3/3/10: I've just added a new collection (of old lessons) to the store:
Overblow Special Overblowing is an advanced technique that is just beginning to make its presence felt in the world of blues harmonica. Jazzman Howard Levy showed us the way back in the 1980's, but few blues players followed his lead. Carlos del Junco was one; I was another. Both of us were actively deploying overblows in blues contexts by 1990. Chris Michalek followed soon after. These days, Jason Ricci is the foremost exponent of the overblowing approach in an amplified context, and younger players such as R.J. Harman and Jay Gaunt make it clear that the technique is here to stay as one key element of a contemporary blues harmonica approach. If you're looking to investigate the world of overblowing from a blues player's perspective, then this zip file is the high-octane fuel you need. This collection gives you a focused lesson--video and tab(s)--on five songs. One of them ("Sunday Drive") is straight ahead amped-up blues; three are jazzy blues variants ("Blue Monk," "Watermelon Man," "Tenor Madness"), and one is a jazz standard ("St. Thomas"). NOTE: This collection is for ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES, and especially for those who are already capable of making an overblow or two. Although it will supply you with a few tips for HOW to overblow, the primary purpose of these lessons is to show you how to INCORPORATE overblows into blues harmonica playing.
3/1/010: I've just been booked at the Highway 61 Blues Festival in Leland, Mississippi on June 5th. This is a terrific, big-hearted, small-town festival and they've got some heavyweights this year, including Big Jack Johnson, T-Model Ford, and Johnny Winter. I'll be on the small stage.
2/22/10: Today is the three-year anniversary of my first video upload to YouTube (Gussow.000). Thanks to everybody who has let me know that you've been assisted in your journey by something I've put out there.......I've just been booked at the Grassroots Blues Festival in Duck Hill, Mississippi. This is a really great event: truly a LOCAL community event, with a lineup that mixes soul blues and down home blues.
2/6/10: An event that I've been planning for quite a while, Hill Country Harmonica: A North Mississippi Blues Harp Homecoming, is now open for business! Please hit this link and take a look at the new website: http://www.hillcountryharmonica.com
1/30/10: I've just uploaded a second new lesson this week:
"Shuffling It Up": a first-position shuffle blues played mostly in the middle octave with tongue-blocked chords and a couple of upper-octave blow bends thrown in. This is an original composition that finds inspiration in the playing of Deford Bailey, Freeman Stowers, and other recording artists of the 1920s and 1930s. Not the same old first-position blues! INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE.
1/29/10: New show just added: Little Rock, AR: On Friday 2/12, after my harp clinic (6 - 8 PM at The Parrot Cafe), I'm opening for The Damn Bullets and The Ben Miller Band at The White Water Cafe. The Gussow one-man-band is on the road, folks.
1/28/10: I've just uploaded a new lesson:
"Grooving Shuffle": Every blues harmonica player needs a range of ways of "carrying" the 12-bar changes on the instrument. This song is specifically designed to produce a big sound in a solo context. It teaches you how to mingle single notes and chords in a call-and-response arrangement that takes you through the first 8 bars, then how to throw in some fancy footwork on the V/IV/I changes.
1/13/10: Satan and Adam will be playing the Peninsula Inn and Spa in Gulfport, Fla. on March 16th......The gig will be videocast LIVE on Fatboy Radio (http://wfatradio.com/)......I'm working hard on pulling together a fantastic new event entitled Hill Country Harmonica: A Mississippi Gathering. The tentative date is May 22-23....The event will be a cross between a Jon Gindick jam camp and a summer festival....It will include workshops on various aspects of the harmonica, jam sessions, and evening concerts with Satan and Adam, Terry "Harmonica" Bean, Bill "Howl-N-Madd" Perry, Brandon Bailey, and a headliner whose name will be instantly familiar to you....It will take place entirely OUTDOORS at Foxfire Ranch, a beautiful facility in the North Mississippi hills....There will be on-site camping and a nearby campground, plus motels only 10 miles up the highway in Holly Springs....reasonably priced, affordable....Wives, GF, and friends welcome.....Stay tuned for more news!
