HarpNinja
3361 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:08 PM
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Update...my friend synced awesome audio with video for me!
Blues Traveler was in town last night...
Great audio quality...
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Jul 01, 2013 5:51 AM
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Reed Triller
96 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:16 PM
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Bend it like Ricci - Me
Last Edited by Reed Triller on Jun 30, 2013 8:52 PM
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dougharps
412 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:27 PM
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Very cool, Mike!
It was great that he gave you room to comp and to solo on your own, and then to trade phrases. Nice use of overblows and blow bends in your solo. Your fast style and your ability fit really well with his approach to music.
You sounded like you were really having fun! I wish I had been in the audience.
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Doug S.
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easyreeder
380 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:31 PM
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@Reed Triller
Way to rain on somebody's parade. Did you watch the video?
Congratulations Mike, and nice work! What a gas!
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HarpNinja
3362 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:36 PM
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Thanks, guys. I was given the road map of the tune before the show and given the green light to comp and fill throughout the song then. I was actually told during rehearsal to play more, lol. It was the coolest thing ever.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Harpaholic
261 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:48 PM
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Dam that was good! You easily held your own with John.
The audience loved you too! I'll bet your adrenaline was pumping that night! Great job!
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HarpNinja
3364 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:49 PM
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I wore dark jeans so when I pissed myself, no one would notice.
We hung out after the show and THAT was the best part.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Reed Triller
97 posts
Jun 30, 2013
8:53 PM
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I want to offer a sincere apology for my initial remark. I jumped the gun assuming it was just another video of him playing on stage. I had no idea until after seeing a comment from someone else that you were on stage and got to join in. You did a great job!
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Bend it like Ricci - Me
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easyreeder
381 posts
Jun 30, 2013
10:52 PM
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@ Reed Triller
And I'd like to apologize to you my knee-jerk reaction. I should have been more diplomatic.
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Reed Triller
99 posts
Jun 30, 2013
11:17 PM
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None needed. It was your comment that put me in check as I needed to be. I was out of line :)
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Bend it like Ricci - Me
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harmonicanick
1980 posts
Jul 01, 2013
1:02 AM
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@HarpNinja
That is fantastic playing mate, not only did you hold your own with JP but I think you enhanced the tune carrying the crowd with you, in a swirling cascade of notes.
Not everybody gets a chance to jam in with a pro band + the great John Popper; wow, I take my hat off to you.
Where do you go now, after you have come down from that high?:)
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rpavich
51 posts
Jul 01, 2013
2:06 AM
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Wow...what an amazing experience and your playing was great...you did a good job!
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Stevelegh
786 posts
Jul 01, 2013
2:20 AM
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Nice vid sir!
What we need now is a blow by blow or how it all happened. Did you call in advance? Did your Hohner contacts help get you in the door? What was the stage organisation / set up like? Did you use your own gear? Did you get a sound check? Did you get a chance to talk shop about harps with Popper?
Tons of questions!
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Frank
2539 posts
Jul 01, 2013
3:35 AM
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Been a Blues Traveler fan from the start and love their live shows....
Your contribution to the tune was exciting and grooved nicely...
Fine performance Mike - sounded sweet :)
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JInx
461 posts
Jul 01, 2013
5:49 AM
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dang that is KUL !
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Sun, sun, sun
Burn, burn, burn
Soon, soon, soon
Moon, moon, moon
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HarpNinja
3365 posts
Jul 01, 2013
5:52 AM
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Hey, about to leave town, but I added a better audio quality VIDEO above!
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Martin
395 posts
Jul 01, 2013
8:12 AM
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Funnily enough I have a really hard time deciding when it´s you and when it´s JP.
And that´s a compliment. (If you´d sounded like, say, SBW II it wouldn´t have worked ...)
Did they just give you a mic, or was the set-up more advanced?
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HarpNinja
3366 posts
Jul 01, 2013
8:36 AM
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I had met John a few times. A mutual friend contacted him about sitting in, and John said yes after hearing some re ordings.
It was very organized. I was broight to the bus and then told what wed play. We talked through the song on the bus before the show, which was really specific. I volunteered to play straight to the PA, and security knew when to get me on. They had a separate monitor mix for me and it sounded amazing on stage.
The best part was talking to John right after...and after the show.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Jul 01, 2013 8:39 AM
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The Iceman
973 posts
Jul 01, 2013
9:47 AM
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Not an easy sit in situation, but you sounded excellent.
Good job.
