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My SPAH impressions
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boris_plotnikov
1073 posts
Aug 21, 2015
1:39 PM
It is not my first festival, and my expectation wasn't too high, but it was definitely cool!

We're here in US for rather long tour with Mikhail Bashakov. That really helped me, I'm here with my band and we have friends in Denver, they gratefully gave us place to live and car to drive.

First day, Tuesday, we visited Soiled Dove club for pre-SPAH blowoff. Listened to a lot of music, most interesting for me was Jimi Lee's, Joe Filisco/Eric Noden sets and especially Jason Ricci's performances. I always was a big fan of Jason's playing and listened to his album thousands of times, he was great despite some misunderstandings with the band, 120% emotions. It was a great honor for me and Michail Bashakov to play a small set soon after Jason Ricci, we were a bit nervous playing songs in Russian in front of non-russian listeners, but we get applauses and cd sales, so it was pleasant experience.

Second day, Wednesday, become a SPAH member, visited three workshops one about stage presence by J Goldweber, another one by Brendan Power and the last one by Tom Halchak. So interesting to visit vendors area, talk a lot to great Randy Landry from Lone Wolf Blues Co, his nice wife and cutest dog (: Till that day I become endorser of their nice products, I already use HarpAttack and HarpBreak and I wish to get more, but don't have enough room in my pedalboard which have to fit carry-on baggage in Russia. Anyway, now I'm Lone wolf guy. Get myself a SWAN bass harmonica, nice instrument, especially for the price, actually after playing Tombo pocket bass for half a year I started to wish full range bass, but still not ready to spend thousands dollars till I will use it a lot. Tried very innovative products from turboharp, magnetic slide and tunable harmonica is a very cool ideas! Electric harmonica looks very perspective, but still noisy and not easy to change keys on the fly.
After Tom Halchack's workshop I get two blue moon combs: one for Session Steel, another one for 1847. Nice guy with a nice product, glad to meet him in person. Was nice to meet Filip Jers, PT Gazell, Todd Parrot, Mike Rubin and a lot of other guys I talked before only over internet. It was pleasant to meet whole Seydel team, Lars and Bertram for the second time in my life, Greg Jones and Rupert Oysler for the first time, especially pleasant to meet Rupert whose DVD on harp customizing helped me to start doing my own custom job, was wondered to meet my buddy from Italy Manlio, who helped me a lot in Trossingen, here he was among Seydel team. Extra thanks for dinner, dear Seydel friends!
In the evening it was extremely pleasant to listen to PT Gazell and other great players and to play a song just before Howard Levy inside Michael Rubin's variety show.

Third day, Thursday: with a great help from Mikhail Bashakov I held my own workshop on variety in playing "How to play a long gig without becoming boring". Get a lot of questions during workshop, so even didn't have enough time to tell all stuff I prepared. In the evening because of local deals I unfortunately was late and skipped PT's show, I was very interested to listen to, but I listened to Jason Ricci/JJ Appleton show and it impressed me very deep! Listened a bit of Kim Wilson, but It's not my piece of cake. In the evening I attended jazz jam, blues jam and country jam. Was wondered that blues and country jams were completely unplugged.

Day four, Friday, I was ill having flu and I had to play a gig with Mikhail Bashakov in the Denver. Pitty, but I had to skip bass harmonica workshop and Filip Jers workshop and gig, also Todd Parrot's gig. But playing my own gig as good as possible for flu was main goal.

Day five, Saturday. Despite flu it was most filled day for me. I bought Greg Heuman's volume control, Lonewolf HarpOctave. Spent some more time with Tom Halchak adjusting combs for my taste. Skipped the dinner, but come back after dinner listening great Koei Tanaka and Alexandra Mueller. Than moved downtown to jam with John Weeks band, than get back to conference for blues jam, country jam and Jimi Lee's jam.

Day six, Sunday: get my friend Bertram Becher from Seydel and going together downtown to see Denver and to get a dinner than drive him back to aiport. Was pleasant to talk to him in person again!



In general, I like SPAH so much, hope to visit SPAH in San Antonio next year. It was such a pleasure to meet people I saw before only over Youtube. Cool to play in front of non-russian speaker listeners.

