I wasn't familiar with Sam Shepherd, but his duo apparently took second place in the International Blues Challenge solo/duo competition in Memphis last night. I've been poking around YouTube and can't find anything that begins to justify the award--unless, in the past two years, he's made a great leap forward in an extraordinary way. Am I missing something? Here's a representative clip from 2013:
Here's a clip from several weeks ago. He hasn't made a great leap forward. He's a decent intermediate player.
I get the salt & pepper thing, especially when boosted by the fact that both members of the duo are blind. The duo makes nice music. I'm sure they deserved their high placing in the solo/duo competition. But best harp player of the competition? Come on.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Feb 11, 2016 7:40 PM
He's good. Not the caliber of some on this forum. Was there many other harmonica players? That's all I can think of. How did Dan Ridgeway fair the other year? I know Jerome Godboo won it 3 years ago and he is definitely well deserving. He is a fantastic player and arguably an even better showman.
Last Edited by kham on Feb 01, 2016 3:02 PM
The first video did not impress me. There are a number of players in my area that easily play better than the first video.
The second more recent was acceptable, but as you say, intermediate. Here is another video of them, OK, but not overwhelming in expertise with regard to harp.
They won 2nd place S/D category. I guess you would need to see and hear the whole set.
Did he actually win for being the best harp player in the competition? I found the info about that on the website confusing.
Sometimes I don't think I get how winners at IBC are chosen. I would bet that there were better harp players competing that were eliminated from the overall competition. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Feb 01, 2016 1:08 PM
Just be happy for people, says the karma on my shoulder. Then, I hear "...another reason music isn't a competition". And, "...if the award becomes part of his press I hope he can continue to meet the challenge".
I'd agree it's a bit of a surprise. I heard a lot of great harmonica players at the IBC in 2015. It would be hard to imagine the harmonica award going to Sam Shepherd in last years context.
@kham - We didn't do well and wound up getting knocked out in the first round. We also were in the same venue with about 6 other 4-5 piece bands featuring or fronted by harmonica. Not an excuse, but definitely a factor.
In current events, I saw that my friend, Justin Shelton, made it to the final round this year with the Hector Anchondo band. He's definitely got more hustle than I do! ---------- Ridge's YouTube
Last Edited by ridge on Feb 01, 2016 4:15 PM
Is it me or is somebody out of key in the first video.....After listening to the last one ...he might be bending out of key a little bit.....congrats but I would have to think their were more accomplished players....
When I compare to Nic Clark at probably 17 ...pretty big gap https://www.facebook.com/TheMileHighBluesSociety/videos/vb.308144309285000/566636923368519/?type=2&theater
I don't usually comment on these types of threads where it is so tempting to pile on the criticism. I'd need to hear a lot more to come to a firm evaluation, but from the little I've heard so far I agree that Mr. Shepard appears at this moment to be a competent, but not yet top calibre harp player. However, his singing is pretty sweet and he looks to be a multi-instrumentalist from the stills in the second video. Perhaps this accolade will prompt him to up his harp game to match and that would be a happy outcome for everyone involved. We should keep in mind also that he was not responsible for deciding the awards; he just did his thing. No shame in that. ----------
Last Edited by mr_so&so on Feb 02, 2016 7:05 AM
I don't know how it works in the US but here in Germany the IBC setup is strange. We were asked to compete last year but turned it down. Apart from me, the band is a fully professional setup and you get no money to compete at the "Challenge". AND if you win and are earmarked to go to Memphis, you have to PAY yourself! Well the musicians I play with are not flush (which professional blues player is?) and they wouldn't do that.
