without having to overblow. The PowerBender has the same lower octave as a standard harp for chord rhythms and blues licks. If you want to get your hands on a PowerBender, you can 1) tune your harp to the PowerBender tuning, 2) order one online (there are many options: see web site above), or 3) send Brendan your favorite harp and he'll custom tune it. After experimenting with the PowerBender while I was still at SPAH, I immediately missed having access to the Ab on the 6 draw. I use that a lot in 3rd position playing. I mentioned this to Brendan, and he said that he overcomes that by using a valved version of the instrument. This allows him to get the Ab on the 7 blow hole. I won't get into valving in this little discussion, but suffice it to say that I have purchased two of the valved versions (another Harpmaster in A and a Suzuki ProMaster in C), but I haven't found the valving to be as intuitive to use.

Overall, I think Mr. Power has designed something of value, and I recommend you give it a try.

Class Notes
  • Joe is excited to announce we'll have Matthew Skoller as our special guest in class Monday, February 28, 2011. It's a ways off, but mark your calendars!
  • The last class this session is Monday, December 13th.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 200 #243)

Joe's Back!!!

Despite how wonderful the Europeans in five countries treated Filisko and Noden, Joe is back in B1 and we're happy to have him! He toasts in three or four different languages now but otherwise seems unchanged.

Joe's still got Walter Horton on his mind and shared part of his transcription of That Ain't It with us this week. You can find this recording on the Alligator CD with Carey Bell. This is great Horton playing and the vocals fall in a fairly tight range, so it should be approachable if you want to sing it.

Sweet Folk Chicago!!!

Rich Warren has been hosting a folk radio program called the Midnight Special for over fifty years now on WFMT 98.7. He recently asked Joe and Eric to write and record a theme song for his expanded program, "Sweet Folk Chicago", so check out his program to hear them play.

Also, this week only, Rich invited Joe and Eric to guest host the program for an hour. Tune in this Saturday, November 27 from 7-8:00pm to hear the roots duo spinning songs from their collection and talking about their importance in blues/folk history.

Remastered Nat Riddles Tune!!!

This from Adam Gussow:


Although I've been offering a double-live CD, "Nat Riddles and Charlie Hilbert: El Cafe Street Live," for more than two years now at MBH, I've always known that the sound wasn't quite optimized. Using improved technology, I recently remastered one cut, a 10 minute version of Big Walter Horton's "Easy," and the results are spectacular. This is Nat Riddles at his best: live on the streets of New York City on a warm June day in 1989. Charlie Hilbert is playing guitar. You are THERE, surrounded by the airy presence of the summertime streets with a world-class blues duo serenading you for free.

This cut is my gift to you. Thanks for being a friend of Modern Blues Harmonica! The soundfile is large, since I saved it at 256 kb/s, but the sound quality is remarkable. Nat is playing an A harp. (Hint: You'll need to tweak the pitch up a bit if you want to play along; use Audacity or an Amazing Slow Downer.)

Download: Easy

Old Town Outreach!!!

In our ongoing attempt to alert you to all harmonica-related gigs in Chicagoland, here's a fun one. Hats off to Jason from Old Town for working with these kids!

On Friday, December 3rd, from 6-8pm, the North Center Chamber of Commerce will be celebrating the winter season with arts and crafts, hot chocolate, Santa and plenty of fun for the entire family.

Ms. O'Ohara's 2nd grade class (from Coonley Elementary) has been chosen to perform their rendition of Jingle Bells on their harmonicas.

4100 N Damen, in the plaza across from CVS
Friday, December 3rd
Time 6-8pm (class performance will be right at 6pm)

FlashHarp On HGTV!!!

Congratulations to our buddy Jim McLean who will be appearing on HGTV the day after Thanksgiving with his harmonica/flash drive combo. Check it out!

Class Notes
  • Joe is excited to announce we'll have Matthew Skoller as our special guest in class Monday, February 28, 2011. It's a ways off, but mark your calendars!
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 199 #242)

Blues Jam!!!

It was Joe's last night away and we used the time to just play! People practiced their recital songs and had a good time. Rickey got to play with the full drum kit (sorry, no cowbell) and even Corporate Kirk get in on the act and played some great keyboard.

Blues Blast Music Award Winners!!!

Lots of harp players in the winner list. Thanks to Bob Corritore for this report:

Special thanks to Bob Kieser and the crew at Blues Blast Magazine for last Thursday's spectacular gathering at Buddy Guy's Legends. The Blues Blast Music Awards featured great performances, great awards presentations, and a wonderful mix of musicians, blues professionals, and fans. The winners of the 2010 Blues Blast Music Awards were:

Best Contemporary Blues Recording: Nick Moss / Privileged
Best Traditional Blues Recording: Mississippi Heat / Let's Live It Up
Best Blues Song: The Kilborn Alley Blues Band / "Better Off Now"
Best Blues Band: Tommy Castro Band
Best Male Blues Artist: Magic Slim
Best Female Blues Artist: Shemekia Copeland
Best New Artist Debut Recording: Jackie Scott & The Housewreckers / How Much Woman Can You Stand?
Sean Costello Rising Star Award: The Cash Box Kings
2010 Lifetime Achievement Award: Otis Rush

Sissi Augustine Retires From Hohner!!!

"Greetings,

I wanted you all to know that I am retiring from Hohner November 18th 2010. This ends 34 years with Hohner which began in 1977 in New York when Mr. Frank Hohner asked me to join the company. Working from the Richmond, VA office for 28 years, Customer Service has always been my ...number one priority. I have really enjoyed interfacing with the many fabulous musicians and keeping their instruments in top condition. Having recently remarried, I will be leaving Hohner to relocate with my husband in Leonardtown, Maryland. Hohner has been my extended family all these years, and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work there. Now, I begin a new endeavor as the owner of HarmoniCare, where I will continue to provide service and care to my customers. For details and information, please contact me.

Thank you.
Harmonically Yours, Anneliese Augustine (Sissi)"

You can reach Sissi here:
301-475-5522
sissi.harmonicare@gmail.com

More Great Jam Tracks!!!

Our buddy Dennis Gruenling continues to crank out great play-along tracks. His latest release is for Careless Love, which, if you've been paying attention, was a transcription Joe taught recently. If you've been trying to figure out how to rehearse this song, Dennis has the answer for you! He's also got funk grooves, Jambalaya, Key to the Highway and Sitting On Top of the World on tap. Get 'em all here: Jam Trax.

Class Notes
  • Joe will be back next week. All classes as usual.
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 198 #241)

More Metronome Study!!!

Joe's still away so Shoji ran group classes in B1. His handout this week has a few simple bass lines from blues songs we all know (Blue Midnight, Last Night, etc.) Shoji showed how you can use those to practice with the metronome and solidify your sense of the twelve bar blues form at the same time!

Great class Shoji!

Class Notes

  • Joe will miss class one last time next week! But thanks to Shoji's generosity, group classes (as well as his private lessons) will proceed as normal. There will likely be less instruction and primarily playing and recital rehearsal...and you will get keyboard accompaniment from Corporate Kirk!
  • Shoji's private lessons will all occur in B1.
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 197 #240)

Metronome Study!!!

With Joe away this week Shoji ran group classes in B1. He passed out worksheets for songs so that you can learn the essentials to communicate to the band on stage. Get copies and fill them out for yourself so that you're well-prepared for recital.

