Harmonica 101

Rick "Biggie Smalls" Wolfe Photo Tribute

2007-11-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

Rick Wolfe aka Biggie Smalls was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He has been a great friend to the Knoxville music community and the bass player to several local bands including The Macdaddies and Crawdaddy. This is a sample of some photos that have been taken of Rick the past 15 years. Keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
peace, mc

Meltdown 2007

2007-02-05T20:25:00.000-08:00

Harmonica 101 is Live at 5,WBIR

2006-08-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Two new students take on some serious harp lessons on Monday's show!!

I'm paying the LIVE AT 5 folks a visit on Monday August 21st (WBIR-TV Channel 10). It seems someone down there is in need of harmonica lessons. I've been asked to show Russell and Beth some fundamentals in the art of harp playing. Sounds like a fun time. Try to tune in.......MC

Hard Knox Blues Bash

2006-06-03T20:12:00.000-07:00

Inaugural bash puts blues fans in happy place

By CHANDRA HARRIS, harrisc@knews.com
June 2, 2006

After some hard knocks, the first Hard Knox Blues Bash will take place Saturday from 2-10 p.m. on Market Square.

Until now, the free blues festival has been nothing more than a string of melodies playing in Michael Gill's head since 2000.

Call him a blues crusader: Gill, the organizer of the bash, which will benefit children with disabilities through The Heartsong Center for Accessible Music & Art, said he wants to take the blue out of the blues.

"Blues is often thought of as sad music," he said, "and that just isn't the whole story of the blues."

Telling that story will be Nashvillians Stacy Mitchhart & Blues U Can Use and Texans Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy.

The sounds of Mitchhart's guitar and voice (along with his seven-piece band) hold down Nashville's Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar when he isn't touring.

Mitchhart will bring a taste of his sultriness to Knoxville when the music begins at 5 p.m.

Mitchhart, who dresses to the nines, said: "I don't want to be considered a blues artist, but as an artist that is blues-based. I do my own stuff - jazz, Latin, rock - all influenced by R&B and gospel."

Similar to Mitchhart, Diunna Greenleaf & Blue Mercy don't want to be isolated into the blues box, but rather, "we let the people decide who or what we sound like," said Greenleaf.

Born to gospel-singing parents, Greenleaf said the family legacy must have "seeped down in me."

The military veteran and one-time college counselor gave up her higher-education post nearly two years ago to pursue singing full time.

Growing up, Greenleaf said, she was surrounded by the likes of music legends Johnnie Taylor and Sam Cooke "because my dad was a vocal coach, and he trained some of the best in the gospel music industry."

Not formally trained, Greenleaf, dubbed the "siren of the blues," learned from the best - her family.

"I simply don't want the legacy to die," she said.

Greenleaf's mixture of jazz, gospel and svelte soul will take center stage during the bash.

Also taking to the stage will be Knoxville's own Jenna &The Joneses, along with Hard Knox Blues Harp Summit, which includes harmonica players Michael Crawley and Henry Perry. Other performances will include the "Hard Knox Blues All-Stars," who will be representing local blues bands.

Along with food vendors and educational tents, the festival will include a display of all things blues in Knoxville, including a tribute to Knoxville's Blues Hall of Fame legends.

Dylan bash "Forever Young"

2006-05-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

Forever Young-Bob Dylan's birthday bash

May, 24 2006 at East Tennessee Historical Society Downtown, Knoxville, TN 37901 Cost: 10.00

A concert celebrating Bob Dylan's birthday, Wednesday, May 24th at the
East Tennessee History Center Auditorium, 601 Gay Street, corner of Clinch and Gay, directly across from the Tennessee Theater. Concert starts at
7:30 p.m. and benefits cultural programming at the Knox County Public Library. This year's event features
Maggie Longmire and Free Soil Farm,
Slow Blind Hill,
Will Horton w/ Cooper Hardisson,
Band of Humans
Steve Horton and Y'uns,
and Jack Rentfro, emcee,
all performing Bob Dylan
songs.

Maggie's band includes Jay Manneschmidt and Chris McMahon.
Y'uns Danny Gammon on fiddle, Don Cassell-mandolin, David Lovett-banjo, Stan Turner-bass, and special guest,Nancy Brennan Strange

Band of Humans ...... are, Phil Pollard: Matt Morelock: Rachel Parton: David Nichols: Kyle Campbell: Chris Zuhr: Geol Greenlee: Robert Richards: Jon Whitlock: Eric Hullander with special guest Michael Crawley

See them big plantations burning

Hear the cracking of the whips

Smell that sweet magnolia blooming

(And) see the ghosts of slavery ships

I can hear them tribes a-moaning

(I can) hear the undertaker's bell

(Yeah), nobody can sing the blues

Like Blind Willie McTell....

zim...1983

Big River

2006-04-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

The Pit Crew

Step back in time with Roger Miller's adaptation of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn. Come ride down (the big muddy) river with all the great and crazy characters and sing along to the great musical score. Watch this award winning play transform in front of your very eyes.

The play runs from Friday April 13th through Sunday the 30th. Bring the family and relive this great piece of Americana. Directed by the talented Casey Sams and multi-talented musical director Terry Silver Alford. It's an incredible local effort that features the likes of Phil Pollard (Band of Humans) on Drums, Dave Peeples (Robinella and the CC string band) and Josh Marcum on Bass, (sir) Lawrence "of leisure" Hoffman on the Clarinet, Brian Loy on guitar, Brian Sward on Mandolin and Guitar, Beth Warren on Violin/fiddle, Mike Spirko on Trumpet and Nathan Malone on Trombone along w/ me on the Mississippi Sax (harmonica). Vince Illagan, Jon Whitlock will also be making brief appearances
Local talent that needs to be seen and heard by all . Hope to see ya... peace, mc

