No Jason and Sugar moments-that was one of very few disappointments! I have a good amount of pics that I gotta do something with. We(CCHC)did a jam at Hopson Commissary Thursday in Clarksdale, then the Red's gig with Deak and Adam, then we held court at Ground Zero with 'Razor Blade' and his band....wow. That was just the first day. Friday evening, we actually missed the Crossroads meetup-we were already beat, and wanted to rest up for the night time, which turned out to be a wise decision. The Friday night Jam at Rooster's in Oxford was absolutely awesome-from the 'name' players on down. Deak did a great job holding it together.
It was Sterling Magee's birthday, and he was in the house along with Adam. This was the eve of the supposed Rapture, so it felt reaaaaaaal wierd to sing 'Happy Birthday' to Satan.
Then HCH began on Saturday. Non-stop harmonica action, loads of great people from all over, excellent eats, good weather(got a little rain late Saturday and early Sunday, but no deluge), and(ahem)the local tap water is amazing. ---------- Todd
Last Edited by on May 24, 2011 6:03 AM
Thanks all for posting videos, etc. This is helping my turbulent re-entry back from HCH2, which was truly phenomenal and really stood tall on the shoulders of last year's accomplishment on the part of Adam, Jeff, etc. Quick question: Anyone get any footage of Johnny Sansone's last song with Sugar Blue's band? The guitarist told me it was Lonnie Brooks' "Two Headed Man." A few of the guys videotaping stuff had already shut down because it looked like the performance was over. Johnny mentioned to me later that he took it as an honor that these guys wanted to keep playing with him (I think he said they've played with Cotton and I saw the guitarist at Buddy Guy's in February with Jimmy Johnson's band.) I'd rate that song among the top 3 of the weekend. Also, someone said all the performances were being recorded at the mixing board, so maybe we'll have it for posterity regardless of whether there's video.
@BronxHarp: I didn't get the one you're talking about, but here is most of the 2011 version of Corn Whiskey, which is on his new CD, "The Lord Is Waiting and the Devil Is Too," which is awesome. Legend has that this tune was inspired by its namesake at HCH 2010.
@marcos. Thanks! I remember him doing it last year too and that stole the show then as well. I love his new album and he told me when he signed my CD that the Corn Whiskey song was indeed inspired by last year, which he made up on the spot, though the cut on the CD is a little different from that one.
Here's Driftin' Blues by Jason... Sorry about how it starts at the back of the pavilion, but not far into it, I moved up through the crowd to get closer to the stage. Got some shots of the Hollowells, etc. on the way up! Man, oh man!
If you mainly want to hear his harp (there is a lot of singing and guitar soloing), listen to the intro, then move to about 9:30. You'll miss some motion-sickness-inducing footage as well.
@Adam - Right Alex was HUGE all weekend ! He joined the "Allstars" as did Cheryl Arena. Had a chance to talk with her for a bit....very nice.....I just got home BTW - only made it to Dallas last night...They put me up in a hotel and flew me out this AM....my bags were here before I was LOL.
Will get some pics and vids up in the coming days. ----------
I remember being so disapointed that my camera decided to conk out on me about an hour after my flight landed. Did you happen to get any of Duwayne Burnside?
---------- "imagination is more important then knowledge" - Albert Einstien
RE: Jason Ricci's performance. It was breathtaking -- just the sheer investment of every bit of energy from the man's body and spirit. I'll never forget it and feel privileged to have been there to see and hear it up close. But the chainsmoking was unsettling -- he took drags incessantly in between solos. Breathing well is the harp player's currency after all. I heard a lot of backchatter from participants who know his work a lot better than I about his health and well-being in general. I just hope he's OK and will be OK. I'm going to do a post on this later, but I also learned this weekend what an incredibly gifted teacher Jason is. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I enjoyed that beginner's session with him (really, almost everyone there would have benefited from it) almost as much as his performance. Jordan
>But the chainsmoking was unsettling -- he took drags incessantly in between solos. Breathing well is the harp player's currency after all. I heard a lot of backchatter from participants who know his work a lot better than I about his health and well-being in general. I just hope he's OK and will be OK.<
If his health is ok now, I can guarantee that it won't be for long if he keeps that up.
A big boohoo about the smoking. Plenty of harmonica players, sax players, trumpet players and tuba players smoked heavily.
Who cares if Jason wants to have a smoke. If he was indoors and it was illegal Then worry.
We ALL die of something eventually. My grandmother and other close ones smoke up a storm and I don't care. They will smoke if they want to. If they die because of it, oh freaking well. That was their decision.
If Jason was eating a Ho-Ho.... Would we worry? No. It is still dangerous.
If he was driving wrecklessly....would we care? That's very dangerous.