Next up was Highway Rickey who did a wonderful job teaching proper metronome use. He talked about how to use one to find the tempo of a song you're working on, how to practice with one and then demonstrated a cool computer program called BounceMetronome. Free 30-day trial so check it out. It is really cool!

Easy Reeding!!!

Hohner's latest issue of Easy Reeding is online now! Thanks to Andy Garrigue for putting out this great publication.

Free Corky Siegel Ticket!!!

Barb Selvaggio has an extra ticket to the Corky Siegel show this Saturday, free to a good home. If you're interested, shoot YouMissedMonday an email and we'll connect you to Barb.

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss class the next two weeks due to the European tour! But don't despair - the amazing Shoji Naito will be leading classes next two week. The following week there will be no group classes, but Shoji and Grant will host a jam and open opportunity to practice recital songs. You may even hear Corporate Kirk on keys that night!
  • Shoji's private lessons will all occur in B1 the next two weeks.
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 196 #239)

Recital Season Begins!!!

There were extra performances last night in preparation for the upcoming recital. Joe passed out the schedule and on the back page is the Recital Check List, which he spent some time going over. Read it carefully, be prepared and work to "imitate a professional" on and off stage! Click here for schedule.

Metronome Study!!!

Highway Rickey, drummer extraordinaire, and Shoji Naito will be giving a talk next week on using a metronome. How do you operate one and how the heck do you practice with it? Bring yours to class and find out!

Also, Rickey has these recommendations in advance:

Bounce Metronome a very powerful pc program. You can create any time signature combo with multiple visual displays. You can configure length of sounds as well as control their micro placement relative to the beat. Numerous other controls too.

For the iPhone, Tempo 2 has over 18 new features including a bar counter, accelerando, ritardano and advanced setlist editing like duplicating songs to other setlists.

Metronome Techniques Book is is a must read before the next class. Understand that fundamentally the metronome has two purposes. One, to set an absolute tempo. Two, it acts as a guide for learning complex rhythms. All of which will be covered and highlighted next Monday.

Brandon Bailey CD Release!!!

Ever wish you could fire your band? Here's a nineteen year-old from Memphis who shows that you can! Brandon Bailey's debut release on Modern Blues Harmonica records, Memphis Grooves, is an incredibly rich mix of influences: you'll hear some Chris Michalek, Jason Ricci, Adam Gussow (producer), and Son of Dave in his playing and at the same time traditional Sonny Boy Williamson material and even tunes by Bill Withers and Ray Charles. Check out how a looping pedal can cut you loose from your band, even for a song like Whammer Jammer!

Brandon is a fantastic harp player, vocalist and beat boxer, pulling it all together for a hard-driving CD.

Memphis Grooves is a disc with a great sense of where the harmonica has been and where it can go! Buy the mp3 download here: mp3 and the wave download here: wave.

Memphis Grooves photography and graphic design by yours truly, Grant Kessler!

B1 Gets Custom Mic Stand!!!


Harp player, B1 friend and home restoration and remodeling expert, Don Bourne saw a way to make our bullet mic more accessible. He built a custom mic stand for us to keep it up off the ground! Thanks, Don, for this cool addition to the room!

Class Notes
  • Joe will miss class the next three weeks due to the European tour! But don't despair - the amazing Shoji Naito will be leading classes the next two weeks. The third week Grant will host a jam and open opportunity to practice recital songs. You may even hear Corporate Kirk on keys that night!
  • Shoji's private lessons will all occur in B1 the next two weeks.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 195 #238)

Evening Sun!!!

Revisiting the classic Walter Horton archive, Joe discussed the J.O.B. Sessions tune Evening Sun this week. More or less muscling vocalist Johnny Shines out of the way, Horton swings hard and puts out one of his best performances. Joe is mining new Walter Horton observations from this song:

First off, Joe described the swinging Horton's doing with the shuffle rhythm here. The eighth note is shuffled so late that it is extremely "tight" to the next downbeat. This creates that awesome swing feel - look for it most easily in the first chorus.

The second thing Joe is taking from this song is the realization that Horton's intense shuffle vamping (slapping) is likely rooted in the "Sonny Boy Williamson II" style of vamping which starts from a full tongue block and builds up a certain "back pressure". Listen for it!

Harmonica Einstein Does It Again!!!

You'd think with one invention under his belt in 2010 Harmonica Einstein would be resting on his laurels, but no way! "E" has now devised the "Reed Plinker" which is an invaluable little tool. Here's how he puts it:

"What if there were an in-the-box harmonica reed tool that could plink either draw or blow reeds with ease?

Wouldn't this open the door to in-the-box reed profiling?

Don't you think the harmonica world needs it?

E has invented it!"

You can see this device in action here (reed plinker) and it's available free to anyone who orders a Tuning Table.

Jerry Portnoy Makes Donation to B1!!!

Impressed with CD sales and B1 enthusiasm, Jerry Portnoy mailed a check to the B1 class fund recently for $300. Wow! Jerry, we're awed by your contribution. Thanks so much. Your support will continue to allow us to book guests and pay musicians for special events, all of which enrich the quality of the harmonica blues experience Joe offers in B1. We sincerely thank you!

Edgebrooke Lutheran Church Benefit!!!

The church our very own Tom Gilmore belongs to, Edgebrooke Lutheran, suffered a fire a year ago. They are throwing a benefit party this Saturday, October 23rd to raise funds for repair. For extra credit, The Shakes are booked as entertainment, so we hope you can come out in support of Tom and to see the only two-harp band in town!

Full details here: Falling Leaves Benefit

Buddy Greene On TV!!!

Our good friend Buddy Greene appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last week. Congrats, Buddy! You can watch the full episode here: Greene.

Class Notes
  • A new class session starts at Old Town next week. If you haven't yet registered, get on it!
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 194 #237)

Careless Love!!!

This week Joe taught the classic Walter Horton song Careless Love. Looking over the transcription you'll notice it is not a 12-bar form. Careless Love is a 16-bar song, similar in some ways to My Babe but with the addition of a quick V and a minor IV chord over bar 12.

This song is more of an old-time folk/blues tune, but it is extremely well-known so it is good for your repertoire. It is melody driven, so learn the melody and notice that Horton himself does not stray far from it.

Like the Papa Lightfoot tunes we've studied recently, this is also a 'crooked blues' meaning Horton drops beats. If you are going to play this way, be sure your band is alert and expecting it and also make certain that you skip an even number of beats. Skipping an odd number of beats will definitely derail the song.

Amanda's Rollercoaster!!!

Thanks again to Tall Paul Sabin and Scott Dirks for such wonderful reviews of Amanda's Rollercoaster last week. If you missed it, here it is in our archive.

Here's a fun photo from the event (L to R: Big Jim Themelis, Joe Filisko, Frank Rossi):


And if you want to catch some video of the event, it's all over youtube. Here's our friend Dennis Gruenling playing some killer slow blues. While you're there, type "Amanda's Rollercoaster" into the search bar and you'll see tons of great video of the weekend from most of the performers.

Windy City Harmonica Club!!!

Invitation to Visit and Participate

The Windy City Harmonica Club loves to show off the versatility of the harmonica by performing music from blues to Bach. A variety of harmonicas are used during performances ranging from the Little Lady to the chord harmonica. The group features professional musicians, many of whom have performed on stage, screen, TV and radio. Our program consists of music from the 30s through the 60s.

Founded by Al Fiore, one of the original Harmonicats, the club meets every Wednesday from 7-10pm at the First Congregational Church of Elmhurst, 235 S. Kenilworth Ave. Everyone is welcome! Call 630-963-0675 for more details.