a brief review

The Overture sets the scene: the sound of a harmonica quickly joined with a guitar transports us to pre-Civil War Missourah. The rhythms convey the turbulance of the water ahead, and it comes to a conclusion on an uplifting note — forshadowing the nature of our story. [edit] Act One "Sometimes it seemed like the whole blame town of St. Petersburg was telling me who I should be." Huck was right. Between the "Widder" Douglas and Miss Watson, Judge Thatcher, and even his best friend Tom Sawyer, everyone has their opinion about how Huck should comport himself. Do You Wanna Go to Heaven? they inquire. "You better learn your readin' and you better read your Bible or you'll never get to Heaven 'cause you won't know how." Exasperated with the constraints on his daily life, Huck escapes his bedtime and steals to the hideout of his best friend, Tom. In the cave, The Boys sing of all the escapades they'll perpetrate on their way to "the bad place." Huck returns home in the darkness and tells us that he is Waiting for the Light to Shine. He finds his Pap waiting for him, who drags him off to his cabin in the woods. In his drunkenness, Pap swings from tomfoolery to extreme violence as he rails against a Guv'ment that would take his son from him. He attempts to take Huck's life, and passes out in an inebriated mess. Huck, realizing his chance to escape, kills a pig and scatters the blood and gore around the cabin in an effort to make it appear as if he's been murdered. Huck is being quickly forced to grow up, while Tom sings Hand For the Hog — a typical Roger Miller tune — in every attempt to remain a kid. Alone on Jackson's Island, Huck asserts his self-assurance: "I, Huckleberry, Me, do hereby declare myself to be nothin' ever other than exactly what I am." But, perhaps Huck isn't alone. Miss Watson's slave, Jim, is there as well. He has run away to avoid being "sold down the River" to New Orleans. Growing up faster by the second, Huck offers to help Jim reach freedom in the North. A posse is after Jim: with only moments to spare, they find a raft and get it afloat in the Muddy Water of the Mighty Mississip. Jim and Huck travel only at night and don't get far from Jackson's Island before they are reminded of the seriousness of their actions: a boat carrying runaway slaves back to their masters passes them in the night. The fugitives don't move a muscle as they hear the slaves sing of The Crossing, of moving away from — not toward — freedom. The days are long as they forge their way down the river. They narrowly escape capture and a collision with a steamboat, and, in a fog, sail past the mouth of the Ohio — their path to freedom. Oblivious, they sing of the beauty of the River In the Rain — one of the most memorable moments of the show — under a canopy of stars. As they finish their paean to the beauty of the River, they are set upon by the King and the Duke — two con artists who commandeer the small raft as they escape the latest mob on their tail. For many of the same reasons Huck is drawn to Tom, he is intrigued by the delinquents in his midst. The "royals" sing of what happens When the Sun Goes Down in the South, while Jim pines away for his Muddy Water as the curtain falls. [edit] Act Two Huck, the Duke, and the King have embarked upon their first sham. They have washed ashore in Bricktown, Arkansas, and attempt to fleece the rubes they find. The Duke regales them of the evening's entertainment: The Royal Nonesuch, a human oddity. By the end of the evening, Huck can appreciate a new way of life — the three are now several hundred dollars richer. When he returns to the raft, he plays a horrible trick on Jim by assuming the guise of a slave hunter. Unamused, Jim rebukes Huck for the first time. After some thought, Huck realizes that Jim, though a slave, is still a human being and deserving of an apology. They realize that for all of their friendship, they are still Worlds Apart. The King and Duke never allow Huck to fully re-enter his humanistic world, and they reappear to dragoon Huck into their next escapade. While Jim is, again, left alone with the raft, the three encounter a Young Fool on a dock, singing of his love of Arkansas. Through no fault of his own, he tells the con men everything they need to know about a fortune to be inherited in the Wilkes family, and as Arkansas segues into How Blest We Are, the criminals enter the funeral and go about securing their riches. Huck — through it all a pure soul — sees that the beautiful and innocent Mary Jane Wilkes is being robbed of her rightful inheritance by these "rapscallions", and steals her money from the King and the Duke. He quickly stuffs the gold into her father's coffin and hides behind it to avoid notice. She tells her dead father, "If you think it's lonesome where you are tonight, You Oughta Be Here with Me." When Mary Jane realizes what Huck has done, she asks that her remain with her and become her friend. For the first time in his life, he is moved by the actions of another, yet he realizes that he has made a promise to Jim: one that transcends mere friendship. Center stage, caught halfway between Mary Jane and Jim, the three come to understand that Leavin's Not the Only Way to Go. Huck returns again to the raft and finds the Duke tarred and feathered: he has sold Jim back into slavery for a mere forty dollars. Feeling guilty about what he has done, Huck pens a letter to Miss Watson, telling her where she can find the runaway Jim. After a momentary reprieve, Huck ends up feeling worse than ever. He tears up the letter and delivers one of the classic lines of American Literature: "All right, then, I'll go to hell!" He resolves to free Jim, again, expressing himself in an uptempo reprise of Waitin' for the Light to Shine. After a series of plot turns, Tom shows up and decides to help Huck free Jim from his captors. They find him imprisoned in a tiny cell, and work quickly to free him. Huck and Tom get him out of the cell, and Jim declares that he is Free at Last, though conveying the knowledge that he understands that this may never truly be the case. At the end of the play, Jim has decided to continue his trek to the North that he may buy his family out of slavery and Huck decides to move out West to escape any attempts to "civilize" him, they sit for a moment at the banks of the River. They recall their adventures together, and reflect, again, on the River in the Rain. Jim leaves Huck alone for the last time, and Huck decides, "It was like the fortune Jim predicted long ago: considerable trouble and considerable joy."

Bletner speaks out

2006-03-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

Yet another Harmonica101 alumni makes the news. This time it's Jim Bletner. Not only did Jim make the front page, but he is also above the fold.

'Family' tweak urged

MPC asked to narrow zoning codes on single-family homes

By HAYES HICKMAN, hickman@knews.com
March 22, 2006

You haven't heard it all until your 92-year-old neighbor calls in the middle of the night to complain about the marijuana she can smell wafting from the rowdy party next door, said Sequoyah Hills homeowner Jim Bletner.

His example was only one of many at a workshop Tuesday night to consider amending local zoning codes to more narrowly define "a family."

FULL STORY (Click tittle above)

The Bluecast

2006-03-13T21:00:00.000-08:00

Blue Barry

Check this local Knoxville cat and his latest instructional webcast on iTunes

http://www.leeoskar.com/index.html

Hey, it's the Bluzman gone big-time... Great stuff bro... keep on harpin'

..... peace, mc

Dadland updates

2006-02-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

This is the latest "goins on" in the world of the Macdaddies, DetroitDaddies,Talldaddy, Harmonica 101 and my favorite Idol contestant.

