SonnyD4885
18 posts
Jun 21, 2011
9:05 AM
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my first playing out harmonica experiance was 5 years ago down at a local bar my father told me that there starting and open mic with my cousin in law from the band little big wheel and sice i played a little i wanted to go see about this. so im sittin there watching him strum his guitar and playing classic rock songs then he took a break and i was already drunk so i decided to whip it out and start playing with it(MY HARMONICA). (LOL)
i just wailed on it and the sound guy walks over and sticks the mic in my face so i kept going then jimmy walk right over to me and said "let jam" so he picks up this guitar and start playing you can't alway get what you want from the stones and i didn't know that song but i felt the rythm and did really well after that song i went to go sit down and he yells for me "get your ass back here where doing more".
he starts playing heart of gold from neil young and i knew the harp part for it already and for the whole night from 8 to 2am we rock the house it was the best time i ever had. this went on for 4 years then it just stopped and he had a breakdown and i havn't got to play with him since but im hoping he will call my name someday -----sonny
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MP
1710 posts
Jun 21, 2011
9:04 PM
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i think it was about 1983. country was pretty big and the only way to get a gig was to play in a country band. so, i joined one and it's a lucky thing i liked charlie mcCoy and had some of his tunes under my belt.
we were at a club in pearl harbor and the opry dude leader was late; he was a junkie so we weren't too surprised but it got later and later so we just started playing so the management wouldn't get mad.
we started w/ mcCoys version of ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL. the song's in C and mcCoy switches from an F harp to a Bb harp on the changes. just before the second set of changes i drop the Bb, and being a marine band it exploded,jettisoning the coverplates. it also slid under a PA speaker to boot. i played the F while crawling on the floor and grabbed my nekid Bb just in time to do the changes.(pretty tricky without covers).
i look up and there's the singer running in the club w/ his guitar. he makes it to the stage, plugs in, and starts the vocal verse right on the money. damn!
pretty lucky.
i drank gin on our first break. nothing odd about me drinking gin other than i had a lot more of it in a shorter amount of time.
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MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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Diggsblues
832 posts
Jun 22, 2011
6:43 AM
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I was playing in the Juan Avila band.
We played fifty percent originals and still
got paying work. I played everything from
Besame Mucho to Santana to James Taylor.
I was playing a place called the Pompano Grill in
Philly. High end place. The wait staff made 250 a night
in tips.
So I'm playing on top of a door way over looking
the restaurant and see this guy checking out the band
really intensely. Who is it, Chubby Checker.
He loved the band. Stayed all night and then stole
our drummer. LOL
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Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind
How you doin'
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bluzmn
30 posts
Jun 22, 2011
7:29 AM
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I was playing with Mighty Mo Rodgers in 1999 or 2000 (come on, it was more than 10 years ago, I don't remember) and we were doing a mini-tour opening for Taj Mahal; we played several gigs in California and then we played The Joint in Las Vegas ( I think that's the Hard Rock Cafe's concert venue; my memory fails me, again). The last gig was at The House of Blues in West Hollywood; we played the opening set, then went backstage to relax. The opening band dressing room was tiny, so I was sitting out in the hall with my (then) girlfriend; who should walk in but Billy Gibbons! I was flabbergasted; I said "Are you Billy Gibbons" and he shook my hand and said "You play a mean horn"!
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shadoe42
38 posts
Jun 22, 2011
7:51 AM
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We were playing a gig at a local bar and I had pulled into town early and hit the place to grab a bite. Now one of my favorite things to drink is WoodChuck Hard Cider so I off and on all day been drinking some. Since about 11 in the morning :) but it was just cider and wasn't all that much at once. But a fairly steady continuous bit.... anyway we roll thru sound check and are still just hanging out at the pub cause it is a pretty nifty place to just sit and chat. Woodchuck consumptions continues thru out the afternoon...
So gig starts at 9 like it does..we are playing thru and get late into the second set with one of the harp tunes coming up.