Also, the whole idea of a competition in Blues, with a jury you might be too worried about impressing (!) goes against the grain for me. As a result, the winning acts are generally ok-ish devoted amateurs. Nothing wrong with that but may explain the above videos - he is a relatively average not to say dreadful harp player. R
Winning the IBC didn't get Grady Champion to up his harp game. Compelling entertainer, sure. But a very middling harp player. Look, 99% of the population has no informed expectation about what blues harmonica could or should sound like. That's a scientific fact. :^) Most people, and I have to believe the IBC judges generally fall into that category, listen more with their eyes anyway. Jumping around and squatting when you bend or warble will go a long way in making you an awesome harp player. Wheeeeeeee!!!!! -Bob ---------- http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#!/pages/Bourbon-Bleach/161722307208585
One of my most memorable music critic experiences was playing the IBC in Memphis. They send you a copy of your scores. Mine ranged from unbelievably fantastic to it hurt my ears. There is no figuring with a contest. I am glad I went to experience it. For me it is about oneself. If you dig your music that is all that matters. Everything after that is pretty much small potatoes in comparison. Unfortunately most of us get overly concerned with what others think and we conform to what we think others like. Teaching special needs people for 25 years taught me much about doing ones art for oneself with no regard for what others think. Art in its purest sense is done from having to do it uninterrupted and nothing else. Thus it comes out to satisfy an inner need that doesn't care about opinions. To me there is no expert data base or opinions on right or wrong with art. It is up to each of us as to how the piece moves us. Obviously this guy moved the judges :-) walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
In general, in music, being the "best" or "better" based on any criteria does not equate to being the most popular or successful either.
One of the most profound things I ever read was Jason Ricci's comments about (and I am paraphrasing) that the better he got on harp in his style, the more he alienated the audience. ---------- Mike My Website My Harmonica Effects Blog
Here's a few random opinions based from running The WV Harmonica Championship and other events.
1) The winner of the event doesn't mean he's the best in the land. Just best at that event.
2) There's a difference between being a good harp player and being an entertainer.
3) Something that cost a lot of performer points in our local competition was lack of blues content. They were good players, but they were not playing BLUES.
4) unless you have ALL the facts, it is hard to make a good decision.
BTW, a friend posted a couple bands on FB and I was blown away by two of the harp players. I can't recall names, but they were fantastic modern blues harmonica players.
This is a timely topic for me. - I just took down a post I had put up yesterday on the MBH Facebook page run by Isaac Ullah aka our Issacullah. I had had a nasty reaction to bunch of video posts that where IMO, mediocre to awful. I came off very condescending and negative in a way that was not appropriate I'm afraid.
The balance that's hard to strike is; how do we encourage people to play, enjoy and get better at this instrument, while wanting people to give it some respect at the same time? The barrier to entry with harp is virtually none-existent. My wish, (which with $8 will get me a latte @ S-bucks) is that people will just be GOOD before they get on stage or youtube and present themselves as harp players. I guess I feel defensive about our little tin sandwich, and take it personally when someone who does not have a decent level of competence 'represents' the instrument. Maybe that's more my neurosis than anything else.
Who determines what's good? - That could be quite a topic in itself. On one level I agree with Walter. Fundamentally we do any art because there is something in us that needs to get out, to be expressed, the reaction of others being secondary. On the other hand, if you are being public about it, shouldn't you do some honest self evaluation, comparing what you do to those who have done it before and are respected? Maybe that's too much to ask.
I was there as a fan. I didn't get to see many harp players and only 2 of them impressed me as harp players.I'm sure I missed a few good ones. I've given up all logic in regards to the IBC's.The acoustic guitar player award went to a guy who plays dulcimer.Although he was competent,he couldn't hold a candle to some of the other finalists in that category.
I must add that I think a lot of the judges are just fans,who don't really have a broad musical background.They just know what they like and vote that way.
Last Edited by Tuckster on Feb 02, 2016 11:19 AM
bonedog: We all are equally qualified to say whatever we want in reaction to a piece of art made public. I remember well as my sound became more effortless and satisfying to me the audience disappeared and basically I live in isolation musically now. That is fine because I have gotten closer and closer to expressing what is inside with no thoughts to mess things up. Now I go on endless journey's that are as real as being alive with my music. That is all I ever wished for. Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
I don't know the fella, his competition or those who judged his performance but my first reaction would be to congratulate him on his win. I would advise him to savor that tasty moment and prepare for the inevitable sour grapes.
