7/1/08: I've just uploaded two new lessons: "Night Train," a classic R&B instrumental (James Brown and King Curtis both did it), and "John Lee Hooker's Boogie Blues," a fleshed-out version of an instrumental in the style of Hook's "Boom Boom Boom Boom!" that I worked through on YouTube a few months back ("Boogie Blues Lick").
6/25/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson on one of the most challenging harp solos I've ever recorded: the first chorus of "Sunday Driver," which is the lead track in Adam Gussow and Charlie Hilbert: Blues Classics. It's a power shuffle in B-flat, played cross harp. In order to nail it, you'll need to hit two overblows (5 and 6) and combine them with fast triplet runs in all three octaves, including a 9 blow bend--all on an E-flat harp!
I'll upload another lesson--and a slightly easier one!--soon.
6/17/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson that I'm really excited about: Bending the 3 Draw. It's for BEGINNERS through INTERMEDIATES. (Beginners should not attempt this lesson until they are already producing a decent bend on the 4 draw or 2 draw or both.) I explain, in the clearest possible language and at length--almost 40 minutes--the three half-tone bends that can be produced on the 3 draw, and why the "blue third" is actually a quarter-tone bend.
For those of you thinking about attending the 3rd annual North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic in Potts Camp, MS on July 4-5, please stick around on Sunday, July 6th, when you can join Satan and Adam at "Blues in the Barn" at Foxfire Ranch. This is a fantastic NEW weekly blues event that takes place every Sunday from 5-9 PM on an 80-acre horse ranch in rural Lafayette County, MS, only 20 miles north of Oxford. I took the family up there a few days ago to check it out and had a blast. Bill and Annette Hollowell, owners of the ranch, began this weekly party in early May, only a month or so ago. We're talking homemade BBQ, fried catfish, baked beans, coleslaw, three kinds of pie, cold beer, and live blues in an open-sided barn overlooking the back 40, with lots of local folk relaxing. $7 cover charge at the gate on the dirt road, $2 Buds, very reasonable prices for huge helpings of food--and great local talent, including (this past Sunday) Bill Howl-n-Mad Perry. Please tell your friends. If you missed out on Junior Kimbrough's jook in Holly Springs--or if you remember it and miss it--this is the next best thing, and only five miles south of Junior's, just off Rt. 7 North. Here are a couple of links:
5/6/08: For those of you within driving distance of Clarksdale, Mississippi: this Friday, May 9, from 2 PM to 1 AM, Delta Groove Records is going to have one heck of a 12-hour showcase going on at Ground Zero. Jason Ricci will be headlining, late in the evening, and although I can't stay--I've got Ole Miss graduation at 8:30 in the AM Saturday--he and I will be hanging out, along with Randy Chortkoff, Mikey Jr., and various other harp guys. Better yet: there's going to be a jam stage set up in the Ground Zero parking lot, with heavy jamming action from noon till dusk. I'll be onstage somewhere between 5:30 and 7:30, and I hope I see you there.
5/5/08: Big news! I'm flying down to Gulfport, Florida to join Sterling Magee at his 72nd Birthday Bash on Tuesday, May 20th at the Peninsula Inn (2937 Beach Blvd.) Satan and Adam with Dave Laycock on drums--live!
5/3/08: I've just uploaded a bundled (zip) version of five of my most popular Intermediate / Advanced Intermediate lessons under the title "Top 5 All-Time Blues Harp Sampler." For a price of only $25, you get five videos totaling more than 75 minutes, PLUS six tab sheets thrown in for free. Included are Little Walter ("Blues With a Feeling"), Big Walter Horton ("Have a Good Time"), James Cotton ("How Long Can a Fool Go Wrong"), John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson ("John Lee Williamson's Blues"), and Sonny Boy "Rice Miller" Williamson ("Sonny Boy's Blues"). For any serious player, this represents the core of the blues harmonica tradition. All in one easy-to-download zip file. (100 mb.......takes five minutes on a high-speed connection, because I just tried it.)