One of our fans decides this is a good time to buy the band a round of shots. Not thinking anything about it I grabbed my shot and downed it.. and ALL that woodchuck I had been drinking since 11am reminded me that it was in fact... still there... And suddenly I am like, oh my, now I have to play harp and I am quite a bit on the wobbly side.
hahah apparently I wailed that night as quite a few folks commented that I had sounded really good. But I was more concerned with not falling over. Lesson learned as well. after that I started severely limiting my intake at gigs. :) That was bad juju. I got thru it without majorly screwing up but it was a lucky thing. A lesson though that I think many of us have to learn the hard way :)
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The Musical Blades
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florida-trader
13 posts
Jun 22, 2011
11:51 AM
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Way back in about 1980 I was managing a club in Panama City Beach, FL. It was a slow night so not only was I managing the club but I was behind the bar as well. We had a house band named The Frank Acree Group out of Atlanta, GA. They had been with us once before for about a month and this was their second time around for about another month. I had partied with them afterhours many times so I knew them pretty well. Frank played a little harp now and then but I never thought much about it, but I digress. On this particular night, I’m behind the bar chatting with a couple of the regulars and the band breaks into Long Train Running by The Doobie Brothers. The harp solo on Long Train Running was probably what sealed the deal on my love affair with the harmonica and I must have played that solo 1,000 times. I had it down cold! So, without thinking twice, I said to my customers, “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll be right back.” I walked up on the stage, asked Frank what key we were in, grabbed the appropriate harp out of his case (year I know – cardinal sin – playing someone else’s harp) and played my harp out - er I mean my heart out. Frank was planning on playing an organ solo (for shame, for shame). It was as though I had been preparing for this moment my entire life. The crowd loved it, the band loved it and it was pretty cool how they just trusted me to play. They didn’t even know I played the harp. When we finished, I put the harp away, got off the stage and went back behind the bar. It was the beginning of my incredibly anonymous stage career.
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MP
1717 posts
Jun 22, 2011
5:00 PM
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at a gig a couple waved me over to their table.
they said they had a bet.
he thought i was playing a harmonica and she thought i was just singing/humming weird sounds w/ into my mic.
she asked who's right? gotta love it!
of course i replied that i was just making weird sounds...----------
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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BAG
73 posts
Jun 22, 2011
5:32 PM
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Was jammin' with friends in late 70s or early 80s in a laundrymat in Dinkytown neighborhood of Mpls in the wee hours because we loved the sound bounce in the place and had just stepped outside when Prince pulled up as he was heading to establishment across the street and borrowed my buddy's guitar and strummed a few blues chords to which I blew some harp. He hasn't had the opportunity to play with me since, but I'm sure he's dyin' for me to let him gig with us again some time.
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waltertore
1431 posts
Jun 22, 2011
6:30 PM
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one of my many memorable ones is this. I was playing with my band (james rock bottom dupree on bass and Jimmy carl Black on drums) at the hole in the wall in austin tx. It was a thursday night and the last set was an empty house except for 1 guy sitting at a table. I ended up doing most of the set sitting down with just my harp.
After I stopped we started packing up and this lone guy comes up to me and introduces himself. He says his name is michael been and he wants to talk to me about a cool music opportunity. I said fine and he helped us load the gear. He invited us to his hotel, the 4 saeasons (top one downtown). I had no idea what he wanted but figured he wanted to jam or something.
