---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Billy Gibson and Deak Harp together in Mississippi - Hill Country Harmonica.
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Last Edited by on May 26, 2010 4:20 PM
Bronx...he must have been a local guy...all the locals that showed up knew him...I was impressed too...he didn't look like a blues guy ...but damn sure played like one
This was by far my best harmonica year. It was a long way to get from Colombia to Firefox Ranch, but it was more than worth it. I met very nice people from different places that shared with me this amazing mix of love and craziness for the harp.
For me, it all started a while back when Billy Branch came to Bogota. That sound just stuck in my mind and heart, following me everywhere. There is not a big blues scene in Colombia, as you can imagine, but as a wise man told me at the HCH, “internet has brought us all harmonica lovers together”. I got to take Internet lessons from one of the best, Adam Gussow, and my iPod is now packed with blues music and harmonica lessons. It just became a big part of my life. I practice while driving, while in the elevator, while waiting for customers, and even at low volume in the morning not to wake up my girlfriend.
HCH was just amazing, practical breakout sessions, enriching experiences, great lectures, incredible performances and over all great people willing to share their knowledge as well as a good time. Thank you Adam for making this one-of-a-kind event happen. Jeff, impeccable job, thank you. And Adam please count me in for HCH2.
I've got some pictures that I will post further on.
Bronx and Harpdude,the guy in the cowboy hats name is Mark(the mule man)Massey. he is a local and does a good job on the blues. there is some of his stuff on youtube
Tod the slanted amp is my friend Al Loumis's amp it is a Silvertone with 6L6 tubes not shure on the model but the speakers came out of a fender PA is what he told me then he put them in a slanted cabnet ...it never made the cut ..being tested by greg that is ...Al Loumis is the cat with the way too long hair...lol..and the wife beater on Southern il ..... East coast lingo .. Ginnie T ..Chicago lingo Dago T .. and he walked with a Stick he found in the woods ..at foxfire ....
The white dude with the cowboy hat is a local guitar slinger ... Mark Muleman Man Massie ... the last name im not shure is right but the first two are Bronx ...
Deak - Al- the cat that played the harp backwards !!!!
Love the CD by the way. ---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Here is a good one.....Adam and Bill "Howlin Mad" Perry
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Last Edited by on May 28, 2010 4:55 PM
The rhythm section on "Easy" was bizarre. The woman on drums wanted to cut loose, but Big T on bass yanked her waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. Most blues songs tend to speed up a little as they go. This one died on the vine. One of the strangest songs I've ever played on a gig. I was NOT the guy slowing it down. But I felt a huge heavy weight from the bass, and I had no choice but to go with it.
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
I'd like Greg Heumann to weigh in on whether that girl can play drums. He disagrees with you, to put it mildly.
I'm of two minds. I think she was terrible on some songs and surprisingly good on some songs. I'd literally give her 1s and 5s, on a song by song basis. But on the professionalism vector, she gets a D-. The low point for me was when, having forgotten her snare stand--after showing up late because she'd forgotten her kick drum pedal, she claimed, and driving back to get it--she spent half an hour trying out different objects within the vicinity of the stage to see if they would make a suitable replacement, and spent five minutes with a TREE STUMP--an actual log, complete with bark, that happened to be sitting in the corner of the stage. Have you ever watched a frustrated drummer attempt to lash a snare to the butt end of a log, with nylons that she's pulled out of her car? Not something I wanted to see as the clock was ticking. She spent the precious bit of open-jam time that I'd build in for the registrants at the end of Saturday night.
Of course due to not being there in person, I can only judge her drumming from those two videos. From the evidence presented in "Everyday I have the Blues" it's blatantly obvious that she can't swing to save her life.
In "Easy" she does marginally better but still seems unable to get the groove of the tune.
I suspect that she is more a "four to the floor" rock drummer and has had very little exposure to other musical forms (especially blues and jazz). I'd also venture that she hasn't had that much experience at drumming in jam situations.
I'd have to say that at the current time she hasn't got what it takes to cut the mustard. However if she learns from the experience and decides to invest some time really listening to wide variety of musical forms and maybe also finds a good old style jazz drummer to teach her, then she could show some promise.