Big thanks to Winslow, Chris, Manfred and all SPAH team, to Mikhail Bashakov for playing with me, our friends Tanya and Vitalik, who helped us a lot, to Tom Halchak, Randy Randry, Bertram, Lars and Greg for gifts, to Jason Ricci for music and kind words, and everyone who told me they loved our music both offline and online.

Have no idea how to add photos using ipad, but I have some on my facebook post https://www.facebook.com/boris.plotnikov.9/posts/10207317801172416

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Excuse my bad English.

My videos.

Last Edited by boris_plotnikov on Aug 21, 2015 11:29 PM
WinslowYerxa
941 posts
Aug 21, 2015
2:26 PM
Thanks for posting this, Boris. It was great having you!

An amusing side note about that device you were using to make the harmonica's pitch "talk" by varying it wildly (some sort of "scratch" emulator?).

You were using that device while playing your set on Wednesday night, when Howard Levy came in. At first he listened and said something like "that's interesting." Of course at the time he was mentally preparing to perform, and when he's psyching himself up to play he goes through a transformation a little like turning into the incredible hulk, during which he becomes very sensitive to external stimuli. After a few moments he got a weird look on his face, exclaimed, "this is messing with my head!" and left the room.

So you see, you had quite a strong effect!
===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!

Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Aug 21, 2015 2:27 PM
Greg Heumann
3082 posts
Aug 21, 2015
5:56 PM
Boris' performance was the most creative uses of electronic effects I've ever seen. Entertaining and musical.
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***************************************************
/Greg

BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
Bluestate on iTunes
Thievin' Heathen
592 posts
Aug 21, 2015
10:24 PM
I am so glad you are enjoying your trip. Sorry you got sick. It is difficult to travel so far and come in contact with so many fellow humans and stay well.

Be careful in St. Louis tonight. The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave is going through a bit of a transition at the moment.
FilipJers
17 posts
Aug 22, 2015
3:48 AM
Great to meet you, hang out and hear your music Boris.
See you again and have a nice US trip!
florida-trader
762 posts
Aug 22, 2015
9:15 AM
I don't know about anyone else, but I really enjoyed hearing you and Mikhail sing in Russian. It is your native language and it is your best tool for displaying your musical passion.

Aside from Boris being a great all around player, he is probably the most energetic harmonica player I have ever seen. He was jumping around on stage like his feet were on fire! Combined with his use of effects, it was quite a show.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
GMaj7
748 posts
Aug 22, 2015
9:46 AM
Boris is not only one of the best players I've ever heard or met in person, he is super cool about sharing his knowledge.

He can speak English better than he gives himself credit, too!
I really like how he doesn't hesitate to share his knowledge. It is what separates us in this harmonica community from so many others

Thanks Boris.. it was a true pleasure
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Greg Jones
16:23 Custom Harmonicas
greg@1623customharmonicas.com
1623customharmonicas.com
shadoe42
328 posts
Aug 22, 2015
10:02 AM
I would love to see SPAH start videoing these workshops and then making them available into downloads AFTER the convention. Even paid downloads. There are some of these that I would certainly pay to get to see after the fact.

At this point hoping SPAH will come to KC at some point. :)

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Dr. Rev. Mr. Cheeks Miller
My Electronic Music World
Me With Harp
WinslowYerxa
943 posts
Aug 22, 2015
5:25 PM
Want SPAH in your town? Local support is the key! Join the KC harmonica club and work with them to bring the convention. They last hosted in 2005, so they may have had sufficient time to recover and to consider doing it again.
===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!
WinslowYerxa
944 posts
Aug 22, 2015
5:27 PM
Videotaping workshops - nearly 50 of them - would be a lot of work and expense. Maybe you'd like to volunteer?

===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!
harpsquealer
7 posts
Aug 23, 2015
5:26 AM
Is there any video of Boris' performance? I want to see how he used the electronic effects with the harmonica!
mlefree
378 posts
Aug 23, 2015
8:32 AM
I can't find a video of his Blowoff performance but I was sitting pretty close at the time.