He got on the phone and put in on conference speaker. The guy on the other end was Robbie RObertson. I thought this was all a joke and was ready to leave. Michael told me his band THe Call just played a big gig in town and Robbie had asked him to contact me. It turns out he wanted me to play on the soundtrack for the movie The Color Of Money with him and Clapton. I was all excited until he said it would be a lot of rehearsing, scripted tones, lines, etc, for me on harp. I thanked him but declined. He said it would open doors for me as well as put 10k in my pocket. I said that was more than I took home for playing 200+ gigs a year but if I couldn't do spontobeat I wasn't interested. I became good friends with Michael and he had my band open tours for his. He died recently. I miss him. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
2,800+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
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SonnyD4885
24 posts
Jun 23, 2011
6:48 AM
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wow i would of done it hard work will pay off in the end but thanks for the storys
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SonnyD4885
30 posts
Jun 23, 2011
11:19 AM
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when for a drive and sat in a parking lot (empty) and pulled out my harmonica and try jamming while whammer jammer was on the radio and a cop drove by and saw my car shaking. comes over and ask me what i was doing and i told him i was jamming so i went to show him my harmonica and he saw something shine and whip out his gun and pointed at me i he yelles "GET OUT" call for back up now there 3 cops and im F@#$ laughing my ass they go through my car and find the harmonica and tells me he better not see me around here again hahahahahahahahah i understand that it was shiny but come on! i stiil respect the police i know its there job
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joeleebush
264 posts
Jun 26, 2011
12:18 PM
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Maybe 10 years ago there was this BEAUTIFUL blues club here in Atlanta out on Roswell Rd. Killer location, beautiful interior, in a major shopping center, plenty of well lighted safe parking. The name was RED HOT & BLUE.
They had owners and managers who were screwballs. Eaxample: my wife and I went there to check it out before I made a sales call about getting a booking there.
Saturday night....8 cars parked in their spaces. (I smell trouble)
We go in and sit at the bar to have a drink.
I am not making this up...the act that was playing music was "Bongo Billy and The Captain". So help me thats true.
Bongo Billy was playing bongos and those tall conga drums and The Captain was banging away on a keyboard as they floundered with "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Stormy Monday". Just awful!
So, I get home and telephone the manager lady "Nancy"...you guessed it, Nancy's contribution to intelligent dialogue was the usual "send me your promo package and I will look you over" (otherwise interpreted as "yes you dumb sonovabitch, spend your money sending me stuff and I will let it lay on my desk for weeks while I try to find another line of blow")
I hear nothing for a month after repeated messages left on her machine...(she is always in a "meeting" you know).
Finally one night I had enough and decided to drive over there and get something working. The person at the door says..."thats her over there at the bar".
Well, lo and behold, they're playing my CD over the PA at that exact time! How can you beat that opportunity...great, huh? So sorry...wrong again.
I approach, introduce myself and she says..."send me a promo package and I will check it out".
Ahhhh lucky me, HAH! I say, "thats me and my group you're playing right now over the house speakers"
She looks at me, laughs, and says...."oh you could never do anything like that...just mail me something". Then she gets up and walks away giggling while leaving me standing there like a fool.
To top that off...the jackass bartender leans across the bar and with a silly grin and a wink of his eye, comes out with..."nice try, pal!"
And I turned around and left, like a whipped dog!
Oh yes...they went busted within a year and a great potential blues venue went right down the tubes...(I suppose Bongo Billy and The Captain played at the wake).
For those of you who have been rejected, try that one on for size.
Regards,
Me
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"The degree of someone's "open mindedness" will be in direct proportion to how much they agree or disagree with the issue being discussed"...William F. Buckley
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
709 posts
Jun 26, 2011
3:43 PM
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Feb. 2008, Johnny Cash Night benefit for the West Virginia Children's Home Society. It was nice arrangement we had then, acoustic rhythm guitar, electric lead guitar, bass fiddle and I was playing mandolin and harmonicas. We had a four piece band crammed in the corner of this bar where they had the benefit. I had a space about 20 inches square to stand in and play. So I'm crammed in this space between a wall, drum set and amps, trying to juggle harmonicas and the mandolin. We were playing "Ghost Riders in the Sky." Time came for me to take a solo on the mandolin. I took it and was rocking it pretty hard, when in about the middle of the solo, the pick goes flying out of my hand and down on the floor. I said "sh-t!" reached down and picked up the pick. Luckily, the guitar player saw it and took over the solo about two beats after I dropped it (an example of why I always preach surrounding yourself with excellent musicians).