The problem of "rock drumming" is so prevalent in blues today. Simply because so many drummers don't ever listen to a wide enough variety of musical genres. They also all too often dismiss the jazz drum styles due to them being harder to play to a reasonable degree than standard rock drumming. Which of course leaves a huge gapping hole in their knowledge. The simple truth is that the great rock drummers are also great jazz drummers, simply because they took the time to study the greats before venturing onto their own path. The same is usually true of most great musicians regardless of instrument.
Last Edited by on May 31, 2010 5:59 AM
As requested in the Johnny Sansone thread - Here is Johnny and the band playing "Corn Whiskey"
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Agree with Kingley and Adam. There were a few times when she stuck to a simple rhythm, and managed to pound the 2 and 4 consistently. This is a paramount requirement in blues drumming. There were many other times when she tried to throw in some fancy shit and ended up failing to get back to accenting the 2 and 4 for a few measures, and muddying up the rhythm considerably in the process. She was trying to be too fancy and couldn't pull it off. When she stuck to the basics she was usually OK. The drummer Sunday night however played that "help me" rhythm for 45 minutes straight and never missed a beat. He was tasty and in the pocket for the whole show.
Watch the first Sansone video pharpo posted above - he starts the song and cues her to lead into the downbeat with triplets - she doesn't get it. In fact she doesn't even come in until the middle of the second measure. At about 48 sec in the video is an example of one of her stutter steps that messes up the beat.
Listen to the first 45 sec or so of the Gibson/Deak video. Listen to her symbols. All over the map. Too fancy - and hard to find the beat.
She might be a good rock drummer.
If she was applying for the job in my band she would have lost the opportunity with that audition.
Weighing in on Terry Harmonica Bean. Key of E!!!!!
Got an email from BronxHarp today and he asked me if I got Terry's double CD because he was totally diggin it. I was lucky enough to grab one and listened to it back to back yesterday while cooking for a little party. I couldn't turn it up loud enough. Terry is the real deal and plays so earnestly. I love the straight forward unadulterated blues harmonica and guitar. I hope he gets the recognition due to him and we are lucky enough to have him back next year.
Adam in a rare moment of repose (I think this was during Billy Branch lecture -- just the beginning of a LONG day for Billy which ended in the now-famous 45-minute version of 'Help Me.' I'll never forget that -- ever.)
About the drummer girl : ok, you're right. I was only thinking about what she played on "Easy", which I found pretty cool, but re-listening to her other performances, I agree there are some lackings. And of course, coming late with an uncomplete drum kit is not a good way to start with...
I can't help being fascinated with girls on drums, there must be a psychological explanation somewhere...
Thanks to all for sharing pics/videos/thoughts about this get-together that i and lots of other MBH afficionados couldn´t attend for whatever reasons. Please keep posting! Thank you!
Just a note for those of us who would love to get some time learning with Terry Bean--He's scheduled to be at the week long Centrum Blues Camp in Port Townsend, WA this year. The first week in August.
Phil Wiggins and Hook Herrera are also going to be there--along with several other Acoustic Blues players.
http://www.centrum.org/blues/bl-festival.html
I went last year and I'll be back this year--it is a full 7-day week of flat out learning and jamming late into the night as long as you can stand it. There is instruction and jamming for all levels with some world class players.
One of the evening events is a barbecue--Phil Wiggins is the cook, and he spends most afternoons of the week giving lessons and letting people help prepare the food. I'm a vegetarian--but I don't refuse Phil's barbecue--I ain't crazy!
Terry 'Harmonica' Bean performing at HCH. Hard to say this was a highlight since every damn performance at HCH was a highlight, but Bean's straight-ahead seemingly simple, clear yet unbelievable rhythms and grooves were something of a revelation to me. It's like nothing I've ever heard, and like Adam said earlier in this thread I think (or somewhere in the forum) it's a mystery why this guy's not so much better known in the blues world and beyond.
oldwailer: Say hi to Hook for me. We knew each other back in the austin days. 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. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Here is one from the last evening....this is when things really started to cook !!!
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Last Edited by on May 30, 2010 9:32 PM
Last Edited by on May 30, 2010 9:44 PM
