Elmon Mickle aka Model t Slim/driftin slim was a pretty unique harp player/singer IMO. He also did a sweet 1 man band. He rarely gets mentioned but to me is one of my favorites. He is raw, honest, and moves me big time. I know he never really did it full time and held a regular day job most of his life and was rediscoverd in los angeles before he died by pete welding. Here are some videos. Check out his lp that features a tight band and his raw 1 man band sound. check out a dip of snuff and a narrow escape. What a storyteller!
---------- 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
He's pretty cool along with Joe Hill Louis. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
"Shake Your Boogie" has a great sound, but it's also surprisingly derivative--almost an homage to John Lee Williamson, rather than an original statement, at least on the harp. Am I right about that? It's still exceptional playing, better than what 99% of the white boys were capable of doing back then. That first video can't be a one-man band, though, because he's wah-wahing the harp with his hands, and somebody is playing the guitar. He ain't a octopus!
The second video has something special: the groove is that killer dance groove that was the basis for all rock and roll, or at least that's how I hear it. Bang! The man definitely has it.
The third video has a groove that reminds me a lot of the sort of stuff you do, Walter. Am I right about that? It's sort of an uptempo Jimmy Reed groove, which is to say it's a medium shuffle, not too fast.
Thanks for hipping us to this. I had not heard his name before.
Last Edited by on Jul 29, 2010 5:01 PM
None of these videos are as a 1 man band. If you check the link I posted, there are a bunch. He is amazingly primative as 1 man band and then can sound very chicago like smooth with a real band behind him. I find his sound to be very SBW influenced on harp as well. Still his voice and harp combo and the way he puts it all together hits me. Buster Brown is another one of the lesser knowns that influnced me alot.
I agree on the second one!
Thanks for the comparison on the third one. The honest approach he uses is much like wilbert harrison's. Wilbert influenced me a lot via playing with him and Model T via recordings. I wish I could have seen him live. 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