The effect that was most unique and dramatic for me was his use of what appeared to be a hardware pitch shifter (please correct me if I'm wrong, Boris).

What was amazing was the way, as he jumped around "with his feet on fire" and played mad, frenetic, perfectly articulated harmonica, he reached down and made rapid changes in the pitch of his heavily processed harmonica by twisting a knob on the shifter. It was cool how in his very athletic, dynamic performance he somehow managed to maintain control of the knob even when he was airborne as he jumped around wildy. It was almost like a spacewalker holding on to the mother ship as he floated weightlessly. I don't know how he did it!

The combination of his partner's guitar playing and singing (in Russian) and his incredible harmonica playing added to his stage antics created an aural and visual effect and on-stage "moment" that I'll not soon forget. I've never seen anything like it.

A side story: The staff at the door apparently wouldn't admit Boris into the venue. I was working the stage with the events organizer, Chris Richards, and saw him standing in line when I arrived. I'd obviously never met him but recognized him immediately. So I grabbed him as I cut to the head of the line, got us both admitted and introduced him to Chris. Boris is a diminutive, quiet fellow and I'm sure someone would have eventually recognized him but I was a bit embarrassed to find a harmonica superstar like him standing in line. He is too nice a guy to just start yelling or creating a scene in an effort to be admitted. His quiet, almost over-polite countenance in this foreign country of ours lies in total opposition to the dynamic, exciting and unique performance that he is able to render. A brave, world-class fellow to be sure!

Michelle

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SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
Todd Parrott
1347 posts
Aug 23, 2015
3:15 PM
Video recording the workshops would be easy to capture, but time consuming to edit properly.

However, audio recording the workshops and making them available as digital downloads afterwards would be a piece of cake, and could be a great way for SPAH to make money for funding future SPAH events, providing that the presenter gives his or her consent. (If not, don't record them.) Many music conferences I've attended through the years have done this very thing with much success, even back during the days of cassette tapes. One particular music conference audio-recorded their seminars every year, and each subsequent year, they had a booth set up and sold tapes of the seminars from several years back, and people bought them like crazy. Again, this was back in the days of cassette, but this would be much easier in today's digital world, and the files could perhaps be made available for download from the SPAH web site.
The Iceman
2627 posts
Aug 24, 2015
5:30 AM
These audio/video workshops recorded would be a great revenue stream for SPAH and whoever becomes President will hopefully recognize this easy way to bump SPAH up in offering education as well as increasing their coffers.

One need not hire a professional crew (like the old days), but merely have one or two personal video recordings made of these workshops.

Editing would not be necessary, as the final product would give those the experience of sitting there themselves.
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The Iceman

Last Edited by The Iceman on Aug 24, 2015 1:09 PM
timeistight
1851 posts
Aug 24, 2015
8:53 AM
Michael D'Eath is the new SPAH President.
WinslowYerxa
945 posts
Aug 24, 2015
9:36 AM
If I look at the schedule for the 2015 SPAH convention, I see 50 seminars presented over four days in five different rooms, with three or four seminars running at the same time.

So, can someone come up with a practical model for:

1) acquiring, setting up, and running video or audio recording equipment for up to 5 simultaneous event

2) securing permissions from presenters (some of whom may have products with which such videos might compete or may otherwise suffer loss of income from videos of their presentations)

2) editing the resulting 50+ hours down to presentable videos

3) setting up a sales and marketing structure for the resulting product

SPAH is an all-volunteer organization, so if someone is willing to take this on as a volunteer, please come up with a proposal to present to the board.

===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!

Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Aug 24, 2015 9:39 AM
HarpNinja
4127 posts
Aug 24, 2015
10:10 AM
Boris rules!

I try to go to SPAH every other year, but it was too hard to pull off. Hopefully, I will make it to TX next summer!

IME, there has been little video/recordings leaked other than the big shows at night. I remember playing the Blow Off in Minneapolis and seeing several people recording, but nothing ever showed up on YT, etc.