Harry Garner in the Chicago Blues Challenge!!!

The Harry Garner band has advanced to the second round of judging in the Windy City Blues Society competition. Winners will go on to compete in Memphis this spring at the International Blues Challenge. Get out to Rosa's this Thursday October 14 to support B1's friend Harry Garner! Full details on the calendar at youmissedmonday.com.

Class Notes
  • Recital date announced: Friday, December 10 at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. As always, all Joe's group and private students are encouraged to perform. Due to travel schedules this fall, it is important for Joe to have your recital sign-up sheet much earlier than usual. Fill it out for him, whether you're playing or not, by October 18, next week!
  • Shoji will not be in classes Monday...but Grant will be there playing guitar for you. Be nice to him - not the best night for your most complicated arrangements.
  • Harmonica Einstein is announcing another great new invention. Even the B1 newsletter staff could not be trusted with details, so you'll have to wait until next Monday when he unveils it. Touting the tool's amazing qualities, Einstein put it this way to Joe:
"How did you get this far without my help? This is what amazes me!"
Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 193 #236)

Papa Lightfoot Encore!!!

Keeping with the Papa Lightfoot theme, Joe's transcription this week was for Lightfoot's tune "Mean Ol' Train". This is a very vocal-friendly song for those of you looking to expand your singing repertoire because he sings a fairly simple melodic line and it is the same every verse. Note also that he sings this through the bullet mic. This may not go over well every song, but doing one tune a night through the bullet mic could add some nice variety to a gig.

As for the structure of the song, it is a jazzy number - note the use of the second scale degree, not something that is in the blues scale. It is also a very 'crooked blues', not following the 12 bar form at all times. Papa Lightfoot drops beats and bars and the band follows him. Appreciate this as a listener, but Joe highly recommends you learn to play this straight first. You will certainly have a better time doing this with an unrehearsed band if you do.

Joe also introduced the idea of 'sound types' and knowing these will be helpful in future conversations:
  • Clean notes
  • Chords and chordal effects
  • Splits
  • Dirty notes and dirty splits
  • Vamping/slapping (percussion)
Amanda's Rollercoaster!!!

The Rhythm Room in Phoenix, AZ played host to a monster four-day blues harp event over the weekend. Here is owner Bob Corritore's description:
Amanda Taylor (the wife of Kim Wilson) has masterminded this amazing blues harmonica happening that features many of the top traditional blues harmonica players around. In addition to the featured players many of the great harp-men that are not on the bill we be in attendance at the event. It is a gathering of like-minded people who love, celebrate, and uphold the value of those cherished blues harmonica sounds. Even the title, named after Little Walter's brilliant instrumental "Roller Coaster", is the kind of thing that those not in the know would not get. In addition to being a great showcase for harmonica performances it will be an amazing opportunity for all of these great players to have a family reunion of sorts. Where can you see three of Muddy Waters' ex-harmonica players hanging out together (James Cotton, Paul Oscher, and Jerry Portnoy). Where else can you see Bharath Rajakumar (the young Canadian Little Walter stylist) playing harmonica behind Johnny Dyer's vocals? Where can you see harmonica master Kim Wilson in many varieties of musical settings? How often does the great Dave Waldman from Chicago do a high profile out of town gig so that the world can see his understated grace on harmonica? Where else can you see Lazy Lester performing "Sugar Coated Love" with the Fabulous Thunderbirds backing him? Where can you see James Cotton playing with Kim Wilson singing? All of this and much more...
YouMissedMonday put the feelers out for a few reviews of the weekend and here are the first two. We hope to have others next week:

Tall Paul Sabin "Well, I missed Thursday's pre-party but arrived on Friday during RJ Mischo's set. As I stood looking around and taking in my new surroundings, I was in awe. Portnoy was holding court outside on the patio. I almost bumped into Lazy Lester who was sipping on something and flirting with the ladies. Paul Oscher, James Harmon, Dave Bernston, Dennis Gruenling, Ronnie Shellist, were all nearby. As the night went on, I had a chance to chat with my buddy Barrelhouse Chuck who was on piano for the weekend. He introduced me to Tommy and Larz of the Swedish blues/rock band Trickbag. I was hearing one great set after another, hearing Jr. Watson live for the first time along with the steady power of Richard Innes on drums, Randy Bermudez and Larry Taylor on bass, and at times the entire Fabulous Thunderbirds lineup. My buddy Billy Flynn from Green Bay was playing guitar much of the night as well.

The big highlight for night one was Billy Boy Arnold's set. He was focused and right on. I've seen him before and this was the first time I've seen him play guitar. He used the guitar to set up the groove just the way he likes, and then would switch to harp. I got a ride back to the hotel with Dave Bernston, RJ, and Billy Boy that night. I wasn't staying at the same hotel as everyone else so I don't have any after-hours stories.

Saturday's highlights for me were definitely seeing Paul Oscher and James Cotton for the first time. I was hanging out with Oscher's Venice Beach neighbor, Rob. He's a woodworker who got into the blues just from getting to know Paul. It was a treat getting to see Paul perform since he doesn't play out that often these days. I got to meet James Cotton and get a blurry photo.

Sunday was a surprise seeing Big Jim and hearing more F-bombs dropped per minute than I think I ever have. He was Maestro Filisko's driver for his brief appearance. Joe started the night with a solo set that I won't soon forget. The part that stood out for me was a no hands solo that incorporated some of Kim Wilson's signature vamping as a respectful nod to a friend. I heard some good players I hadn't heard before including Scott Dirks, Dave Waldman (both from Chicago) and a Canadian named Steve Marriner who not only was a solid harp player but I thought could really sing. The night continued with Lazy Lester singing and playing harp with the Thunderbirds backing and then the night ended with Jerry Portnoy doing a very nice set of blues. Throughout the whole weekend Kim Wilson was heard playing either his own sets or a few tunes to warm up the band before calling up legend after legend. Overall, amazing weekend. Several performers mentioned that the whole thing came about because of a dream that Kim Wilson's wife Amanda had 6 months ago. They all put a lot of work into putting this together and coordinating so many different artist schedules to make it happen.

I don't know that something of this magnitude will ever happen again. If not, here in Chicago we have a nice consolation--the mini-version that Joe puts together every year called the Chicago Blues Harp Bash."

Scott Dirks "Day one: Thursday. Thankfully I was able to change my originally scheduled flight (booked by Kim Wilson, doubling as Amanda’s travel agent) from 6:15am departure, with a layover in Cincinnati, to a 1:25pm departure. So I got a decent night’s sleep – the last I’d get for the next several days as it turned out - and took a cab to the airport at noon.

Thursday evening - arrived at the Rhythm Room early hoping to get a seat, and as soon as I walked in I was introduced to Bill Tarsha, who was hosting the pre-Rollercoaster harp jam part of the night's activities. Bill is a real character and fabulous harp player. He's full of stories about hanging with the old masters, starting in the mid '60s when he was in high school in Toledo and used his fake ID to get into a club to see Little Walter, and ended up playing harp while Walter went out and got drunk.

The music began with an hour long set from The Nighthawks, who put on a tight, powerful rocking blues show led by harpman Mark Wenner. After a break, Bill Tarsha came out and did a short set with his band, which consists of Bill on harp and vocals, his wife Susie playing bass while sitting behind the drums keeping the beat on the bass drum and hi hat, and a guitarist whose name I didn't catch. In his short time onstage, Bill showed his mastery of different approaches to the harp - acoustic, amplified, and chromatic.