4/29/08: I've just confirmed my harmonica workshop at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago. Here's the info:
Modern Blues Harmonica Workshop
Sunday, May 25, 3:00 PM -- 4:50 PM
with Adam Gussow
Extract the best possible sound from your axe, and get new ideas about the idiom and the instrument. Gussow will talk about ways of using overblows in first, second, and third-position playing. Also work on your embouchure, enhance your vibrato, get closer to mastering the blues scale, navigate 12-bar blues changes, expand your rhythmic possibilities; fit into a band, and work on high notes. Well-versed in traditional techniques, Gussow’s own pedigree--which includes half a decade as a Harlem street musician in partnership with bluesman Sterling “Mr. Satan” Magee--has helped him update his approach beyond the usual traditionalist mindset. Gussow is one of the first diatonic blues players to incorporate Howard Levy’s overblowing technique on tunes such as “Watermelon Man,” “Blue Monk,” and “Thunky Fing.” Although beginner players are welcome to sit in on this workshop, it is oriented towards those who would place themselves in the “advanced beginner to advanced intermediate” spectrum, as described here. http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/page/page/4514503.htm Call for special info and prerequisites.
Call 773.728.6000 to register | Price: $30
4/28/08: Satan and Adam have just been booked into a Tuscaloosa, AL venue called Little Willie's on Thursday, July 3rd. Three sets, 9-1.
4/23/08: I've just uploaded a new set of YouTube audio tracks to lessons 113-122. These cover three installments of the "Iron Harp Challenge"; Sugar Blue, Billy Gibson, and Chuck "The Cat" Morris; Jon Gindick's jam camp in the Mississippi Delta, the 36 blow octave, and a video I called "Whammer Jammered":
4/14/08: For my YouTube fans: I've just uploaded free tab sheets to YT videos 007, 008, 017, and 032, courtesy of the tireless Wayne Snyder. If you visit these lessons--and you can easily google them--you'll find a link to the tradebit page with the free download icon.....
4/12/08: Hey juke joint fans: to celebrate the release of our new double live album, "Word on the Street," Satan and Adam (with Dave Laycock on drums) will be playing Red's Lounge in Clarksdale, Miss., on Saturday, July 5, 2008. Red's is a REAL Mississippi juke joint. Here's what one aficionado said on line:
"Red's Lounge? It's the definition of a real-deal Mississippi juke joint. Don't expect to be spoiled with amenities. All you need is a been-there-done-that owner, some beers as big as your head and some "live" blues you'll never forget. (Oh, and MAYBE something out front on the grill.) This is how blues became blues... how the music grew up out of the cotton fields and onto a round piece of vinyl. Speaking of which, the building itself was called "Levine's Music Center" back in the day, and it's where Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm bought the instruments that played the first rock 'n roll song. Yeah, Red's is the real thing for sure..."
We're playing for the door--something I would only do in exceptional circumstances, but this is an exceptional circumstance. So please drive on down to the Mississippi Delta and support the band. There's a great blues festival in the hill country that weekend--the Mississippi Hill Country PIcnic in Potts Camp, about 90 miles from Clarksdale--so I encourage you to make Mississippi your 4th of July destination.....go to the festival on Friday and on Saturday day, then drive over to the Delta for Satan and Adam on Saturday night....
4/8/08: Apologies for the problems some of you had in downloading "Funky Revival" from the link below. The problem has been fixed! And I've got BIG NEWS. I got a call yesterday from Sonny Payne, the dean of American blues DJs. He has agreed to host me on "King Biscuit Time" on WEDNESDAY, MAY 14TH for the world premiere of the new Satan and Adam live album, Word on the Street. 12:15 - 12:45 on KFFA in Helena, Arkansas. I'll have a link when the day approaches; you can certainly download the show after it airs--I just did that with yesterday's show, which plays beautifully through a Real Player--but you may also be able to listen in real time. I'll letcha know!
4/5/08: Satan and Adam have added another gig this summer: The Preservation Pub, Knoxville TN: Monday, July 28, 2008....it's a publication party for the paperback edition of my new book, Journeyman's Road: Modern Blues Lives From Faulkner's Mississippi to Post-9/11 New York (U of Tennessee Press).....I'm delighted to report that the U of Minnesota Press has just decided to republish my first book, Mister Satan's Apprentice; I'll share more news about that when I have it....Please take a look at my YouTube channel, when you get a chance. Over the next several weeks I'll be uploading a number of videos that preview each song in the new MBH jam tracks CD and show you how to work with them.
3/30/08: A big shout-out of thanks to Jon Gindick for making me a part of his first annual blues harmonica jam camp in Clarksdale, Mississippi last weekend. I got to meet and hear several of my MBH customers, including a gentleman from Holland, and this was terrifically gratifying. Some of you also got to meet my wonderful wife, Sherrie, and now understand why I am a happy homebody who would rather teach via video than tour the world as touring blues performers must.