Tall Paul and Crawdaddy are currently being featured on
JIMMYDREAMZ.COM
http://radio.jimmydreamz.com/music.html

The DetoitDaddies are playing at Corky's 2 to 3 times a month.
Check local listings http://www.metropulse.com/index.shtml

The Macdaddies will be at The Shed in Maryville on April 8th, 2006. http://www.smokymountainh-d.com/

Harmonica 101 class will be starting again in May at UTK. http://www.outreach.utk.edu/ppd/Spring06/Courses/music.asp

And, I will be performing in my first play at The Clarence Brown Theatre in April.
http://theatre.utk.edu/cbtindex.html

Big River, The Adventures of Huck Finn
April 13 - 30, 2006 Based on the novel by Mark Twain * Music by Roger Miller * Directed by Casey Sams Prepare to get swept down the mighty Mississippi with Huck Finn and friends in this delightful musical featuring an award winning score from Roger Miller. A celebration of pure Americana!

Click on the link and you can see the American Idol contestant, Taylor Hicks, play the blues harp:
http://kramez.com/2006/02/16/taylor-acceptance-clip/

click this

2006-02-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

our security and

It's official!! We have finished the first of what we hope to be many projects together. Not to bore ya with the details, but we are very happy with the end result. Click above for more details.We are having a CD release party at Paul's Oasis on Kingston Pike in the Suburban shopping center on Feb. 18.
C-ya..... PEACE ,MC

Chalk it up

2006-01-18T13:41:00.000-08:00

Hey now, the first TALL PAUL & Crawdaddy disc is all but ready for your listening pleasure. TP and I (along with a cast of many) have worked tirelessly to put our first live disc out and it looks like it will be good to go next week. Details on a CD release party will be posted when we return for Manassas mid-winter meltdown ... http://www.piratesofthepotomac.com/
http://www.parrothead.org/

Thanks to all involved in the process especially TP for the countless computer hours he logged in and to my good friend Mark " MOS" Mosrie for the awesome photos.....we'll keep you posted on how to collect your swag, peace,mc

Barry Cowsill's at peace

2006-01-10T00:55:00.000-08:00

An old Santa Barbara friend's bones were recovered recently in a New Orleans morgue. After months of searching and wondering, Barry Cowsill's remains were identified.
I met Barry in SB in the 80's. I sat in with him a few times (on Harmonica) at a couple of gigs in Montecito and Santa Barbara before he picked up and moved on. A great singer and a seasoned guitar player, but most of all a kind soul and kindred spirit. He will be missed by many.
peace, mc

Missing Teen Idol Found DeadFri Jan 6, 7:00 AM
Barry Cowsill, as one grieving family member put it, is "safe."

The months-long search for the missing musician, who achieved teen idol status in the late 1960s as a member of the Partridge Family-inspiring pop act the Cowsills, ended Wednesday with a call from morgue officials in New Orleans. Cowsill's skeletal remains were found in a face down position under a wharf in storm-ravaged New Orleans on Dec. 28, another brother, Bob Cowsill, said Friday. A total of 1,100 bodies have been recovered in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina swamped the city on Aug. 29, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals announced Wednesday. It was not known how or when Cowsill died, Bob Cowsill said, adding that the skeletal remains suggest to the family that he perished in the immediate aftermath of Katrina. Cowsill, who'd moved to New Orleans only months before Katrina, was last definitively heard from in a voice message left on his sister Susan's cell phone, and retrieved shortly after the hurricane hit. In it, he said he'd seen looting, and asked for help. "I don't know how he reacted to the situation he got himself in," Bob Cowsill said. "Of all of us, he was probably the least mentally equipped to handle [it]." Cowsill, who would have turned 51 on Sept. 14, was due to fly to Los Angeles on Aug. 29 to check himself into rehab for alcohol abuse. Bob Cowsill said he'd worked hard to convince his younger brother to agree to the flight--and the treatment plan. "He was so close to getting it together, and, gee whiz, this dumb hurricane just got in the way," Bob Cowsill said. "It's just amazing to me." Barry and Bob Cowsill weren't just brothers; they were bandmates, too. At the height of their career, the Cowsills consisted of siblings Barry, Bob, Billy, John, Paul, Susan and their mother Barbara. Barry Cowsill was the bassist. The group's harmonizing hits included "Hair" and "The Rain, the Park and Other Things." The Cowsills served as fodder for the 1970-74 sitcom The Partridge Family, about a six-member family band--three brothers, two sisters, one mom. Barbara Cowsill died in 1985. With Barry Cowsill's death confirmed, and the four-month-long mystery surrounding his whereabouts solved, Bob Cowsill said the coping process begins anew. "It's awful again because you're dealing with fact," Bob Cowsill said. "As long as you didn't hear, you could create other scenarios that were possible also."
FROM THE LATIMES.COM
Barry Cowsill, 51; Pop Group Member an Apparent Katrina Victim
By Dennis McLellan, Times Staff Writer
Barry Cowsill, part of the famous 1960s pop singing family the Cowsills who had been missing since Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, was found dead on a city wharf. He was 51.Cowsill's body was discovered Dec. 28 on the Chartres Street Wharf but was not identified with dental records until Tuesday, according to Dr. Louis Cataldie, head of the state hurricane morgue in Carville. The cause of death has not been determined, but it is believed to have been related to Katrina.
Cowsill, a New Orleans resident, had left a message on his sister Susan's answering machine after the hurricane hit Aug. 29: "I don't know how to get out of town except wait for a bus … I've been so … lonely … I hope I get in touch with you."He had not been heard from since."They tell us he'd been dead for quite some time," brother Richard Cowsill told the Associated Press on Thursday. "We love him and we're going to miss him, but he's in a much better place, in my mother's arms." (Barbara Cowsill died in 1985 at age 56.) Inspired by the Beatles, Barry and three of his brothers — Bill, Bob and John — formed the Cowsills band in 1965. With Bill on guitar, Bob on guitar and organ, Barry on bass and John on drums, they played at school dances and churches in their hometown, Newport, R.I.While they were performing at a local hotel, someone from the "Today" show saw them. Their TV appearance, in turn, led to a recording contract.The four brothers were later joined by their mother and younger siblings Susan and Paul.Billed as "America's First Family of Music," the photogenic group was frequent fodder for the pages of 16 and Tiger Beat magazines, and they inspired the TV series "The Partridge Family." They reportedly turned down the opportunity to do the show themselves when producers rejected their mother in favor of actress Shirley Jones.Known for their sweet harmonies and bouncy rhythms, the Cowsills recorded a number of hit songs from 1967 to 1970, including "We Can Fly," "Indian Lake" and their biggest hit, "The Rain, the Park and Other Things," which reached No. 2 on the pop charts in 1967 and sold more than a million copies. They also had a No. 2 hit in 1969 with their version of the title song from the rock musical "Hair."The Cowsills made frequent guest appearances on television variety shows and sang the theme song for the TV show "Love American Style." They also served as spokespersons for the American Dairy Assn. and appeared in milk ads and commercials.The family group broke up in the early 1970s. Since then, Barry Cowsill had reportedly battled substance abuse problems. In 1998, he released the solo album "As Is."In addition to his siblings, he is survived by two daughters and a son.Richard Cowsill told the AP that no memorial service was planned and that his brother would be cremated."He always said: 'When I leave this place, you better party.' And that's what we're planning to do," he said.