Like Mr So &So said ..he just entered and did the best he could....I have heard that the judging in the IBC is a bit uneven...Non harp players often have different opinions of good and great players....
I could not find any results on the IBC search page under his name or InnerVision- for any years and all categories. What did I miss. Point to a link if you have one. Thanks.
Well now: I didn't make up the fact that Shepherd got the harmonica player award. I read a newspaper article that had that. I consulted it several times to make sure that I spelled his last name properly. And yet when I go to the IBC pages that have the winners, he's nowhere to be found--nor is any mention of that award.
Is it possible that the Blues Foundation has gotten negative feedback about Shepherd and has rescinded the award? I can't believe that. But it's very strange that he's not listed with the winners.
Let me clarify why I began this thread. I'm coming mostly from Bonedog's perspective. I love our instrument and our idiom, and I think it deserves strong and effective advocates. I think that major awards should recognize major talents. I've been very impressed over the years by the uniformly high level of talent at the IBCs--including harp players such as Carlos del Junco and Nico Wayne Toussaint. When a player such as Shepherd is picked out for special acclaim as a blues harmonica player--"Player of the Year" at the IBCs--my conscience demands that I simply state the truth: he's mediocre. He's neither particularly bad nor particularly good. He's somewhere in the middle. I think that the award winner should be better than middling. Period.
Shepherd isn't responsible for the fact that he was given the award, of course, and I don't have any personal rancor for him. For all I know, he was embarrassed to take the award. Or not. It really doesn't matter. I'm simply speaking as clearly and objectively as I can about the talent-level that I'm hearing, or not hearing.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Feb 03, 2016 10:06 AM
We have an event here in San Diego, Spring Harp Fest. We always get top players for the main event, but there is also an Unknown Player event, and many times, it's the cute little kid who wins, rather than the young lion. I'm with the majority here, play for yourself and hope someone else digs it.
Yep it's there...you would think someone writing a article would proof read.....Sam not San...it does say "Best Harp Player" too.....I know some of the Harp players that were there so I find that one hard to swallow..
kudzurunner, your first link (in the Feb 03 post) is to Blues Foundation's press release page, & there under "The FINALS winners are:" is "InnerVision Columbus Blues Society - HARP".
It doesn't mention Mr Shepherd anywhere, and it doesn't specify what exactly it was that InnerVision won. In fact, it's a very poorly organized/executed page. But presumably that's where the Commercial Appeal reporter got his info (which may or may not be correct).
By the way, Bing Futch is a helluva dulcimer player. But a dulcimer really isn't a guitar.
Frank101: Good catch on the HARP thing, but it just makes the situation that much weirder. There are, I believe, three IBC awards for instrumentalists: one each for solo guitar, band guitar, and harmonica. The first two are listed properly. What you've pointed us towards looks like the fragments of a listing for Shepherd that remain after some fast, careless editing has taken place. Last year, Nico Wayne Toussant won what was called the "Lee Oskar Harp Award."
Something weird is going on, in other words, that has no immediate precedent. Here's a wild thought: Maybe Shepherd HIMSELF said "I don't deserve it," and asked that it be removed. Just a thought. It's a mess.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Feb 03, 2016 2:55 PM
Hard to make sense out of some of the judging. We caught ultimate winners, the Delgado Brothers, semi-final set and I have to say they were worthy winners but when a black man -a former picker of cotton for Pete's sake - with nearly 50 years of genuine professional pure blues experience backed by a band with similar experience and with some of the best known names in blues on their resume's gets beat by what is fundamentally a rock band with blues roots out of French speaking Canada at a Blues Challenge in Mempis it begs the question, "What is wrong with this picture."
Almost by definition judging is subjective but it does seem like some of the judges at IBC were chosen at random based simply on who they knew and who was available and not on their knowledge and/or experience of the blues.
