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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
SPAH Reflections
SPAH Reflections
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HarpNinja
578 posts
Aug 21, 2010
7:18 PM
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1. I am way proud to be a harmonica player in the 21st century. What an AWESOME group of people! Words cannot express how wonderful my experience was with my fellow harp players...including all the "big" names.
2. Overblows were as common as tongue slaps and head shakes.
3. Bart was my favorite harp player there.
4. The "younglings" are legit. I am conflicted by the amount of praise and discussion on their potential. I think this might actually serve to hinder their development at times. I wish they'd be appreciated for what they are now and not what they might become. As easy as it is to pass judgement on to who is "best" or whatever, I am going to bite my tongue.
I will say that Brandon Bailey had a very unique and fresh sound to my ears. He plays very musically, has great taste, and is devoid of ego. I applaud is discipline and drive to be the best person he can be first and foremost. I am truly honored to have spent so much time hanging out with him.
I had never communicated with Jay Gaunt before this trip, but loved his personality and playing from the start. His playing sounds exactly like is personality. It was like hanging out with a little brother or something. Spending time with him will keep you young and inspire you to woodshed!!!
5. Todd Parrott is my hero. I probably drove him nuts with questions, but his playing is just so different from what I heard other guys doing that I couldn't resist. I was the same way around Jim Conway. Wow, wow, wow. Also, FANTASTIC human beings. Todd is a bit notey (not a bad thing at all), which is really a trend in guys around our age and younger, but his approach is different from the Ricci school. The patterns he uses are just different. His inflection on the instrument too. Much like Jim, it just floors me since I can't figure it out easily. Brendan has that wow-factor for me too. He's fast, percise, and aggressive, but again, you don't hear other guys who sound like that.
6. Steve Baker is like the Miles Davis of harmonica.
7. Buckweed was the most popular musician at a harp convention...and he should have been!
8. It is way hard to perform on stage in front of harp players. Even my guitar player commented on how different I sounded compared to our other shows. It was weird...I wasn't worried about being judged so much as I just wanted to not screw up out of respect for the instrument. I rarely get nervous - almost never to the point of it having a negative impact - but at SPAH I totally did. I was really careful. However, at the jams, jam circles, and teach-ins, it was much easier to let caution go and experiment. Whether it was playing a Low D harp in an awkward position or trying to pull off unfamiliar licks, I never felt like I was going to get slammed or laughed at, lol.
9. Everyone...and I mean everyone, has holes in their playing. It was interesting to see who could handle that and who couldn't. Some guys used it as a learning experience and some just got angry and walked away.
10a. I wasn't going to buy any harps, but Suzuki and Seydel impressed me so much by their people and contributions that I did. I got a Bb Manji. I had a Low F before and it never felt right. However, I tried several keys including two customized versions and I want more than anything to make it work. I also got a gorgeous Soloist Pro in Low C...the 12 hole one. I have no idea if it will ever get played live, but my son already loves my crappy version of Another Man Done Gone. Daron at Suzuki and I hit it off and chatted quite a bit. Andy Just and Ronnie Shellist were also very easy to chat with! What a trip chatting with Winslow Yerxa, Rupert Oysler, and PT Gazell too!
10b. Manji can make great harps for overbends. I have my gigging harps pretty well set/set up and will spend my "customizing" time on try to get a few Manji to match my demands. Suzuki should consider doing a "custom" shop type thing like you see Fender guitars doing. But maybe they already do??? I have a soft spot for Suzuki as they were my first full set of harps and I had learned to play on them. It wasn't until I learned to OB that I started playing Hohners and before I could set up a harp, I would buy any new model they had to see if they would work for me.
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I am going to stop there. I have lots more I want to write, but I am already leaving people out. Joe Leone, Clint Hoover, Greg Heumann, Rob Paparozzi, Randy Singer, Dave Payne, RJ Mischo, Alex Paclin, Rosco, Chris Michalek, Joe Filisko, Paul Davies, Bob Cohen, Warren B, Michael Peloquin, Jimi Lee...all just a total joy to have spent time with. That's just the "name" players too. There were so many more like Rich, Dennis, Joe, Dave, etc. I had a blast hanging out with (leaving last names off incase they don't want the attention). I feel bad since I know I am forgetting names I want to mention. I am usually really intimidated by being on my own at large social gatherings...I do better with kids or behind a mike, but I got over that in the first hour.
Finally, I had the chance to work a few times with Buzz Krantz. What an asset to the community. Not only is he a total riot, he truly wants to see every harp player flourish. I am very lucky, as is the harp world, to have him as a friend!
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Mike
Last Edited by on Aug 21, 2010 9:23 PM
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Joch230
294 posts
Aug 21, 2010
9:47 PM
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Wow Mike, I can't believe how similar your thoughts are to mine. Bart Leczycki being your favorite player...Ronnie Shellist told me that after Bart's set, he was so moved that he actually broke into tears. His playing really touched him. What a player.
Todd Parrot is my hero too. He let me shadow him around a lot and by doing that, I got to meet a lot more of the top players. Everyone seemed to migrate towards him, especially when he played. He showed me how to bend an overblow up and a few other neat things as well.
Steve Baker and Rob Paparozzi were two players that I had heard of but had no idea how good they really were. I was at one teaching table sitting between Rob and Dennis Gruenling! And Jay was there at the same table too...what fun!
Buckweed (Jason's former bass player) WAS the star of the show. Him and Rob Paparozzi did a super fun version of the elepant walk with Buckweed on the sousaphone and Rob on the harp. He was very approachable and fun to talk to.
I got my two new Buddha harps. They are great as one would expect. But I was also impressed like you were with the Manji's and the Suzuki guys. I got a Low F, and was so impressed that I later grabbed an Ab and a C since they were only $38 at the show.
I also had a nice talk with Buzz Krantz. When he announced his friend Chris/Buddha at the blow-off, he mentioned what a great player he was and that he was known to be "cantankerous"! Had to chuckle at that one. While mentioning Chris I have to note what a skilled teacher he was. To teach in this type of situation, not one-on-one but in a group, you have to also be skilled at getting some people (like me) to relax enough to learn the lesson. He also was known to back some of the more advanced players into a corner a bit to get the lesson across...which Mike also got to experience. I also met the young girl Chris talked about in the other post named Kaleena Hutchins. She played a wonderful version of Orange blossom Special for me, Todd Parrot and Ronnie Shellist. A very sweet girl that just started bawling while putting emotion into her playing while being instructed by Chris.
I too met so many of other fun people but this is already a bit long winded so I'll end it here.
-John
Last Edited by on Aug 22, 2010 8:03 AM
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Todd Parrott
172 posts
Aug 23, 2010
2:22 PM
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Mike: You are an awesome guy also, and a great player. I enjoyed your band and talking with you.
John: You are an extremely nice guy as well. I'll be glad to help you anytime.
I hope both of you make it to SPAH next year in VA!
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