[Harp-L] Rod Piazza -On Third Thought

[Dan <billybudd1313@xxxxxxxxx>]

Alright, I'm chiming in.  What the heck, huh?  There's already another flame storm on the horizon.  The planets must be aligned wrong.
 
As a devout practicer of "Piazza-ism"  I'd like to address this thread from a place of  ... "that boy just ain't right"  knowldege.   apologies to Hank Hill.
 
Tonight (NY) will mark the 10th state I've seen the Mighty Flyers in.  Hopefully, (based on Rods comments to "bring your harps"  last night)  tonight will also mark the 5th time I've sat in with the band.  It's been 7-8 years, although, unlike my friend Ryan, I have not yet lived in L.A. to REALLY see Rod a lot.
 
Anyway, based on many many shows,  I've seen it all.  Pin-drop quiet at Chan's  to blow your hair back at festivals.  I've seen Rod push himself on harp, coming up with amazing stuff.  I've seen him miss a ton of licks too.  I've seen them in empty rooms, and huge (last night) crowds too.
 
The thing about Rod is that, at the end of the day,  he really believes in it.  "It" is always a subjective thing, but he has an ideal of the blues in his head, and he tries to achieve it all the time.  And it doesn't stop at the harmonica.   He puts a lot of "showman" into his shows with dress and comments, and song selection.  He also supports and encourages his supporting cast to grow and be a large part of the experience.
 
Things go wrong with these clubs and their sound systems.  Gear breaks.  Off nights are had.  But the Flyers are some of the very few people who are actually on the front lines trying to get blues across, or "keep it alive" day in and day out.
 
There's a faction on this list that seemingly is quick to dismiss "blues guys" out of hand.  Sort of a, "if he doesn't use 12th position he's not an artist" philosphy (just the feeling I get reading posts some times).
 
I'd encourage any harp player to see the Mighty Flyers.  Especially if you do like "blues" harp.
 
Also, I'll tell Rod he isn't playing enough for you Sam.  He didn't play long last night for me either.  I'll get after him about being too loud too.
 
Dan G.


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