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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Mickey Raphael names Jason as influence
Mickey Raphael names Jason as influence
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kudzurunner
1755 posts
Aug 18, 2010
3:12 PM
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Check out the following interview with Mickey Raphael, Willie Nelson's longtime harmonica guy. About two-thirds of the way down he talks about his influences, and mentions Jason as a key younger player.
http://www.pressherald.com/life/go/on-the-road-again-with-willie-stays-fun-as-decades-fly-by_2010-08-05.html
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Kyzer Sosa
745 posts
Aug 18, 2010
10:41 PM
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I keep looking for the "like" button...(sigh) anyways, to me, it proves he's keeping up with the times regardless of him doing the same gig for almost 40 years... kudos to the man
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groyster1
361 posts
Aug 19, 2010
7:19 AM
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mickey has a totally different style being in willies band but I might mention has almost zero turnover so guess people love working for willie nelson
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harpdude61
308 posts
Aug 19, 2010
8:44 AM
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Sounds to me like Jason's youtube stuff influenced Mickey just like a lot of other players (quote below).
Hats off to Mickey for keeping it fresh, looking for new ideas, and learning new techniques!
Raphael says he continues to learn new techniques, and names Jason Ricci as an influential younger player. "I'm always finding stuff on YouTube and sharing ideas. I look at that all the time," he said. "Hopefully, I am always learning."
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tmf714
208 posts
Aug 19, 2010
9:54 AM
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Just becuase he says he "finds stuff on YouTube" and "looks at it all the time" does not neccesarily mean he's looking specifically at Jasons video's -still no direct quote from Mickey that Jason directly influenced him.
Last Edited by on Aug 19, 2010 9:55 AM
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kudzurunner
1762 posts
Aug 19, 2010
2:24 PM
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@tmf: If it's important to you to read it that way, please do.
If you read both the header to this thread and my original post--and you're a careful reader, so I'm sure you read them carefully--you notice that I don't at any point claim that Micky Raphael is citing Jason as an influence on HIS playing. That seems to be your point.
Then again, to parse his words quite that closely seems a little silly, doesn't it? He was speaking in an interview. Some people try to be incredibly precise with their language every time they open their mouths, but other people, and especially musicians, often just blab.
Here's what he actually says:
"Raphael says he continues to learn new techniques, and names Jason Ricci as an influential younger player. 'I'm always finding stuff on YouTube and sharing ideas. I look at that all the time,' he said. 'Hopefully, I am always learning.'"
So you're quite right: MR doesn't, in so many words, actually say that Jason has been an influence on him. He just implies it really, really strongly. I'll leave it to the members of this forum to decide for themselves what he means.
Last Edited by on Aug 19, 2010 2:35 PM
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tmf714
209 posts
Aug 19, 2010
2:44 PM
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Mickey Raphael: Biography
Born and raised in the Lone Star State of Dallas Texas, Mickey Raphael's career as Willie Nelson's Harmonica player has spanned almost three decades. His intelligent playing style has become a hallmark of Nelson's crossover sound, earning him a large audience worldwide.
As a teenager, Raphael gravitated toward the Dallas folk music scene and fell under the spell of legendary harmonica great Don Brooks. "I went to this little coffee house one night and saw him playing and it just impressed me so much," Raphael recalls. "He had moved to New York and was kind of a legend around Dallas. He sat me down one night after a show and showed me this little lick that went all the way up and down the harmonica, just a little pattern. Right away I just jumped about twenty steps from the little I already knew about the harp."
Raphael eventually joined singer B.W. Stevenson's band. One of his most enthusiastic boosters was University of Texas Football coach Darrell Royal, a passionate fan of country music.
One night in 1973, Royal invited Raphael to a post-game party in a Dallas hotel room and asked him to bring along his harps. The resulting informal jam session included Charley Pride and Willie Nelson, who passed around a guitar and took turns singing.
"I played a little with Willie and he asked me to come and sit in with him sometime. A while later he played a fireman's benefit in a high school gym somewhere outside of Dallas and I showed up there and played a little. Later, we were sitting there talking and he said, "Why don't you come to New York with me in a couple of months - we're going to play Max's Kansas City.' So I went up there and played with Willie. He really wasn't touring that much then; it was still a couple of years before he left Texas again on real tours."
Raphael moved from Dallas to Austin, Nelson's home base, and began a crash course in country music. "When I joined Willie's band, I really didn't know anything about country music. I'd never really listened to it at all. I was a folk blues player. I just wanted to play in a country band and ride around in a bus."
Raphael credits blues great Paul Butterfield
and rhythm and blues saxophone genius King Curtis as two of his biggest influences. "Charlie McCoy was the first harmonica player I really listened to in country music."
Raphael played throughout the years with a variety of artists, ranging from Elton John, U2, and Motley Crue to Vince Gill, Emmy Lou Harris, The Mavericks, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Neil Young.
Always on tour with Willie Nelson and Family, Raphael's career continues to take him to new uncharted territory. When he's not on the road, he continues to commute to Los Angeles for studio work.
In 1988, Raphael, released his first solo project, entitled Hand to Mouth. The ethereal collection of songs features a variety of timeless instrumental tracks, includingThe Search and Gypsy and Breathless. Due to popular demand, the project was re-released in 2000.
© 2010 Mickey Raphael
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harpdude61
309 posts
Aug 19, 2010
6:04 PM
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The point is that Mickey says he is learning NEW techniques. Odds are he has seen Jason on youtube overbending or something and was fascinated by it like some players are. I'm sure top pros pick up riffs, licks, and such from other top players. Mickey chooses to expand and grow as a musician. Very admirable for a seasoned vet like Mickey.
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Kyzer Sosa
746 posts
Aug 19, 2010
7:39 PM
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who has looked up harmonica on youtube and NOT found Ricci? If you or I knew MR, I'd bet a million dollars he's heard of Jason, and would not only be in awe of his techniques, but would also cite that his playing has been an inspiration to him too. How could it not be? I don't get the hate either...
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