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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog
The Iceman
2629 posts
Aug 24, 2015
1:00 PM
If it seems daunting, SPAH could start with taping 10 or 20 of the more interesting seminars to see how easy it really is.

In this age of cell phone recordings and other equipment, folk could easily set up a static view of stage and press play. (How many youtube videos have you seen of this exact type of live performance recording?).

Those jolly attendees with the capabilities would no doubt find it no problem to do so - reward is that they get their own copy for free.

Getting permission is a no brainer. Ask.

If one is really corporate paranoid, a short paragraph of release can be signed.

No editing necessary. Give a sense of what it would have been like to sit in the seminar.

Sales and marketing structure? Sure. Take orders after the seminars and during the convention. Advertise on SPAH site as well as harmonica chat lists. $5 to $10 a copy per seminar.

There, most of Winslow's issues are solved. Whatever remains can be handled by a forward thinking and creative member of SPAH.

My old model for convention success was based on 15 years of working the International Jazz Education conventions. Back in the day, they cassette taped all seminars and sold copies to attendees for $10 each. I remember cassette tape being run to office where a few duplicating machines were cranking out copies. Attendees could pick up their copy the next day. Great income stream and very much appreciated by those in attendance as well as after the fact sales to those unable to attend.

Don't fall back on the "all volunteer organization" excuse. President can take the reigns and make stuff like this happen. Either do himself or delegate.

It's how we used to do it in the late 90's to great success. Creative thinking with minimal corporate angst.

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The Iceman

Last Edited by The Iceman on Aug 24, 2015 1:08 PM
1847
2707 posts
Aug 24, 2015
1:18 PM



company "H" had a camera set up at namm
looked like a pretty simple set-up

they had it on a tripod, all that was necessary was to push the record button. then hit stop at the end.

nice quality also.
florida-trader
763 posts
Aug 24, 2015
1:58 PM
Seems to me the answer is fairly simple. Outsource it.

You can't depend on a volunteer army to get this sort of thing done. There are too many moving parts. I have a friend who owns a business that records corporate conferences and even live streams the meetings on the Internet. People can log on and access the event live. The technology is there. If the sheer number of rooms is an obstacle limit it to 3 or 4 rooms and organize it so that the most prominent workshops are recorded. If the demand is there, somebody who is enterprising can figure out a way to make some money off it. That way the attendees are not distracted from attending because they have volunteered to be a cameraman. The quality will be better because you will have people with professional equipment who know what they are doing handing the taping. Those who want to watch it happen live can pay a fee to do so. Those who want to purchase a copy of the videos can do so after they are edited. Everyone wins.

Here's another thought to bear in mind. Even the people who are actually at the event will likely want to purchase a copy of a CD or DVD. Why? Perhaps to re-live the event they just attended. OR, bear in mind that while at SPAH, we can only be in one place at a time. Frequently there are seminars, workshops or performances going on simultaneously and we have to choose one and miss the other. It would be nice to be able to watch the workshops or performances we missed because we were attending something else.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com

Last Edited by florida-trader on Aug 24, 2015 1:59 PM
Todd Parrott
1348 posts
Aug 24, 2015
4:38 PM
Good point about overlapping seminars and having to pick and choose which one to attend. Being able to go back and purchase a video or audio copy would be great. I missed a lot of seminars this year because I was working myself at the teach-in and elsewhere.

Capturing audio nowadays is much simpler than the cassette days. Even most phones capture great audio as long as the person talking stays close to the mic, and then the file can immediately be exported. Video still requires a little bit of editing to get it in the correct format for downloading, so that would be a little bit more cumbersome, but audio is a piece of cake. You could also integrate the signed consent form into the seminar proposal form. Again, another piece of cake. If the presenter doesn't want it recorded, no problem. Also, with audio only, it is somewhat less likely that folks would upload the material to YouTube.

This is not intended to criticize what SPAH has or hasn't done in the past. I'm just putting it out there because I see this as something that would be a great benefit to SPAH for years to come, and the funds generated could potentially help make SPAH better for everyone.
The Iceman
2632 posts
Aug 25, 2015
6:59 AM
I enjoy the comments reinforcing how easy the seminar recording issue really is.