12/4/09: I've just uploaded a new lesson on a perennial favorite:
"Pack Fair and Square": a two-chorus transcription/adaptation of Magic Dick's fast & furious solo, from the J. Geils Band Live Full House album. This is a rock-blues groove, and lightning-fast. I've slowed it down to make it manageable. For INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players.
11/12/09: Satan and Adam have just gotten a gig in Knoxville, TN at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Friday, March 12, 2010.
11/10/09: I've added a date to my "personal appearances" page. On Wednesday, Dec. 23rd, I'm playing a set with bluesman Robert Ross as part of a monthly "soul of the blues" festival at the Cornelia Street Cafe in Greenwich Village (downtown NYC). This is my ONLY New York City appearance in 2009. We're the second of three acts and we're working for our share of the door, so if you attend, please let the door-guy know that you came to see Robert Ross. http://www.corneliastreetcafe.com/home.asp
10/8/09: I'll be playing solo on the street (as a one-man band) on Saturday afternoon, October 10, at the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in Helena. (Roughly 2-7 PM). Please say Hi if you're there!
10/1/09: Recently I had the chance to blow harp on a recording session by a teenaged Memphis guitar phenom named Will Tucker, who has a steady gig at B. B. King's on Beale Street. The cut was "Walkin' Through the Park," a favorite of mine since I heard Butterfield's version on the Muddy Waters Woodstock Album and then went back and learned the Little Walter harp part. I pay homage to both harp players. Here's a direct link to the Amazon mp3 download:
9/21/09: On December 29th I'll be giving a harp clinic at Rembrandt's Restaurant in Philadelphia (www.rembrandts.com). $20 at the door. Included in the event is a reading/signing/performance to celebrate the republication of Mister Satan's Apprentice. Here's the clinic webpage: http://www.harmonica411.com/CLINICS.html
9/16/09: I've just uploaded a large zip.file sampler entitled "Chicago Blues Classics."
Chicago Blues Classics
For INTERMEDIATES and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES who want a selection of the best that the Chicago blues tradition has to offer, I've bundled five video tutorials into an easy-to-download zip file, with the tab sheets thrown in for free. Included in this package are Sonny Boy Williamson/Junior Wells ("Checking Up on my Baby"), Junior Wells ("Messing With the Kid"), Big Walter Horton ("Easy"), Paul Butterfield ("Born in Chicago"), and Little Walter/Kim Wilson ("Got My Mojo Working"), all for only $25, a savings of $10 off the item-by-item price.
9/9/09: I'm heading out to the Delta tomorrow--to Hopson Plantation, just outside Clarksdale, where I'll be joining Jon Gindick's blues harmonica jam camp in progress. We'll all be jamming at Ground Zero tomorrow night and it's open to the public. So, as far as I know, is the camp-closing jam from 1-5 PM on Saturday afternoon. Come on down, grab a beer or two, and hang out.
8/30/09: I've just uploaded a new lesson entitled "Raw Beginners Start Here!" It is strictly for novice players; it sketches out the Day 1 basics--how the harmonica is set up (blow and draw holes & reeds); how to hold the harp; how to play a single note; how to play a basic major scale; how to troubleshoot several problems that all novice players confront.
8/7/09: I'll be at the Sunflower River Gospel and Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi this weekend--sitting in with folks at the Bluesberry Cafe on Friday afternoon, playing the streets (hopefully) on both Friday and Saturday. Please say Hi, if you see me!......Next Tuesday I'm off on the road for the Satan and Adam summer tour. Virginia Beach, Philadelphia, Portsmouth NH, Piermont NY, and Atlanta............
6/17/09: We've rescheduled some of the postponed dates from our June tour, with more dates TBA:
8/13: Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live (7:30 PM, with special guest Charlie Sayles)
8/14: Portmouth, NH - The Press Room (9 PM)
8/15: Piermont, NY - The Turning Point (8 PM)
5/23/09: I've just added a new lesson to the Store.