Further it seems as if the perception of what the blues is has had a time shift and to some only appears with SRV or Joe Bonammasa with little or no regard to what those gentleman studied that came before. ---------- LSC
Last Edited by LSC on Feb 04, 2016 10:05 AM
Sam Sheppard is a local player from Westerville Ohio. He is relatively new to the blues scene here in Columbus Ohio. I believe he is heavily and I might add successfully promoted by his mom and others. While Sam certainly doesn’t have the chops to be considered a great harp player, I like what he does. The judges may have enjoyed the whole package, he sings well, he also plays trombone. He plays and sings within his ability. I am happy they did well as they are really wonderful people.
I'll have to admit that Mr. Sheppard is not the most accomplished harp player i've ever heard, but when you consider all he is over coming i cant help but marvel a bit at the level ha has achieved. I have a disabled 24 yr old daughter at home. She works 5 days a week and comes home worn out. I see on a daily basis what effort it takes for her to get herself ready for work. Getting up 2 hours before she has to get a ride to work. Then the whole evening is taken up preparing for the next day. I'd bet Sam and the young lady on the keys go through a very similar situation with their blindness and have still been able to do as well as they have. When I see folks like that, that really have an up hill climb I think about the the old blues men that paved the way for everyone that has come along since. Part of the thing that really made me respect them for more than their musical ability was all they had to over come in society. And you have got to admit that not everyone of the blues masters had perfect tone, or played on the level of some of the people today. But we love them for what they became and how their struggles shaped their style, their tone , their music.I think it's possible that the judges may have felt the same way I do during the competition. I hope the winning benefit's their career.
Hi Harpists. I'm Sam Shepherd's mom (aka roadie, sound boardist, driver, manager/mom-ager, publicist, musical advisor, stylist, supporter, sighted guide, fan). I make no apologies for using what God has given me to help my son and his best friend Genene develop the talents that God gave them in order to achieve their goals: to make their livings as professional musicians. This is a big-boy/big-girl, competitive business and InnerVision realizes that they will need to be tough to survive. I have read every word of these comments to Sam and we have some questions. First, were any of you, who judged Sam's worthiness by rough YouTube videos, there?. . . at Silky O'Sullivan's on Beale for the quarter-finals or semi-finals?. . . at The Orpheum for the finals? Did any of you hear what Sam and Genene made the audience and judges FEEL when they left everything on the stage? Isn't it the blues all about using notes and words to express the feelings in the heart? Do you really think that the IBC should rescind his award or that he should forfeit his award because he lacks certain blues "pedigree?" Have/would any of you use the "salt-and-pepper" description to minimize the 1st place winners of the 2016 IBC solo/duo category? Sam and Genene played their hearts out in their first IBC and their first time on Beale Street. We are so proud of their accomplishment because we know first-hand about the hours of rehearsal behind their set (we WERE there) and how the audiences at the IBC smiled and applauded and stood to their feet and cheered and cried and listened (we WERE there). Sam knows that he has far, far to go as a harpist, vocalist, and instrumentalist. He was honored and humbled that he was recognized like this. But he has no plans to refuse the Lee Oskar Harmonica Award. He, instead, is using this recognition as fuel to work even harder to become the best he can be. Thank you all for lots to think about. I hope that we have given you lots to think about, too. Special thanks to those on this forum who expressed support and acceptance to a blues rookie who worked hard and played a great set just the right time to move the blues family at the IBC. Blessings to you all. . .
Oh wow--busted . . . Kinda like the rest of what I will call "show business", this was a popularity contest. The judges are people, and they voted for what they liked.
When people ask what kind of music I play, sometimes I say, "Popular music--if it isn't popular, I play something else." Whatever Sam did that night was more popular than what anybody else did.
And so, to address the OP, Sam's "great leap forward in an extraordinary way" might just be his victory at IBC. Will it lead somewhere? Stranger things have happened.
Last Edited by Gnarly on Feb 11, 2016 7:24 PM
My name is Adam Gussow. I've been playing the harmonica for 41 years. I started and run this website and this forum. I've been a published writer for 44 years--my mother, too, encouraged me, at least in the matter of writing--and I choose my words carefully, not carelessly.