Hopefully the new SPAH regime will take this to heart and act rather than waiting for someone to "volunteer".

SPAH has the ability to create these world class upgrades if they choose to just do it.
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The Iceman
1847
2712 posts
Aug 25, 2015
8:16 AM
an audio recording is a great idea.
much easier than a video.
mlefree
380 posts
Aug 25, 2015
9:11 AM
I have strong opinion about videos recordings of SPAH seminars. It has to do with the inadequate seating arrangements at the 2015 SPAH hotel.

I am not the only SPAH attendee with mobility issues. There are many attendees older than I am (65). The hotel was so expansive and the meeting and performance rooms were so far apart that I was unable to get to many of the seminars far enough ahead of time to secure seating. Very often the rooms were completely SRO by the time I got there and standing for any length of time is not an option for me.

My only solution for seminars I ~really~ wanted to attend was to sit through the previous one in that room so that I could be in place and quick enough to jump into a seat for my desired seminar. This meant that I had to sit through seminars I wasn't interested in -- missing ones that I would have enjoyed more -- so that I could get a decent seat in my target seminars.

How does this relate to the question of recording videos of the seminars? I paid a good amount of money to register for and attend the meeting, in no small part based on the list of seminars to be presented. I've attended many, many conferences and am reconciled that one cannot be in two places at once to attend all the interesting seminars. But I've never experienced the frustration I had trying to get to and find seating at the excellent seminars in Denver. So I feel that those of us who actually shelled out registration fees should have at the very least a ~hefty~ discount on seminar videos.

Otherwise, the availability of the videos are actually a disincentive for me to attend future SPAHs. Why try to deal with the kind of frustration I experienced in Denver if I can just purchase videos of the seminars I really want to see? That solution might end up more practical and cost effective for folks like me who can't get around like they used to yet have high expectations when they attend a SPAH conference.

At least that's the way I see it.

Michelle

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SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
WinslowYerxa
946 posts
Aug 25, 2015
9:24 AM
Thanks for this, Michelle. I'll capture these parts of the thread (both the seminar access and the recording suggestions) and feed them to the other board members as part of our post-convention discussion.
===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!

Last Edited by WinslowYerxa on Aug 25, 2015 9:34 AM
1847
2713 posts
Aug 25, 2015
9:45 AM
i have never attended a spah convention
if after paying airfare, accommodations, food, perhaps a few blue moon combs, only to find that their
is not a seat for each and every one in attendance
let's just say disappointed would not be a strong enough adjective.
WinslowYerxa
947 posts
Aug 25, 2015
10:20 AM
Seminar attendance seemed unusually strong this year. In the past we had many seminars with only a few people showing up. This year all the rooms held 50 people and all were full.

As to the far-flung nature of the hotel, I agree. (My girlfriend was with me and has serious mobility issues due to surviving brain cancer a year ago, so I was concerned about this, but, as it turned out, she got around OK). The hotel we used was not our first choice. We originally were going to be in a much more compact hotel in Minneapolis but couldn't come to terms on the room rate and no other hotels there were suitable. With the clock running, we had to go to our second choice in Denver and work with what we found there.

1847, people come to SPAH conventions for much more than the seminars. They come to jam, hear others play, talk shop, experience the Filisko teach-in, visit the vendors and exhibitors, and just generally bask in a harmonica-drenched immersion experience. That's not to minimize in ay way the difficulties and frustrations that Michelle experienced, and I'll take these up with the board. But if you were to actually experience the convention, I don't think you'd be as inclined to wax wroth as you indicate.
===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!
The Iceman
2633 posts
Aug 25, 2015
10:32 AM
mlefree.."Otherwise, the availability of the videos are actually a disincentive for me to attend future SPAHs. Why try to deal with the kind of frustration I experienced in Denver if I can just purchase videos of the seminars I really want to see? That solution might end up more practical and cost effective for folks like me who can't get around like they used to yet have high expectations when they attend a SPAH conference."

Having run conventions like this, allow me to chime in.

I'm sure SPAH will address some of the seating issues for folk like you.