"Got My Mojo Working": The holy grail for many harp players. A song that you absolutely, positively need to know. This is a two-part lesson organized around a two-page tab sheet. First page is my adaptation of the "head" or intro that always kicks the song off; second page is a transcription of the first 12 bars of Kim Wilson's solo on Jimmy Rodgers's LUDELLA album--a kick-ass harp throwdown, decoded and reassembled. The head is within reach for INTERMEDIATE as well as ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players; the solo is extremely challenging at full speed.
5/12/09: Thanks to GermanHarpist, the Blues Harp Forum now has a fantastic set of archived threads on all the subjects harmonica players love to talk (and argue) about. The "forum archive" page is the next-to-last page on this website, right after the forum page. Here's a direct link to the archive: www.itriser.com/harmonica/archive.htm#Harps
4/16/09: I'm happy to report that I've renewed my vows with Hohner and am once again an official endorser, with my own page on the Hohner website: www.hohnerusa.com/index.php
3/21/09: I've just uploaded new lessons on "St. Louis Blues" (for INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players) and "Mojo 1.0" (for BEGINNERS and ADVANCED BEGINNERS).
3/4/09: We've added another gig to the Satan and Adam summer tour: Lucille's Bar & Grill at B. B. King's in New York City. This is a terrific midtown location--an informal restaurant gig rather than a showcase.
2/26/09:A friend has just informed me that blues and R&B sax players are talking me up on a website called "Sax on the Web" as a guy whose licks are worth stealing. We all know that harp players like Little Walter borrowed from sax players, so it's nice to know the sax guys are chasing US now:
2/23/09: Satan and Adam have added another gig to the summer tour: Kiawah Island, SC, where we'll be opening for Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang in a concert series entitled "Blues in the Night."
2/15/09: I've just uploaded a new lesson on "Tequila" by The Champs. This is one of the great bar-band instrumentals:
1/29/09: Satan and Adam shows just added in Philadelphia (World Cafe Live, 6/17) and New York City (Terra Blues, 6/21).....
1/27/09: Satan and Adam will be touring in June 2009! I've just booked gigs at The Turning Point in Piermont, NY (6/19) and The Press Room in Portsmouth, NH (6/20). Please see the "personal appearances" page for other gigs I'm working on. And please don't hesitate to contact me if you live along the long and winding trail we'll be traveling and think you've got a gig for us; I'm always happy to talk, and until those TBA's are inked in, your gig is as good as what I'm working on....
1/17/09: Jason Ricci is going to be playing Rooster's, the new blues club in Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday, February 21. (Rooster's is right on The Square and very easy to find.) I will certainly be there. I hope my Memphis and Mississippi friends will come on down, too, and support the most exciting young harp player on the scene today.
1/14/09: The Modern Blues Harmonica open house during the International Blues Challenge in Memphis (IBC) will take place on Thursday, February 5 from 4-6 PM at my room in the Best Western Benchmark Hotel (164 Union Street), just across the street from the Peabody Hotel. Please ask at the desk for Adam Gussow's room. BYOB, and of course pack a few harps for impromptu jamming, infomation exchange, etc. I'll have some beer and potato chips on hand. This is a low-key get-together. Lots of other stuff is happening during the IBCs, including:
§Brandon Bailey performing at Pig on Beale as part of a blues youth showcase (Fri 2/6, 1-4 PM; Brandon is playing at 2:30; look for me there)
§Billy Gibson performing with two different acts as part of another showcase at Rum Boogie (Fri 2/6; google "Betsie Brown" and "blues" to find her entertainment agency, who is sponsoring this..I'll post it here)
§IBC semifinals, at which Jimi Lee will be competing (Thursday and Friday, 2/5-6, beginning at 5 or 6 PM; check the IBC schedule as game day approaches to find venue...I'll post it here)
§Jam sessions at Mr. Handy's Blues Hall on Beale Street, Thurs and Fri. 2/5-6, 1-5 PM
§Jason Ricci co-hosting the band finals of the International Blues Challenge (Sat 2/7, 2-7 PM)
I'll be at many of these events....hope to see you there!