For those of you who missed this year's camp, Jon has already decided that he's going to offer a 5-day camp next year, also at Hopson's Plantation in Clarksdale (March 2009), and the extra day will give us a chance, I'm sure, to see a bit more of the Delta--a magical, bluesy world indeed. I'll be there. If you're interested, please let Jon know via his website: www.gindick.com
Finally, on a more personal note: I was humbled and blown away by the playing of all my fellow coaches, including Cheryl Arena and Billy Gibson, but I was particularly challenged by a little blowing session I had one evening in the Hopson Commissary with Jimi Lee and Jon Gindick. Jon's third-position playing put me to shame--I gotta practice that stuff more!--and Jimi Lee's improvisations, particularly on rack-mounted minor-key harps while he was playing terrific guitar grooves, were the best I've heard in a long, long time. We harp players sometimes get so caught up in discussions about technique that we forget the whole point of technique is to communicate feeling and musical ideas through notes and silences. Stevie Wonder has prodigious harp technique, but what we hear when he plays is his musical spirit. I had that same feeling when listening to Jimi Lee. Good blues harmonica should not be about recycling a familiar set of stylized moves, but risking whatever it takes to create a brand new voice on the instrument. Jimi has done this. I salute him. I look forward to more head-to-heads with coaches AND campers at future clinics.
3/12/08: I've finally uploaded the long-awaited album, "Blues Harmonica Jam Tracks, Vol. 1." Charlie Hilbert and I have been working on this for months. It's Charlie on guitar and vocals, your truly on production. 10 classic blues grooves--fast, slow, swingy, two-beat--for beginning and intermediate players.
A number of these songs were featured on our album "Blues Classics." In response to repeated requests, we decided that harp players needed a jam tracks album stripped down to essentials: just Charlie singing and playing guitar, with NO harp from me. That leaves space for you. We also decided to include duplicate, all-instrumental versions of two cuts, "Sweet Home Chicago" and "Mojo" (our version of "Got My Mojo Working"), so that you could try your hand at singing. Harp players who can carry a couple of tunes get to have much more fun at jam sessions.
Other cuts include "Good Morning Little School Girl," "Checking Up on My Baby," "Messin' With the Kid, "Key to the Highway,"..... Lots of good stuff.
3/8/08: I've just posted a YouTube video featuring 10 minutes from an interview I recently conducted with Magic Dick in which he talks about "Whammer Jammer." The full interview (more than 49 minutes) is also available as a free download mp3:
Also: I'll be giving a harp clinic in the Philadelphia, PA area on Thursday, July 31. If you're interested, please email me (asgussow@aol.com) and I'll connect you with the organizer.
3/2/08: To celebrate the one-year anniversary of my YouTube channel, I've bundled four of my most popular beginner's lessons here at MBH into one easy-to-download zip file, with the tab sheets thrown in for free. A $24.50 value for only $17.50. The "Modern Blues Harmonica Beginner's Special" contains "Floyd's Hotel," "Shuffle Blues Rhythm," "Stompin'," and "Basic Blues Harp: Bending the 4 Draw."
2/29/08: I've just agreed to replace Grant Dermody at Blues Week at the University of Northampton in the UK this summer, August 10-15, 2008.....I'll be giving two advanced/intermediate classes and one beginner/intermediate class per day, Monday through Friday. I'll also perform several times.....If you're interested in signing up, here's the website. As of this evening, February 29th, Grant's info is still up. Have no fear. I'm coming.
I'll probably fly home on Sunday after spending Saturday, August 16th in London. I have no plans. If you have a good idea about what I should be doing in big 'ol London-town that evening, I'll be happy for guidance.
2/27/08: I've just uploaded the next installment of YouTube lesson audio tracks (mp3s, bundled as a zip file):
2/20/07: In two days it will be the one-year anniversary of my first uploaded YouTube harp video (Gussow.000). I've got a surprise, one that involves a truly legendary harp player, so check in at YT that morning.....My buddy Gary Erwin (Shrimp City Slim) has just booked SATAN AND ADAM at a two-day blues festival in Greenwood, South Carolina on the July 11-12, 2008 weekend....I'll be giving a clinic on July 29th in Frederick, MD....lots more news in the works....