As to your above comment...if you wish to put it in perspective, the folks that would choose not to attend because of seminar video availability would be small compared to a large number of sales that would no doubt be the result of a program like the one being discussed. Add to that the number of people who couldn't afford to attend that would be thrilled to buy a few seminar tapes and the net result is a benefit for SPAH with very little downside.

I know from personal experience in these matters that you can never please each and every attendee or SPAH member.
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The Iceman
1847
2714 posts
Aug 25, 2015
10:51 AM
Todd Parrott
1350 posts
Aug 25, 2015
12:44 PM
Many of the music workshops and conferences I've attended or taught at through the years (which are popular in the gospel music circles) did not charge paying attendees for audio recordings of the seminars. If you paid your registration fee for the entire event, the recordings were made available to you for free. However, prior years' recordings were not free and were for sale at a designated table or booth, usually for $5 - $10. Cataloging them online and offering them as a downloadable purchase is also a great thing to advertise after SPAH for those who would have liked to attend but were unable. I've suggested the same idea to other harmonica workshop organizers as well, such as Midwest Harmonica Workshop, VA Harmonicafest, etc., but to my knowledge, so far no one has done this. Think how awesome it would be to have recordings of seminars available today from some of the greats who have passed away like Chris Michalek, Norton Buffalo, Paul deLay, etc. This is not only an idea that would be beneficial to SPAH, but a great way to archive and pass down knowledge to future generations of harmonica players. After all, this seems to fall in line with preservation mission of SPAH.
florida-trader
764 posts
Aug 25, 2015
2:26 PM
FWIW _ I emailed my friend that owns the video company yesterday right after my post. He responded right away and sent me a link to a live broadcast of a fashion show he was producing in Las Vegas. I watch for a couple of minutes but it was seamless and a piece of cake.

The technology is out there. I will be happy to pursue this to get an idea of the price. Winslow - I know that you are no longer the President but perhaps you could assist me in establishing a line of communication. I assume this would an expensive endeavour. The only way it would work, in my opinion, would be if the production company could make a profit. However, if it can be done, it would be pretty cool for harp enthusiasts everywhere.
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Tom Halchak
www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
The Iceman
2635 posts
Aug 25, 2015
2:50 PM
Don't think a production company is the way to go for SPAH.

The "grassroots" recording concept as suggested by many above makes the most sense.

We hired a production company to film SPAH 1999 in St. Louis. It was a waste of money.

At that time, we also had attendees w/video cameras filming from 1997 thru 2000. These were the films that ended up being used for all the SPAH videos produced and sold during those years (aside from some concert footage in St. Louis provided by the production company).

(For archivists concerned w/SPAH law suit, this was done AFTER the "Richard" debacle).
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The Iceman
1847
2715 posts
Aug 25, 2015
3:33 PM
care to explain the richard debacle?
WinslowYerxa
948 posts
Aug 25, 2015
3:50 PM
Briefly, Richard Harris was a founding member of SPAH. For some years he videotaped the Saturday concerts and SPAH sold them. A dispute developed over ownership of the tapes, and Harris sued SPAH multiple times. Each time, the judgment went in SPAH's favor and each time that happened, Harris would re-file the suit in some new fashion. Defending against this series of lawsuits nearly bankrupted SPAH, but eventually they found a judge who put a stop to further suits. Since that time, SPAH has not made or sold recordings of any kind.

For several years SPAH actively discouraged audience recording of concerts due to concerns over copyright liability but finally threw in the towel when camera phones became ubiquitous and impossible to police.


===========
Winslow

Check out my blog and other goodies at winslowyerxa.com
Harmonica For Dummies, Second Edition with tons of new stuff
Join us in 2016 for SPAH on the San Antonio River Walk!
Todd Parrott
1351 posts
Aug 25, 2015
7:37 PM
Regardless of the lawsuit issue with Richard.... recording the evening performances is a separate issue, and something I feel is not the best idea, however, if individuals choose to do so on their own, that's up to them.

