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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Billy Branch, Indiara Sfair, and 2 other harp guys
Billy Branch, Indiara Sfair, and 2 other harp guys
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kudzurunner
6263 posts
Jun 19, 2017
6:56 PM
...at Rosa's in Chicago during bluesfest.....

hvyj
3332 posts
Jun 20, 2017
10:55 AM
What Indiara plays is a terrific example of taking your time. The other 2 guest harp players get excited and sound a little rushed. Indiara cops the groove but is very deliberate with her note choices and lines, stays in the pocket and doesn't speed up. A very poised player IMHO.

Last Edited by hvyj on Jun 20, 2017 12:17 PM
zx679
24 posts
Jun 20, 2017
11:43 AM
She's the kind of harp player I want to be in terms of phrasing and taking your time.

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something something harmonicas...
1847
4224 posts
Jun 20, 2017
12:12 PM
What the worlds needs is another 14 minute version of help me. The only thing missing is a 2 minute intro…. Oh wait.. never mind. The truth of the matte,r the only reason to watch is that there is a pretty girl With a beautiful smile oh and she is also playing harmonica.

Sure it is fun to drink beer and play the harmonica, not so sure it is that much fun to listen to, not for 14 minutes. That was painful. And that outro…… yikes!
kudzurunner
6265 posts
Jun 20, 2017
12:15 PM
I post videos for many different reasons. Unless I specifically use praise-words--and I haven't done that here--you should not assume that I like or am endorsing what the video presents. Always assume, in such cases, that I've added "For informational purposes only."

Last Edited by kudzurunner on Jun 20, 2017 12:15 PM
Joe_L
2701 posts
Jun 20, 2017
8:28 PM
I doubt very few people were complaining. The beauty of the Chicago Blues Festival is that old friends get together and have fun. At that fest, people come from all over the world. Billy is a very generous guy when it comes to sharing the stage. I've met people from all over the world because of him. If you want to be critical, it's important to understand the context. This is a video that someone in the audience shot. It isn't a DVD release. It's a club video.

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The Blues Photo Gallery
atty1chgo
1317 posts
Jun 22, 2017
3:45 AM
I shot the video that night. Billy Branch is an international blues artist. These players are persons he has met in his world travels. They came to Chicago for the blues festival, and he shared the stage with them. They were all very excited to be up on the stage at Rosa's Lounge. It is interesting to see how well Indiara plays after a few minutes, and after Billy gave her his mic to use. The sound just jumped out into the room.

As for 1847's comment, I didn't hear anyone complaining when the song "Help Me" was used by Billy and the band twice for the group jam sessions at Hill Country Harmonica. Just saying.
kudzurunner
6268 posts
Jun 22, 2017
3:56 AM
Joe L and atty1chgo, I'm glad you guys helped frame the video. That all makes sense to me. This felt like a jam session, led by a long-established pro manifesting unusual generosity with his stage-space. I think that hvyj pretty much heard what I heard. I hear that none of Billy's guests is a serious threat to him, talent-wise. The video is what it is. It registers a moment in space and time. atty1chigo is right: "Help Me" does seem to be the go-to song when you've got a bunch of harp players on a stage. I've heard "Flip, Flop, and Fly" heard the same way when an uptempo groove is wanted.

Last Edited by kudzurunner on Jun 22, 2017 3:56 AM
1847
4226 posts
Jun 22, 2017
8:25 AM
You’re on vacation in Chicago at the iconic rosa’s lounge. You've had a beer or two, perhaps a shot of casamigos tequila and a authentic Chicago blues band ask you to sit in.
I can’t fault anyone for that, sounds like a blast.

The issue I have is….. this is now a tradition. This is what you can expect for an encore
At a typical blues show, a 25 minute version of help me….. God help us all.

Last Edited by 1847 on Jun 22, 2017 8:32 AM
atty1chgo
1321 posts
Jun 22, 2017
10:48 AM
1847 - quite the contrary. This is something that Billy Branch does. He doesn't just let anyone get on stage. And as he likes to point out, a harmonica in the hands of the wrong person can be a dangerous thing! :)

Last Edited by atty1chgo on Jun 22, 2017 10:48 AM
Fil
327 posts
Jun 22, 2017
2:08 PM
Zx679, same here.
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Phil Pennington
Joe_L
2709 posts
Jun 23, 2017
11:30 AM
1847 - Older artists mentoring younger artists has been a tradition on the Chicago Blues scene for a really long time. Some band leaders are very supportive and generous with their stage time. People in Chicago are very hospitable in that way. It helps to build the scene. When I lived in Chicago, it wasn't uncommon to have one third to half the audience be musicians. If people sitting in bugs you, you would have hated Sunnyland's shows. He let half the audience sit in. I saw some amazing players during his shows. I would trade any of that. I saw some incredible performances by people sitting in with Louis and Dave Myers. Sadly, those days are gone forever and will never be repeated.

