First of all I would like to thank Cara for summarizing my first SPAH
experience last year in St. Louis so kindly, you are a wonderful friend
Cara, and an equally talented harmonica player. Today is my first visit
to Harp-L, I met Froggy at SPAH just a couple of days ago and he turned me
onto this madness. Anyways after searching the archives of this past
month I've come across a great deal of mention about Jon Popper of BT.
Here's the deal! Popper opened up a whole new world of playing to a
generation that just doesn't have a mass appealing or popular harmonica
player in their midst. I'm seventeen, so I know that if asked; about 90%
of my peers at least (meaning other teenagers and "youngin"), could only
name Jon Popper as the a harmonica player they've actually heard of.
During a time in which the harmonica was not getting a predominant amount
of play time on the radioways, or whatever (etc..) Jon Popper more or less
broke the large scale silence. His style isn't totally new (for example
sugar blue, etc..) but he was one of the first to apply that type of style
to the kind of music his band produced.
Now as for his affect on the advancement or preservation of the harmonica
itself; let me put it this way, if it weren't for Jon Popper I never would
have picked up a harmonica. I'm seventeen now, I just attended my second
SPAH convention, and up until I went to my first, Jon Popper was the only
Harmonica player I knew existed, he was the only one that got enough play
time on the radio, etc.. to notice.
Many people might not want to admit it, especially the old blues purists
but Popper style playing does have it's dvantages of learning. It is
relatively fast and appealing to a mass audience or public(who know
relatively nothing about music or harmonica to begin with as a whole, and
as musicainas we are also entertainers). Also; learning all those
breathing patterns, etc.. opens up the door to the more technical styles
of playing, and makes them easier to learn quickly. I can only say that
because I'm beginning to experience that very thing myself.
Popper style playing teaches comfortablility with the instrument, and
once you become flexible with the instrument you play, learning the music
doesn't seem like the impossible task it may have once been.
Ultimately I have always had a soft spot for Popper playing, it may not
be most loved amongst other harp players, but it's where I come from
originally in my own playing; and it has helped me to move into other
different (and more personally appealing) styles and ways of playing
without much difficulty (SPAH also had a great deal to do with that ..
well ok SPAH is why i was able to learn all the stuff I have over the past
year or so, and now more, but you get the idea). And either way Jon is
one hell of a song writer... I mean how can you not just love "the
mountains win again" (four) or "Carolina Blues" (Straight on Till
Morning).
Greg Hommert
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