2/15/08: In response to popular demand, I've just created a message board on this website--the last page of this website, so it's easy to find. Mostly it's a place where my many YouTube subscribers can come, hang out, and talk harp.....Also in response to popular demand, I've decided to address the concerns of beginning players who need to learn basic techniques. I'm inaugurating a series of videos here at MBH that I call "basic blues harp." This first upload covers the crucially important 4 draw bend. Please note that these are for BEGINNERS and ADVANCED BEGINNERS only:
2/11/08: I've uploaded a new lesson for ADVANCED BEGINNERS and INTERMEDIATES: Dr. Isiah Ross's "Going Back South." Tradebit has recently reformatted and is working out the bugs, so there's no preview of this one, but you can a taste by previewing the cut at iTunes (it's on the "Boogie Disease" album):
2/8/08: I've just uploaded a new lesson: "Good Morning Little School Girl." This is deep Mississippi blues, covered by everybody from John Lee "Sonny Boy" Willliamson and James "Son" Thomas to Junior Wells and Muddy Waters. It's a challenging song, no question: a nine-and-a-half bar blues that takes some getting used to but eventually fits like a glove. For INTERMEDIATES and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES:
I've also uploaded an historical recording: Satan and Adam playing an original composition, "Thunky Fing," in the studios of WFDU-FM 89.1 (Teaneck, NJ) in 1991, after a summer of touring HARLEM BLUES. This is electric guitar and amplified harp only, without percussion, and shows what blues DJ/journalist Richard Skelley meant when he wrote that we had "redefined the sound of modern blues in the 1990s.":
2/7/08: I'm happy to confirm that yes, I will be making my FIRST appearance ever as a blues performer in Germany this September at the Mundharmonika-live Festival in Klingenthal. Here's the link: www.mundharmonika-live.de/index2.php I'm honored and delighted! I'm especially happy that the great Charlie Hilbert will be at my side for the entire time--helping back me up at the many hours of clinics I'll be giving, but also throwing down on the big stage. Actually, I have played in Germany once before. The last time I set foot in the country was 1989, when I visited an old girlfriend in Solingen, got trashed in a Munich beer hall and played briefly through my Mouse in the streets--a woman stopped, pitying me, and left the remainder of her dinner in a doggie bag--and got trashed again in a bar in Bremen. Ah, youth! I look forward to my residency in Klingenthal and won't drink quite so much of that pure, delicious German beer this time around....
2/4/08: Please see my "personal appearances" page for new info regarding my forthcoming European appearances (Germany, Holland, France) and a Satan and Adam tour through the southeast US in late July.
1/16/08: I'm excited to tell you that I've just uploaded the FIRST extended recording of Satan and Adam on the street! It's a 13-minute version of one of Sterling's originals, "I Need Your Love," recorded by me on 125th Street in Harlem in 1989. It's available at Tradebit for only $1.50. I will be releasing a full-length album of this material and other historical gems later this year:
1/12/08: Thanks to the prodigious efforts of one of my YouTube subscribers, Dewey De Loe, an index/transcription of my first 100+ YouTube videos is now available at Tradebit.com for only $1. 98 pages and more than 50,000 words long!:
1/5/08: If you scroll down my homepage, you'll notice that I've uploaded a 20 minute welcome-to-the-site video. If you've purchased videos from me before, the first half of this video will be old news, but the second half--in which I give you ten key ways of achieving your goals on the blues harmonica--is something you won't want to miss......I've also just uploaded two new lessons. The first is "Oh Susanna," a familiar American folk melody and the song I've always given my private students as Lesson #1 (i.e., here's where to start if you're a novice); the tab to this one is free, and the video itself is discounted to only $3. The second is "Ending the Blues," an intensive study of something every serious harp player needs to master: how to end the song. I've transcribed harp-driven endings from Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Nat Riddles, Jason Ricci, and my own recordings. This one will keep INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players busy for quite a while.
1/1/08: HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm happy to announce that I've now completely updated the Store here at MBH. Each video tutorial and tab sheet that I offer is now directly linked to its own webpage at Tradebit, the file hosting website where I rent space. This makes it easy for you to preview, shop, and maneuver.....I've pretty much closed the deal with the folks at the Mundharmonika-live Festival in Klingenthal, Germany, and will definitely be in residence there in mid-September 2008, spreading my harmonica teachings and blowing the blues with Charlie Hilbert, who is coming along for the ride. I'm also planning to give blues harmonica clinics in Amsterdam and the Paris area. I'll give you details when I have them....In 2008, you can look forward to lots of new stuff here at MBH, including a harp jam tracks CD (with guitar and vocals by Charlie Hilbert), a new Satan and Adam CD, and of course a generous helping of new lessons....I hope you had a terrific holiday season!