1/10/09: I've just uploaded a lesson entitled "Eight-Bar Blues Progressions." Most of us who blow harp know at least one 8-bar blues, "Key to the Highway," but few realize that there are actually THREE different 8-bar progressions. I've done the hard work of sorting them all out for you, using 14 musical examples drawn from Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Kim Wilson, Otis Spann, Ray Charles, and others. (NOTE: this video tutorial has been packaged in zip-file form with the one-page chord chart that I refer to frequently in the video):
12/18/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," a soul-jazz standard composed by Joe Zawinul for the Canonball Adderly quintet. I've run into this one at many jam sessions:
....I've just agreed to give an introductory blues harmonica clinic on TUESDAY, MARCH 2 (7-9 PM) at my hometown music store, Rebel Music on West Jackson Ave. in Oxford, Mississippi...Don't forget about the Jon Gindick jam camp in Clarksdale, MS in late March, where I'll be coaching with Jon, Jimi Lee, Billy Gibson, and Cheryl Arena (www.gindick.com for more info)...I just took delivery of a Harpgear 2 amp and it sounds GREAT!
11/30/08: The new Adam Gussow and Charlie Hilbert album, Live in Klingenthal, has just been released. 10 concert tracks recorded during the 2008 Mundharmonika-live Festival, plus a 14+ minute bonus track in which Gussow goes head to head with NYC harp legend Nat Riddles at a 1990 jam session in Richmond, VA. All the tracks have been professionally mastered and saved in high-quality (150+ kb/s) mp3s, ready for instant download. Check out the preview below, or click the album link just above the photo to read a fuller description, including track names, lengths, and harp keys:
11/27/08: A Canadian friend writes: "Thought I'd drop you an email to let you know, Randy Bachman (The Guess Who, BTO) has a show on CBC radio called "Vinyl Tap". He recently did a show just on the Harmonica, recordings of famous players and tracks, two hour show. Right off the top, the first name mentioned was the famous Adam Gussow! He urged his listeners to check out your YouTube site." Here's the link; it's Part I of the episode aired on November 22:
11/26/08: Brandon Bailey tells me that he's appearing in the "Smokin' Bluz Youth Showcase" (representing the Memphis Blues Society) at the International Blues Challenge. The date is Friday, February 6 at 1:30 PM at Club 152 on Beale Street. I hope you'll join me there to cheer him on!
11/19/08: I've uploaded a new lesson on Junior Well's "Early in the Morning," off the Hoodoo Man Blues album. It's an introductory lesson for INTERMEDIATES (and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES) at a fire-sale price. Only $3 for video AND tab sheet, it focuses on somewhat less material than my lessons usually do: the five-bar harmonica intro. But it spends extra time explaining how my tabbing system works, and the video is almost 23 minutes long. Although designed for those who haven't previously sampled my wares, this lesson gives the rest of you a really useful bit of material, perfect as a lead in for any slow blues:
11/18/08: I've just reserved a room at the Benchmark Hotel in downtown Memphis (164 Union Avenue, a couple of blocks from Beale Street) on Feb. 5 and 6, the Thursday and Friday of International Blues Challenge weekend.....The semifinals take place on those nights; my buddy Jimi Lee will be doing his thing, and one thing I'm hoping to do is pack whatever venue he's playing with MBH folks, so we can clap and howl him on to victory.....If you're thinking about coming to Memphis for the IBC, here are two things I can do for you:
1) I'm going to host a BYOB cocktail party / jam session on at least one of those evenings, perhaps both. I've invited Jimi Lee and I'll certainly hope that other harp players--including guys & gals performing in the IBC--will show up. Y'all are invited. No charge. This will be a great way of making our virtual community real. (When I say "jam session," I mean a totally informal scene, not a stage with drums and amps.) NOTE ADDED ON 11/19: Jimi Lee, Billy Gibson, and Brandon Bailey have all given me the word that they'll definitely be dropping by!!
2) I'm planning to make myself available for a limited number of private lessons during the day. My rates are reasonable.