No, I was not present at your son's performance. I am only capable of judging the evidence available to me. If you believe that anybody here has misjudged your son's abilities as a harmonica player, I urge you to post a video of his finals performance. If it leads me to hear something in his playing--not in the audience reaction, but in his playing--that I don't hear in the second video I posted above, at the beginning of this thread, you may be sure that I will have the ears to hear it and the integrity to modify my earlier judgment.
The last time a mother took me to task for how I characterized her harmonica playing son's playing was back in 2001, when I characterized 11-year-old Brody Buster, a KC player, as somewhat overhyped. My feeling then, as now, is that no real blues player would allow his mother to fight battles that he should be fighting.
But we live in a strange new blues world where all kinds of unprecedented things are happening.
I don't care about your son's pedigree or his disability. It just doesn't interest me--at least for the purposes of this particular blues harmonica forum. The only thing I care about are his talents as a harmonica player who is being honored as, in effect, the best-in-show at an international blues competition.
When I wrote "it's a mess" in one of my posts above, by the way, I was responding to the way in which your son's name, as the supposed winner, had apparently been scrubbed from the Blues Foundation page in which the awards were listed. (I just rechecked; it's still a confusing mess, with the word HARP capitalized and no mention of either your son's name or the award.)
Please post your video or two of your son's best harmonica performances during the competition--I'm sure you've got them--so we can chew them up and talk them to death, as we do with everything blues harmonica that swims into view, without fear or favor. Or decide that we're not worth it. But please don't show up here without evidence and cast protective motherly assertions on what we do. You're impugning our integrity without cause, and embarrassing your son.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Feb 11, 2016 7:52 PM
As you have no doubt surmised, this can be a pretty tough bunch of critics. But, there is a wealth of information freely offered here by some of the best in the world. Information on clinics, seminars, who is out on tour, equipment and techniques.., it is all here. And yes, every once in awhile, we eat our young.
I will never be in, or attend, the IBC, I hope Sam stops by to share his story with us. He is the 2016 IBC Lee Oskar Harmonica Award winner. Lord help him, that makes him one of us.
Far be it from me to impugn anyone's integrity or judge anyone's character! I offer sincere apologies to anyone who was offended! We were just asking questions to sharp comments. Please don't be embarrassed for Sam by my advocacy on his behalf. He's not embarrassed and I'm not embarrassed either. In my fledgling attempts to be a manager, I wish that I could help Genene and Sam more. Shoot! Maybe we should be embarrassed and don't have sense enough to realize it. We are just being who we are. I personally have no videos but now wish I did. There were a couple of short phone snippets posted on FB by friends but nothing more yet. I believe that we ordered a finals recording and maybe it is on it's way. We can't help how the IBC structure is set up or who in the finals played harp and who didn't but he did play blues harp and played it well. Sam ran and swam competitively in school. Judging a winner on a track or in a pool with a clock is so much more simple than judging a winner in the IBC. It is impossible to remove subjectivity from the equation unless every harp player (and vocalist and guitarist) plays the exact same song. There were so many blues sounds and stylings represented at the finals that I don't know how those judges did it! As unexpected as all the advancing and winning was for us, I will always count those announcements as blessings. What a great experience for our young musicians to build on. Good night, Good Harpists. . .
Ms. Shepherd: I suspect, although I don't know, that you found your way here because this thread is #2 on Google organic search for the term "Sam Shepherd harmonica." Is that right?
Regardless, I've long been aware that our conversations here sometimes end up much more public, as it were, than some of us realize. Much as we enjoy being frank, and discussing things to death, I don't believe that any of us enjoy placing a permanent question mark on up and coming players when the general public seeks to learn more about them. I certainly don't. This forum is just a clubhouse, as far as I'm concerned. It's not, or shouldn't be, the town square and World Book Encyclopedia.
From time to time the administrators and I delete threads. I believe that this thread--now that we've had the time to say most of what we wanted to say--is a good candidate for the trash can, and for the reason I've outlined.