I mean, this was in a bar, but it was a benefit for the children's home society and I was worried about whether my language got picked up on the mic. After the song, I leaned over and asked the bass player if it did, he whispers "hell yeah, what did you think microphones were for?"
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David
Elk River Harmonicas
Elk River Harmonicas on Facebook
"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard
"Also, drinking homemade beer." - David Payne
Last Edited by on Jun 26, 2011 3:45 PM
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Greg Heumann
1160 posts
Jun 26, 2011
6:17 PM
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So we're playing a sleazy bar gig and we're doin' OK - people are dancing and having a good time. There's this ugly fat woman sitting at the table closest to the stage - she's good and drunk. We finish a tune and she looks right up at me and says "Can you play something better?"
I was a little taken aback - but without missing a beat I said "sorry, ma'am - we don't know that one" and we launched into our next tune.
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/Greg
Last Edited by on Jun 26, 2011 6:18 PM
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BronzeWailer
168 posts
Jun 27, 2011
5:16 AM
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I was busking today singing and playing Hoochie Coochie Man to a "crowd" of two passersby. An elderly lady with a Prada bag, probably 75 years old, comes up and says, "that brings back a LOT of memories."
Sometimes we forget that 'little old ladies' were young once...
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waltertore
1443 posts
Jun 27, 2011
5:30 AM
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here is my harp case. Sonny Terry gave me these harps when use to help him get around at gigs in NYC. The last time I was with him he and Brownie got into a fist fight onstage on the first song. I jumped up onstage because sonny was going to run right off the stage. I got between them and brownie caught me on the head with a roundhouse punch. That ended the show. Sonny sat down with some people at a table. I went outside. I was wired out and started blowing my harp. Eyes closed, I went into a trance and notes, riffs came out that never did before. My friend was with me and when I opened my eyes he was bug eyed. He said sonny was in my face and stomping his feet. I asked where he went and he said around the corner. We ran there and there was no sign of him. This was at the other end on bleeker street. After an extensive search we gave up. That was the last time I saw him. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
2,800+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
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waltertore
1444 posts
Jun 27, 2011
6:41 AM
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here is another one. Asleep at the Wheel did a big star studded tribute to Bob Wills. I was brought in for a harp part. They had a scripted plan as to what I would play. I was speechless once again. People ask me to play harp, knowing I spontaneously make it all up, and when I tell them I have to do it my way or the highway, it usually is the highway. I took the highway once again :-)
One more- At the peak of the fabulous thunderbirds fame (tough enough), my band was on the same flight as them out of austin to Oklahoma City. Some guy hired me for 10k to play his wedding. He also booked us 1st class seats. So here we are in the airport talking away until boarding time and the stars get on coach and we get on first class........ The lesson is you can almost always make more money on a private gig being an unknown that being a known on a music industry gig.
Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
2,800+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Jun 27, 2011 6:42 AM
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jbone
557 posts
Jun 28, 2011
5:11 AM
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i once sucked a reed right out of a harp during a gig early on in my live "career". i guess i swallowed it,never had a cough that brought it out of a lung!
we were playing a c&w venue one time, the manager was trying to bring in a different clientele once a week and we were playing mostly blues. most folks were enjoying our stuff but there were 3 or 4 goat ropers hanging around giving us a hard time,yelling at us between and during songs, when we went on break a couple of them came over and put on a show about us not being cowboys and all that. i told one of them,"i know some cowboys and you ain't one your own self",which got him pretty mad. he was drunk and obnoxious anyway.
we took the stage and in the middle of a song- i was on the mic singing- this guy comes up and leaps the 3 feet onto the stage and starts yelling in my face. the mistake was,we had a solid base mic stand between us, and i had my hands wrapped around it. i just had room to pick it up a little, swing it back, and slam it into his shins. which put him instantly on the floor yelling and holding his shins. i never missed a word of the song either, and the band kept right on. the guy's buddies came up and collected him off the floor where he'd rolled off the stage, and helped him back to a table where he- and they- began yelling threats at us and especially me. finally the manager and 4 big guys escorted all 4 of these guys out.
