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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Blues Jam questions
Blues Jam questions
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jawbone
308 posts
Apr 27, 2010
2:31 PM
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A good comeback - "What notes would you like me to play?"
"Should I use all the holes, or just the front half?"
Man, I crack myself up!!!
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If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
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congaron
849 posts
Apr 28, 2010
10:11 AM
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If the guitar player calls the key and what harp, I just use it if it's right and don't if it isn't. "thanks" is the response I use.
I absolutely refuse to be on a stage and not have fun. When I encounter any sort of "unfun" situation, I just pack up and leave with a "thanks for letting me play with you guys!" So far, that rarely happens and only after I've been up there plenty long and asked the jam leader if I should step down. I have always been told to stay up there when i ask that, so I'm usually planning one or two more at most anyway.
That's what i did last week when a second trumpet player showed up and I was flanked by him and the better musician trumpet player. The volume of the second guy killed the fun right down for me and I was done...but polite. The overall night was still fun and I made sure I ended up on a high point for harp with a tasty solo in my last number with them.
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kudzurunner
1381 posts
Apr 28, 2010
11:44 AM
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The problem is that the word "blues jam" can encompass a remarkably wide array of musical idioms, from Cream and Rick Derringer ("Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo") on the one hand to Bluebird Beat stuff from the 1930s, with the occasional acoustic player thrown in. I have certainly met the guys BBQ and others have mentioned, the "legends in their own mind." There's a certain kind of rock guitarist who doesn't even LIKE blues, really, but who learned the blues scale from a book as a first step towards becoming a rock shredder and who views the local jam session as a the only venue, apart from the occasional gig he's lucky enough to get, where he's allowed to turn his amp up in public.
Really: don't we all know this guy?
His amp, of course, is a very big and very loud one. It has great tone, as he understands tone--again, think Bad Company: Les Paul crunch--but in order to get that tone, the amp must be turned up towards the higher numbers.
This particular guitarist hasn't the faintest f'ing idea what constitutes effective guitar playing in ANY of the blues traditions where guitar and harp cohabitate: Chicago, Memphis, Texas, West Coast. A harmonica, for this sort of "blues" guitarist, is what Mick Jagger played in "Midnight Rambler," and what one of the Doors played on "Roadhouse Blues."
That's it. That's all he knows. If you're lucky, he's heard of Paul Butterfield and maybe Sonny Boy Williamson.
If you are asked to share the stage with such a monster, please understand that there is nothing you can do. He will murder swing every time his pick touches the strings. When and if you're lucky enough to play a solo that can actually be heard, and in a way that suggests you're really getting into it, the Blues Guitar Toad will play LOUDER and FASTER, drenching whatever you're playing with toad-waterish yellow blues-slime.
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Rick Davis
350 posts
Apr 28, 2010
12:22 PM
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LOL, Adam,,, so true.
A while back my band was looking for a blues guitarist, so I put an ad in Craigslist that was very specific: You MUST be a blues player. You MUST know the songs and the groove. You MUST have recent performing experience playing the blues. You MUST send me Myspace or Youtube links with your BLUES samples.
Yet..... I got scads of replies from the same guy you describe. "Blues" meant "Loud Rock Ballad." It meant waving lighters in an arena. I've determined that most rock guitarist don't even know what "Blues" means.
My jam is not an Open Jam... it is a BLUES Jam. If I don't know the jammer I remind him/her of that before they go on.
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-Rick Davis
Blues Harp Amps Blog
Roadhouse Joe Blues Band
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Tuckster
501 posts
Apr 28, 2010
12:31 PM
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Ha Ha Adam-I know that guy all too well. Dynamics is just a word in the dictionary to him.
aslive3-I'm an older guy who encountered the same attitude toward harp players. BBQ Bob is spot on in his posts. I basically had to "prove" myself-pass the initiation test. Once you pass,you'll be welcomed with open arms. As for "We're in A,play a D harp. It annoys me,but I figure the guy is trying to be helpful and show that he knows a little about harp. I just nod politely and play whatever harp I think fits the song.
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GamblersHand
183 posts
Apr 28, 2010
2:08 PM
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-How often do you hit blues jams?
Quite often - there are plenty to choose from in London
http://www.bluesinlondon.co.uk/jams.html
-What draws you to one blues jam over another?
My favourite would be the Green Note acoustic jam in Camden. While I'm not a great acoustic player it's got a unique vibe and great divesity - delta blues, a little americana, some Mississippi Sheiks hokum-blues, even the odd original. There's probably as much non-12 bar as 12-bar, which is refreshing.
Partly this is because you tend to pick your backing band - whether you want upright bass, a snare drum, some keys.
Other than that, I prefer reasonable quality - a least a few semi-pro players, and a well run and good humoured management of the jam.
There's a guy in London, Niall Kelly, who's actually made something of a career out of running blues jams - he runs 3, sometimes 4 per week. He's very laid-back and has a great line in between-set banter.
-What night of the week do you prefer for blues jam?
Not fussed, but usually not Fridays or Saturdays
-Do you always play, or do you sometimes sit out?
Always. I sing as well.
-What is your main complaint about blues jams?
I have two -
1. Lengthy solos - not every song needs to be an epic. I give no more than 3 versus (usually two) in a medium or quick song, usually one verse in a slow one.
2. A lack of imagination in choosing material. Too often we have endless medium tempo shuffles, punctuated with a 6/8 slow blues and an occasional funk blues - which is Black Cat Bone 90% of the time.
I try to do some planning beforehand and make sure I can describe the song succinctly - and have a backup if its too challenging for any of the musicians.
I've managed to get pretty good versions on non-standard songs knocked out - "Junco Partner", "Wonderful Time" (I VI II V), 16-bar rhumbas etc etc
-Do you bring your own amp or use one that is there, or use the PA mic?
Unless it's an acoustic jam, I bring my small Marble Max amp - I just got sick of playing through the p.a.
It's loud enough to play most jams without amplification
Last Edited by on Apr 28, 2010 2:10 PM
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roadharp
44 posts
Apr 28, 2010
5:52 PM
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man just have fun thats why i go .
Last Edited by on Apr 28, 2010 5:54 PM
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Joe_L
193 posts
Apr 28, 2010
8:13 PM
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I don't understand why harp players get so offensive when someone tells them what harp to use. Given all of the things to get pissed off about in life, this hardly seems worth the trouble.
If someone says to me, "we are in E, use an A harp." I say thanks and re-confirm they are in E.
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Ev630
322 posts
Apr 29, 2010
9:15 AM
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Joe, if the drummer can swing his ass off, he can give me all the advice he wants and I'll nod and smile. If, as is typical, he sounds like a trap-case falling down six flights of stairs, he can go fuck himself.
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5F6H
96 posts
Apr 29, 2010
10:02 AM
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the only time it bugs me when I'm with a guitarist who shows an interest in what key I need is if I kick off a rythmn in say 3rd position & the smartypants has seen the key of harp & assumed I'm in 2nd..."we're in A?", "No E", "But you have a D harp?", "no just the label is D"...
Last Edited by on Apr 29, 2010 10:02 AM
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congaron
850 posts
Apr 29, 2010
12:16 PM
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For a typical blues jam, cross harp seems like a reasonable assumption to me. Why not call out the key?
I wouldn't expect a guitar player to figure out or care if I'm in 3rd position after I call out the key. If I don't call out the key, I would fully expect him to assume cross-harp, if he even knows what that is.
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