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The Iceman
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smwoerner
197 posts
Jul 01, 2013
11:20 AM
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Congrats, Mike. I know you're a big fan of Blues Travler and are also a good player. You sounded great and it was an experience well earned.
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Offering Optimized New and Refurbished Harmonicas as well as Repairs.
scott@scottwoerner.com
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DoubleJ
17 posts
Jul 01, 2013
12:19 PM
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Amazing accomplishment! Totally pro outing. Love the moment you connected with the audience on a sustained 6 OB.
Popper is said to be a gracious guy and is underrated considering his contributions and success.
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Reed Triller
101 posts
Jul 01, 2013
1:24 PM
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Go me. I heard that as a 6 OB, too. My ear must be improving.
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Bend it like Ricci - Me
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robbert
211 posts
Jul 01, 2013
4:16 PM
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Mike, an excellent job of comping, soloing, trading licks, all very well done! You fit right in and stood out when it was time to do so!
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scojo
413 posts
Jul 01, 2013
8:31 PM
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So freaking cool. Way to go man!
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harp-er
410 posts
Jul 02, 2013
6:24 AM
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Just how cool is that. Congratulations, Mike. Oh. And nice playing too.
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nacoran
6892 posts
Jul 02, 2013
2:09 PM
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:)
Okay, so you got to satisfy the musician in yourself by playing with Popper... did you get to satisfy the customizer in you too? Will we see Popper playing any of your harps?
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Nate
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KingoBad
1336 posts
Jul 02, 2013
2:24 PM
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Awesome Mike!
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Danny
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kudzurunner
4144 posts
Jul 02, 2013
2:48 PM
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Superb, Mike! That's a fantastic opportunity and you completely held your own. No distortion to help you out, either, or not very much. Everything was clean, clean, clean. I love the sustained 6ob--it immediately made clear who was Popper and who wasn't--and that Neo-Dixieland/jamband duo stuff was crazy cool. Thanks for sharing this with the forum.
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BronzeWailer
1053 posts
Jul 02, 2013
3:27 PM
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Great! A moment to treasure. Congrats.
BronzeWailer's YouTube
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BAG
143 posts
Jul 02, 2013
6:03 PM
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Man, I been out of it. Wish I'd have driven down to see ya Mike. I didn't even know Popper was gonna be in town. That was really incredible stuff. Really showed off some chops.
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Twitter ~ BossoBrewingCo
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/bag-5
YouTube Channe: SummitPorter
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Pistolcat
415 posts
Jul 03, 2013
1:10 PM
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Great, Mike! Just superb!
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Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
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harmonicanick
1983 posts
Jul 03, 2013
2:58 PM
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So now Mike, after your consummate performance, please answer the questions:
- What is his rig? Pedals? etc
- Does he LP all the time
- OTB harps?
- SP 20's or Big River
- What does he think of the harmonica scene right now?
- How does this band do it? Be so successful I mean..
- Anything else you can tell us??
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HarpNinja
3367 posts
Jul 03, 2013
6:27 PM
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Lotsa questions, and I will try to tackle them...
I didn't even bring up being a customizer. I realize some might thing that is stupid, but I was their guest and not looking for anything more than the chance to check out sound check - then it turned into sitting in!
I can't give all the details of how I got in touch with BT and John. There is a public exchange between me, John, and a mutual friend (harp player I met about 8 years ago), but there was a ton of exchanges that I was asked to not share...mostly so people in the band don't get hounded.
I will share that Popper had taken it upon himself to check out music I had posted online and took the time to comment on it both online and in person.
So...I was invited to sit in and was then contacted the night before. I went to the venue and made contacted via their directions.
I had no clue what song we would do, and had to bring a bunch of harps. During the opener, I was asked to come back to the tour bus. I was invited into their rehearsal.
The band evidently walks through the set on the bus before every show. It was posted on the window and my name was on it next to Mulling It Over.
After chatting for a few minutes, John took me through the road map as the band played and told me to comp throughout. We got to where I was going to take a solo, I played one phrase, and he said to stop, lol. He I could jam as much as I wanted and then look to him to start trading. He told me the band would start dropping out and then come back in. We didn't need to rehearse further as he knew I'd be fine (again, he had said he had heard me online and even referred to specific songs and things I played).
The only tech talk was that the song stayed in B the whole time, but the time signature went to 6/8.
We talked a couple minutes more, than I left the bus. I was given directions on when to head backstage and what would happen.
So...I went back stage when I was supposed to. I was escorted to the sound man running the monitors. He asked what I wanted for a mix...I told him just my harp as the band was using amps on stage and I'd hear them fine (which was true).