.......sorry for the rant. These videos were Amazing. Thanks to all who posted.
jason is an adult and can live life on his own terms I cant stand cigarette smoke never could but I know a lot of smokers and refuse to judge them on their habit a lot of my friends do smoke
I don't fully understand the chain smoking either. I don't have a problem with it. The guy can do whatever he wants. But a professional harmonica player to smoke makes no sense. His lungs are literally his meal ticket. You would think he would want them to be healthy. What's he going to do in 10 years when he's hacking up a lung every minute? He won't be able to play then which is a shame.
The guy is amazing though i must say. This was the first I had seen him in person. To play that way in spite of the heavy smoking is incredible.
I don't know, I guess there are different ways of looking at this. Sure, Ricci is a very talented player, absolutely no question about that. Yes, he's an adult and he’s entitled to do whatever he damn well pleases, absolutely no question about that. But what about the example this presents to younger possibly impressionable players? Maybe he just doesn't care about himself or what others think about him. Before anyone starts in, yes - I know a lot of the old blues guys, especially Little Walter were heavy smokers and boozers. And that was considered "hip" or "cool" back then. But face the facts, things have changed. Besides the fact that it just looks unprofessional to chainsmoke and chug beer onstage, it's a death sentence if you do it often enough and long enough. Ok, I'll shuttup now.
I am so glad someone shot video of these exceptional performances and posted them on the forum. I was there, and seeing the video brings it all back. It was a wonderful weekend. It was wonderful music played by masterful performers of blues harmonica.
Anyone know if Jason and Alex spend much time together? (I see they shared the stage at least once) When I was with Jason a few months ago he surprisingly hadn't heard of Alex, though it's obvious Jason has been a big influence on him.
He switches harps a lot during this performance--it all sounds contiguous . . . Thanks for sharing the HCH footage, a great time I am sure!
Last Edited by on May 25, 2011 11:54 PM
All of this business about the smoking of Jason Ricci is insanely silly. It is all so ridiculous to even talk about this in a forum. I don't smoke, but it is his business if he wants to smoke. Tell you what, why don't you all (who have nothing better to do) petition the Waterford City Council to pass a law for next year. That way you can all feel at home, After all, that moron NYC Mayor Bloomberg is getting in everyone's business, why not you too? Why don't we just talk about his stellar performance that night and leave it at that?
I was truly impressed by Jason Ricci. He's a gifted instructor and there can be no doubt that he is a gifted performer and player. His performance that evening was incredibly powerful and moving. I too will never forget it. I was mesmerized by it. Talk about a display of one's soul. That was it. I would like to thank him personally for that performance.
Jason is a pretty cool cat. He is certainly a live wire, and a supremely gifted harmonica player. Whether it is ALWAYS the blues is irrelevant. I found him to be highly intelligent, humble, and charming as well. (As only a man can say about another man, of course). His musical knowledge is lightning fast and usually on the money. I must tell you that I was starting to cry when he sang that one slow tune about a couple of songs into the set. I was sitting right in front of the stage and dead center under the microphone for some of his performance taking photographs and video.
What I saw was incredible, and I was honored to witness what I believe to be yet another rebirth and awakening in this young man's life. Jason Ricci belongs on a much larger stage than at Hill Country Harmonica. I'll tell you what, a quick look at what live acts were performing around the country last weekend will tell you that Foxfire Ranch was the center of the musical universe for a few days. And Jason stole the show.
@atty1chgo, I couldn't agree more with your sentiments. He threw his soul into his performance. It was truth and it was real. And that's why I go to Hill Country. Because I meet real people and performers.
I have always said that you must see Jason live to really appreciate the power and soul of his playing.
This was the 4th time I've seen him since 2007. This performance was the best. Much of the crowd stood in front of the stage transfixed by his blues virtuosity...even the Perry family was smling and shaking their heads.
I enjoyed watching Jason communicate with the band. They were great and gave him what he wanted. Jason is a great front man.
All his classes were top notch. During one class Jason and A-Pac switched between playing grooves and lead. Very good indeed. I think Jason was flattered that he strongly influenced this kids playing.
I look forward to a great future for Jason.
Last Edited by on May 26, 2011 8:57 AM
Of course I'm biased, as co-organizer of HCH, and of course my perspective--which forced me to spend 90% of my time NOT just hanging out and having fun--is skewed. But I was very happy with this year's event. We averted two last minute catastrophes which, not skillfully and energetically addressed, would have left us without Jason Ricci and Satan & Adam (the Satan part) on-site. Coming up with an interesting and balanced program of performers, instructional material, and other events is tricky, and the learning curve is steep. Jeff and I did our best to address the many and varied criticisms of our first HCH endeavor, and I believe we fixed 90% of them this time around. Lots of small but important adjustments--like 15 minute breaks between sessions, and 75 minute (rather than 60 minute) breakouts.