Regarding Billy, I've known him for over 20 years. It wasn't until recently that he invited me and another harp player who played with John Primer on stage. (I never ask. I think it's a little rude to ask.) He started the tune, it was Help Me. It went on for a while. We were trading back and for probably ten minutes. We had fun. The audience didn't seem to mind.

Adam - In terms of a musical competition. Playing music is supposed to be fun. It's not a competition. When I am on stage with someone of Billy's caliber or if someone like Rick Estrin or Kim Wilson are in the audience, I don't feel uncomfortable or nervous. I just do what I do. What's the point of anyone feeling threatened? This is supposed to be fun. If it isn't fun, why do it?

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The Blues Photo Gallery
1847
4232 posts
Jun 23, 2017
1:29 PM
First of all I love billy branch, I once drove a hundred miles uphill to hear himplay.I enjoyed that very much. He had 2 other harp players with him, excellent show.

I thought everyone sounded fine in that video. It was just too much. I felt it could do without a long winded intro and outro. Looking at the band members I was left wondering what was really going thru their mind.
atty1chgo
1322 posts
Jun 24, 2017
8:19 AM
Help Me - opening track.

This is a great album, by the way.

1. Help Me
2. Breakin' Up Somebody's Home
3. Sweet Little Angel
4. Don't Start Me Talkin'
5. Just A Little Bit
6. I Need You So Bad
7. Mystery Train

Recording date: June 30, 1982

Billy Branch - harp and vocals
Lurrie Bell - guitar and vocals
J.W. Williams - bass
Moses Rutues, Jr. - drums




schaef
70 posts
Jun 24, 2017
10:49 AM
A great album of other peoples material
Joe_L
2711 posts
Jun 25, 2017
12:34 AM
If you are going to call someone up, what would you do? Pick and obscure tune that nobody knows or pick something that every harp player worth a shit should know?

If you don't dig the duration, that's to be expected when there are a large group of musicians on stage. Look how long the last song is at a Hummel Blowout with six or seven players on stage.

What are the guys in the band thinking? You could ask them. They are all on Facebook, but it's probably the same thing. They are tired and hungry. It's Blues fest week. They work at lot. I doubt any of this comes as a surprise. Most of them have been with Billy several years and this isn't uncommon. It happened in SF, the last time Billy blew thru town. Some of them view it as jamming with friends they haven't seen in a while. Most of Billy's shows have a party like atmosphere and you see people you haven't seen in a while and you meet some new and interesting people every time out.

To put the album that was recorded in 1982 in proper context. It was the Sons of Blues. The name of that band had a meaning back then. The original band members featuring the sons of famous blues artists led by Billy. It was a showcase that the blues was being carried on by a younger generation, when people thought the music was dying off.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
1847
4238 posts
Jun 25, 2017
4:14 AM
I agree, you have to call out simple songs at a jam or it will be a train wreck.

My favorite all time live recording is ......... the red devils live at the king king club. It is well known that both nick jagger and bruce willis used to attend.

Perhaps if we are lucky, a recording of the three of them playing help me will surface. Now that would be special.

Sorry I am not on facebook.
1847
4251 posts
Jun 29, 2017
5:51 PM
kudzurunner
6274 posts
Jun 29, 2017
8:05 PM
Jam sessions are sometimes absolutely about a competition. That's called a cutting session, and it's a longstanding tradition--in Kansas City and elsewhere. Muddy Waters and Jimmy Rogers called themselves the Headhunters. They went into Chi-town blues clubs and tried to steal gigs by cutting heads. Lots of horn players try to out-blow each other. I understand why in the contemporary blues scene, as Joe L argues, we're all kissing cousins determined to make nice. But if we're being properly historical: not. Jam sessions can be, or USED to sometimes be, vicious.

If Billy is trying to change that during tourist-season, more power to him. I'm not complaining. He's a friend of Hill Country Harmonica--I hired him twice to be our headliner, for great reason.

1847: I love the video you've posted. Billy is a master of working with the band, working with the spaces that they leave. Like Carey Bell, he knows the power of leaving space unfilled.

Last Edited by kudzurunner on Jun 29, 2017 8:05 PM


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