Then the jamming began. The Nighthawks band came back and provided backing for the first wave of harp players. Most of the players were given two songs to show what they could do. I hadn't originally planned on playing that night, but Tarsha encouraged me to sign up when I first arrived, and because I'd signed in fairly early, I was called up pretty quickly. I figured it was best to pick songs that didn't have any tricky changes, so I started with Rice Miller's 'Checking On My Baby' in A. Before I left home I'd picked out some newer-looking harps from the pile so I thought I had a good D. Not so - in the opening bars of the song I discovered I had TWO bad notes on my 'good' Marine Band. As I was playing - and trying to navigate around the 2 and 3 draw - I could distinctly hear the words in my head: you should have had a Filisko!

Thankfully I didn't have to follow Dennis Gruenling, who was called up shortly after. Dennis really blew the roof off the place, and showed why he's rightly regarded as one of the best players out there today. I was especially impressed by his unique version of 'Juke', played entirely in third position.

Other players who impressed on Thursday night were my buddy from Chicago Martin Lang, Kim Field in from Seattle, Delta Groove Records chief Randy Chortkoff, who dueted on harp with Rhythm Room proprietor Bob Corritore on one song, and a few others whose names I didn't catch. Unfortunately I had to leave a little before the end, but Bob Corritore told me that Ronnie Shellist from Colorado sounded great too. It seemed to me that a good time was had by all, it was a night of great blues, and of course that was only the appetizer for what was to come.

Friday - the roller coaster ride officially begins. I arrived at the club early again to stake out a seat. A young harp player, named Vincent Bury who is apparently a good friend of Amanda and Kim Wilson, started the show. Good stage presence, strong singer, and talented harp player – a young man to watch out for. The great RJ Mischo followed, and kicked his set off with a low key Rice Miller-type groove. He really sounded great, totally commanded the stage, leading the house band of Richard Innes on drums, Larry Taylor alternating between stand up and electric bass, and Junior Watson and our friend Billy Flynn on guitars, with Barrelhouse Chuck on piano – this is basically the lineup of the Kim Wilson Blues Band. Jumping Johnny Sansone’s high energy set followed; especially cool was his command of the chromatic. James Harmon and Billy Boy Arnold both put in great performances backed by the house band. Billy arrived looking dapper, and did a set of all originals from various stages of his career, from his Vee Jay days in the ‘50s through his recent releases. Especially exciting was a version of one of his early records, “Kissing At Midnight” – Billy Boy sang and played great, and achieved a real hypnotic groove with the great band backing him. Finally Kim Wilson took the stage to close out the night, and played tons of his trademark amazing harp. Maybe I was imagining things, but he seemed to have turned up the intensity a notch for the sake of all the harp freaks in attendance.

A word on Kim’s rig: I’ve seen him many times over the past 25 years or so, and this was the most elaborate set up I’ve ever seen him use. He used his standard Astatic JT-30 mic, which was plugged into a tiny outboard tube preamp. Apparently the preamp pumped up the signal and split it into two outputs. One output led to the phono input on a modified Masco PA head that looked to be from around 1949 or ’50. The speaker output from the Masco was then split to feed two different cabinets: a Victoria Amps cabinet with one 15” speaker, and an old raggedy original Fender Bassman used only as a speaker cab. The other output from the outboard preamp went to the instrument input on a blackface Fender amp (possibly a Fender Pro?), which was then controlled separately with its own volume, tone, and etc. I assume this provided a slightly cleaner sound than the funky Masco. All three cabinets were mic’d and put through the house PA. The sound was truly awe inspiring, and Kim generously let all the harp players who cared to use it do so. The interesting thing of course is that Kim sounded exactly like Kim, but none of the other players did – maybe that was his point?

Saturday - a blur. Early in the day, my friend (and former drummer in my band) Frank Rossi, who moved to Phoenix a couple of years ago and was hosting me for the weekend, had a get together at his house with tons of great food and many musicians in attendance, including harp players Bill Tarsha, Dave Waldman, Kim Field, John Tanner, and a good local harp player named Sam. We had a harp heavy jam for a few hours, with lots of good blues stories being passed around by the veteran players.

We left Frank’s house for the club, and unfortunately got there just as Paul Oscher was finishing his set, which opened the show that night. Everyone was raving about Paul’s performance, and judging by the clips of it that have already shown up on YouTube, we missed something very special. As I said, Saturday was kind of a blur, with so much great music and so many friendly encounters jammed into such a short amount of time, but I’m pretty sure Chef Denis’s set was that night. He’s not just a ‘good player for a chef’ (he’s a gourmet chef at a fancy hotel in California, and has enough sway there to get many of his favorite blues people booked there), he’s a damn fine harp player. One of the (many) special moments of the weekend for me was when James Harman got up and sang with Denis blowing harp – James was testifying, the band was rocking, and for my money it was some of the deepest blues of the weekend. Also that night was Bob Corritore and his frequent partner guitarist Dave Riley, playing some rockin’, downhome juke joint music – really good stuff and a perfect change of pace. Bharath Rajkumar proved he’s a lot more than ‘the Little Walter guy’ – he sang from the heart, played some excellent harp, and did a thoroughly enjoyable set (Bharath also played some solid Chicago-style guitar backing, I think, Chef Denis.) California bluesman Johnny Dyer is an outstanding harp player, but rarely plays harp these days due to health problems, so he sang some classic Chicago blues while Kim Wilson (and I think Bharath on a number or two) backed him on harp – another high point among way too many to keep track of.

Later James Cotton came out and blew the roof off the place – a rich deep tone and many of his classic tunes, with Kim on vocals. Hubert Sumlin joined them for a few numbers to a rapturous reception from the audience. I know it’s heretical to say, but I think he gets over these days mainly on who he is rather than what he does; he seemed to be having a great time, but his presence added more to the good vibes than the quality of the music. The T-Birds (a completely different line up from Kim’s blues band / house band, with the exception of Barrelhouse Chuck sitting in on piano) wrapped up the show with a set drawing from the bluesiest corner of the T-Birds catalog, as always led by Kim’s powerful vocals and stunning harp.

Sunday was in some ways the Chicago day. Joe Filisko opened things up with a solo harp clinic on the great pre-war players, and had the crowd in the palm of his hand from the first note. (Great job Joe!) A hard act to follow, but I had my turn at the mic next, and did a few numbers backed by Billy Flynn, Richard Innes and Larry Taylor. I was given 15 minutes (my 15 minutes of fame are now used up) and figured I’d do 3 songs, but there was a little time left at the end so I improvised an instrumental based on a lick I’d heard on a Mojo Buford song that came up in rotation on my MP3 player earlier in the weekend. The crowd responded well, and I was very honored and flattered to have been included in such a stellar lineup. Dave Waldman followed, and played as great as he always does; after a couple of very cool instrumentals, Kim Wilson joined him on vocals for the rest of his set. Dave’s unique style has a lot of subtle things going on and I’m not sure they’re all immediately evident to casual listeners, but I think he really took a lot of harp players to school. Jerry Portnoy rounded out the ‘Chicago’ homeboys, and sounded as great as always. Especially notable was his lengthy segment walking the crowd and playing acoustically using a toilet paper roll as a combination megaphone and mute. He was also joined by Kim on vocals at one point, and if I remember correctly (no guarantees!) they traded off some harp licks as well. The great Al Blake was up next, and he brings such a beautifully relaxed and swinging vibe that it’s impossible to not enjoy his blues.

