It hasn't ended up in direct propositions but several times at jams I've played harp behind female singers, and some really good ones, who have been brought up to belt out a tune or two and who have searched me out at the end of the jam to rather enthusiastically thank me for pushing their song to the next level. Good comping can add a warm, safe sonic envelop to tunes that just holds it all together. Add some growls, some moans and pulsing turn arounds and percussive build ups to that climatic vocal line and...well what gal could resist that. ;)
yep I have seen it. And my girlfriend often speaks about it. She often tells me about others who suddenly perk up and take interest when the harp starts rollin.
oh ya, baby! (oops, did I say that out loud?) ---------- MBH Webbrain - a GUI guide to Adam's Youtube vids FerretCat Webbrain - Jason Ricci's vids (by hair colour!)
Funny you should start this thread now; I have always been aware how much the women like my harp playing, but just last night one of them told me how when I played it made her 'feel tingly inside'. A very (ahem) enthusiastic dancer, it seemed that ligato phrases around the top end particularly made her squirm.
Might not have been just the harp, though, cause I have that effect on women; they don't call me 'Lucky' Lester for nothin'.
'do I make you horny, baby....?' ---------- Lucky Lester
The sly looks you get out busking... Man! The eye candy alone makes it worthwhile. I am a happily married man so wouldn't ever do anything but, geez. We were busking on Wednesday, playing You Got to Move - not the dirtiest song around - , a slinky blonde babe in faux fur and a mini skirt walked past. We both got AWOOGA! eyes like in the cartoons. When I was singing, "You see that woman that walks the street" she turned around (she was about 30m down the road), walked back slowly, and very slowly and deliberately placed a $5 note in the tip jar, smiled at us and moved on. My guitarist and me both claimed bragging rights. Never mind she was young enough to be our daughter. On our way to a gig one night, a guy asked my wife (lagging behind me in the station) out for a drink. She was quite pleased with herself. I had my revenge when a young lady asked me for a glass of wine, rather insistently at the end of the gig. Wifey heard me decline because "my wife and son are waiting for me." Go forth, young guys and gals(and the not so young), and multiply the number of harp fans out there. I truly think a lot of people out there have never heard the harp other than when it creeps onto a popular music station -- Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Stevie Wonder etc. Nothing wrong with this of course, but they need to hear some solid blues harp. Busking is one way to educate 'em and boost demand for our services.
Last Edited by on May 24, 2012 3:27 PM
Lock eyes w/woman in audience, hit long sustained note w/vibrato and then bend it down while bending your knees - coordinate everything just right and they will melt. ---------- The Iceman
Ah this is so interesting. I haven't been propositioned as such, but twice at the same venue (different occasions) I have had subtle advances made. One of these women said "If I wasn't married, I'd marry you". Not sure as that is what I was after, but hey, can't be too choosy.
It's a music thing. When you're up playing, you're different to the guys in the audience anyway, but harp, like sax is a lead instrument and its sound is very provocative. Throw in some ladies who want a good time and some alcohol and you're suddenly a fanny magnet.
We had a similar thing the other week. We played a gig and the house was rocking, girls were up dancing and phones were out and they were filming the band and couldn't get enough of us. Awesome!
Came to the end of the night and we went to the bar to grab a drink and the same girls who were up in our faces with their cameras earlier were there.
Naturally, after being so near them earlier, we smiled and acknowledged them. Nothing more, we didn't try to make conversation or intrude in any way, but they behaved as though they'd never seen us before. Very strange and something I can only put down to the power of being up on a stage. You're a different person up there.
BB King has a policy of never appearing in front of a crowd before or after a gig and always dressing differently than the audience.
I'm not sure if this counts but yesterday on a walk I passed a viaduct near my home. Nobody around, so I grabbed a harp and made full use of the 4 second or something echo (really the coolest one I'd ever heard). Few gals came by on scooters. Young gals. I decided to keep playing nonetheless. Now it might have been that they just wanted to hang where I was playing. But they shouted something to one another, turned around and stopped, 30 feet from where I was. I was a bit shy as always, so bailed after one more song. I didn't talk to them, but as I walked away from where I'd been (in the other way), they immediately put their helmets on again and went were they were headed earlier.
Now you would say young gals like that just want to hear hip-hop. The blues seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks! Baffled me! At the very least, they were interested.
Yeah Willy. I hear ya. I was busking today, and four maybe 12-yr-old girls came and started dancing. They gave a couple of tips and one said, "keep rockin' that harmonica!" And I was playing one of my raunchier songs and a 16-yr-old smiled and gave a tip.