No invitations needed, but if you want to attend this little shindig or set up a private lesson, I'd appreciate if you'd email me (asgussow@aol.com), just so I'll have a general idea.
10/25/08: I've uploaded a new lesson for ADVANCED BEGINNERS and INTERMEDIATES on Slim Harpo's swamp-blues, "I've Got Love If You Want It."
10/23/08: I'm happy to announce that I've just released a NEW album of jam tracks entitled "Blues Harmonica Play Along Sessions." This is a cooperative endeavor--the result of a profit-sharing arrangement with the Hills Blues Collective, a Dutch trio that released "Play Along Sessions, Vol. 1" as a CD just last year. I've ripped the CD into a digital download (with their permission!) and bundled it into a zip file with a 58-minute video in which I take you through every single cut, showing you how to milk it for all it's worth. I LOVE this set of jam tracks! It includes every important urban (amplified) groove you're likely to confront at jam sessions and gigs: swing, shuffle, rock, rhumba, boogaloo, funk, soul, and slow blues.
10/15/08: A number of people have asked me over the years for a chart that gives the harp keys for the songs on the first three Satan and Adam albums: HARLEM BLUES (1991), MOTHER MOJO (1993), and LIVING ON THE RIVER (1996). Here it is. And it's free:
10/13/08: Thanks for all who came out to say Hi at this weekend's Satan & Adam gigs in Nashville, Helena AR, and Waterford MS. I've got some cool video from Helena, where we played the streets as well as the festival stage, and I'll be uploading it soon. (Those on my mailing list--see above--will be getting a special email with a preview.).....I've just uploaded the most recent batch of mp3s ripped from my YouTube videos 135-144. It's actually a zip file of 17 mp3s, including lessons on James Brown's "I Feel Good," "Muddy Waters's "Walking Through the Park," and "Playing Fast." Also included are a number of recordings of Satan and Adam in performance at various juke joints and festivals across the South during the summer of 2008. Here's a link to Tradebit:
10/8/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson entitled "Adam's Warmup Exercises (with overblows). The description at Tradebit reads as follows: "For ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE blues harmonica players, or INTERMEDIATE players who are developing the ability to overblow, this video tutorial works through a half-dozen different exercises created by Adam Gussow for his own use. (Three of them are featured in the preview.)These exercises develop speed, fluency, and the ability to transition smoothly from the bottom to the top of the harp and back. They help players integrate overblows within a traditional diatonic blues context. They also provide a workout on upper octave bends. Gussow shows you a series of variations on triplet phrasing--not just standard eighth-note triplets (three to a beat), but sixteenth-note triplets (three to an upbeat) achieved through a rapid slur. This particular trick is one of Gussow's characteristic moves; he decodes it for you here."
9/27/08: I'm delighted that the folks at the Amsterdam Harmonica Meetup got some video of me jamming with Ben Bouman's band, The Marbletones. I rarely get a chance to work the Little Walter groove, but these guys had the right feeling for it. Note to traditionalists: I'm mixing lip-pursing with tongue-blocking, I'm adding overblows, and I'm using a Shure PE-5 dynamic mic through a digital delay pedal. Impurism rules!
9/22/08: And now for something completely different: "Stone Fox Breakdown," the first harp-hop single from Modern Blues Harmonica:
It's a Dutch-American collaboration. After teaching and playing for a week in Klingenthal, Germany at "Mundharmonika-live," I'm hanging out in Holland with Ben Bouman, a local legend. When harp guys have spare time, they get creative. We think we've come up with something that will hook you bad. See if you can figure out what--and when--each of us is playing.
9/21/08: Here's some footage of Charlie Hilbert and me playing "Cold Shot" at the Mundharmonika-live Festival in Klingenthal, Germany a few days ago:
9/9/08: I've just uploaded a lesson on Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me." Y'all know the song, and the solo. I've broken it down in a way that will let you dig down into the master's machine language.