12/25: MERRY CHRISTMAS! And thanks to all of you who have purchased my MBH videos, CDs, and tabs and donated via PayPal and my P.O. box as a way of thanking me for my YouTube lessons. We've had quite a year! I hope that your harmonica playing is light-years ahead of where it was when you first came across my freeware (and payware), and I wish all of you continued growth and joy in what is, when all is said and done, the greatest, most expressive and soulful little instrument in the world.
12/13: I've just uploaded a new lesson on Ray Charles's "What'd I Say," a soul classic that is also an unexpectedly playable 12-bar blues with a rock beat. This is one that Satan and Adam played for many years; I'm delighted to offer both the video... www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2485755-Documents-eBooks-Music-Tutorials
12/4: The latest batch of mp3s ripped from my YouTube videos is available: 91a-102, a wealth of harp-focused conversation and instruction. It includes my two-part "10 Principles for Blues Harmonica Improvisation," the first 8 installments of the "records" series (focussing on Big Walter Horton, Sonny Terry, James Cotton, Paul Butterfield, and saxophonist Houston Person), plus two videos about Tony "Little Son" Glover's groundbreaking instructional book, BLUES HARP: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2443660
11/28: I've just uploaded a video lesson entitled "Sonny Terry's 'Key to the Highway.'" It's an 8-bar blues, one I've worked with for a long time. Here's the link: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2421812
11/25: If you haven't visited "the store" recently, please take a look. I've reorganized the lessons to make them more accessible to players seeking a challenge appropriate to their specific playing level. I'll be uploading several new lessons soon.....
11/16: Visitors to my homepage will notice a difference: I've made an exception to my longstanding rule and accepted an ad for Hohner. I'm a lifetime user of Hohner Marine Band harps; when approached recently by the Hohner folks about running a banner ad for a new product, I decided to say yes--even though I've never tried this particular product and can't vouch for it. But it certainly looks interesting, and I'd encourage you to check it out.
10/31/07: SATAN AND ADAM will be performing two gigs in Gulfport, Florida in mid-December: Friday, 12/14 at the Peninsula Inn (7 PM) and Saturday, 12/15 on the streets near the Gulfport Casino as part of the Holiday Artwalk (6 PM). Dave Laycock (a.k.a. Dave on Drums) will be holding down the beat. Saturday's performance will make the first time in more than twelve years that Satan and Adam have appeared on the streets. This is a performance you do not want to miss!
10/28/07: Subscriber Dewey De Loe has generously donated his detailed YouTube harp lesson study notes to the cause! This is a FREE DOWNLOAD--supercharged blues harmonica shareware--that all my You Tube subscribers (and others) will want to jump on: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2294665
10/23/07: The audio tracks for my YouTube lessons .082-.091 are now available as an instant download (mp3s in a zip file) at the usual price of $5: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2282887
10/21/07: Thanks to the hard work of YouTube subscriber Wayne Snyder, I'm happy to announce that I've just uploaded tab sheets to accompany YT lessons .010, 011, and .024 ("N. Mississippi Front Porch Blues Harp Lesson," a favorite). Wayne has donated them to the cause and plans to donate others; we've agreed that I'll make certain of his tabs available for free and charge a nominal fee ($1) for others that strike both of us as worthy of such a charge. These first three fall into the dollar-special category. They're available at the following URLs:
10/18/07: I've just uploaded two new lessons: the Sonny Boy / Junior Wells classic, "Checkin' Up on My Baby" (www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2281754) and "Turnarounds," a set of original exercises for strengthening your command of bars 11 and 12 of the 12-bar blues (www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2281756).....Also, I'm very pleased to announce my DVD, "Blues Harmonica Secrets Revealed! Vol. 1," which collects my first 33 YouTube lessons, is now avaiable to ALL INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS for the price of $25 U.S.: (www.modernbluesharmonica.com/catalog/item/4464251/5118854.htm)
10/05/07: I've just agreed to coach at Jon Gindick's "Mississippi Delta Blues Harmonica Jam Camp," to be held in Clarksdale, Mississippi (only an hour from my home) on March 19-22, 2008. This is the first time Jon has brought his camp to the heart of deep blues country, and it should be an amazing time. He plans to lead campers on a pilgrimage to Sonny Boy Williamson's gravesite, among many other adventures. If you've thought about trying one of Jon's camps but have repeatedly put it off "till next time," this is the one you should jump on. Contact Jon through his website: www.gindick.com
10/01/07: The new album, "Adam Gussow and Charlie Hilbert: Blues Classics," has just been released and is available for immediate download. Only $8 for 14 songs / 60 minutes: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2206305
9/26/07: A new shipment of "Blues Harmonica Secrets Revealed! Vol. 1" DVDs has just come in.....Within a couple of weeks I'll be releasing a new album for instant download entitled "Adam Gussow and Charlie Hilbert: Blues Classics," with lots of duo and band material, including several bonus tracks, one of which features NYC blues diva Grace Brimage and guitarist Wild Jimmy Spruill on "Baby, You Don't Have to Go"....Last Friday I booked a session at Ardent Studios in Memphis and transferred seven previously unreleased Satan & Adam tracks from the first HARLEM BLUES session in February 1990 to digital formats; I plan to release this material at some point down the line, along with other remarkable recordings, both street and studio, from the 1989-1991 period.