I had a dream last night that a limo full off hot ladies whisked me off to thier paradise island to keep for me themselves, BUMMER it turned out they were all lesbians and only wanted me to play the harmonica, then i woke up and went to work.
in 3....2.....1..... (someone will post the 'famous' Billy Branch video.) ---------- Go ahead and play the blues if it'll make you happy. -Dan Castellaneta
Billy, that's why we need transparent harmonicas. I'm convinced that if people could see the lingual agility that goes into tongue blocking we'd get so many dates on Friday and Saturday nights we'd have no time for gigging!
Steamrollin, I had a dream last night that I was getting my big break directing a movie I wrote staring Anna Faris. It seemed to be a crossover piece where scientists had created both a zombie plague and a Jurassic Park scenario. The heroes were trying to lure the zombies to the dinosaurs.
That wasn't even the strange part. I was wearing a short black wig trying to give Ms. Faris stage direction by acting out all her scenes for her, including getting wired up for the scene where she flies! (I woke up before I figured out why a zombie dinosaur movie featured actresses that can fly.) I was hitting on Anna and it wasn't going well. If harmonica players can't get the ladies, chubby guys in ridiculous wigs aren't going to get the lady, even in our dreams!
Dead right super bee; and nothing puts me off more than when they tell me that I remind them of their father! ---------- Lucky Lester
Last Edited by on May 26, 2012 1:49 AM
If you remind them of thier father, take it as a thank you compliment, the answere is, "well thank you very much, i bet you have a hot lookin momma, where is she?"
Mile High Club? old fashioned, see the next lines:
"A night in Toronto
The huge Air Canada Jumbo jet is just coming into Pearson Airport (Toronto) on its final approach. The pilot comes on over the intercom.
"This is Capt. Johnson, we're on our final descent into Toronto. I want to thank you for flying with us today and enjoy your stay in Toronto."
Well, the Capt. forgets to switch off the intercom. The whole plane can now hear the conversation from the cockpit.
The co-pilot says to the pilot, "Well skipper, wotcha gonna do in Toronto?"
Now all ears in the plane are listening in to this conversation.
"Well", says the skipper, "First I'm gonna check into the hotel and go for a mega-huge dump. Then I'm gonna take that new stewardess out for supper, you know, the one with the huge tits. I'm gonna wine and dine her, take her back to my room and slip the old salami to her all night."
Well, everyone in the planes trying to get a look at the new stewardess. She's so embarassed she runs from the back of the plane to try and get to the cockpit to get the intercom off. Half way down, she trips over an old ladies bag - ***splat *** and down she goes.
The old lady leans over and says, "No need to run dearie, he's got to go for a shit first."
(sexist stories but who cares!!) Are you a blues player? One hell of a lot of blues lyrics really are very sexist. Strangely, most women don't seem to mind or maybe they're not listening to the lyrics.
@harmonicanick: the question is: if you play harp, but without being accompanied, what responses can you expect? Now, if I'm not wrong, harp allows more things than a saxophone, and that could make the audience really amazed.
Leatherlips, yeah a lot of lyrics are sexist. I'm not sure about the 'most women don't seem to mind' part though. For one reason or another we don't get many women hanging out on the forum, but like I said, 'for one reason or another'. I don't know if that's the reason or what.
Laurent, I seem to recall a thread with Buddha at one point where he was describing a conversation he had with a sax player. He mentioned to the sax player that he liked the versatility of the harp. The sax player got all huffy and said that he could play anything Buddha could play... so Buddha played a chord. That ended the conversation. :)
Yes Nate...and further on, we have 3 octaves at our disposal, saxes have only two I think. As for wind instruments, My Pan flutes allow to perform a...two notes chord, but the sound is absolutely harsh and not sustainable: so harp is the one and only to allow the chords.
Man, that's some bitter shit Billy. My philosophy has always been,"Money and Fun". The ideal is to have both but if it ain't fun there has to be money and if there ain't no money it sure as hell better be fun. Sounds like you're S.O.L. on both counts and need to stand down for awhile till you find one or the other.
P.S. Mile High Club does exist. Got my card stamped. Not bragging. Just saying. ---------- LSC
this thread started about the women positive responses
even at my neophyte stage of the game it is happening to me, the flirtatious over the shoulder looks, the "i like the harmonica" stuff then those three naked girls standing in front of me when i opened my eyes
and i know it sure isn't about my looks - it's the sound of the harp some way
Last Edited by on May 24, 2012 7:13 PM