So I think that we'll do that in a few days. You didn't request this, but I think it's the right thing to do.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Feb 12, 2016 4:15 AM
Good call! Our in-house assessments of his level of harp proficiency, which is OK, should not become a search engine albatross plaguing his performance life. This thread has no long term utility, and need not be preserved. ----------
Hoards of teenagers blown away by Elton John probably wouldn't have given a thought to Mozart's proficiency on piano, nor would they have had the foundational knowledge to make the comparison. Could you compare Elton's paying on, say "Benny and the Jets" to any of Mozart's piano pieces? In a contest of skill, Elton might be deemed mediocre, but the teenagers who saw him play Benny and the Jets in Madison Square Garden in the '70's probably would've voted him best pianist ever.
A performer can move people in any given performance and he or she can do it any number of ways , not all of which can be captured in a video. If 80% of communication is nonverbal and music is a form of communication, should we be surprised that moving people with a performance is about more than just instrumental skill, especially when the instrumentalist sings, too?
Most of us have had nights when we thought we played well and got little audience reaction. Other times we've played badly and have had audiences react as if we were virtuosos. If we moved the audience and they thought we were great, are they wrong? Is their judgment flawed because our instrumental performance was?
The other night an audience member asked me if I was better than the guy who played before me. I had an opinion, and I know he had one too, but I didn't feel the need to express mine because I know who the audience liked and my opinion didn't matter to it.
We can have an academic discussion of a player's skills relative to another's, but second-guessing an audience or jury's judgment of a live performance relative to another when we experienced neither seems like an exercise in futility, IMHO.
We can respect and applaud Sam's ability to use his voice and his instrument to move his audience in a way that caused the judges to think him the best at using his skills and talents in the performances they experienced. May we all enjoy such successes, if that is something to which we aspire, and so much the better for us if it means harmonica players are valued more highly as a consequence.
Maybe an audience that applauded Sam's playing would have applauded a more proficient instrumentalist even more, but maybe not. I suspect there was more to his performance than just his playing, and that it had an influence on how his playing was judged, just as playing too much can. The fact that there are better harmonica players out there, or may even have been better ones in the contest does not mean you can objectively say Sam didn't deserve to win, especially without watching every performance, and not just his. And who is anyone to say that a 2013 clip is "representative" of how he played and what the audience reaction to it was in 2016?
Last Edited by PeterG on Feb 14, 2016 6:52 AM
All the conversations on this forum are quite public. So rather than a "clubhouse", it is indeed like a town square and encyclopedia.
I would love to see a recording of the winning performance. I'm sure its already out there somewhere, so if anyone has the technical skills to find it and share it... please do.
Last Edited by A440 on Feb 14, 2016 3:41 AM
I agree. The performance could put this in better perspective. But with the evidence at hand, i agree with Adam.
Also agree with the eventual deletion of the post. Prolly a good idea. Especially if this is #2 on his search.
I would like to see videos of the competition groups as well. I mean if the judges didn't have much to choose from, that's not their fault. Idk. Alot of variables. ---------- "Trust Those Who Seek The Truth. Doubt Those Who Say They Have Found It."
The first video is now private! In the second video (more of a slide show), I was impressed by Genene's vocals and delivery. Somebody's got to win, and they did. Someone else will win next year. Congratulations to two young people trying to keep the blues alive--if it's not the second coming of Little Walter, at least it is the blues. If they get a hit record next year, y'all are gonna look silly!
1) The judging and ultimate outcome at the IBC is a crap shoot. Judging in the context of this event, by it's nature, is extremely subjective. Even the judging guidelines are open to interpretation. "Blues content" being the most obvious example.
2) As our drummer so aptly put it, "If you can't handle rejection what the hell are you doing in the music business?" I would say the same certainly holds true with criticism. Mrs. Shepherd, I would respectfully suggest that if negative comments about your son's playing are so upsetting you might want to reflect on whether or not your goal of becoming professional and earning a living is actually a good idea. Will being in a game where everybody and THEIR mother has an opinion and which is rarely fair or kind, lead to a happy life? If you decide that the end game is worth it, you might want to think about getting a thicker skin and just letting whatever negativity comes your way to simply bounce off. As One who when first started out would get similarly wound up, I can tell you that is the only way to survive in this game with any sanity intact. ---------- LSC