"sonny boy..sonny boy yo da king of the blues"

2005-12-26T21:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.furious.com/perfect/sonnyboy.html
http://www.island.net/~blues/sonny_bo.html

Born Dec 5, 1899, lower Tallahatchie County near Glendora, MS, Died May 25, 1965, Helena, AK.
He claimed to fans and blues researchers that he was the original Sonny Boy (John Lee Williamson) who came from Jackson, Tennessee and recorded for Bluebird and later RCA Victor until his untimely death at the hands of an assailant on a Chicago street in the late 1940's.
But according to his sister, Mary Ashford of Tutwiler, his real name was Alex "Rice" Miller.
"He was born a Miller and his father's name was Miller" she says of her musician brother who died in the 1960's in Helena. "He was born a Miller on the Sara Jones Plantation near Glendora. He had some brothers but they are all dead. He had two sisters; me and Julie Barner. She lives in Tutwiler today."
Ms. Ashford says Sonny Boy II "took it up (harmonica and music) himself. He didn't have no teacher at all. His real name was Alex Miller; we all called him "Rice." We give him that name when he was a baby. We called him that. He didn't like being called Rice but that's what we started calling him."
"We children named him that (Rice) and other people growing up 'round us called him that too" Ms. Ashford says. "He wasn't named no Willie at all" referring to a name some blues authorities thought was his real first name.
By the early 1930's Rice Miller was roaming from place to place playing music. "He was off from here (the Delta) in 1933 when daddy died," she says. "It was a year or so before we ever saw him. We couldn't get up no way with him or know where he was when daddy passed."
But Rice Miller's playing didn't bother his father: "Daddy didn't care if he played music or not," unlike Robert Johnson's stepfather Dusty Saunders who reportedly whipped Robert for not working in the cottonfields." But no one else in the family didn't blow no harp at all. All he played was just that old harp (harmonica)."
By his teenage years, Alex was singing the blues with his harp accompaniment. "He did sing church songs sometimes but I never heard him preach. I never knew him to drink much when he was young and live out near Shell Mound" (a community in Tallahatchie County near Glendora.)
"He married quite young; he and his wife seperated. Her name was Marget. He didn't have no children by that woman."
Ms. Ashford shunned blues music and the blues. "He'd come to where I was living (the town) and I would hear about it, but I wouldn't go and see him none. I don't care for the blues."
Sonny Boy (Rice Miller) died in 1965. He made one last trip to England in the mid 1960's where he told blues researchers he was the real Sonny Boy Williamson, a facade he carried on for more than 20 years.
"When he left he wouldn't tell where he was going; he'd just leave," according to Ms. Ashford who was a sister to one of blues legendary figures.
Note: This interview with Ms. Ashford was held in 1972 at Tutwiler Mississippi. Julia Barner, 95, and Mary ashford, 89, died in a fire in Tutwiler, MS on October 11, 1995 as reported in Living Blues magazine.
Copyright 1996, Gayle Dean Wardlow
Other writings by Gayle Dean Wardlow:

3 wise guys with a whole lotta soul

2005-12-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY & MERRY CHRISMANAKWANZA TO ALL

The three wise men had nothing on these cats. My California connections;

David Crane , brother, sponsor, friend and musical collaborator. We spent some time together running the streets of Goleta in the 80's (Ha-ha...). Actually we did play allot of musical venues in Santa Barbara and Ventura areas. We even played on cable TV a few times as the band Crane Crawley featuring bass player Larry Cappdeville and drummer Rod Rolle http://www.rodrolle.com/ or (Stiff Pickle Orchestra Bio) . After I had moved on, David put out 2 really good discs The one above was titled Trailer Trouble, it was under the assumed name Earl LaRoux (David claimed it was one of his alter egos) and the other was titled The Crucible. To purchase click on his name highlighted above.

Mitch Kashmar http://www.mitchkashmar.com/ truly one of the best harp players on the planet....Not a bad point guard either. Should have been a Laker in his heyday, brother's got some skills. Check out his site and his records. The latest features Musicians: Jr. Watson - guitar Ronnie James Weber - upright & Fender bass Richard Innes - drums Bob Welsh - piano / guitar on "Runnin' off at the Mouth" Special Guest Artists: Arthur Adams - guitar & vocals on "Knock 'em Dead" Abu Talib - guitar& vocals on Lizzy Mae

Robert Thomas Bio (Robert Thomas Bucy aka/ Texas Tom) another skilled guitar player w/ a couple of great records out. Tom's a great friend who I've kept in touch w/ over the years. RTB has played from San Diego to San Francisco and all points in between.
Truly 3 great people who have crossed my path on the road of life. Although David's not longer with us, his spirit lives on in the music he left us... As for Mitch and Tom, rock on boys and we hope to see you down the road soon... peace, mc

Coach Patrick

2005-12-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

One time Harmonica 101 student Rob Patrick guides the Lady Vols to the Final Four

The 15th-seeded and 17th-ranked Lady Vols (25-8) are playing in the NCAA National Semifinal round this week for the first time in school history after having never advanced past the Regional Semifinal round previously. The Big Orange takes on No. 3 Washington (30-1) at 6 p.m. CST on Thursday, while the other semifinal sees No. 1 Nebraska (32-1) face Santa Clara (27-4), unseeded but ranked 11th in the AVCA poll, at 8 p.m. The National Championship match will see the victors play at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The Lady Vols' open practice at the Alamodome will take place from 11:35 a.m.-1:05 p.m. CST on Wednesday.

