[Harp-L] Re: Acoustic Duos

[Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Someone mentioned my name in this thread so here's my 2 cts:

I've been playing in acoustic duos and trios most of my professional  
life, starting with Dick Bird in 1973 and going on to work in duos  
with Tony Sheridan (used to be backed by the Beatles in Hamburg),  
Detlev Reimers, Abi Wallenstein (with whom I've recorded at least 5  
CDs), the late great Chris Jones (4 CDs, all still available from  
Acoustic Music Records). My most recent duo CD was with Dick Bird,  
"King Kazoo" (also on AMR, 2008) and I'm currently working on a new  
project with Canadian guitar wizard Dave Goodman.

It's a simple fact of life for the working musician: less mouths to  
feed. A duo is the smallest band possible. However, you need to be  
able to carry a show without the support of a band, as any glitches  
can't be concealed so easily. That being said, I have a serious  
weakness for adding a percussionist and much of my work with Abi,  
Dick, Chris and Dave has expanded the duo to a trio in order to  
include one.

A major advantage of such line-ups is the generally lower volume  
level  -  you stand a decent chance of retaining some of your hearing  
and also don't have to carry such heavy amps around. I work with a  
Marble Max or (for bigger stages up to festival dimensions) a  
Bluesonic, great sounding amps and no sweat to lug around. I've never  
had feedback problems either,

Steve Baker
www.stevebaker.de
www.bluesculture.com