I was handed a Beta 57a on my way out and directed to stand by the monitor between John and Chan - I had my own monitor mix and everything, lol!
The rest is on the video. I was granted access with about half a dozen people (actual friends of theirs) after the show. I took pics and talked to all the guys (minus the keyboard player who never came out). John and I didn't talk gear or anything as I didn't feel the need to...and it was very apparent that John really knows LITTLE about his gear.
My whole approach was to be as much of a gentleman as possible throughout all aspects of the experience. John could have definitely throttled me had he chose to, but I think he dug where I was coming from.
Regarding what I did see about and hear regarding his rig...
He had Hohner black briefcases full of Special 20 harps in all keys and they are all essentially disposable to the point of him tossing one out half way through the first song for another.
He had three amps visible on stage...a small amp for feedback, a Bogner, and a Mesa. I couldn't see his leslie amp, but it was somewhere as I heard it.
He had two pedal boards...one had four channels of amp switching, a Boss OC2, Boss PH-3, and Boss NS-2. There might have been a DOD autowah, but that might just be from memory of a pic I saw from a different rig.
He had a full midi board on the other side...not telling what he used that for other than, I know he uses rack effects from Eventide and Digitech.
His mic had switches between amps...clean, distorted, heavily distorted, and leslie.
I was told how much they made, and how that was on the low end of their pay scale. I think they had 3-4 people traveling as crew in addition to the band. They headed straight out to Aspen.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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HarpNinja
3368 posts
Jul 03, 2013
6:30 PM
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Thanks to all who took the time to view and comment here! It was definitely number one on my music bucket list. All the guys were SUPER cool to me and the others I saw them interact with them.
The best part was seeing his face when trading and after the song. He was definitely having fun and excited for me.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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walterharp
1124 posts
Jul 03, 2013
6:52 PM
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thanks for sharing all this with us. and congrats, you have earned it but still...
hell yeah!
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Tweedaddict
69 posts
Jul 03, 2013
7:21 PM
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Sick Mike!
Cheers
Mike
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nacoran
6895 posts
Jul 03, 2013
7:52 PM
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Still... send him a harp. Who knows, maybe you'll convert him! (Or maybe he'll accidentally throw it too a fan who won't know what he's got!)
Great job. That must have been amazing fun.
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Nate
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Reed Triller
116 posts
Jul 03, 2013
10:10 PM
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Funny you mention he knows little about his gear. I have talked with a few who are somewhat well known in the harp world and asked some of them about what key a song was in since I am not good at picking keys out of the air yet and I was surprised to hear a few of them answer with "I don't know". Either they didn't or they were playing dumb like it was a trade secret,lol.
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"Bend it like Ricci" - Me
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hooktool
40 posts
Jul 03, 2013
10:30 PM
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I enjoyed the performance, but really enjoyed the story. Good for you. I expect you will have many more stories to tell us, and vids to watch.
John
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bonedog569
888 posts
Jul 04, 2013
8:20 PM
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Late to the thread - but had to add my congrats. Well done Mike!
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Willspear
335 posts
Jul 04, 2013
8:43 PM
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Pretty effing cool if you ask me.
Been to busy to post for some time but I can't not say how damn cool it is to not only sit in with one of if not the major influence to your playing harmonica.
Even cooler because you didn't make a total fool of yourself.
Even cooler still that you hung with the band and sounded good.
And on top of that you had the balls to do it. I play pretty solid but if a certain mooncat, professor or blues radio show/mic seller let me sit in I'd probably clam up like a nerd at prom.
My hats off to you mike. Good work all around!
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HarpNinja
3370 posts
Jul 05, 2013
7:17 AM
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I have literally gotten to jam with all my top harmonica playing influences...
Clint Hoover (hell, took lessons from him)
Chris Michalek (2-3 times, and then he sat in with my band a few)
Jason Ricci (2-3 times, I think...once in AZ and twice in MN, but that was a long time ago)
John Popper
I tried to think of other guys I would really really want to jam with, but that was my bucket list. I've been blessed to have played with many other fantastic harp players on the same stage or bill, but that was my bucket list of major influences.
With the current music scene locally, I am pretty much good to retire now, lol. My buddy just moved to Austin and is begging me to come out there, but my family won't move 30mi north for increased work opportunities, so I think leaving the area is out of the question, ha!