BLUM NAMED CVU.COM NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Following a couple of outstanding performances at the NCAA Regional Championship, which earned junior middle blocker Sarah Blum, State College Regional Most Outstanding Player accolades, she was honored on Tuesday as both the CVU.com National Player of the Week and the Lady Vol Athlete of the Week.

Both NCAA National Semifinal contests will be broadcast live on ESPNU and on a tape-delay basis on ESPN2. The Tennessee-Washington contest will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 10 p.m. CST on Thursday, while the Nebraska-Santa Clara match can be seen on that channel at 1 p.m. on Friday. The title match will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Beth Mowins will be handling the play-by-play duties, while Heather Cox will serve as the analyst. Good luck Sarah, Rob and Go Vols!!!

James Cotton and Paul Butterfield

2005-12-13T00:52:00.000-08:00

Two of Chicagos finest harp players , both legendary and unique in their own way.

James Cotton
Take Me Back
BP-2587 (1987)
Biography
Compact Disc: Order
Legendary harmonica master James Cotton, who played for years with Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters, returns to his roots on this self-produced album of blues standards.
"This is easily one of the best blues albums in years." - After Dark
"A tasty set of modern Chicago harmonica blues." - Cadence
Tracks
My Babe (Real Audio sample) Well, I Done Got Over It Clouds In My Heart (Real Audio sample) Take Me Back (Real Audio sample) Honest I Do Take Out Some Insurance Killing FloorDust My Broom Hungry Country Girl

He was born on July 1, 1935 in Tunica, Mississippi. He started playing harmonica at a very early age, reproducing simple songs and train sounds at age 6. One day, over KFFA radio from Helena, Arkansas, he heard Sonny Boy Williamson on the "King Biscuit Time" program. From then on he tried to play all of Sonny Boy's tunes that he heard. By the time he was nine, Cotton was making more money in tips playing in front of juke joints on a Saturday than his uncle was making in two weeks driving a tractor. At that point his uncle took young James to see Sonny Boy, who was so impressed by this nine-year-old echoing his style that he took James into his home, beginning an apprenticeship under Williamson's tutelage. Six years later, when Sonny Boy left Memphis, the fifteen year-old Cotton took over his band, playing in clubs and jukes all through the region.
In 1952 James got his own fifteen minute radio show on KWEM in West Memphis. By this time he had caught the attention of Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, and began recording with Howlin' Wolf and Willie Nix. By the end of 1953, he was recording his own material. The following year Muddy Waters, who had been hearing about Cotton from a lot of people, recruited James to play in his band. It was the beginning of a twelve year collaboration.
Wanting to stretch out and play his own music, Cotton formed his own band in 1966. It didn't take him long to establish himself as a solo artist. He signed with Verve, releasing four critically acclaimed albums, and was able to crossover into the blues-rock market of that era, performing at rock festivals and blues venues such as the Fillmores in San Francisco and New York and opening for a number of rock 'n' roll acts. In the 70's and 80's, the James Cotton Band, in various configurations, continued to record for a variety of labels.
In 1987, Blind Pig released Take Me Back, an album that returned Cotton to his roots and earned a Grammy nomination. Cotton intended to put together a collection of the blues standards that have most influenced rock in an effort to "set the record straight about the history of rock 'n' roll." Accompanied by blues luminaries and former bandmates Pinetop Perkins on piano, Sammy Lawhorn on guitar, and Sam Lay on drums, Cotton recorded a sterling set of classic blues tunes that successfully captures the spirit and sound of the early days of Chicago blues.