It's the unplanned stuff, like DuWayne Burnside's late Sunday night throwdown, and Johnny Sansone's final song with the Sugar Blue Band, and Brandon kicking ass on a LONG amped-up Kim Wilson style harmonica boogie during Deak's Roosters jam session, and Jimi Lee's idea of bringing all the teacher/performers on stage for a jam on Sunday evening--it's those things that greatly enrich whatever it was we were trying to achieve through deliberate planning.
Charlie Sayles was every bit as magical as I thought he was going to be; he was the rabbi, the griot, the guy who reminds us of the soul of the instrument that we love. He's spontaneous, thoughtful, real, and he DOES know how to hit those blues pitches with as much subtlety as Junior Wells. His stage-moves are amazing. He doesn't jive.
Jason offered great teaching and yes: his performance with the Bill Perry Band (no rehearsals) was the one time when everybody surged forward in front of the stage to just....be there. Sugar Blue was terrific both in the lecture/interview and his evening performance. The level of registrant playing was amazingly high. (If I were a beginner, I'd have been a little intimidated.) Alex Paclin added greatly to the proceedings; I'm glad I waved him over during the Sunday evening Jimi Lee jam, because he certainly belonged in that lineup. In fact, to my ears, that was his finest playing of the weekend.
I'm proud of Hill Country Harmonica. It's an event without pretense. You get dust on your shoes--and mud, after the morning rains. There's no "backstage area" in which the stars are sequestered. They just mingle. Sugar Blue was just hanging out. Jason was just hanging out. There's no pretense, no attitude, no jive. No Blues Brothers hats. You sweat. You drink and eat. And play. People were up late, very late, jamming under the breakout areas. It's a good thing we've started here, and it will continue.
Did I mention that Charlie Sayles played "Whammer Jammer" as an encore? My god. He did it as an unaccompanied solo piece.
Last Edited by on May 26, 2011 6:47 AM
I'll say again what I said last year in the aftermath of HCH 1: one of the nicest things about the whole weekend is the experience of being in the company--real, not virtual--of more than a hundred other blues harmonica players. (We had 146 registered players and 28 significant others this time). The stress is on BLUES harmonica, not jazz or country or other idioms, although they surely filter into the mix during the after-hours jams. And the clear and present feeling is: We are all friends here. We don't judge each other, we don't divide into camps, we just enjoy the heck out of the music, the fellowship, the location, the beer, the full range of personalities. Nobody cares what anybody else does for a living, and I don't think people spent too much time talking politics. I heard nothing that sounded like an angry dispute between registrants.
In that respect, HCH has a utopian edge. That's good, and needed. There's something about face to face contacts and the active sharing of music, in person--bodies moving to the same beat in the same moment--that seems to defuse conflict. The interracialism on the bandstand was notable: Tony Fazio and Sonny Boy Terry's band backing up Charlie Sayles; Jason backed up by the Bill Perry Band; the mix that is the Sugar Blue Band backing up Johnny Sansone; and of course Satan & Adam.
And of course, with that many blues harp players, we were able to take pity on the handful of blues guitarists, rather than vice versa. :)
I hope we can keep a little of the spirit of HCH alive in this forum as we move back into our daily lives.
Those guys with chrome domes were proud of them and rightly so-why cover that beauty up with a cheesy hat? Kingo, Kyzer and Jimi Lee, just to name a few, were resplendent with their lack of plumage! In fact, I had a hard time telling most of them apart from behind-except Kingo, who is about 9 feet tall. ---------- Todd
Last Edited by on May 26, 2011 12:43 PM
Adam, your description and sentiment is exactly the way I perceived and felt about Hill Country Harmonica. It was a brotherhood of non-judgmental, unpretentious, and real people willing to share their knowledge about something they loved. The setting and the event were also excellent. And kudos to the Holloway and Perry families who are wonderful and special people. They are gracious families. I really admired them. And the Perry's played non-stop for about an hour or so to let the players like us get a few bars in.
I'm still processing the weekend, don't have the words to describe how incredible this event was. I took a whole lot of good pics, video and audio, will definitely try to post some. But let me give a visual to Todd's post above....
I regret not getting more video of Deak Harp. This was taken at Rooster's, and isn't a very good video, but in spite of my technical ineptitude, Deak's tone and style shines through.
Which reminds me, one thing that I wish was different...I wish everyone who is on this forum would have had their handles written on their HCH tags along with their names-I met folks that I couldn't place 'handles' to, which was one of my goals to accomplish. Mine is very obvious, so no real need, but I had my handle written on there anyway. Maybe next time, we can organize a MBH Forumites Meet and Greet? ---------- Todd
Last Edited by on May 27, 2011 5:03 AM
Hollistonharper man that is my big head! AKA Patrick. Hey I think if you bring the size or resolution down we'll get to see the other handsome bald men as well.
Blind Leroy - that is posted in reference to the "no blues brothers hats" Letting our freak flags fly so to speak.
Peace love and baldness forever. Adam man, no offense but it's only a matter of time! : )
