I'm really surprised we don't hear more about her on this forum. The wolves on MBH always enjoy female french harmonica players who can play well: Check her out
---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Harmonicas
It might be interesting to present the harmonica playing of a fluent female player without any clues as to gender (such as video or vocals) and see what comments come up.
---------- VOTE Winslow Yerxa for SPAH president, with L J Atkison for vice president Winslow for SPAH President (Facebook) Winslow4prez (Youtube) Chair, SPAH entertainment committee Chair, SPAH awards committee Member, SPAH convention planning committee Staff, SPAH Convention event operation
Rachel is a hottie, her accent drives us Southern Boys (where this forum is supposed to be from) mad and wild.
She isn't Christele in a bathrobe.........she came onstage in an unmistakable HOOTT BLACK LEATHER (looking anyway, maybe just the hide of the rare nagabird) (need more o's or t's??) and allowed it to be posted on YouTube.
So Dave.............just how does that wolf howl go????
AWHAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
----------
Just when I got a paddle, they added more water to the creek.
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2012 7:06 PM
Awesome player and performer. World class athlete too.
A couple of months after the video Dave posted from 2010, she won a world judo title in her weight class and age group. She didn't get those biceps from playing harp!
I thought she was from Brazil. I must have her mixed up with someone else. ---------- Wisdom does not always come with old age. Sometimes old age arrives alone.
Was just on her Website, If I know my French -and I don't - her 20th birthday is coming up July 6. Maybe Brandon Bailey, Jay Gaunt and Connor Frontera can get her to come to the Young Harmonica Youth All Stars International. ---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Institute for Advanced Harmonica Studies
"Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!" said Piglet, feeling him. Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet what happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time.
Last Edited by on Jun 25, 2012 5:11 AM
Sugar can play.. I'm thinking her musical talent/skill/ ability is just too far out there.. It is much better to live on forums and endlessly debate comb composition and harp brands while playing blues in (E).
The judo thing is kind of cool. She's a black belt musician, too, .. in my opinion.. huge fan here ---------- Greg Jones 16:23 Custom Harmonicas greg@1623customharmonicas.com 1623customharmonicas.com
That's right, she will be 20 next july 6. She is a very good harp player, learned with Greg Szlap (harp player for Johnny Hallyday, the biggest french "rock" star).
And from a french friend of mine who knows her, she is also a very nice and friendly person.
I agree with Dog Face's assessment. Fantastic harp playing, but the singing leaves a little to be desired... I applaud the effort (I can't sing in my own language, let alone another!), but IMO, she'd be better as a "star harmonica sidewoman" in a good band with a real lead singer, than as a singer/harp player fronting her own band. ---------- == I S A A C ==
On the serious side, I don't have any problem with the vocals, but I think all the issues that have been brought up would be gone if she sang them in French - Billy hit it on the head.
On the non-serious side, this is how I imagined Greg was typing his post above:
---------- David
____________________ At the time of his birth, it was widely accepted that no one man could play that much music so well or raise that much hell. He proved them all wrong. R.I.P. H. Cecil Payne Elk River Institute for Advanced Harmonica Studies
"Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!" said Piglet, feeling him. Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet what happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time.
Last Edited by on Jun 26, 2012 1:42 PM
Rachel Plas is a very fine harmonica player; her virtuosity comes across effortlessly. ---------- Ted Burke http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VPUDjK-ibQ&feature=relmfu www.ted-burke.com
@Dave (and billy): You're probably right. I've often wondered what the impetus is for folks to sing outside of their native language. Unless you can really do it well, I'd think it more a detriment to world-wide appeal, rather than a boone. Are we Anglophones really that prejudiced in our tastes that we'd pan an artist simply because they didn't sing English? Perhaps. But, personally, I'd much rather hear her singing well in French than merely passably well in English. ---------- == I S A A C ==
@ issac yeah i did a song with a bit of a french line, and i did another with an intro vocal solo in arabic. but i cant do this stuff all day long. oh and the band did la bamba the guitarist sang in spanish i sang in spanish and english (most have never heard the words in english) oh and im working on a bit of dutch in a song but just fragments i never take it too far. but i noticed the big thing with these two girls is they use stupid american white boys impersonating louis armstrong as a role model. this is a major irritant in the blues world. i have always suggested finding one or two female singers and use them as influence. i cant tell you mine its my dirty secret. i teach ebonics to euros who want to rap. you think that suriname and maroc kids could naturally get it by watching ghetto films especially since english is their second language but its very difficult for them. i havent seen any decent rappers in europe i guess thats why techno is so popular. i could give her lessons in ebonics but i have a beurette gf and she would use my head as a soccer ball if i even wrote her.
Rachelle is pretty well known and respected in the French music scene. She developed her chops under Greg Zlap (also a big name in the French harp community) and made a big splash at the Blues Festivals while she was a Sorbonne student, aged 19-21. She has a great stage presence and has done nice renditions of Orange Blossom Special and Whammer Jammer, which you can find on YouTube. She is a Hohner endorser (playing Golden Melodies) and is now developing her singing technique. I think she has a great career in front of her... allez Rachelle!
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2012 5:43 PM
