I went and saw Monkey Junk last night here in Ottawa, and was blown away by Steve Marriner's harp playing. Got him to sign a cd and chatted for a spell. Very pleasant and approachable guy. Asked if he would accept a custom harp from me, he said, sure man, and so I'm lookin' forward to some feedback from him on playability etc. My harps are getting better and better, and are a big source of enjoyment for me though i find sometimes I spend way more time workin' on them than I do playin' them. The focus is still very much on the harmonica, it just helps me appreciate the little things all the more.
I'll be plucking the nails out of a couple of A Marine Bands today, by the time they are nailed back together in about a weeks time, I hope I will have pulled some rainbow monkeys out of somewhere.
I may get some lessons from him if he likes the harp. Wee'll see.
Sherwin.....ever hopeful
Edited to include the word 'said'
Last Edited by Sherwin on Apr 01, 2013 5:44 AM
In my haste and somewhat nervous state (my first thread), I forgot to mention the fact that this Steve is no slouch, in fact his name appears ont the list: A WHIMSICAL AND INCOMPLETE LIST OF EXCELLENT BLUES PLAYERS, SOME OF WHOM ARE ADAM'S FRIENDS, ALL OF WHOM DESERVE OUR ATTENTION.
Sherwin. If you are getting into customizing Marine Bands, may I suggest that you consider using screws to reassemble them instead of reusing the nails? ---------- Tom Halchak www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
I met Steve Marriner a couple years ago when we both appeared in the Rocky Mountain Blues Harp Blowdown. He was the headliner and I was among the earlier acts. Steve is a great player and an even better person. We've kept in touch from time to time since then. He is among my favorite chromatic players.
I met with Steve, gave him the harp. Steve played it for about fifteen seconds, looked at it and said "nice", then rhymed off all the things about it that he thought were really good: even response, good volume, bends all silky and smooth, and he liked the fifties tuning, noticed the comb (smoothed, rounded, sealed).
So my harp was a hit, looks bone stock, plays like a dream, nails and all.
Adam, he makes that chrom sound great, doesn't he? I gotta admit... I am not a big fan of most Chrom playing, aside from the greats of course. Stevie Wonder amazes me. But Steve Marriner just freaking ROCKED that thing.
