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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Ever been in the right place at the right time?
Ever been in the right place at the right time?
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toddlgreene
2317 posts
Dec 27, 2010
11:26 AM
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As many of you are aware, Jason Ricci is now hanging his hat and making his musical mark here in New Orleans. He's been here for a month or so now, and has picked up some great gigs. Unfortunately, with my work schedule, band and family obligations, I haven't seen him play since his arrival here.
One of his steady gigs has been with Major Bacon, which is essentially Pat Ramsey's final band with a different drummer:Dave Renson on guitar and Eloise Davis on Bass, together as they were in PR's band until his untimely death.
They play at a neighborhood bar called Banks Street Bar every Wednesday, and hand out free BLT sandwiches. No cover, either. So, this past Wednesday, my leading lady and I decided to do a rare night out on a weekday, as I was off the next several days for my Christmas holiday. I grabbed my harp case just in case Eloise(whom I have played with before)called me up. Well, we get there and I see the drummer setting up his kit, and Dave Renson wiring up some mics. Eloise rolled in, and we had our hellos. No Jason, and it was showtime. I walked up to Eloise and asked if he was running late, and she told me he couldn't make it due to a ganglion cyst in his wrist. She asked, 'Got your harps with you?' 'As I matter of fact, I do...be right back'. I went out to my car and grabbed my case. When I came back, I walked up to the stage, and Dave Renson offered me a handshake and said that Eloise told him I could play, and that was good enough for him! So, I had none of my mics or even an amp-not even my Harp Attack-but I grabbed an SM58, traced it back to the board and clipped the highs and mids back, and I was off and running! Damn, Dave Renson is one bad mofo-I had no idea! I played the whole first set with them. It was a blast. Several times, Dave and I would trade licks back and forth, and I guess I was doing okay, because his stone cold expression gave way to a grin and full-blown smile a few times.
Afterwards, we talked for quite a while, and he asked me, 'Ever listen to any Pat Ramsey?' . I said yes, but just on Youtube. He said, 'hang on', and walked back to the stage, and returned with a live CD of Pat Ramsey and him. Wow! I was totally blown away by how this evening turned out. Still haven't seen Jason as a New Orleanian, but I got to play a set with Pat Ramsey's band(essentially), made a new friend or two, and got a great cd to boot.
Any of you ever find yourselves in the right place at the right time?
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Dec 27, 2010 11:40 AM
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harpdude61
574 posts
Dec 27, 2010
11:46 AM
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Go Todd!
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eharp
1034 posts
Dec 27, 2010
11:54 AM
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yea, yea, yea. you played with pat ramsey's old band. i guess that's cool.
but i wanna know how the BLT's were!
i guess you'll be going there more on wednesday, huh?
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toddlgreene
2318 posts
Dec 27, 2010
11:57 AM
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haha...Well, the bacon is well-done enough for my Jewish friend Harvey to deem it Kosher...actually he says it's cooked well enough that it's not longer pork-but carbon. But, a free sammich is a free sammich!
It's hard for me to get out on a Wednesday, and they don't crank up til 10-ish...otherwise I'd go often, and be quite content in just watching and listening.
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
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nacoran
3497 posts
Dec 27, 2010
12:03 PM
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No. :( I'm usually a day late and a dollar short. Glad it worked out for you though. :)
:)
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Nate
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jawbone
367 posts
Dec 27, 2010
12:05 PM
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Waddago Toddle!!! and free sammiches!!! eharp is packing as I type!!!
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If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
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mmukav
6 posts
Dec 27, 2010
1:20 PM
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That's a great story, thanks Todd!
Right place at the right time. I gotta learn that tune!
Thanks for introducing me to Pat Ramsey also. I hadn't heard his music before.
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toddlgreene
2328 posts
Dec 27, 2010
1:24 PM
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Pat Ramsey was a brilliant player. Did lots of what I can best explain as 'triplet rolls', which come off as very fast runs. Without harp in hand, I'm guessing:blow/draw on a hole, then slide down one and draw. I might be way off with that;I'll grab a harp at home and edit this if someone doesn't correct me beforehand.
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Dec 27, 2010 1:31 PM
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pharpo
502 posts
Dec 27, 2010
1:42 PM
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Sounds like an awesome night Todd I can imagine how stoked you were.....A similar thing happened to me ...although it was just a "local celebrity". I used to sneak into a joint when I was 16 to see this guy and his band...They were the best Rock and Blues band in the area....Over the years he made a ton of albums that sold well locally. Recently I got to meet him at a friends Club (open mic) and sat in on a couple of tunes. A couple of months later I went to one of his gigs....and during the first break he came up to me and asked me if I had my harps with me. (I always have 'em)...... I was two feet off the ground !!!
