Goin’ To The Church – ‘King King’ Revisited

Posted on May 31, 2011 by The Captain

Came home with her eyes on fire

Dear reader, indulge us in a moment of unadulterated nostalgia, courtesy of our very dear friend, The Riverboat Captain. Bandanas and bullet mics at the ready..

King King was a former Chinese restaurant on the north west corner of 6th and La Brea in Hancock Park. In the early 90s, Monday night regulars The Red Devils staked their claim to be Los Angeles’ biggest bar band, drawing in city bluesheads and celebrity scenesters alike with their raw, straight-ahead juke joint sound. Continue reading →

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Microphone Elements Explained – Part 2

Posted on May 16, 2011 by Greg

It’s been a while, folks, but at last we continue the Harmonica Microphones series with the second part of Greg Heumann’s exposition on microphone elements.

The Harmonica Microphone Series beginsLast time around, we described two kinds of elements used for amplified blues harp – dynamic and crystal elements. So let’s name some of the most sought-after crystal and dynamic elements, and find out how to shop around for them. Continue reading →

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Spring Harmonica Festival 2011 (UK)

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Wilf

NHL Spring Festival 2011

The National Harmonica League (NHL) Spring Festival will take on 7 May 2011 at The Stables Theatre in Wavendon, Milton Keynes, 10am to 5pm, with Jam Session 8.45 to 11pm. Tickets are £26.00 each (£16.00 NHL members)

Once again, we are putting on a day of top quality workshops, with a focus on moving your diatonic harmonica playing to the next level. This year’s workshop leaders will be the virtuosic Lee Sankey, the erudite Richard Taylor, the superbly skilled Joff Watkins, the inspirational Will Greener and the spaciotemporal Con O’Neill. Continue reading →

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Irish Harmonica – Garryowen

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Wilf

Eireann go Brach !

Virtually forgotten in the post-war revival of traditional Irish music, Celtic and folk harmonica has recently enjoyed a massive rise in popularity.

This is largely down to the work of Brendan Power and Mick Kinsella, both of whom joined us at the UK Harmonica Festival in Bristol 2010.

To celebrate St Patrick’s day, let’s investigate the Irish harmonica style a little further and learn a great tune called Garryowen. Continue reading →

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Country Harmonica – First Steps

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Wilf

I’m going up the country, baby do you wanna go?

So you’re a blues harp player and you’ve been asked to cover a country tune. Or perhaps the blues got you started on the harp, but now you want to try something different. Either way, where do you begin? You could try kicking off your shoes, rolling up your britches, wearing a big old cowpoke hat and wedging a tooth pick in your teeth. Not.

The answer is to start by mapping out the essential notes. We can look at technique and learn licks in future posts. But as a blues player, or any kind of player, the place to start is with the Country Scale. Let’s go.. Continue reading →

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That’s All Folks!

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Wilf

Looney Tunes outro on harmonica

Otis has been telling us about a Surf Guitarist he heard busking in the underground walkway under London’s Science Museum. Apparently he was so good, you just wanted to jump in the soup and slide.

Anyway, one detail that caught Otis’s ear was a lick the guitairst added at the end of Secret Agent Man by The Ventures.  It was the familiar outro to Looney Tunes cartoons. He played it as a group of children passed by and it turned heads.

We thought we’d try it on the harmonica and it’s there! You might like to add it to your repertoire. Grab a C major 10 hole diatonic and make out in first position (straight harp). Continue reading →

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It’s Called a Heart – Marli Harwood

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Wilf

Who plays harmonica on It’s Called A Heart?

It was a typical Friday down at the Harp Surgery. A pile of letters in the Good Doctor’s in-tray, a stack of reed plates awaiting attention, a half-finished cup of tea on the desk and the phone ringing off the hook. Suddenly the Doc’s ears pricked up. 

Through the hubbub his attention was drawn to a song on the radio which, unless his senses deceived him, had a subtle hint of harp in the mix. He attacked the volume dial, picked up his tea cup and tapped along with a Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer. Continue reading →

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Amazing Grate – First Steps On Those High End Holes

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Wilf

How strange the sound

Young Malcolm called into the Harp Surgery today, hot on the heels of our Harpin’ By The Sea event. Having witnessed Will Greener’s performance of Amazing Grace, he was keen to revisit the tune from scratch.

Using a C major 10 hole diatonic, we knew that the tune can be played using 7B as the root. But while this avoids any nasty bends, it does sound rather shrill. Also, as a beginner, it demands a strong embouchure and some dexterity around a specific triplet of notes. Continue reading →

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Andy Santana, Gary Smith and Aki Kumar, Poor House Bistro, San Jose, Sat 22.Jan 2011

Posted on February 9, 2011 by Wilf

Slow down chariot, come down easy

Listen up people. The Good Doctor recently dropped into San Francisco for the winter sales, jumped the Caltrain to San Jose and bagged him a bargain. Three for the price of one, plus a surprise bonus.

What are we talking about? Only a one night stand with Andy Santana, Aki Kumar and the legendary Gary Smith, that’s what. Oh, and a Sunday morning helping of Dave Earl.

Now we don’t make this stuff up. As Andy Santana’s band took the stage, the San Jose Sharks fans were busy fuelling up for their scrap with the Minnesota Wild. It was t-shirt weather (in January for crying out loud) and the local brew was tasting just right. Time for a winter feast of west coast blues harmonica. Continue reading →

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Mountain Of Love – Brixton Windmill, London, 18.Feb 2011

Posted on February 7, 2011 by Wilf

Way down below, there’s a half a million people

Otis, the Harp Surgery’s Postman, delivered a lovely letter this morning from our harp friend Piers Marsh, inviting us to see his new band at the Brixton Windmill on 18.Feb 2011. Their name is Mountain Of Love (after Piers’ Alabama 3 pseudonym naturally). We understand Sir Eddie Real of Alabama 3 is also part of the new set up.

We do urge everyone to check out the new grooves. The first MOL album is a work in progress, however you can catch a sneak preview on youtube. MOL has a myspace page, and describes it’s new sound as down-tempo, dub and elctronica. No doubt there will be some harmonica in there somewhere. There is also a Facebook page and a dedicated website in the pipeline. Continue reading →

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