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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HarpNinja
3371 posts
Jul 05, 2013
7:25 AM
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I meant to note that JP doesn't play really hard. I had a harder attack and annunciation than he did. That really surprised me.
He also doesn't get enough credit for his dynamics and expression. Throughout the show played a lot of single reed bends, used a lot of vibrato, and used dip bends masterfully.
I've heard him play acoustically a lot online and then in person on the bus. He has a great LP tone. Some of that gets squished by trying to play super loud in a rock band. I didn't discuss it with him, but I am positive his rig is eq'ed, etc, for feedback to the point of impacting overall tone. You can hear that clearly on a lot of live recordings on Archive.org where they are taken right from the board.
Live, I sat infront of the sound man. His tone had cut and sounded great. The difference from clean to heavy distortion was mostly in the mids. The recording I got from the show is more pronounced. In otherwords, his rig sounds VERY different in person than even on the board recording. His sound people know what they are doing!
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Jul 05, 2013 7:29 AM
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Frank
2569 posts
Jul 05, 2013
7:30 AM
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Was walking in the park recently and see a guy sitting at picnic table playing the harmonica...I walk up comment on his harps and ask his name. Clint Hoover he replied...Oh, we talk about you on the harp sites...Really fine Gent! My friend emailed me and is taking lessons from him and sez Clint is teaching him some really cool things :)
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HarpNinja
3372 posts
Jul 05, 2013
7:53 AM
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Clint rocks. He is right up there with Howard Levy and Chris Michalek, but he sticks to mostly chromatic.
I asked him about overblows at my first lesson and he threw out his usually blues harmonica playbook - literally - and created new materials for me.
I brought him some early Blues Traveler (who he was very familiar with) and way early Jason Ricci ( who he didn't know yet) and Pat Ramsey stuff. He would literally hear the stuff in real time and then tell me exactly what they were doing.
It was insane. I still have all the hand written notes and tabs in a binder. I'd say that almost all my fast stuff comes from stuff Clint played at slower tempos or in different scales.
He was doing a lot of work with Bill Geezy and Papa John Kolstad at the time. He found me some of his old stuff where he played rock chromatic through heavy distortion and we sat down and went through why he was playing what he was. He'd then help me write it out and I would practice it nonstop until I could play it faster than he could.
Then he'd show me something totally new and make me want to quit playing harmonica again, lol. He is like the nicest guy ever and a monster player...so musical and expressive.
But, yeah, 99% of what I play when "in the zone" is Clint Hoover stuff. Both he and Chris steered me a way from being a straight breath pattern player and more towards scale patterns. Problem is, in situations like sitting in with BT, my fight or flight response is breath patterns, lol.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
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Frank
2570 posts
Jul 05, 2013
8:04 AM
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He mentioned he hurt his shoulder bad from the way he postured himself while playing over his 30 year career and had to stop playing and relearn a new posture method so not to compound his injury...He states he plans on putting out another Cd in the near future and once his shoulder is feeling a lot better he is going to get into the local music scene here in Pittsburgh.
Last Edited by Frank on Jul 05, 2013 8:05 AM
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Greg Heumann
2244 posts
Jul 05, 2013
8:18 AM
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I'm late too - but finally got a chance to listen. Great stuff, Mike - congrats. I thought your styles really complemented each other.
Great fun to jam with the greats!
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***************************************************
/Greg
BlowsMeAway Productions
See my Customer Mics album on Facebook
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HarpNinja
3373 posts
Jul 05, 2013
8:31 AM
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Ok, I am going to fess up. I intentionally volunteered to play straight to PA to be a bad ass. I could have brought a rig, or pedal, or whatever, but I thought if I played straight I could have a ready excuse for sucking if I choked. If it went sorta well, then I would have conclusive proof that playing through the PA makes you cool, lol.
I also didn't have an E harmonica to play. I only play standard keys up to D, then I switch to low tunings. I had to tune down an old F to E and set it up to overbend. It plays super amazing, but I think I only played the 6ob, 7od, and 10od. The 10 was during the jam together and pretty hard to pick up.
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Mantra Customized Harmonicas
My Website
Last Edited by HarpNinja on Jul 05, 2013 8:32 AM
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Frank
2572 posts
Jul 05, 2013
9:08 AM
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I can't veiw vids with proxy... I wanted to listen again before I commented but can't... Anyway - The PA did do you justice I feel - And being able to "HEAR" yourself had to be a boost to your confidence and thrill of it all:)
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LIP RIPPER
688 posts
Jul 05, 2013
10:51 AM
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You got the funk baby! Nice.
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