PAUL BUTTERFIELD
In the 1960's in the blues clubs on Chicago's south side, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was setting off the first depth charges of what would come to be a worldwide blues explosion. Its main role model was the reigning Hoochie Coochie Man himself, Muddy Waters. Did Butterfield and the band play and sing Muddy's music as well or as enduringly as Muddy did? Even the band with all its legendary brashness, might well concede that one to Muddy. But as musical trendsetters and subversives, popularizers of the blues and prototypes for at least a a generation of blues bands, the Butterfield band holds its own and has indeed, in Muddy's words "carried on."
At A TIME WHEN the typical nationally-marketed white blues was either acoustic, solo oriented folk music or the enthusiastic but generally unconvincing covers of British invasion bands, it was the racially-integrated Butterfield group who brought to the fore a ground breaking take on electric Chicago blues with all its grit and ferocity. Butterfield's vocals had all the toughness and passion of the kings of the ghetto bandstands where the School Of Blues was in session, and his heavily amplified harmonica was firmly in the Little Walter tradition (with a strong sense of James Cotton's huge tone and power and a great appreciation of the use of hands to provide nuance). But he also always had a strong sense of himself ("I think I'm better than all the people who are trying to reform me," he allegedly wrote for a school year book), which tanslated into an everpresent sense of style on top of the tradition aggressiveness.
ATTITUDE HAD A LOT to do with the bands image, beyond the chip on the leader's shoulder. Perhaps because its members came from musical and cultural backgrounds outside the Chicago blues idiom, they took some license with it. Their de facto anthem, "Born In Chicago" was in part a declaration of something original to contibute to the blues repertoire (via Nick Gravenites composition in this case) without sacrificing the mean, hard point of view. The groups two guitarists also blended more modern guitar influences into the harmonica-led Delta motif, once describing their ensemble approach as "The Muddy Waters band with B.B. King on lead guitar." Mark Naftalin was a solid, well schooled pianist but was heard more often on the organ, than a progressive and jazzy edge to a blues band. Of course, all this rested on the foundation of a seasoned hard-core rhythm section, to the occasional irritation of Howlin' Wolf, former employer of bassist Jerome Arnold and original drummer Sam Lay.
WITH OUT QUESTION the band was charaismatic. Even the studied sleaze of the first album cover had so much blues pull for searching white eyes that it lured young guitarist Robben Ford to buy it, thereby identifing his calling and changing his life forever. That effect happened so often, in so many ways, that Butterfield and his band aquired the same sort of style-setting status among the growing white blues (and rock) audience as Muddy once had, in his world, when southern black migrants to the cities were defining the music. Many modern players echo Butterfields harp techniques. Mike Bloomfield was the first white American blues guitar hero, with an inclculable influence. Elvin Bishop's considerable impact came as much from his good timing, barstool persona as it did from his highly original guitar playing. The band even had a literally electrifing efect on the larger musical scene as accompanists: its 1965 Newport appearance with Bob Dylan was widely heralded as a revolutionary (and controversial) event in folk music.
INITIALLY, THE BAND used Chicago blues to turn on a whole new coterie of listeners (and imitators), enough to achieve stardom and also enough to reflect some of the spotlight on some of their mentors. The Butterfield band led many followers to explore the whole idiom. (B.B. King singled out Bloomfield for praise in helping him cross over to a white audience and stated at the time, "I'm grateful...because to me, it seemed to open a few doors for us that seemed like they (were) never going to open.") Band members played on and/or produced breakthrough records by Muddy, James Cotton, Otis Rush, John Lee Hooker and others, not to mention Dylan. But the band's musical trailblazing went rapidly past electric club blues. Their extended improvisations brought jazz and non-western sensibilities not only to the Butterfield band, but to countless, garages and stages. When a horn section was added and emphasis shifted toward R & B, much notice was taken and, along with Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago, the group recieved renown as pioneers in the use of R & B horns in white popular music. And while the band's increasing adventures into fussion weren't always seemless or successful, they nervertheless had an anticipatory spirit which reflectd Butterfield's continuing determination to make music his way. The transformation during these times appeared to be happening at warp speed. Though Butterfield and company demonstrated plenty of appreciation for their contemporaries and predecessors, boundries and categories never seemed to matter much to the band. They seemed to take pride in trampling more than a few, from incursions into the ghetto blues scene onward through musical history.
THE MUSIC OF the Paul Butterfield Blues Band was many things...a cry for recognition of a harder, fiercer kind of blues than white ears were used to; an accomodation of diverse musical influences with a personal verve and virtuosity; and a celebration of freedom to reinvent the context for its musical voice as it went along. Even those who would chalk the last up to youthful impudence must acknowledge that it was a perfect mirror for the ascendent spirit of the times (especially the psychedelic ballroom circuit), where other impudent souls were striving to reinvent culture and society with emphasis on tolerance and diversity, and music was the main bearer of the message for those who knew how to tune in. Surely the empathy between the group's aspirations and those of its audience had a lot to do with the bands popularity. In both cases, the results weren't always pretty, but they were bold, idealistic and ambitious -- and they changed the landscape forever. ..Dick Shurman .....February 1995
Paul Butterfield (1969)

Home for the Holidays

2005-11-29T06:11:00.000-08:00

TALLDADDY

2005-11-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

and

are joining forces to create a live cd and have it available at their future shows. If anyone has any photos to contribute feel free to send them to us.... we are going to be recording live shows in Nov. and Dec. at O'Charleys on the strip, so feel free to come on down and lend your support.

for the boss fans....

2005-11-16T01:48:00.000-08:00

Just keeps gettin' better...http://www.wbjb.org/

Deford Bailey

2005-11-15T23:26:00.000-08:00

Born in Smith County, Tenn. in 1899, Bailey suffered from infantile paralysis, which left him with a deformed back and only allowed him to grow to an eventual height of 4 feet 10 inches. Bailey’s father and uncle were noted musicians who played what they referred to as “black hillbilly music.” They taught young Bailey to play banjo, fiddle, guitar and, what would become his signature instrument, harmonica.
Bailey began playing harmonica professionally around Smith County at age 14 and moved to Nashville in 1925. Around this time he met Dr. Humphrey Bate, a respected physician and harmonica player who introduced Bailey to George D. Hay. Hay, who was known as “The Solemn Old Judge,” was both announcer and booking agent for the WSM Barn Dance. Bate’s support was instrumental in Bailey being accepted as the first African American artist to join the national radio show. In 1927, the WSM Barn Dance was renamed the Grand Ole Opry with Bailey becoming one of the radio show’s first solo stars. He performed on 49 of the 52 Opry programs during its first year under the new name, more than any other artist.
Bailey recorded albums in the late ‘20s on labels including Brunswick, Columbia and Victor. His recordings are critically viewed as the first decently recorded examples of harmonica playing, and his best-known songs were “John Henry,” “Fox Chase,” “Muscle Shoals Blues” and his signature tune “Pan American Blues.” His success helped create opportunities for other harmonica players to record and perform across the country. In addition to recording and performing on the Opry, Bailey often worked road shows with other Opry acts during the ‘30s, including opening for Roy Acuff as well as a package tour with Uncle Dave Macon.
Bailey left the music industry in 1941. He returned to the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1974 to inaugurate the First Annual Old Timers Show. In 1982, he passed away at the age of 83. Bailey’s pioneering efforts have been an inspiration to many, including fellow Country Music Hall of Fame member Charley Pride. Tonight Deford Bailey was inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Planet Harmonica

2005-11-08T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here's some harmonica web sites from LA and surrounding areas