Another highlight for me was Lazy Lester’s set, backed by the T-Birds. He’d been in attendance for the entire weekend, holding court on the patio outside the club and reveling anyone who would listen with great stories and plenty of jokes. His performance was a revelation for me – I’d expected him to do his Louisiana swamp-pop standards, and he did, but when he picked up the harp mic and blew, it was almost pure Chicago, and a really cool take on it at that. He’s a guy I’ve been familiar with for a long time, but I think he merits some renewed study. Kim and his blues band wrapped things up. Not much can really be added to that – they’re great, and to end the event with anything else would have been anti-climactic.

I’m absolutely certain I’m forgetting and confusing some details and probably some important people too, and I apologize to anyone who I left out or miscredited. It was a long, exciting, jam-packed weekend, and I wasn’t taking any notes at the time, so if I slighted anyone, it wasn’t on purpose – blame it on my faulty memory and a sensory overload.

I wonder if Amanda is up for a “2nd Annual Rollercoaster”? If so, I’m in!"

Howlin' Wolf on NPR!!!

Howlin' Wolf was featured Monday on NPR's program All Things Considered. They list him in their "50 Great Voices" series and the interviews about him include musicians Billy Boy Arnold and Jody Williams. Check out the story here: Wolf.

Class Notes
  • Recital date announced: Friday, December 10 at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. As always, all Joe's group and private students are encouraged to perform. Due to travel schedules this fall, it is important for Joe to have your recital sign-up sheet much earlier than usual. Fill it out for him, whether you're playing or not, by October 18!
  • Shoji has a My Babe practice track available here.
  • YouMissedMonday missed Tuesday! Sorry the newsletter didn't get out the door yesterday, but the editorial staff was swamped! Hope you can enjoy it on Wednesday.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 192 #235)

Papa Lightfoot!!!

This week's transcription is the Papa Lightfoot tune "Blue Lights", also known as "After-While". The song is available on the "Blues Harmonica Wizards" CD.

"Blue Lights" starts off with a powerful, attitude-driven riff-based head. The recording only features twelve bars of solo, so this song would lend itself to expanding and writing your own solo section. Use the head at both ends, learn the solo section Lightfoot lays down which milks the three draw bends and then add your own verses!

In addition to pointing out Papa Lightfoot's masterful bending, he also spent time talking about the vibrato and how to achieve it. Great class!

Blues Cemetery Tour!!!

Legendary Chicago blues musicians Muddy Waters, Magic Sam, Hound Dog Taylor, Jazz Gillum, Walter Horton and Daddy Stovepipe are all buried in Restvale Cemetery and Arlo Leach is offering a free walking tour there this Sunday. Full details here.

Blues Photo Collection Released!!!

- This comes to us courtesy of Bob Corritore

"The amazing blues photo collection of Jillina Arrigo Pope is posted on Facebook! Jillina Arrigo Pope was an active blues promoter in Chicago during the mid to late 1970s into the early 1980s. She encouraged, booked, befriended, and managed many great Chicago blues and soul artists in that time period. You may know her from the Big Walter Horton album, Can't Keep Lovin' You, on Blind Pig Records, where she is pictured on the back kissing a surprised Big Walter on the cheek. She kept a large archive of photos from that time period which, thanks to the great effort of drummer and producer Twist Turner, have been scanned and appear on Twist's Facebook page. Over 300 priceless photos have been posted that include images of Johnny Littlejohn, Chico Chism, Charlie Musselwhite, Big Walter Horton, David Dee, Artie White, Tyrone Davis, Jimmy Johnson, The Staple Singers, Koko Taylor, Bob Koester, Big Moose Walker, Louis Myers, Lavelle White, Little Mack Simmons, Johnny Dollar, Sunnyland Slim, Carey Bell, and many more. To enjoy these photos and to take a trip back in time, click here and scroll down to photo albums. Thanks Jillina, for preserving these memories."

And thanks Twist for making them available!

Class Notes
  • Recital date announced: Friday, December 10 at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. As always, all Joe's group and private students are encouraged to perform. Due to travel schedules this fall, it is important for Joe to have your recital sign-up sheet much earlier than usual. Fill it out for him, whether you're playing or not, by October 18!
  • Shoji has a My Babe practice track available here.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 191 #234)

Harp History and Special Tunings!!!

Joe first reiterated how successful this year's Bash was. He also spent some time reviewing our evening with Jerry Portnoy in B1. Here are a couple Portnoy gems for you to consider:
"When in doubt, lay out...or warble."
"Black music has rhythm front and center."

"Play to the strengths of the instrument."
Thanks again Jerry!

Joe's primary talk for the evening was about the construction and tuning of the harmonica over the years. With this thought as his guide, "The diatonic harmonica is a wonderfully imperfect instrument", Joe displayed a variety of harmonicas that have been mechanical attempts over the years to solve the chromatic scale problem. He showed and played the slide chromatic (aka Koch Chromatic), XB40, Suzuki Overdrive and others, coming in the end to a Brendan Power tuned harmonica.

Joe points out that bends on a diatonic tend to have a much stronger sound tonally and that overblows are tonally weaker. In his mind this is not, as Jerry Portnoy put it so well, playing to the strength of the instrument. Summarizing all these interesting harps, he points out that an effort to achieve missing notes with mechanical means and special tunings always has a downside, be it larger size; or that valves produce a subdued, wimpy sound; or that you lose the rich blues chords in special tunings.

He is fairly impressed with the Brendan Power "powertuning" solution which gives you the 2-4 draw bending sound further up the harp, so if this interests you, order his book here: Introduction To the Power Bender. Brendan is an amazing musician and this is definitely something to check out!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash Thank-You!!!

YouMissedMonday missed a very important thank-you last week. We have a wonderful Chicago Blues Harp Bash website in place thanks to the efforts of Jaime Viehweg. This is a very important part of the success of our show. It lets us promote the event and shows clubs and musicians we work with that we're professional and serious about putting on a high-caliber show. Huge thanks to Jaime for maintaining the site over three years now. We couldn't do it without you Jaime, thanks!

Here's Jaime at SPAH teaching his adorable daughter to blow harp!

Photo courtesy Jerry Devillier

Gruenling Practice Tracks!!!

One thing I learned at SPAH is that I need to refine my practice skills. Talking with Dennis Gruenling and hearing Howard Levy speak both gave me a list of new ways to practice and it all relies on having great practice tracks.

I've started using some of Dennis' new jam tracks and they're great! They are organized by key, so if you have the "Badass Harmonica Jam Tracks - Key of D" for example, it will have a dozen tracks, all in one key but with different grooves and tempos.

His tracks have a few features you don't always get with play-along CDs:
  • Dennis hires different musicians to record the tracks, so they all have a little different feel.
  • A given groove, say 12-bar shuffle, in the key of D will sound different from the 12-bar shuffle in the key of C, so switching keys gives you a distinctly different track to play over, not just a pitch change.
  • Tracks come with a pdf showing the form of the song and some notes from Dennis about how to navigate the form - a great way to learn to better follow the chord changes.
Dennis is a skilled harmonica instructor and it shows in the thought and care he's put into compiling these tracks. All files are available as downloads or on CD at Badassharmonica.com and Dennis is adding more all the time. He tells me there are sophisticated, non-twelve-bar forms coming too! Get yours now and improve your practice time. Tell him B1 sent ya!

