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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Gussow/Shellist Workshop
Gussow/Shellist Workshop
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John95683
103 posts
Sep 08, 2013
12:24 PM
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I just returned from the workshop in Campbell, CA, and here are my thoughts:
1. Overall, it was excellent. A bargain for $60. Where else could you get two nationally known instructors for a whole day for such a low cost?
2. Probably not suited for absolute beginners, but great for every other level. I met a woman there who had never played before, and she was totally lost. A couple of others seemed to be struggling, but everyone else was doing fine.
3. The segment on playing amplified was a little too basic. I would have liked to have spent more time on specific amps and mics, and what is good for what sound you were after. Still very worthwhile, especially the part on cupping the mic.
3. Both men are very good guys, and very empathetic to us mere mortals. Adam is a little more serious and professorial (no surprise there), and Ronnie was very friendly and accessible.
4. The jam session was the best part, and I wish it was longer. Everyone (who wanted to) got a chance to play 24 bars to a backing track, and then be critiqued by both Ronnie and Adam. They were honest and helpful in their assessments. It was amazing what little things they could hear. This was much harder than playing in your local jam, believe me. I was very disappointed in my playing, however. Most of the things I planned to do just disappeared from my head when I got up on the stage. It would have been really nice to have had a second turn to implement some of their suggestions. Really, this part could have easily taken up the whole afternoon, and everyone would have been pleased. You don't get a chance like this very often. There some very good players in the group, and assessments of them were very interesting.
5.The harp blowout at Little Lou's after the class was unbelievable. In addition to Ronnie and Adam, Dave Barrett and Aki Kumar each played individually, then all four played together at the end. Similar to a Mark Hummel show, and just as good. All four players were outstanding, but Adam blew the house down. He was great with his foot drum, and his playing was very intense and precise. I loved the way he attacked each note. Much better in person than on You Tube, in my opinion. At our table, we all looked at each other, and went "Wow"!
6. In summary, it was a long day of immersion into blues harp, and I loved it.
Time for the woodshed for me.
John
t a wom
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kudzurunner
4243 posts
Sep 08, 2013
2:06 PM
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Thanks for the kind words, John. About the show: as far as I'm concerned, Aki's 45 minute performance to open the thing up was some of the very best live blues harmonica playing I've seen in three decades of live shows. He was a perfect, inspired professional from the first note. His version of "Juke"--and I told him this--was the best I've ever heard, bar none. He played the first seven or eight choruses in a way that made me question for the first time whether I really SHOULD become a full-time tongue blocker, and then he moved seamlessly into his own improvisations that sounded like they should have been part of the original song, although they were entirely new and fresh. The guy sings beautifully, handles first, second, and third position with equal (and inspired) facility, sounds every bit as good on the vocal mic as the harp mic (i.e., great hand action), and makes better eye contact with his audience than any young performer and 95% older performers. He plays the old stuff and never sounds jive doing it. He makes it live. His band was completely disciplined and in control at every moment.
I was sitting with a couple of people later and they laughed to themselves, "These guys just don't know how good they are," meaning the four of us. (Apparently we were just hanging out and chattering like ordinary people rather than sequestering ourselves like stars.) That's not true; we're all strong, confident, and accomplished players. But what is true, I think--speaking for myself--is that I'm humbled and excited to be in the presence of guys like Aki, David, and Ronnie. Each of them does things I can't do, and the things they do interest me greatly and compel my respect, because there's always something strong, dynamic, and challengingly complex going on. The idiom may be traditional, but the playing is always inspired; it's always reaching a few handholds above the bar. These guys do NOT phone it in. Standing next to Aki and David on the bandstand (first hearing David live, in fact), I repeatedly found myself saying "I need to learn that lick!" In sum, David and his star student are keeping alive a culture of top-level blues harmonica out in the Bay Area (and they're not the only ones, obviously).
A guy who films local blues guys shot the whole thing and will be putting it on YouTube. I'll try to post that stuff here when and if I find it. In the closing blow down, the four of us blended pretty effortlessly, and that is NOT a common thing for harp guys.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Sep 08, 2013 2:20 PM
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Mojokane
718 posts
Sep 08, 2013
3:17 PM
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good critique John,
Ronnie and Adam are amazing talents.
Can't wait to hear the clips!
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Why is it that we all just can't get along?<
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kudzurunner
4302 posts
Oct 11, 2013
4:58 AM
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Frank
2978 posts
Oct 11, 2013
5:38 AM
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Your harpin speaks for itself and is readily known as some of the best in the world...
What I took note of was your singing is coming into its own...less nasally, you seem to be confidently relaxing into a more full resonance to your vocal tone and approach... and you're incorporating better dynamic phrasing too in your singing lines...great tune and dedication to your ole friend... Sterling would be very proud :)
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