Nelsen Adelard http://www.nelsenadelard.com/
Gary Allegretto http://www.harmonikids.com/
Doc Alters http://www.thealternatorsband.com/
Tom Ball & Kenny Sultan http://www.tomballkennysultan.com/
Bill Barrett http://www.billbarrett.net/
Stan Behrens & Canned Heat http://www.cannedheatmusic.com/
Rolf Berschneider http://www.ginab.com/rbharper/
Big Rockin' Daddy http://hometown.aol.com/itsbluestime/myhomepage/profile.html
Brian Brazil with Toni Dodd & Southbound Blues http://tonidodd.com/
Eric Brown & Fat Danny and The Hard Tymz Blues Band http://thehardtymz.iuma.com/
Dan Byrnes & Little Big Men http://www.danconnormusic.com/littlebigmen.htm
Steve Copeland http://www.ragingsun.com/
Ironman Mike Curtis http://www.ironmancurtis.com/
Eddie Estudillo & Hush http://www.musicbyhush.com/
Fabulous Thunderbirds http://www.bluecollarmusic.com/
George Fields http://www.bassharp.com/fields.htm
David Gage http://www.davegage.com/
Jon Gindick http://www.gindick.com/
Tom Hall (Flattop Tom) http://www.flattoptom.com/
Dan "Sorta Slim" Hein & Sweet Muthaz http://geocities.com/chris_wax/sweetmuthaz.htm
Karl Cabbage http://www.westofmemphis.com/
Big Harmonica Bob Knouse & The Blues All Stars http://www.bigharmonicabob.com/
John "Juke" Logan http://www.bassharp.com/juke.htm
T-Roy Matthews http://www.octremblers.com/
Cody McDonald http://www.blueszoo.com/
Rick Mohr http://www.radrick.com/
Zola Moon http://www.zolamoon.com/
Tommy Morgan http://www.tmorganharmonica.com/
Tetsuya "TeX" Nakamura http://www.wartheband.com/
Pat O'Brien http://www.priestsoflove.com/
Tollak Ollestad http://www.hohnerusa.com/2000/artists/ollestad/tollak-ollestad.html
Rod Piazza & The Mighty Flyers http://www.themightyflyers.com/
Gary Popenoe http://www.garypopenoeandco.com/
Johnny Rover http://www.johnny-rover.com/
Stan Ruffo http://www.ruffo.com/
Stan Ruffo & Martin Pugh http://www.stanandmartin.com/
JJ Slim http://www.jjslim.com/
Preston Smith http://www.prestonsmith.com/
Jeff Steel http://www.fortunecity.com/tinpan/appleway/1137/
Tollak http://www.tollak.com/
Bill Walden http://www.bassharp.com/bwalden.htm
Steve White Barstool Pigeons http://www.postechnical.com/pigeons/index.htm
Kim Wilson http://www.bluecollarmusic.com/
International Gig List http://www.bassharp.com/bh_itin.htm

Madcat Ruth

2005-11-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

The featured artist this week is Peter Madcat Ruth... Like many of us slightly younger guys growing up that fell in love with the harmonica, we also found Sonny Terry and his

style to be an important tool to develop our own styles. Sonny's influence can be heard loud and clear throughout Madcat teachings and playing... Read more.... ....Madcat's Biography

cool harp site

hoot

Blues great Sonny Terry

2005-10-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Sonny Terry

Saunders Terrell (1911-1986)

To read more about Sonny and other blues harmonica greats click on the title above....peace, mc

Sharin’ the Blues

2005-10-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

Come join the fun

NOMHRF

The Macdaddies will be participating in a fund rasier for Katrina suvivors on Friday Oct. 28 at the Foundry. The event will feature : Slow Blind Hill, Jenna and the Joneses, The Mac Daddies, and MightyBlue. Steve Michel of Bluestone will host a blues jam. Presented by Right Track Productions
Oct. 28, 2005, 7 p.m.- 2 a.m.(blues jam 12-2 a.m.)The Foundry,
747 World’s Fair Park Drive.Tickets $10 in advance,
$12 at the door.Can be purchased at Cat’s Music,
Disc Exchange, The Shrimp Dock,and Brackins Blues Club (Maryville)Food prepared by The Shrimp Dock
Sponsors: The Foundry,
The News Sentinel, Broadway Sound,
The Shrimp Dock, Brackins Blues Club,
Track Side Recording, Pick ‘N’ Grin,
Rik’s Music and McKay Books.
The Sharin’ the Blues benefit
concert gives local blues fans a
night of great music and a way to
help New Orleans musicians who
lost their livelihoods to hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.
All ticket sale proceeds will go to
the New Orleans Musicians
Hurricane Relief Fund. There will
also be an auction for great items
donated by our sponsors. Sponsors
or volunteers interested in helping
with the show, call Mike James,
865-805-7509
Sharin’ the Blues

Crawley does the Anthem

2005-10-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen please rise for our National Anthem

JUST ANOTHER LESSON

2005-10-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

HARMONICA 101 STUDENT ESTONIA B SEZ..
Practice 2 or 3 times a day- 15 to 30 minutes of practice a day is a good amount of time if you can stick with it. You may find it easier to practice for 10 minutes 2 or 3 times a day and build up your endurance (it won't take too long). It's normal to get winded and feel muscle fatigue in your lips and hands for the first few months

PLAY TILL YOUR EYES WATER, PEACE...MC

Harmonica 101

2005-10-14T06:58:00.000-07:00

This, of course is a C major scale (do, re, mi, etc ) Practice till your eyes water...

now try it backwards

this was taken from Tom Ball's Blues Harmonica - a Comprehensive Crash Course and Overview !!
http://www.bassharp.com/tomball.htm

HARP SITES

2005-10-12T22:32:00.000-07:00

HARMONICA WEB SITES

http://www.harpmicgaskets.com/
http://www.harmonicalessons.com/
http://www.harmonicamasterclass.com/
http://www.bluesharp.ca/links.html
http://www.jt30.com/
http://www.gindick.com/
http://http://www.macdaddiesrock.com/
http://harmonica101.blogspot.com/ (mine)

http://www.harpdepot.com/
http://http://www.coast2coastmusic.com/
http://www.kharps.com/

Beginners luck

2005-10-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

Below is a excerpt from Dave Gage's wonderful site
Harmonica lessons .com
Please visit his site and enjoy this beginners lesson....
peace, mc

ps.. his site is a pay site, but its worth every penny...