As for the seminar material, I think audio recording versus video recording is a better option, as it is less likely to be shared on YouTube, can be made available much more easily, and... we want folks to actually attend SPAH. Because an audio recording doesn't give the 100% full experience of being in the seminar, it seems it would be more of an encouragement to people to attend SPAH. Of course, if individuals choose to video the seminars on their own (and they often do), that's fine, as long as the presenter is OK with it. That being said, I'm not totally against the video option if it's possible to pull off, but the audio option is fairly simple.
The Iceman
2637 posts
Aug 26, 2015
4:52 AM
Winslow posts "Defending against this series of lawsuits nearly bankrupted SPAH, but eventually they found a judge who put a stop to further suits. Since that time, SPAH has not made or sold recordings of any kind."

Although this comment is a bit vague in regards to cause/effect, it could be interpreted as the newer SPAH regime was so shell shocked by a lawsuit that was filed and resolved before their term that they now act out of fear. It is a case of corporate overreaction worst case scenario angst.

If this is even a little true, I hope the new President has the courage to forge ahead and fearlessly craft an exciting future.

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The Iceman
dougharps
1000 posts
Aug 26, 2015
6:06 AM
My SPAH impressions were that overall it was a well run event that offered good workshops, good performances, a good venue, a good vendor room, and a good harmonica immersion experience. I have been a member since 2008, and attended 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, and again this year, 2015.

I enjoyed meeting new players and familiar players, and jamming. I enjoyed hearing many styles of harmonica everywhere. I played with Larry Spalding at the open mic. I didn't mind that the main room for shows and dinner was a bit of a walk from my room, because I thought that the exercise was good for me during a week of harmonica.

With regard to determining the future course of the organization, isn't that an issue for involved members of the organization to address? I don't think that recording workshops/seminars was addressed at the annual general meeting, though I missed the meeting in order to take a couple younger players into the mountains.

I choose to participate in SPAH workshops the old school way and did not attend events with the purpose of recording every nuance for future analysis. I took a couple notes. Attendees have the choice to record or not.

With regard to official SPAH recordings, I think it is likely that the headaches of marketing instructional material might exceed any income. Also, if the instructors knew that the contents of their workshops was to be sold to non-attendees, they might want more for their time.

If people want to have the benefit of instruction, I suggest that you ATTEND instructional events like SPAH, Harmonica Collective, HarmoniCollege, Midwest Harmonica, Ronnie Shellist and/or Adam Gussow events, Jon Gindick, Old Town School of Folk Music, Kerrville, Augusta Heritage, etc. I apologize if I left out any other significant harmonica workshops. Attending and BEING there is part of the learning experience. Support these events and support the instructors! If you don't want to attend a group workshop, buy a book, buy instructional CDs or DVDs, take Skype lessons, take individual lessons. Support the teachers and workshops.

I thought this was a thread about SPAH impressions, not a place to tell others how to change their organization to meet your needs. If enough SPAH members support selling/offering recordings, then they will show it with their actions by participating and making it happen, and not by posts on a forum.

Sorry, but I feel a bit cranky this morning, and debating the issue here makes no sense to me. If you want changes, join and actively become involved. I am not motivated to seek a leadership position in the organization. I just like attending, when I can afford it.

It takes a great portion of my annual gig money to attend SPAH. I really had a great time at SPAH this year. My impression was that it was as good or better than previous years I attended.

Edit:
P.S. There are a couple issues that could be productively addressed to improve the event. That there was a lack of seating at some seminars IS a valid issue to raise in a thread about "Impressions of SPAH." I did have to stand at a Joe Filisko & Eric Noden seminar on playing as a duo. Also, my table (#1) at the dinner show was positioned in the front row, but off to the far left when facing the stage. The PA mains were not directed to our area, and due to the sound bouncing around the room, the speeches were almost unintelligible.

But overall, I had a great experience!
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Doug S.

Last Edited by dougharps on Aug 26, 2015 7:03 AM
HarpNinja
4128 posts
Aug 26, 2015
8:15 AM
Great post, Doug.

Personally, I think SPAH should cater to their members and people who attend the workshop. They don't owe people not affiliated access to anything.

That being said, there are benefits to recording, etc.
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Mike
My Website
My Harmonica Effects Blog


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