- Grant Kessler

Class Notes
  • Recital date announced: Friday, December 10 at the Harlem Avenue Lounge. As always, all Joe's group and private students are encouraged to perform. Due to travel schedules this fall, it is important for Joe to have your recital sign-up sheet much earlier than usual. Fill it out for him, whether you're playing or not, by October 18!
  • Shoji has a My Babe practice track available here.
  • Big Jim says hi!
  • Our thoughts go out to harp player Little Sammy Davis who suffered a stroke recently. Get well soon!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 190 #233)

Jerry Portnoy!!!

B1 was honored to have the amazing Jerry Portnoy with us in class this week. The evening was a huge treat. Jerry is a fantastic storyteller and regaled us with tales of Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Walter Horton and others. He has true blues history and remembers every detail! In all the time we've hosted guests, this is the first time 90+ minutes flew by without Joe saying a word - Jerry knew just where to take conversation and needed no steering or prompting.

In the "poignant moment" category that B1 will never forget, Jerry described the day he got the call to tour with Muddy, or, as he called it "the royal summons". Stepping on stage as part of the Muddy Waters Band and being announced with the band was the musical high point of his life and even telling it this many years later brings a tear to his eyes. It was wonderful to see a player with his skill and career be so thankful for the opportunities life has given him.

In addition to road stories, Jerry also has definite ideas about making music and he gave us some very deliberate, thoughtful responses to questions about songwriting, tone and playing behind vocalists. On the the topic of tone, for example, he used a visual metaphor for the sound of a note and ended with this:
"Make a good sound come out of your instrument because it's sound that will move people."
B1 was rocked by the spirit and wisdom of a great player and person. Thanks for spending time with us, Jerry!

photo: Grant Kessler

P.S. Joe has arranged a special disc of additional Portnoy material that will be for sale in class next week, so bring your cash!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 A Smoking Success!!!

The Bash Sunday night at SPACE was an overwhelming success! It was a packed house - 197 harp fans crowded the club - and performances were off the charts. B1 is still reeling from this exciting weekend!

RickEy, Harry, Lamont, Kirk and Shoji all did a phenomenal job and set Jerry Portnoy up to blow the audience away with his set. In addition to the advertised bill, special guests made appearances: Tommy McCracken sang a couple tunes with Lamont Harris and thrilled the crowd; Willie Buck sang with Shoji Naito and sounded great; we even got to hear Gerry Hundt blow harp on a tune with Shoji.

It was an extreme honor also to have both our previous headliners in the audience: Billy Boy Arnold and Jim Liban. Thanks guys! We loved having you there supporting the show.

Huge thanks go out to all who made this show possible:

- Gerry Hundt for jumping in and backing everyone up on guitar
- the rhythm section Mike Flynn and Steady Eddie Kobek for making
all the harp players sound great
- Shoji Naito for also playing guitar
- Jake at SPACE for making the show happen
- Michelle Filisko for manning the store
- Jaime Viehweg for designing and maintaining our Bash website
- David Kachalon for managing the stage
- Bone for helping push ticket sales
- Marianna Delinck Manley for the fantastic poster design
- Grant Kessler for shuttle service and photography
- Highway RickEy Trankle for photography
- Buzz Krantz for being Buzz!
- Tina in the Old Town cafe for catching the show and baking cupcakes
for us
- Joe Filisko for having the vision to make the Bash happen
- and thanks to those who made generous donations to "the fund"

We'll have photos up for you to see next week!

Class Notes
  • Shoji has a My Babe practice track available here.
  • Big Jim has a job!
  • B1 harp player Mark Holden and his wife had a baby! Emerson Rose Holden was born August 30 and she is blowing harp already:

- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 189 #232)

My Babe!!!

Joe started the first class of this session off with a study of the Little Walter classic, My Babe (transcription). My Babe was written by Willie Dixon and based on the gospel tune This Train by Sister Rosetta Tharp. It is a non-standard sixteen-bar form so if you're playing it with a band, they'll need to know the form and the bass line. Little Walter's solo (over a twelve-bar form) is one of his absolute finest swinging solos on record!

But enough about Little Walter, let's talk about the BASH!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3!!!

The show is in less than two weeks! Tickets are on sale and they're selling fast - get yours now!

We're thrilled to have living legend Jerry Portnoy headlining our show. The Bash will also feature local harp players Shoji Naito (with special guest Willie Buck on vocals), Highway RickEy, Harry Garner, Lamont Harris and Kirk Manley. And we're excited to announce we have the amazing Gerry Hundt supporting everyone on guitar!

Events like the Bash and guest appearances in class happen because of great financial support from those of us in the class and our friends, so buy tickets and spread the word. The Bash is on Facebook at: ChicagoBluesHarpBash. Shoji suggests each of us call three friends and encourage them to come out to the show. Let's make this a packed house! Tell everyone about it!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3
at SPACE in Evanston
Sunday, September 12, 2010

Tickets at: www.chicagobluesharpbash.com

(Note that Jerry will also be in B1 as a special guest on Monday, September 13, 2010, 8:00pm - all Joe's students are welcome.)

THE BASH NEEDS SPONSORS!!!


We are still looking for people to help sponsor some of the costs associated with the Bash such as airfare and hotel accomodations for our headliner, Jerry Portnoy. If you can make a donation toward these costs, please notify Joe or contact youmissedmonday.

THANKS!

Class Notes
  • Old Town is not in session next Monday due to the Labor Day holiday. Spend your free time promoting the Bash!
  • Please remember to do your Portnoy merchandise purchasing in class Monday the 13th rather than at the Bash.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 188 #231)

Nada!!!

The Old Town School of Folk Music is on break this week. There was no Monday class. And if you missed the 2010 SPAH convention last week, here are some impressions from B1 students who attended:

Pat Fiege

I thought SPAH was excellent. I had a blast and learned some new licks, some bluegrass, and some jazz for the chromatic. The people and instructors were great.

Grant Kessler

A SPAH convention is not a blues experience; it is a harmonica experience.

Other than killer blues performances by RJ Mischo, the air at SPAH was generally filled with notes, lots and lots of notes, and not so much expressive blues. I was pushed off center by this. Players like Chris Michalek and Jason Ricci are creating a bunch of teenagers who play fast and furious. I know better than to admire that…and yet, when that’s what you hear for days on end, you start to think it’s normal. You start to think you’re a little deficient if you can’t play a couple hundred notes in twenty seconds. I know better, but I guess I have room for a little more confidence building.

And then the late-night blues jams were more challenging than usual for me because they were heavy on song forms that weren’t 12-bar. I walked away from the first couple nights shaking my head, discouraged. I wasn’t playing well and wasn’t inspired.

Then I realized that being pushed off center was exactly what I need right now, it’s exactly what I can take away from the SPAH convention. I’ve been a little stuck in a rut in terms of growth, wondering how to move forward and at SPAH this year I found some solutions. I may not have played well and impressed others, but I did come home with some challenges for myself and thanks to talks with Dennis Gruenling, I have practice ideas. I know now what I need to work on.

I picked up a great t-shirt from Dennis that says: “WWWP – What Would Walter Play?” After five solid days of hearing harmonica, I took Sunday off from listening to harmonica at all. Monday I listened to Little Walter to see what he played. I needed to hear what it was all about again. I needed to get grounded in blues that’s expressive, melodic and not full of pyrotechnics. The first song I heard was Backtrack. Lotsa notes, yes, but not so many that I was numbed by it. And there’s so much wonderful repetition in there that it works – my mind was able to grab hold. It was musical. I don’t begrudge the young bucks their speedy stuff, but it is just not my taste. Tomorrow I’m going to listen to the other Walter to see what he would play.

