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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
I feel like quitting.
I feel like quitting.
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HawkeyeKane
789 posts
Mar 19, 2012
11:30 AM
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@Blues
I can feel your pain on a few different levels...
In terms of my harp development, the people who've truly mattered in my life have been pretty supportive. My wife, my parents, my best friends just to name some. But certain coworkers and some other local musicians have tried to knock me down several times over the last few years.
One keyboard player even had the nerve to come up to me and say, and I quote, "You know, us keyboardists tend to beat harmonica players into the ground." No sparkle in his eyes, no grin on his face, just plain audacity and spite. I told him anytime he wanted to take on a whiskey-drinkin', blues-wailin' harp daddy, there were several in town who'd be willing to oblige, and this Irish boy was no exception. Even though he was a local veteran in the music scene, and I was relatively new, the support that I DID have gave me enough confidence to snap his jab back in his face.
Since then, I have to say I've been lucky enough to attain a decent level of support and respect from my peers. But a pang of disappointment I still endure is with my coworkers.
I've been in my current position for nearly six years now, the last three of which I've been on the gig scene with Hipbone Sam. I've invited the folks I work with out time and time again because we primarily play the local and surrounding pub circuit, and most of them like to go out on the weekend and party. But throughout the last three years, ONE of my coworkers has come to a show. It might be selfish of me, but the thing of it is that I've wanted them to attend because most of them have seen my being in a band as something of a joke. And I've wanted them to come and see that it's far more than what they think. So far...a tally of one. :-/
But I digress...
Blues, does playing harp make YOU happy? Do you feel a passion for it? If not yet, believe me, you stick with it, and you'll feel the fire. And remember, you have a TON of folks here on this very forum who love it like you. And you WILL find a group of peers who appreciate it. AS for the people in your life who are knocking you down because they don't understand, well...here's my take on it. If it makes YOU happy, then pardon my Gaelic, but who gives a fiddler's f*ck? Keep on harpin' man!
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Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by on Mar 19, 2012 11:52 AM
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billy_shines
267 posts
Mar 19, 2012
5:36 PM
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yeah im pretty much quit till i find someone to jam with
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barbequebob
1839 posts
Mar 20, 2012
7:50 AM
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Blues, you started at just about the very same age I did and went thru all of that so you need to develop a thick skin and move on and keep on truckin' hard and honing your craft is never ending, even for big name pros.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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waltertore
2110 posts
Mar 20, 2012
8:30 AM
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My first post on this topic was pretty cut and dry. Here is a bit more of the process if you are inspired enough to stay with it. People will always fear a talent in the process of blooming. Subconciously, mediocore players sense someone on the rise and will try to crush them. I had that happen more times than I care to remember. The good news is this. Get with the ones that inspire you and they will almost always be supportive and kind. Why? Because they truly will want to share and mentor and don't fear losing their turf to anyone. This often means you have to leave your home, friends, life as you know it now. I have been traveling the highways for 40 years. When it gets stale for me I move on. This has connected me with many of the greatest players of the day. The small time, fear based players will never be extinct. In fact they tend to dominate the scenes most of the time. You have to learn, like Bob said, to accept that and keep on truckin. Good Luck! Walter
ps: my parents forbade me to play music. I had to sneak out and make my own instruments out of my imagination. When I hit the teen years I had to leave my home. To this day my parents don't mention my music. I offered them a cd a few years ago and they said- we don't have one and never will! Strange stuff but I was determined to play regardless. In reflection I realize that was a gift. Kind of like the song A Boy Named Sue... Without this I doubt I could have endured the riddicule, outcast, rejection, and flipant remarks that have dogged me all my life with doing Spontobeat. Imagine what your life would be if you spontaneously created everything and tried to make in the established music scene. I believe the universe called me to do Spontobeat and aligned my parents to building my skin so thick it could survive the journey. The good news is I have learned to keep a soft heart a nd am at a point musically where I need nothing from the scene to be happy. You will never know where the journey leads unless you follow it blindly. Thanks Mom and Dad!
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Hawkeye Kane: I have been a school teacher for the past 17 years and hardly a one has been interested in my music. The school I teach at now is clueless to my music backround except for a couple people. I have learned mixing family, friends, co-workers, with hopes they will dig your stuff is usually a dead end. People that come to hear live music and dig what you do are your musical family. Here at work they are my work family. We talk shop and that is about it. My father gave me one piece of advice that has continually severed me well- you go to work to work not make friends because when the dollar is squeezed it is every man for himself. Money is a strong thing. It means survival or not. I have made a few good friends over the years at work but by in large what my father said is so true unfortunately.
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
3,800+ of my songs
continuous streaming - 200 most current songs
my videos
Last Edited by on Mar 20, 2012 9:01 AM
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Jfllr1
213 posts
Mar 20, 2012
2:11 PM
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Get an acoustic guitar, strum G, D9 then D and play a major scale 2nd position on the c harp with the neck rack..
They'll love it.
Im 17 to aha and yeah its not popular but mate you've gotta love the banter until people actually see you play in a performance setting, most people (even ones our age) like a nice high energy harp performance :D
Stick with itt
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"Blow as thou pleaseth"
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