9/8/08: To my French friends: On September 27th, I'll be participating in "Blues a Chateauvieux," a harmonica workshop/concert at Saint Aignan sur Cher. Voila le website:
8/29/08: I've just uploaded a new video entitled "Amping the Harp." It's a long (56 minute) video that carefully takes you through each of the core elements you need to understand--including mics, grips, speaker configurations, large vs. small amps, even vs. odd harmonics, and each amp's distinctive power curve--in order to create a powerful amplified sound for yourself. Please check out the description at Tradebit, especially the preview:
8/27/08: From time to time I send out a brief newsletter to folks on my mailing list, generally entitled something like "New Uploads at Modern Blues Harmonica." Earlier this week I switched to a new emailing service and sent out a newsletter entitled "Hello! + 'Sugar Ditch' upload." If you got that email and didn't know it was from me, or assumed it was kinky porn, or have never gotten a newsletter from me and are curious, you can read it here:
8/22/08: One of my new friends from "Blues Week" in the UK, the redoubtable Will Greener (aka, Captain Bliss), has asked me to spread the word about a fundraiser he's hosting for Grant Dermody and Grant's ailing wife. (I was Grant's sub when he was forced to stay home.) Will writes, "I'm putting on a benefit gig for Grant Dermody (fine player, great guy, his wife is recovering from cancer) on Friday 29th August upstairs at Edward's, Hammersmith, London. All proceeds are going to Grant and Eileen, we've got 7 hours of acoustic music (6pm - 1am) for £10 on the door, more information (plus a couple of Grant's tunes and some music by the bands playing) is available at http://www.myspace.com/eileenstock - if not, no worries, but thanks if so! Acts include the marvellous Matthew Ord, the brilliant Barker Band, the thumpingly great New Rising, the awesome Andy Sharrocks (feat. yours truly), the bearded nutter that is Robert James and more..." Will is a mojo man of sorts, with some pretty mean overblows thrown in. Please support the cause.
8/21/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson: "Sugar Ditch" by Hank Crawford. Crawford, an alto sax player, was the leading instrumental voice in Ray Charles's orchestra for many years; this jazz-blues head is perfect for the intermediate and advanced intermediate harp student who wants to take a step beyond the familiar sounds of Chicago & West Coast harmonica. In terms of technical challenges, "Sugar Ditch" is relatively tame; it uses 2, 3, and 4 draw bends, but nothing very fast or tricky, and NO OVERBLOWS! The challenge lies in the unfamiliar phrasing--very bluesy but also distinctive, and NOT the way that harp players usually do it. Check out the previews:
I'll be uploading several other lessons over the next few weeks, including Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me," Slim Harpo's "Got Love if You Want It," and "Tequila" by The Champs......I'm back in Mississippi after more than three weeks on the road that took me from gigs in Bessemer, Alabama and Knoxville TN through clinics in Huntington WV, Frederick MD, and Philadelphia PA. After a bit of vacation up in Maine, I flew to London and spent a week at "Blues Week" up at the University of Northampton, where I made many new friends, including some who'd been following my YouTube lessons. It was great to hang out with Annie Raines, who I first saw back in 1989 when we were both "unofficial" participants at the Chicago Blues Festival, back behind the barbecue tent. Giles King, a UK harp maestro with an act called Lightning Willie, hipped me to the wealth of UK harp talent....After eight gigs in July, I can definitively say that SATAN AND ADAM ARE BACK, with Dave Laycock kicking it out as the third member of the duo. We've gotten some great airplay on our new/old album, "Word on the Street," and we're planning on recording another album over the winter. We've got a new booking agent who will be working hard to put us into some major festivals next summer. And of course the documentary continues to simmer along. We have every reason to think that 2009 will be our best year yet.....Don't forget: we're playing Nashville on October 10 and playing the Arkansas Blues & Heritage festival on October 11--the Houston Stackhouse stage from 4-5, then right out in the street from 6 PM onward. Make the trip!
7/23/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson, and I'm proud of it: "Messin' With the Kid," by Junior Wells. The word "classic" is overused--and I'm guilty of that!--but this particular two-chorus harp solo deserves the name, as does the whole cut. Wells's style is surprisingly difficult to get a handle on, but I've come up with a three-page PDF tab that gets the job done, plus a video--almost 45 minutes long--that works you deeply into it, step by step.