9/18/07: I've just uploaded a new song: "Tenor Madness" by Sonny Rollins (www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/2158077). Since it contains several overblows, it's appropriate for advanced intermediates. Also: it looks like I've convinced Charlie Hilbert to record a series of jam tracks: solid bluesy rhythm guitar in various keys, grooves, and tempos, perfect backing for developing harp players. I'll keep you posted.
8/6/07: Please take a look at my new "photos" section......Also, I'm playing the Ground Zero Blues Club with Bill Abel on Friday, 8/24...
8/2/07: If you're going to be in Clarksdale, Mississippi for the annual Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival on Saturday, August 11th, please stop by Roger Stolle's Cathead Record Mart, where I'll be talking about Journeyman's Road and playing with local bluesman Bill Abel at 3 PM. (I'll also be sitting in with Bill during the first part of his set at the small stage across the street at 2 PM)......My apologies for the lack of new uploads here at MBH; all my energies have been going towards my recent relocation across town in Oxford, MS.....I've got several new tabs ready to go, including a version of the funk classic, "Cissy Strut," and will be uploading new lessons shortly.....
7/19/07: News from Gulfport, Fla.: Sterling (Mr. Satan) is continuing his comeback; he and drummer Dave Laycock have a steady Monday night gig at the Peninsula Bar and Grill. Harp players welcome to sit in! Also: going through my files, I've just unearthed a previously undiscovered video of Satan and Adam in an upstate NY club gig circa 1994....Sterling is at the peak of his powers....I will convert this to digital, put at least one mind-blowing cut up on YouTube, and make the rest available for purchase and download as a complete double LP.....Also: I've found a series of cassette tapes that I made of my own teacher, Nat Riddles, playing the streets of NYC in the summer of 1989....I'll convert these to digital files, too, and make them available.....
7/18/07: I've added a new video lesson: "Let the Good Times Roll." Also: as I look ahead to Jason Ricci's harmonica blow-off in Milwaukee (8/14) and SPAH (where I'll be doing all sorts of things on 8/15 and 8/16), I'm also thinking about St. Louis and Chicago--two blues cities that I may pass through on my way up. Current plans have me hanging out at Buddy Guy's Legends on Monday, 8/13, where I'll probably get up at the jam session, but if you've got a harmonica club that might want to sponsor a clinic on the 12th or 13th and the routing works, I'm open to suggestions. Contact me at: asgussow@aol.com. Buddy Guy's on the 13th is the default option, so maybe I'll see you there, if nothing else comes through. And you BETTER come to that harp blow-off!
7/11/07: I've just been invited to the Bean Blossom Blues Festival in Nashville, Indiana (September 7-8, 2007). John Hall of Bushman Harmonicas, the organizer, tells me that 1,000 harmonica players will attend. Sounds like the place to be! I'll be co-hosting the advanced harmonica workshop with Jason Ricci on Saturday morning. He may even get me up to play a tune with his band on Saturday night. In between I'll be hanging out. I look forward to seeing you there.
7/9/07: I'm back in Mississippi and back in business! Three new songs have been put up today--"Rock Around the Clock," "Sonny Boy's Blues," and "How Long Can a Fool Go Wrong"--and the audio tracks to YouTube lessons .051-060 will be available shortly.
6/29/07: To all my customers: You may have noticed that I haven't uploaded new material in a while. This is because I've been out on a promotional tour for my new book, JOURNEYMAN'S ROAD. After three and a half weeks of that, I needed a vacation! I'm writing this from a small island off the coast of Maine. Vacation is over tomorrow; I'll be back in Mississippi for the 4th of July and you can expect new video uploads soon after that. I'll also be reorganizing the "store" page for easier access to my Tradebit files, and I'll be offering a new DVD compilation of the first 29 YouTube lessons.