For me, SPAH 2010 was sort of a painful growing experience…for which I am thankful!

Paul Krueger

Hi everyone!

I had a great time at SPAH as always. Joe does a great job organizing the jams and teach-ins. I helped man the custom harp case booth for my friend Hal from the Detroit area and even sold a few harp cases for him. It was a great week.

Bob Kunze

This is my third SPAH. I find them rewarding with respect to learning how I might improve my harp playing (if I’d only practice what they preach), hearing lots of great players, and meeting interesting people. Not only did I get to hear some of my favorite players, I heard for the first time a great young player from Poland, Bartosz (Bart) Leczycki. At his performance it was just him, his diatonic harmonicas, and a looping machine. He’d create a bass rhythm track using a low C diatonic, sometimes add in other rhythms with other diatonics, and perform the song and solo against the looping rhythms. He showed his great versatility by performing songs in the following genres - Indian raga, techno, rock, jazz, African, Polish folk, and of course the blues.

Then there was Carol and her husband Carl. Carol, just north or south of 80 years old, is a piano player, sometime harmonica player, and musical director of 10-person harmonica ensemble of the old and infirm that lives and plays in Sun (not sin) City Florida. They get together every Monday to perform a rotating set of songs. They even play a blues or two (“St. Louis Blues”) and got to do a song for the visiting Harmonicats. To paraphrase Carol – playing harmonica (even if it is a chromatic) is the only thing some of them have to keep them engaged. There’s a lesson here, harmonica players - check out the harmonica scene before you pick a place to retire and include Sun City on your list of candidate places.

Jim Lucas

I just attended my first ever SPAH convention (in Bloomington, MN). I
thought I'd share some thoughts about it.
  • It was worth the time and money. I heard lots of great playing and learned lots of useful stuff.
  • Favorite moments? 1) Joe and Eric's performance on Friday evening was terrific: 2) my Cajun harmonica lesson, where I learned "J'ai passe devant la porte" from Jerry Devillier: 3) learning the latest about Harrison Harmonicas (they are still elusive! Order one now and get it in six months): 4) the afternoon show on Thursday, that showcased PT Gazell, RJ Mischo, Brendan Power, and Steve Baker: and 5) the "Powerbender Tuning" seminar by Brendan Power (yes, I bought one).
  • Best Seminar? I got a lot out of the "Harmonicas for Health" seminar. It is a field of interest for me, since I replaced my spirometer with a harmonica while I was recuperating from my bypass surgery.
  • The vendors were very helpful to me. I had a stuck reed in one of my Seydel harps, and one of the Seydel reps fixed it and went ahead and smoothed out the gaps in the whole harp!
  • Next year's convention will be August 9-13 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I plan on being there!
Zoe Savage

So I got an email from Joe asking if I could maybe lend him a hand over the weekend teaching beginners at SPAH. Sure, of course. Always happy to.

Firstly I was very flattered he trusted me with teaching at SPAH. Secondly, I was pretty scared of the idea. But before I knew it, there I was sitting down with a bunch of people who’d never touched a harp in their lives, and a bunch who had questions about tongue blocking and who could already bend. I think I managed to get us all successfully through the two hours, and, guess what, I even had fun.

The next morning I was a little more prepared, and had even more fun. I was impressed with how fast both groups I taught picked things up, and everyone was really sweet. I’m really glad Joe gave me the opportunity to try out something so new, exciting and just a little bit scary. And thanks to my dear friends Jasper and Madeline as well, who showed their never-ending support for me by sitting in on both classes and putting up with me teaching them for four hours.

Jon Simon

I had a great time this year at SPAH and I learned a lot. I heard some great harmonica playing and met some wonderful people.

In my mind there were a few things I wanted to glean from this year. First was blow bends and second was improvising.

I had a chance to sit with Michael Peloquin in Joe's teach-in sessions. He was teaching on the subject of overblows. He asked if I could blow bend on the high notes. I told him I couldn't (which was the case with all who were there at that time). He began to instruct me in his style of how to blow bend. I think I might have bent it once but couldn't repeat it. I left a little frustrated but thought I would practice it later. The next day I was trying to decide whom to sit with. I then decided I needed to go back to Michael Peloquin and try again. He worked with me and after a while I did it twice! He said if I were you I would go somewhere and work on it. I did and it paid off! I still have to work on it to make it sound good, but thank God I hit a milestone for me.

David Barrett gave me a great way to remember licks for improvising by taking all my licks from songs and categorizing them - 2 draw licks, 4 draw licks etc. and he encouraged me to practice them that way, all 2 hole draw licks, then all 4 draw hole licks etc. Chances are you will remember them when improvising. You need to check out his book on improvising - it is great.

Keep on Harpin!

Al Taylor

Overall, my expectations were exceeded...not in every category, of course, but in the ones that I feel are most important.

Joe's workshops alone were worth the trip. The standout session for me was one with David Barrett in which he explained his 'Chorus Form' approach for developing improvising skills. His extraordinary ability to explain the approach made it crystal clear and the 'test drive' we took as a study group really helped me internalize the system.

His book, entitled "Improvising Blues Harmonica" explains it all but it made a big difference to get a live lesson from David.

I realize now that SPAH is an incredible learning opportunity. I'll be there next year.

Harmonica Einstein (Rick Trankle)

Many of you know I am the inventor of a new product called The Tuning Table to aid in the tuning of harmonicas. Confident in the importance of the need for more people to be able to tune them and this product's ability to fill that need, I rented booth space at SPAH. I have to thank LJ Atkinson for welcoming me as a new vendor and providing me with a great location. I was pleased and amazed at how many people, after listening to my sales pitch, 'got it' and then bought it. Look for my video interview with David Barrett soon.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend any of the seminars during the day. As a Chicago blues style harmonica player I was looking to experience something different at SPAH. Early in my career I was frustrated at trying to play any real authentic blues harp because I just could not figure it out easily. For some reason I was attracted to the country and bluegrass world of Charlie McCoy. Perhaps because there was more single note melodies that I could adapt to my then pucker style of playing, and if I mastered Orange Blossom Special I too would be a great harmonica player, ha! Anyway, off to the bluegrass jam I went and there I met Cara Cooke.

Cara is a great addition to the SPAH offerings providing her extensive knowledge of the bluegrass style of harmonica playing. I participated in her late night jam sessions every night where she handled every aspect like the pro that she is. Each person in the group got a turn to call a song. She would explain the structure to everyone, the stylistic possibilities you could explore, previewed it, even rehearsed once and the whole group took their turns playing in a variety of ways. Lonnie Joe Howell was the the official bluegrass guitar accompanist and a fine harmonica player in his own right. Lonnie also has published harmonica teaching books, dvds and cds. He was truly the captain of the musical ship for each song. He kept the form on track and rescued all derailed trains. I helped out the rhythm section by playing the Laptop snare drum.