Quick reminder: Satan and Adam are playing two gigs in the next few days: a serious juke joint throwdown at Mr. Gip's in Bessemer, Alabama on Saturday the 26th, and a book publication party (for the paperback edition of JOURNEYMAN'S ROAD) at the Preservation Pub in Knoxville on Monday the 28th. 9 PM start for both gigs. We'll have copies of our new CD, WORD ON THE STREET, plus t-shirts and books and DVDs.
7/21/08: REVISED ADVISORY: The Satan and Adam show in Birmingham has been moved to Mr. Gip's, an honest-to-god juke joint in Bessemer, about 10 miles outside town. Thanks to the Magic City Blues Society, we'll be kicking in stomping in a legendary blues space. The motto of the place is, "If you can find it, you're invited." A fish fry is part of the deal, beer will be for sale, it's a private establishment--a juke house behind a guy's house--and if you live anywhere in the Southeast US and are in the mood for a blues adventure, you need to get yourself on down to Gip's.
The address of Gip's is 3101 Avenue C, Bessemer AL 35020. If you're planning on coming, it might be a good idea to email or call the Magic City Blues Society's local rep: Roger Stevenson. rjs44@charter.net (205) 215-0616. Tell him you got his contact info from my website.
There's an opener at 9. Satan and Adam hit at 10. They tell me the music lasts until late. Alrighty, then!
7/21/08: ADVISORY: The Satan and Adam show at The Burl Earl in Birmingham, AL this Saturday night (7/26) has been CANCELLED. The good news is, a local blues person has come forward with a substitute gig at a juke joint in nearby Bessemer called Mr. Gips. We're working out the details, but it appears to be a 95% sure deal. I'll let you know......I drove up to Memphis last night to catch Jason Ricci's show and it was worth the loss of sleep. He is HOT, folks. I sound like a broken record where this boy is concerned, but every time I turn around he's paving new ground. Last night it was a surreal version of "Rocket Number 9" with theatrics like Screaming Jay Hawkins, a beautiful sweet jazz-fusiony song in 12th position (5 draw is the tonic note), and, to finish up, John Coltrane's "Afro Blue." Jason was nice enough to get me up to play; when we jammed on "Cissy Strut," he covered every single lick I threw at him and upped the ante repeatedly. No mas! Back to the woodshed for me. Meanwhile, Memphis local Brandon Bailey, just 17 a couple of days ago, sat in on "Scratch My Back" and proved that he's somebody we'll be hearing much more from.
Oh: I'll be uploading two new lessons soon: a three-page tab of Junior Well's "Messin' With the Kid" (a note-for-note transcription of his two-chorus solo, plus the familiar ensemble riff on the turnaround) and Hank Crawford's jazzy blues, "Sugar Ditch." I'll be on the road for three weeks starting on July 26th, but will upload at least a couple more lessons during that period, including Sonny Boy Williamson's "Help Me," "Tequila" by The Champs, and Slim Harpo's "Got Love if You Want It."
7/11/08: GREAT NEWS! Satan and Adam have just been added to the program of this year's Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (formerly the King Biscuit Blues Festival) in Helena, Arkansas. We're playing Saturday, October 11th, 4-5 PM on the Houston Stackhouse Acoustic Stage.
7/1/08: I've just uploaded two new lessons: "Night Train," a classic R&B instrumental (James Brown and King Curtis both did it), and "John Lee Hooker's Boogie Blues," a fleshed-out version of an instrumental in the style of Hook's "Boom Boom Boom Boom!" that I worked through on YouTube a few months back ("Boogie Blues Lick").
6/25/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson on one of the most challenging harp solos I've ever recorded: the first chorus of "Sunday Driver," which is the lead track in Adam Gussow and Charlie Hilbert: Blues Classics. It's a power shuffle in B-flat, played cross harp. In order to nail it, you'll need to hit two overblows (5 and 6) and combine them with fast triplet runs in all three octaves, including a 9 blow bend--all on an E-flat harp!
