LOL, Todd. Where would the blues be without innuendo? I do believe I saw a bit of stroking of the truck at one point. Could never do that with my little Honda. I'd say this is a great lesson in solo performance.
Whoooly Monolly...was that a movie set - where's the microphone? Excellent sound quality and crystal clear video. That was very well done! Your singing is getting dynamically stronger, cool vid Adam!
Thanks, Frank. I agree on the surprising sound quality. I set my pretty basic non-HD Sony videocam (it uses mini-cassettes; it's not even digital) on a tripod at a distance from me. I wasn't wearing a lavalier mic. Hard to believe the harp came through that crisp and clear.
I wouldn't say it is Adam's best. His Crossroads video knocked my sox off the first time I saw it. I find it interesting how song speed changes for solo work. Here, Adam slows it down. Terry Bean has a video of Catfish Blues where he speeds it way up. Ain't blues grand!
@harpdude: What I'm doing in Crossroads and what I'm doing here are two extremes of what I do. That first tune as I do it is uptempo, extremely hard-driving, some overblows, all in one focused groove. And amped up, of course, so you get relatively little tonal/textural variation.
Here I'm playing acoustically, intentionally messing with the groove, and not worrying about the technical end too much. I accidentally hit a 6 draw at one point and just...go with it.
As it turns out, you're in the minority as far as your taste. You're a modernist--as am I, or as I generally am. But the same reasons you don't think this is my best is exactly the same reason why so many people (somewhat but not entirely to my surprise) are raving about it. They like the old-fashioned values! But there's one key difference between what I'm doing here and a retro trip. I'm not covering some old tired-out Delta blues, but a (white) blues hit from the 1980s. Everybody knows the song, but they've never heard it done as a slow blues on acoustic harmonica. So in that sense, I'm being a modernist here: I'm making it new.
This video got more than a thousand hits in the first 20 hours. That's better than any performance video I've ever uploaded. It's speaking to some need in people. I suspect it's partly the truck, partly their familiarity with the song, and partly the low-fi technique. That element was part of the old country stuff from Mississippi.
The Crossroads video, BTW, took a whole day to film and several weeks to edit. It was semi-professionally edited and produced by a local guy. This video was set up the camera, do three takes, drive home, watch, select the best take, trim, and upload.
Last Edited by on May 16, 2012 6:56 AM
Do you spend much time in the analytics section of YT? I realize it isn't as accessible as it used to be, but you get a lot more info.
I am not asking you to share any of the data, but it might be interesting to examine the retention rate relative to other performance vids of yours.
I'd also suggest peaking at the demographics. I know that gender and age won't be 100% accurate, but that is good info as well.
Someone like you, who has a huge YT following can really examine who your audience really is. It is of NO shock to me that this song would be a success for you. HCH is hours away, it is a VERY popular song both generally speaking and for your target audience, the song title is probably frequently searched for, and it has instant mojo.
If I had to guess, I would assume you get 75-85% male viewers aged 50 and older with your performance vids having a retention rate of around 55-65%.
In your instance, your referals are going to be largely right from YT, which is sweet. I suppose MBH garnishes quite a few views, but not the majority.
One thing I've found, and again, my sample size is nothing compared to yours, is that if I do a known cover 75-80% of my views come from YT and not embedded links. That's why I think doing a song like this gets so many views...it is popular to begin with and people are searching for the song title and finding covers by chance.
Most my performance vids get views from either Facebook or my website (usually over 50%)...Harp-L too, I guess. If I share on thegearpage.net or harmony-central it is more balanced.
I don't know how accurate this really is though, as the number of "views" changes from my video manager page to the actual video to the analytics. Sometimes they are off by hundreds from each other. I see all sorts of oddities and find that analytics to be much less user friendly compared to Reverb Nation.
***I can't find any real patterns in how my vids are viewed. I just went back and looked at the lifetime of a few vids with over 1,000 views. Some vids get a lot of views from Facebook, others get nearly nothing, for example. The age and gender seems to be within reason from vid to vid...I just don't have large enough samples for me to conclude anything useful beyond I am most likely to get other harp players to check out stuff. ---------- Mike VHT Special 6 Mods Quicksilver Custom Harmonicas - When it needs to come from the soul...
Last Edited by on May 16, 2012 7:30 AM
@kudzurunner... I understand your point about two different beasts. I do love to hear tunes remade in different speeds and styles. The raw style you use here is great. I just really like the way you sing on Crossroads and the pump I got first time I saw it.
@kudzu and Ninja...."This video got more than a thousand hits in the first 20 hours. That's better than any performance video I've ever uploaded". Is this because people wanted to hear this new version? Do the words Pride n Joy get searched more? or is it tags? I'm interested in how tags, titles, and descriptions affect searches? I know view count has an affect. Would a video get more hits if you simply post as "blues harmonica" and put the tags as blues harmonica...or would it do better as CAtfish Frye Blues Harmonica and as tags write in Gussow, Ricci, Muddy,etc..etc... Sometimes I wonder if search and view count is better when title and tags are simpler. I dunno.
I always enjoy hearing what Adam is gonna do next. This video is totally fresh and new. Congrats on the response to another fine performance.
Last Edited by on May 16, 2012 9:14 AM
The title and tags are a huge deal. Look at the text posted...TONS of great word choice. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Pride and Joy, Crossroads, blues....That alone is worth a few hundred guitar players on any give day.
Adam would still have a ton of views had this been a different tune or write-up. That isn't the point. I would argue, though, that what made this vid "hit" faster was the content. Had he posted the exact same song and just called it "Harmonica Blues at the Crossroads", and not referred to SRV or the song title, it wouldn't have as many views at this hour.
I mean, how would people find if it it isn't labeled well? Trolls will call you out on it if you go overboard, but your title, description and tags should all have at least some mass appeal content. It isn't a magic bullet, but it makes sense.
The reverse of this is mis-labeling something. Like tagging Lady Gag in this vid, for example.
YouTube is the net's 2nd largest search engine...you need to take advantage of that. I don't feel very credible about this as I do not have YT success, but I would also be the first to admit that I haven't really tried or followed through with good advice.
"Adam Gussow sings and plays Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Pride and Joy" at the crossroads in rural Lafayette County, Mississippi, a few miles outside Oxford. This video was recorded on May 15, 2012. Gussow is playing a stock Hohner Marine Band harmonica, key of Ab.
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Music Tags:
adam gussow stevie ray vaughan pride joy blues harmonica harp mississippi country"
