Hello All,
My name is Noah Hoehn and I'm a younger harp player in the Twin Cities.
I've been reading the Harp-L archives since I started playing when I was
17 and I sincerely respect and admire all who contribute to this forum. I
would like to thank all of you for what I have learned here and I also
wish
to introduce myself:
I started playing because of John Popper but quickly turned to blues. I
did the blues band thing for the first number of years while learning the
positions, tongue blocking, octaves etc. and steeping myself in Little
Walter, Kim Wilson, Piazza and we all know the list. I was able to
attend SPAH's 2000 convention on a MN arts grant and this was a fantastic
time for me. My college commissioned a concerto for harmonica and
concert band my senior year. I was awarded the McKnight foundation
grant for performing musicians (25k) and started a home studio in order
to record an album.
I have built alternate tuned harps over the years as I have been
frustrated
with how I need to compromise the music and lines I want to play, in a
rock setting, simply because I play on a diatonic harmonica. Not being a
great craftsman, I had Brendan Power build a set of stretch diatonics to
my tuning with the remainder of the grant money.
These are the harmonicas I used on the album and I am kindly asking for
feedback--although the feedback doesn't have to be kind :) Please listen
to the 3 tunes I have posted at our website and I appreciate ALL
comments, suggestions, words of encouragement and flames.
http://www.viciousaloysius.com
or:
http://www.myspace.com/viciousaloysius
(There is harp in all 3 tunes)
My goal is to bring our instrument back into mainstream music. By that
I mean "radio-friendly rock". Of course, my goal works off the premise
that it left mainstream music to begin with and I honestly do feel that
way for the most part. When I ran in blues circles, the harp seemed like
a vibrant and viable instrument. There were singers, guitarists,
bassists,
drummers... and then harp players. After a few years of running in rock
and pop rock circles... in my experience... our instrument is simply not
represented--or represented well. I support this point with the fact that
I am treated significantly different outside the blues community. The
harmonica is called my "schtick" and my "hook". I have had producers,
engineers and indie label execs tell me that it is a "great gimmick". I
intend to do what I can to change this.
I know by now that many of you are rolling your eyes and others are
nodding in agreement. Allow me to make a few of my views more clear:
1. I know there are a bunch of great young cats out there playing.
I want there to be more.
2. Yes, I've heard Jason Ricci and he is obviously fantastic. My focus
is probably more ancilliary than what he's doing. If he is the new
"Hendrix" of our instrument (Popper being the first), then he will, has,
and will continue to inspire harmonica players. I see my role as one of
simply bringing the harmonica visibillity again, but not in an Alanis
way--
something a bit more substantial than that. In other words--give the
harp its "cool" back again. This in turn will generate more young
players who then can seek out the Walters and Riccis and Poppers to
learn from.
3. No, I don't want the blues to die. There will be young players who
copy the greats and in turn make it their own. But that is still within
the
context of the blues. I see my role as one of doing something different
than "keeping it alive". Notice I didn't say, "more" than keeping it
alive
as I do believe that we need to preserve our tradition. I hope to simply
introduce our instrument into some of the current genres and formats.
Again, I welcome ALL comments and discussion!
Thank You Harpers!
Noah Hoehn
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