LET'S START AT THE TOP
You will need a standard 10-hole diatonic harmonica in the key of "C" for the instruction on this site. Double rowed harmonicas (sometimes 8, 10, or 12 sets of double holes) are called Tremolo harmonicas and they along with chromatic harmonicas are not the proper types of harmonicas for our instruction.
Key of "C" Diatonic (standard 10-hole) Harmonica- You'll need a good quality diatonic type harmonica to learn and practice on. This is what you need for most blues, folk, rock, and country styles. We like the Lee Oskar Major Diatonic and the Hohner Special 20 (both in the key of "C") best for players just starting out. The Lee Oskar is a bit more expensive, but worth the price for its consistent volume, tone, and durability. The Hohner Special 20 is one of the best diatonics around for the money. They may not last as long as some other models, but like the Lee Oskar, they sound and play great. (Can't decide? Pick one, and try the other when you need to buy another key.)
Will my harmonica work with this site?- Visit the "Recommended Harmonicas For Our Instruction" page for lists of the 'Recommended', 'Acceptable', and 'NOT Recommended' models and brands. You can refer to this section, General Overview, for more information on diatonic vsChromaticic harmonicas as well as; some basic 1st and 2nd position harmonica theory, and a "Chart of Harmonica Keys & Positions" for jamming to songs. By the way, quick definitions of harmonica related terms like "diatonic" and "key" can be found in the Terms & Definitions section.
Stick with a basic 10 hole harmonica in the key of "C"- Diatonic harmonicas come in all twelve keys (G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, F#), but for beginners it's easier if you start with a basic 10 hole harmonica in the key of "C" (generally speaking, the "G" harmonicas are very low and the "F" and "F#" harmonicas are very high pitch-wise, while the "C" is right in the middle). Key of "C" harmonicas is the most common, and they also make understanding music theory much easier.
Should I buy other key diatonic harmonicas as well?- As you improve and begin to play with others or start playing along with CDs, you will want to pick up some of the other key diatonics. The "C", "A", "D", "F", and "G" keys are a good place to start- in roughly that order. The key of harmonica you need is determined by the key the song is in and usually set by the singer. If you are not playing along with other people or with CDs, all you need is a key of "C" for now.
Will a key other than "C" work at this site?-You should note that all keys of standard diatonic harmonicas are layed out and played the same way. That is, if you already own a standard 10-hole diatonic in a key other than the key of "C" (like an "A" or "D" for instance); it will work for the instruction and songs on this site. But, make the key of "C" your next purchase.
A cheap harmonica is tough to learn on- Prices may vary, but it is best to buy one for no less than $17 to $25, because a cheap harmonica can be extremely difficult to learn on. Poor construction of inexpensive harmonicas causes them to leak air and makes them hard to play and difficult to learn important techniques like bending.
Avoid these diatonics, and possibly 'upgrade'- Avoid wooden combed harmonicas if you are just starting out for the same air leak problems mentioned above. The harmonicas that are included in the 'Book with CD (or Cassette Tape) and Harmonica' packages are not recommended either. These are very inexpensive harmonicas that are included in the package for convenience, but are typically of low quality. If you have any serious intentions at all with the harmonica, you should plan on an 'upgrade'.
Should I buy a used one?- This is entirely up to you. But, we don't recommend it for obvious health reasons, and the fact that a brand new pro quality diatonic is between $20 and $30. Also, harmonicas do wear out over time. It's best to start with one that you know is in good condition and plays in tune.
Tremolo, chromatic, and "odd" harmonicas won't work with the instruction here- Double rowed harmonicas (sometimes 8, 10, 12, or more sets of double holes) are called Tremolo harmonicas and they along with chromatic harmonicas (the one with the button on the side) will not work well with the instruction at this site. Visit this page, "Recommended Harmonicas for Our Instruction", for lists of the Recommended, Acceptable, and NOT Recommended models and brands.

Harmonica class

2005-10-06T13:36:00.000-07:00

Four of my favorite Harp players..Little Walter Jacobs, Mitch Kashmar, Blue Barry Faust and that dangerous gentleman himself James Harman

My Harmonica class starts soon (click the tittle above for details)

Here's the latest from David Barrett's site
This month we'll continue studying Little Walter's instrumental "Rocker." The transcription that we'll be speaking of is
available for a limited time at www.harmonicamasterclass.com/newsletter.htm.

CHORUS 3 – A B C Chorus Form
The biggest challenge in this chorus will be the rhythm. Note that the first lick starts on the second beat. Resist the urge to start on the downbeat. Note the rhythmic breathing between the main licks, play these soft. The sixteenth notes used in these first two licks are similar to glissandos, so play them fast, focusing on where each start and end point is. Note the nice texture of the 5/6 draw on the ii7 chord (9th measure). This combination is not heard often, making it a cool texture to utilize in your playing. The turnaround will feel awkward. The note combinations are different than the usual turnaround, so read the transcription carefully.

CHORUS 4 - A A B Chorus Form
The rhythmic breathing used between the three draws here will have a large part to do with your success learning this line. Rhythmic breathing helps to keep your rhythm in time and promotes good placement of syncopated notes (notes on the upbeat).

"Rocker" transcription

The Macdaddies

2005-10-03T16:18:00.000-07:00

SASSY ANN'S 2004

TALLPAUL and Company

2005-10-03T15:32:00.000-07:00

TALL PAUL'S BIRTHDAY BASH WAS A MUSICAL AND FAMILY EXTRAVAGANZA.

MAJOR SCALE

2005-09-27T18:44:00.000-07:00

This is me at the Corner Lounge last year. http://www.cornerlounge.com/

R. Crumb

Below is a major scale using the arrow system. This is a good way to get accustom to training your ear and single noting. Single noting is when you pucker up tight and draw (or blow) one note at a time. The above picture is a classic rendering of R. Crumb's Mr. Natural playing the harp and below is a major scale taken from Tom Ball's Blues Harmonica - a Comprehensive Crash Course and Overview !!
http://www.bassharp.com/tomball.htm
Peace, mc

Snarky goes to fla....

2005-09-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Red Cross volunteer or Florida gangsta? Good job PD get home safe....peace,mc

FIRST ENTRY

2005-09-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

This is my first post. Over the course of this blog's history I hope to enlighten, inform and entertain y'all in my knowledge and history of the harmonica. Through my past experiences I've played and taught and also met several hundred harp players over the course of my many years of playing. The harmonica has been a vital and very colorful instrument in the development of the early blues, folk, country, jazz and rock as well. My history and experiences have been rewarding and continue to be. I actively play 2-3 times a week as well as teach beginner and some advanced lessons in Knoxville, TN. Throughout the existence of this blog I will try to inform you of some of my favorite Web Sites that are devoted to this awesome instrument including Coast2Coast, JT30.com, Dave Gage’s “harmonica lesson.com”, Blue Barry Faust, Tom Ball, Mitch Kashmar, Fingers Taylor, Best lil’ Harp House, this list is endless. To quote my good friend "Texas Tom" Bucy aka/ Robert Thomas, "Mikey play it like it’s your last day on earth". And so I'll try to devote that same kind of energy to this blog in hopes of spreading the word. It is truly a wonderful, simple, complex and exciting instrument. Hang tight I'll return soon w/ URL’s links and a plethora of cool photos....peace, mc