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Procrastinator Emeritus
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toddlgreene
2330 posts
Dec 27, 2010
1:47 PM
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Good story, pharpo...sometimes the ol' ego needs a little fix-a-flat!
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
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tookatooka
1991 posts
Dec 27, 2010
1:48 PM
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Yeah! I was laying out the wiring and sorting the monitors out ready for the biggest Stones Concert that Wembley had ever seen. Keith (yeah! that one) sauntered over to me, bottle in one hand, spliff rolling about between his lips, and said, "Listen Tooks, it's getting late and Mick ain't gonna make it, did ya bring your harps with ya?". "Well you know me Keith, Ole Tooka don't go anywhere without his harps".
"Good", he said, "do you reckon you could use 'em to prop the corner of my amp up only one of the castors came off in the truck"."Oh! Look, Mick's just turned up".
Yeah! Todd. Been there, done that. Next.
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toddlgreene
2332 posts
Dec 27, 2010
1:54 PM
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haha....
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
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tmf714
401 posts
Dec 27, 2010
3:10 PM
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Yes-the Towne Crier in Pawling ,N.Y.-before I met Dennis Gruenling-still lip pursing-around 1995-I had a front row seat for James Cotton-small venue,around 150 people. I knew most of the songs,and was deep into my "Cotton" phase at the time. I was singing along,bopping away in my seat,when James hled out his harp and mic for me to play-I stood up and jammed away with Rico McFarland,Bob Margolin,and Dave Maxwell for a good 24 bars or so. Afterwards,people asked if it was pre-planned-I said no,I had no idea James was going to do that-there was some good applause,so i guess they really dug it. I have never seen James do this live with anyone else-I have seen him many times since-but he has never done that since that one night. When I asked him how he knew I played harp he said "I just knew you was a harp player man-I knew it." If I never get to play another note,I will die a happy man-
Tom Fiacco.
Last Edited by on Dec 27, 2010 3:11 PM
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Miles Dewar
573 posts
Dec 27, 2010
4:15 PM
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Nice cotton story.
@ChickenThief, The Real "Badass" Food is up here in Chicago.
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---Go Chicago Bears!!!---
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Joe_L
947 posts
Dec 27, 2010
9:20 PM
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I'm in the right place at the right time quite often.
Unfortunately, I've also been in the right place at the right time several times without any harmonicas. I've had a lot of great opportunities and several missed great opportunities.
Be thankful for those moments when the stars align. They don't come along everyday.
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toddlgreene
2337 posts
Dec 28, 2010
5:17 AM
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Good story, Tom. Wait-did you play HIS harp, too?
You're right, Joe. I've been in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion, too. And I've had as many missed opportunities, if not more! I think the closest I can come to Tom's story is when Lee Oskar came down here for JazzFest last year and told me I was 'very good' after I finished playing onstage with him at a late night showcase/jam session in the Marigny. I don't think I was quite as elated as Boris was in that video with Howard Levy(which is just plain awesome, by the way), but it definitely made staying out on Frenchman Street until 3 a.m. worth it.
If you're out watching some great blues(or whatever you're into), bring your harps, and if the moment feels right, make yourself known, but not obnoxious. And if you get a chance to play, go for it.
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Todd L. Greene, Codger-in-training
Last Edited by on Dec 28, 2010 5:23 AM
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tmf714
402 posts
Dec 28, 2010
5:55 AM
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Yes-I played Cottons harp too-it was a Marine Band that played smooth as butter.
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Johnny Charles
16 posts
Dec 28, 2010
6:37 AM
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I used to work in a club in south Florida called the Musician's Exchange and they brought in great blues acts all the time. I got to hang with my heroes downstairs a lot. One night in particular, when Jr. Wells was doing his "walk through the audience" I happened to be sitting at the bar in his path. He was wailing on his harp and the crowd was just going nuts. Already knowing my A harp was the right key for the song he was playing, my heart pumped in anticipation of what I wanted to do. As Jr. approached I held my harmonica on my lap and silently showed it to him and smiled. He looked at me from underneath his derby and then smiled back at me and handed me his mic. I played a lengthy solo (Jr's encouragement) from my seat no less and then handed the mic back to Jr. He picked up where he left off and strolled away.
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