the rest of the night i dreaded going out the door to load out and head home. i figured these guys would be waiting for us and it was way south dallas, a rough area back then.
we finished the night and several people actually thanked us for getting rid of the clowns. a lot of folks had had a good time with us, even boot scooting to some of our songs. so the time came and we started loading out. those clowns were nowhere to be seen. sigh of relief!
we were offered more dates there but the leader turned them down. he was afraid that maybe it wouldn't turn out so well if those guys ever came back and we were there.
i like me a solid base mic stand.
Last Edited by on Jun 28, 2011 5:13 AM
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LSC
7 posts
Jun 28, 2011
10:58 AM
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Okay, so along about the time Florida converted from gas lamps to electricity, I'm playing five nights a week with Sweet William and The Stereos at The Missile Lounge in Cocoa Beach while dealing with the draft board. Band consisted of: Sweet William -6'7", 330lbs, 1/2 bottle of Bacardi 151 per night- on bass; really great drummer, Funky Billy Ford the 4th,- so called due to the habit of shouting, "Funky!", from behind the kit whenever he liked a solo and the only man I ever knew to consistently down two tall boys each day while taking his morning piss; and Danny "The Kid" on B3-no last name because he was only 17 and seriously illegal. However, the star of this story is Sherry The Snake Dancer, one of two strippers the other being Miss Molly from Mobile who could twirl her tassels in opposing directions (I've already written the song so don't even go there).
So the band is blowing a grinding blues and Sherry is doing her thing with the boa, kind you could make nice boots out of, on a table at the edge of the dance floor erected for the purpose. There's a booth right next to the table and of course two guys get grabby. Sherry does a neat little twirl and kick upending both their beers into their laps. They jump up and go for her. So she drops the snake on one guys head. He freaks, tossing it to his partner who freaks and tosses it on to an innocent bystander. Full on bar fight kicks off.
"What does this have to do with harmonica?", I hear you ask.
Well it turns out my Mom and step-dad had stopped into the liquor store attached to the bar on their way home from the Officers Club. My mom heard me playing from next door but didn't know it was me. Just liked what she heard and dragged my step-dad in. They had been sitting in the back of the bar.
When I got home my step-dad told me they'd been there, heard me play, and seen the whole thing. He said to me, "I didn't know you were that good but wouldn't you rather go to college?" My Mom said, "Honey, leave the boy alone. He's just having fun."
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LSC
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LittleBubba
65 posts
Jun 28, 2011
11:22 AM
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I went to hear a band in a club on the river (Mississ.) 'cuz a guy I knew played bass for 'em. They were a veteran band, except the singer/harper/frontman was a young kid (maybe 20) who was the son of the guitar player.
When he found out I played harp he invited me up to back him with harp on some vocals and I played about 3-4 tunes.
The kid was a great singer and a very good harper and frontman, but he finally introduces me and says, "I've learned more about playin' harp from this man in the last few tunes than I have in my whole life".
I responded to him off-mic while I put my arm around him, "Bullshit", and we laughed together.
But what impressed me was that the kid had already learned to work the crowd and enhance his show at that age. His daddy had taught him well.
Last Edited by on Jun 28, 2011 11:23 AM
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walterharp
630 posts
Jun 28, 2011
5:49 PM
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a weekend warrior one
couple of years ago I was living and working in Europe for a few months and got invited to Girona Spain to give a talk. I looked for blues jams and found the web-site of a young Catalan woman who was quite a good player that said she could be seen at an old town blues jam a couple evenings after my talk.
http://www.myspace.com/theprincessharps
My wife and I had a long day and ended up not getting much to eat, she was a good sport and we finally found the bar, a hole in the wall place (literally the old city wall originally roman). I told them I could play and was let in.