Howard Levy was named 2010 Player of the Year by SPAH. Obviously Howard's reputation preceded him as he is known for excellence and mastery of his instruments. The closing show's performance was another notch in his belt. Howard played harmonica in the duo format with guitar player Chris Siebold. He backed up Chris on piano as well. Just as Filisko and Noden are a perfect team, so are Howard and Chris in the duo format. These two know and compliment each other harmonically and rhythmically like nothing you have experienced. Yes there are flurries of notes but you never get the feeling it will ever get lost. This is well thought out and perfectly executed music. Let me emphasize - MUSIC. So many harmonica players today are becoming involved in gymnastic scale improvisation. It would be a better world if everyone concentrated on playing real melodies that fit chord changes. This is exactly what Howard's music is about. He has incredible facility but always uses it musically. I must say exactly the same about guitarist Chris Siebold.

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 Tickets On Sale!!!

Tickets to our Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 are on sale! We're thrilled to have living legend Jerry Portnoy headlining our show. Get your tickets now before they sell out!

The Bash will also feature local harp players Shoji Naito (with special guest Willie Buck on vocals), Highway RickEy, Harry Garner, Lamont Harris and Kirk Manley.

Events like the Bash and guest appearances in class happen because of great financial support from those of us in the class and our friends, so buy tickets and spread the word! The Bash is on Facebook at: ChicagoBluesHarpBash. Tell everyone about it!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3
at SPACE in Evanston
Sunday, September 12, 2010

Tickets at: www.chicagobluesharpbash.com

Mark your calendar and don't miss this show!

(Note that Jerry will also be in B1 as a special guest on Monday, September 13, 2010, 8:00pm.)

Class Notes

  • Old Town is on break for two weeks , so no classes on August 16 or 23. Classes resume August 30.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Monday, August 16, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 187 #230)

Nothing!!!

The Old Town School of Folk Music is on break this week and next. No classes, so "practice, grasshopper!" And get yourself to the SPAH convention!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 Tickets On Sale!!!

Tickets to our Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 are on sale! We're thrilled to have living legend Jerry Portnoy headlining our show. Get your tickets now before they sell out!

The Bash will also feature local harp players Shoji Naito (with special guest Willie Buck on vocals), Highway RickEy, Harry Garner, Lamont Harris and Kirk Manley, all backed by the amazing Billy Flynn Band.

Events like the Bash and guest appearances in class happen because of great financial support from those of us in the class and our friends, so buy tickets and spread the word! The Bash is on Facebook at: ChicagoBluesHarpBash. Tell everyone about it!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3
at SPACE in Evanston
Sunday, September 12, 2010

Tickets at: www.chicagobluesharpbash.com

Mark your calendar and don't miss this show!

(Note that Jerry will also be in B1 as a special guest on Monday, September 13, 2010, 8:00pm.)

Class Notes
  • Old Town is on break for two weeks , so no classes on August 16 or 23. Classes resume August 30.
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Friday, August 6, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 186 #229)

More Minor Blues!!!

Joe was back in class and teaching about how to play over a minor blues. This is great instruction for surviving a jam situation where they throw a minor song at you, so spend some time with Joe's handouts and practicing to the play-along tracks.
Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 Tickets Go On Sale!!!

Tickets to our Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3 are on sale! We're thrilled to have living legend Jerry Portnoy headlining our show. Get your tickets now before they sell out!

The Bash will also feature local harp players Shoji Naito (with special guest Willie Buck on vocals), Highway RickEy, Harry Garner, Lamont Harris and Kirk Manley, all backed by the amazing Billy Flynn Band.

Events like the Bash and guest appearances in class happen because of great financial support from those of us in the class and our friends, so buy tickets and spread the word! The Bash is on Facebook at: ChicagoBluesHarpBash. Tell everyone about it!

Chicago Blues Harp Bash #3
at SPACE in Evanston
Sunday, September 12, 2010

Mark your calendar and don't miss this show!

(Note that Jerry will also be in B1 as a special guest on Monday, September 13, 2010, 8:00pm.)

Time to Plan for SPAH Convention!!!

The annual harmonica convention put on by SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica) is coming up August 17-21 in Minneapolis. This is always a great time because you get wonderful access to lots of other great players from around the world. The pros are there and open to talk and help...or to just make music together. There are well-taught seminars all day, performances at night and the blues jam goes into the wee hours! Book yourself a room at the convention hotel and stock up on caffeine and scotch!

Joe runs a popular "teach-in" at the convention where world-class players, teachers, harp customizers and mic makers sit at tables and answer your questions. Here's this year's fabulous teach-in lineup:

Cara Cooke with Lonnie Joe Howell
Grant Dermody
Kirk "Jellyroll" Johnson
Dennis "Mr. Microphone" Oellig
PT Gazell
James Conway
Dennis Gruenling
Johnny "B" Bishop
Chris Michalek
David Barrett
Steve Baker
Michael Peloquin
Jerry Devillier

SPAH Blowoff:

Jason Ricci started a tradition at SPAH conventions of hosting a Tuesday evening blues show called "The Blowoff" at a local club. This year our very own Buzz Krantz will be hosting. There are great blues harp players on the schedule and sure to be others dropping by to sit in. Don't miss this show!

Tuesday, August 17
7:30pm
at Famous Dave's in Minneapolis
Full details here: Blowoff

Class Notes
  • Old Town is on break for two weeks , so no classes on August 16 or 23. Classes resume August 30.
  • Pssst! Buy your tickets to the Chicago Blues Harp Bash!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

What Did You Miss This Week? (Week 185 #228)

More Minor Blues!!!

Joe is out of town this week, but Shoji Naito covered for his group classes. In Level IV Shoji expanded on Joe's minor blues lecture from last week, emphasizing the blues scale in third position and everyone got a chance to give it a try. Overachievers even applied fifth position!

Be sure to bring your minor blues handouts again next week - Joe will continue this discussion and you should have them with you.

Old Town School Breaks Ground This Week!!!

Hey, our beloved school is breaking ground on the new facility across the street this week! There is a ceremony Thursday evening and special events and jams scheduled both Thursday and Friday to celebrate. Full details here.

Congrats to OTS!

Time to Plan for SPAH Convention!!!

The annual harmonica convention put on by SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica) is coming up August 17-21 in Minneapolis. This is always a great time because you get wonderful access to lots of other great players from around the world. The pros are there and open to talk and help...or to just make music together. There are well-taught seminars all day, performances at night and the blues jam goes into the wee hours! Book yourself a room at the convention hotel and stock up on caffeine and scotch!

Joe runs a popular "teach-in" at the convention where world-class players, teachers, harp customizers and mic makers sit at tables and answer your questions. Here's this year's fabulous teach-in lineup:

Cara Cooke with Lonnie Joe Howell
Grant Dermody
Kirk "Jellyroll" Johnson
Dennis "Mr. Microphone" Oellig
PT Gazell
James Conway
Dennis Gruenling
Johnny "B" Bishop
Chris Michalek
David Barrett
Steve Baker
Michael Peloquin
Jerry Devillier

SPAH Blowoff:

Jason Ricci started a tradition at SPAH conventions of hosting a Tuesday evening blues show called "The Blowoff" at a local club. This year our very own Buzz Krantz will be hosting. There are great blues harp players on the schedule and sure to be others dropping by to sit in. Don't miss this show!

Tuesday, August 17
7:30pm
at Famous Dave's in Minneapolis
Full details here: Blowoff

Class Notes
  • Joe is back next week - all classes proceed as normal.
  • Old Town is on break for two weeks after that, so no classes on August 16 or 23. Classes resume August 30.
  • Pssst! Buy your tickets to the Chicago Blues Harp Bash!
- Grant Kessler, B1 Blues Crew