This is Dave Ferguson from South Africa, aka "The Dave Ferguson Groove", "Lonesome Dave Ferguson", or "Dave Ferguson and his Invisible Friends". He apparently learned his thing directly from SoD. Here's him doing his thing down in Cape Town:
Isaac, what a pleasant surprise to pop back on this forum in time to see your message.
Dave Ferguson lives and works in my home town of Cape Town, South Africa - possibly the only professional-level player in town, doing a couple of gigs a week and making a living off it.
Funnily enough, while he adopted his schtick from Son of Dave (he only ever started looping once he had left SoD's turf of London) he's far more of a virtuoso than SoD. While SoD gets by on swing and swagger alone - and bless him for that - Dave Ferguson can play like a hell-bitten son of a bitch. He's a total overblower and overdrawer to boot.
Anyone interested in harp should make sure to see him if they visit Cape Town. There's a small but committed MBH secretariat in that town which would be happy to integrate you.
I don't hang about the forum much at present but my details are muz dot hunter at gmail dot com, should you be planning a trip.
As Elwood said, the man can play... and he's a helluva nice guy to boot (I've cornered him once or twice after a show and peppered him with questions, which he was most gracious about)!
As Elwood said, give us a shout should you find yourself in our neck of the woods, he's worth checking out!
I first met Dave Ferguson, ooh, around 10yrs ago (?), before he got into the 1 man band thing. He was already an excellent harp player & singer, charismatic front man & just plain as nice a guy as you could hope to meet.
And whilst Dave was influenced by SoD, who fully deserves recognition & accolades as a pioneer in that respect, I do kind of think that using a looper as backing was always going to happen to free up a harp player to sing & back themselves...kind of a logical progression. I can certainly see the attraction & freedom it brings.
There's also a guy in Las Vegas, Sidewalk Beggar who's pretty cool too.
Last Edited by on Jan 10, 2011 8:54 AM
@Elwood: Good to hear from you again Murray! I was wondering if/hoping you might pop in on this thread with some more first-hand knowledge of Dave. You and Rikus are lucky to have such a talent in your local area! There's a dig down near Cape Town run by another faculty member in my department, and I keep trying to convince him to take me along. If it ever works out, I'll be most certain to look you guys up!
@captainbliss: I'm glad you dig him! I just found one of his vids in a YouTube search for "looping harmonica", and I was very very impressed and wanted to share!
@5f6H: Yeah, I think you are certainly correct. The looping stuff was always going to happen. What's interesting to see, now that SoD "broke" it into the consciousness of other harp players, is how all the different ways people are now beginning to use it, and all the unique sounds that are getting made! I'll have to see if I can find some videos of Sidewalk Beggar. I was just in Vegas, and it's too bad I didn't come across him while I was there!
Hi all, Just had the privelege of meeting up with Murray in Cape Town and dropping in on a Dave Ferguson show. This guy is fantastic. A charismatic human being and one helluva harp player. Should see a write up and footage on the Harp Surgery shortly - The Good Doctor x www.harpsurgery.com
Last Edited by on Feb 01, 2011 8:58 AM
I posted this a week or so ago but I guess you guys don't really look at my posts much these days and have become bored with Old Oxharps contributions.
---------- Oxharp
Last Edited by on Nov 17, 2011 1:10 PM
