My fans have always enjoyed my harmonica work. They enjoy it more than me. I've been playing harmonica for a long time but I've never taken it as a serious instrument. It's just always been something to accompany my guitar. I do enjoy playing harmonica and lately have been challenged to do more of it. So I decided to put together this case. It’s necessary to be a next level player.
I had the opportunity to participate in a harmonica Festival. I just never thought of myself as truly a serious harmonica player. Harmonica it's just something that I always had with me.
Learning harmonica is not hard for me. It comes pretty natural, after all I've been doing it for a long time. Never thought about what I was doing.
Sometimes people ask me about different harmonica players and I don't know what to say. I know of their names. Sonny Boy Williams, I've heard the, James Cotton, I've heard the name but it's never studied them or studied their music it's just music that I have heard.
I did have an opportunity to work with a great harmonica player once named Jerry ( Boogie ) McCain. I didn't know at that time that I was actually working with one of the legends in harmonica music. Personally I think Jerry ( Boogie ) McCain was one of the best harmonica players to ever live and under-appreciated. Check out some of his music
I once got a call from a producer in the Muscle Shoals area to play on a record and I was surprised that the producer called me instead of Jerry McCain. I even asked the producer are you sure you want me instead of Jerry McCain and he responded’ “ yeah I need what you do on this record Jerry can't do what you do and you can't do what Jerry does. That was a liberating moment for me and made me understand the difference. As long as I don't compare myself to anyone, it gives me the freedom to be myself and it'll help me to be able to keep playing music.
When I listen to myself play harmonica I do have a style that's different than many harmonica players. I don't know how to explain that difference other than I'm just being myself . Some of it comes from playing alone a lot with myself on guitar. Also have some funk in my background and some jazz in my background. I love both just as much as I do blues. It shows up in my music. I can hear it in the Harmonica stuff.
I'm sitting here now dreading adding to this harp collection. I need to add several more harmonicas because some of mine old are ones are going flat or the reeds are going dead. I recently discovered the Seydel brand and it's a great harmonica but they do cost a lot more. Like right now I'm having to spend nearly $600 just to bring this set up to date. I'll go ahead and bonus myself something I've always wanted, a really nice chromatic harmonica.
The reason I'm able to do some of these things now is because of crowdfunding. I've been moving in that direction for a couple of years slowly and beginning to understand the power that it can have. I don't have a record company. My fans chip in together to help me do a little better I really do look forward to giving them more and more. There’s Much More , Much More Blues to come !