About 15 years ago, I met a wonderful Appalachian artist in Elkins, WV by the name of Connie Townsend. We sat and played together one evening. I was taken by her purity and simplicity.
The next year she asked me to lay down harmonica on two tracks for her CD.
The whole concept behind my participation was not to play "harmonicky", but rather to add another simple voice to the music.
I had a recording of Connie on guitar and vocals, which I listened to for a few days before the session. Then it was into the studio to record. I didn't really have a preconceived solo, choosing to see how inspiration would affect me in real time.
One track was completed in one take while the other one took two. Even though I wanted to go back and correct a few minor volume issues on a note or two, Connie was pleased with the original takes and we left it as is.
I feel that I was able to give her the harmonica voice she was looking for.
---------- The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Aug 31, 2015 6:37 PM
That is some really nice playing. A lot of players could take note.
Cool.. just cool.. nice and adds to the song. Great use of the high stuff... Man.. think I'll listen again ---------- Greg Jones 16:23 Custom Harmonicas greg@1623customharmonicas.com 1623customharmonicas.com
nice! the first one sounded more harmoniky to me.. in that the easy notes to make sound good are more emphasized, which leads us to use those notes and bends more heavily.. not that that is a bad thing..
the second one was harmoniky in the old country sense.. playing comps as it was tuned to be played originally, but the solo was really not instrument-specific in my opinion
love both of them, great playing, just commenting on approach
@Iceman -- I really dug the way you used harmonica like a second vocalist singing a harmony part on Big Blue Ball a lot and the notes held out without relying on a throat vibrato, which too many players tend to be on automatic pilot. The restraint shown here is, as far as I'm concerned, what a real musician understands and someone who just does jams would usually be sorely lacking in restraint.
I can also hear how well the use of your hands were integrated into your playing in very subtle ways and too many players never learn the value of the use of their hands even down to a single finger for shaping the sound.
Nice blend into groove and feel of what's going on around you and that's a classic example of good listening skills.
You mentioned that you had listened to a recording of the vocalist and the tunes before the session and that's something I've done many times before doing a session with other people but I've also asked before ever getting into the studio what sort of sound and approach they're looking for so that I'm in and out as quickly as possible using the fewest takes necessary to get the job done. I seldom ever have a preconcieved solo except for the time I did a session for MCA Records for the soundtrack of the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, where they told me the kind of solo they were looking for.
You show you don't have beat people over the head with a baseball bat approach to get the job done and fit in PROPERLY within the context of the groove and feel around you, and I don't give out compliments easily. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
The Iceman's rediscovery .... I feel a bit like Tom Hoskins, although The Iceman was under my nose all the time! Would like to hear him rip it up some on a blues though!;-) ----------
"Those British boys want to play the blues real bad, and they do"
Since I have so few recordings of myself, here is one that has been posted before....Winslow's Bunch O' Guys from 1997.
Long clip, but if you start watching at about 7 minutes in, you'll see how I deal with "groovin' on stage when not playing", dovetailing the end of one solo into mine (Filisko's) as well as acoustic approach to soaring melodic line.
---------- The Iceman
Last Edited by The Iceman on Sep 04, 2015 1:38 PM
Very nice playing. I have to echo barbecue Bob here. Perfect fit for the music, no ego. It's hard to imagine that it's played by the same technical player as the bunch o guys clip.
Great, even full tone as well. I also notice DG in this video and the other video I posted in the other thread (sitting behind Iceman) did Dennis have lessons from you or is that just coincidence? ----------
"Those British boys want to play the blues real bad, and they do"
Marine...Dennis has, to my knowledge, been self taught over the years. I never gave him an official lesson.
The recent history of diatonic harmonica influential players before total internet influence can be traced back to a handful of players (similar to how the few "Beat Writers" in the late 50s influenced contemporary literature). In younger days before ego growth, this group included Sandy Weltman, Carlos del Junco, Allen Holmes, Dennis Grueling, Winslow Yerxa, Joe Filisko, Paul Messenger, and myself. Dennis was one of the youngest. It was a blast hanging out together developing our own individual directions with the influence of Howard Levy.
I focused on developing accelerated teaching techniques. Joe developed customization and studying traditional players. Carlos was crafting his unique hybrid blues/jazz sound. Sandy leaned towards gypsy jazz/klezmer. Winslow focused on publishing, big band arrangements and ethnic Canadian influences. Paul was always into exploring reggae/harmonica directions. Allen did cool jazz, but has unfortunately seemed to drop out of the scene. Dennis was into blues as influenced by Stanley Turrentine and George Smith style swing.
Those were special days and one can see how all have developed their unique approaches over the years.
Since we all also did seminars and workshops, the overlaps are apparent at times. Dennis and I were both clinicians at Jam Camp for that video.
I feel lucky to have enjoyed that innocent and creative time period with many special memories...kinda like early rock and roll before it went corporate.
All my equipment is basic - no sequencer or on board recorder for keys. Basic piano, electric piano, wurlitzer electric, rhodes, and B-3 Organ w/drawbars. Always was a fan of original analog sound.
I finally ordered a desktop stand w/microphone to plug into my old stand alone computer tower w/Windows XP. It should be arriving on Thursday. After a learning curve on how to record (I downloaded Audacity), plan on having fun making some sound files. ---------- The Iceman