I put myself on the list and got up late in the first set. Did a standard boogie woogie, and once I pulled out a few tricks the place was whooping and clapping. When I got down, the bartenders started giving me all the free beers I wanted and some blue drink special that got my wife in a considerably better mood. Tamara got up for the next song and she was a good player and very cute young thing....
So, next set they call me up again, and ask me if I mind if Tamara plays on the same song. I said sure, and we figured out 2nd position on D... about all the English she could manage. I start out a slow grinding blues behind the beat. Then she starts her solo looking me right in the eye and dancing putting my leg between hers. Then we started trading licks. It was a bit difficult to concentrate on the playing
Song was done and we brought the house down. She went off to the other side of the bar and everyone was slapping me on the back... i have no idea what they were saying. My wife smiled and said she was pretty good and quite nice looking. I smiled and said yup while we had another drink.. Few songs later the bar closed and we went out for an excellent late Catalan dinner at the cafe next door. a night to remember
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BronzeWailer
169 posts
Jun 28, 2011
6:04 PM
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'we started trading licks'... You're talking music, right?
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waltertore
1455 posts
Jun 28, 2011
7:13 PM
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here is a great junior wells buddy guy story. they were playing at the filmore in SF. I alway waited in the parking area and met them there. I would carry Juniors suit up to the dressing room. the band backing them that night was some kind of hippie thing that had a bass player that did backward summersalts as he played and a drummer and keyboard players that thougth more was best. Buddy came out first and did a few songs on his hollow body gretch. He was smiling like the devil-wishing he could melt them all away and make them into a decent blues band. Junior came out. His stomach was really bothering him and he was in a not so good mood. He danced around for his intro number and inadvertantly stepped on buddy's guitar cable. It broke the jack holder right out of the guitar. Buddy immediately left for the night. Junior tried to get the band to play a basic blues beat but after a few songs precided to kick off each player one at a time. Soon he was left up there by himself. He played a couple of songs solo that were great and then walked off. that was the end of the show. Most younger guys today don't realize how often this happened. Imagine guys like hummel and wilson doing that today??? In defense, the old guys couldn't afford to travel with a band back then. I helped junior get out of the club. He looked me in the eye, said thank you, and he appologized for such a crap show. the next time I saw him was at a gig in NYC city and the blues travelers were opening. He said that kind of playing made him sick to his stomach. Junior and buddy were a class act that if were around today would have been the elders and be able to carry a real band with them. Unfortunately back then they were the newer guys on the block and had to use pick up bands, like all but the top draw guys had to do when out on tour. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
2,800+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Jun 28, 2011 7:19 PM
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Barry C.
275 posts
Jun 29, 2011
12:37 PM
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Playin in a divey local blues club and my parents (in ther 80's) and wife (not in her 80's) come to see me -fine.
Literally about 15 seconds after they leave a pretty young thang who was dancing in front jumps on stage and starts licking my ear (swear!). So without that 15 second grace-period my music & marriage might have died together!
ps - The licks - and i don't mean harp licks - were also the best thing that ever happened to me onstage!!!
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~Banned in Boston!
Last Edited by on Jun 29, 2011 12:38 PM
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waltertore
1460 posts
Jun 29, 2011
12:59 PM
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I was walking the floor blowing harp with the sonny rhodes band and some guy came out of nowhere and put a real serious headlock on me. He would not let go so I gave him a full uppercut with my green bullet mic in my hand. I connected with a loud pop to his chin. He fell straight backwards and another loud pop came when his head hit the floor. He began to convoulse and foam at the mouth. His buddies dragged him feet first off the dance floor. I figured I just killed someone. The music kept going like nothing happened. I continued playing and made my way back to the stage. I was expecting the sirens and cuffs at any momement. On the break the guy came up to me with a cold bottle of beer on the lumps the mic and floor gave him. He appologized. Man was I relieved. Just another gig in a funky club...... I don't miss that stuff. Walter
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walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year.
" life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
2,800+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Jun 29, 2011 1:00 PM
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