Harpdude bet they would let you sit in for free. Tough road to hoe for a harp player .bands love harp when they can get them do free.if you sing and play more than blues it helps .good luck its a tough business.
Last Edited by on Jan 30, 2012 7:19 PM
if you start out giving it away and stay at it too long, those who allow you on their stage will always expect it for free. ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
I think part of it is that bands love a harp player for a few tunes but then they don't know what to do with him/her if their repertoire is anything but blues. Often the harp player doesn't know either. IMHO you have to tailor your songs for harp. That doesn't mean just blues. You can mix up your repertoire,but still choose songs that are harp friendly. Please don't ask me what harp friendly means. I know it when I hear it,but I can't explain it.
a band that plays some jazz, r&b, trash disco, funk, country, blues-rock, along with blues, i can get along with. and i don't have to -lay every song. my favorite setup is where i get to sing some, play some more, but either sit out or maybe do backing vocals on some material also.
in my current incarnation i'm more a lead singer/rhythm and lead harpman. a duo usually requires more playing to fill in gaps in the songs. this current situation is ideal since i get a lot of choice about material, and we write our own as well. we're about to do a public domain project i think and then get back with an all-original roots and blues project after that.
i think the key to staying happy in music is to stay busy. if one has no detractors maybe one is not yet to potential. i've heard it said that if everyone likes you you are not working hard enough. i left apologizing for my m8usical choices behind a long time ago. now when i make a mess of a part or a solo i DO apologize, but i think i'm usually harder on myself than others are on me.
joining as a sideman seems to be a wrong move for me. i'm built to do harp AND vocals and i lead a band well for a while. at some point it's good if someone takes the lead over again. now if i am the founder of a project and i choose material and arrangement, i will stick and stay.
any creative endeavor that involves several personalities is bound to have different agendas and even conflict. i was very relieved last summer to have gotten through a movie project in a very short time since it really blew up between a couple of other members. sometimes the only resolution is that someone must go. this is not necessarily bad since it changes the band's dynamic and gives the loner new opportunities as well. i have always encouraged partners in music projects to take on more than just one project at a time. cross-pollination and avoiding stagnation are a couple of good results from that.
the absolute key to musical happiness is to do what you know is right, and to keep moving forward even in the wake of mistakes and bad treatment. the latin says it very well: Illegitemus non carborundum". ---------- http://www.reverbnation.com/jawboneandjolene
I got tossed out of my own band Diggs Blues. I was told as soon as they hear that there is a harmonica player they think it a blues band. By this time we were only doing about half blues and the rest covers that I had no trouble playing on. Two weeks later the same guys were playing our old gigs without me.
This is the band Diggs Blues. Today I am the only one with a web presence. I kept the brand name since it was my name to begin with.
---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
@Diggs: that is incredible news! I've only been a member here for about 6 months, but I've followed your posts, and you've got some of the lowest walls between genres of any harper I've ever heard. Without seeming to be greasing you up, I'll take a chance and say that you have an extemely well rounded understanding of music, and seem to apply that intently; sometimes, guys like you are too much for certain combos to deal with.
Alotta bands just don't want to deal with music on that level. It requires too much of us and may not be "necessary". The payback may not be there for some.
