Hi Guys, I thought I would post this and let you have a look.
This to date is where I have got to in 4 and a half years with all the help and research from you guys and the internet.
I have exceeded my wildest dreams. I never expected to do the kind of things I am doing now and I am driven by this little tin sandwich.
It is safe to say (for those of you that know my past) It has totally transformed me.
A massive thanks to Adam G for his video posts and for his words of encouragement.
For those of you who may think I am short I was standing off the stage on the floor.
I was playing through a Marble Max 6W Tube Amp in to a Chrome Black CR Bullet Mic(Ron Sunshine)with and Abanez AD9 Analogue Delay and a Hohner Crossover Harp in the key of E.
I should have plugged into the PA from the line out in the Amp but I had to go with what was set up at the time.
You can hear it ok on the vid but the comments i got were that it needed to be louder. Live and learn.
I also had a sticky reed on my solo. I should have broken the harp in abit first as it was new out of the box.
The one chord ending caught me by suprise but I think I worked it out on the fly.
What do you guys think?
---------- Oxharp
Last Edited by on Nov 26, 2011 11:09 AM
That was really kicking Russ! I'm going to go around humming that hook all week. Looked like a great crowd to play for too. ---------- Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
Nice one Russ...your playing perfectly fitted the song and you sounded great. I think you would have sounded good no matter what gear you used. Well done.
As they say, you kept up. Nice work! Was this an impromptu sit-in, or have you played with them before? I think the instrumental part starting about 4:11 would have been better served by leaving out the fills and just focusing on rhythm, or laying out altogether then coming in at the end to put your stamp back on it. There isn't much space in that section and it sounds like the harp is fighting for room. That said, had I been in your shoes it probably wouldn't have occurred to me until I was in the middle of it.
Thanks guys for your support. It does make a difference to get some positive feedback and to tookatooka I am not going to say and think about the future and not dwell on whats been.
@easyreeder you are right and at 4:11 the one chord took me by suprise and I played safe and just headrolled my way through it until I found the groove. I still need lots of work and every time I play live I am taking it all in(little by little).
So far for me personally I have made good enough progress so for all those beginners keep at it and the hard work will be rewarded.
I am going to post a couple of other vids on the night and hope you comment on them also. I did a slow blues in 3rd position which I felt I did ok on.
Cheers for now
Russ
---------- Oxharp
Last Edited by on Nov 27, 2011 1:55 PM
@easyreeder, Sorry just read your post and wanted to say that I have sat in a couple of times before when they are in the UK on tour but I have only really played acoustically and have never had the guts to unleash my sound amplified with these guys.
They are very relaxed about that sort of thing and are paying me back I guess for the Loan of My Amp when Deak Harp was with them and doing video's of their UK tour and getting them a Gig this year.
With regards to this track I had looked at this one on You Tube for tips and also have listened to their cd's but like everything else the harp is never played exactly the same on YT as on the cd's so what do you practice? I quickly learned that if you try and practice note for note, 2 things happen.
1. You end up being obsessed with trying to get every note and inflection to the point of madness setting in and this slows down your progress.
2. You just end up sounding like the harp player and I wanted the great energy of the song in my playing (but not to be the same)and I loved the power lick in the solo so I borrowed that. Other than that I was just enjoying myself and letting go for probably the first time and not really thinking about my playing but just having faith in my ability.
That was a bit long winded but I hope it answered you question ok.
Here is the vid I practiced on.
---------- Oxharp
Last Edited by on Nov 28, 2011 10:01 AM
Hey Russ you play great man! i knew you would sound great amplified coz even over the phone unamplified your tone is great, but it's not just about the tone and the top class gear you have, you had some really nice phrasing going on as well and thats what really counts in my mind so well done mate.
@Oxharp, I'm away from my home base right now and on a guest network where YouTube is blocked, so I haven't been able to listen to these other clips, but you did good on the first one. I'll check the others out when I can.
Hot shit! Four and a half years; must have been some serious time in the woodshed. Great tone as well as phrasing and appropriateness. ---------- Lucky Lester
