Re: [Harp-L] Who plays harp on Fathead's song 'Tonight it Feels like Christmas'? and the answer is!

[Gary Bond <garybond@xxxxxxx>]

Nate in the Blues Room wrote:
> Hi,
> Been trying to find out for a while with no luck yet. Here's an amazon
> link to a sample of the song
> http://www.amazon.com/Santas-Got-Mojo/dp/B00006AL9F
> Song number seven.
>
> The harp solo is very good, its going somewhere.
>
> Nate in Hamilton, New Zealand
> (where Christmas is not White as its Summer,
> but instead a great time at the beach with BBQs)

Al Lerman is a super open guy and I've talked to him a few times so I 
fired him an email and this is his response.

The question to Al Lerman the harmonica player for Fathead:

Hi Al,
>
> There's a big discussion on Harp-l.com about who the harp player is on
> Fathead's > 'Tonight it Feels like Christmas'
> I'm about to weigh in on the topic because from previous discussions
> that I've had with you I know what a great,easy to talk to guy that you
> are, plus being the guy with the serious tone. Do you do the harp on
> this song? Are you still playing through a SM57 into a Super Reverb.

Al's answer:

Hi Gary,
Yes, I wrote that song and played harp on it. On that song, I used my Shure
SM57 thru a borrowed brown Tolex Fender Deluxe re-issue (2 X 10) that just
happened to be in the studio at the time. As I recall, the band hadn't yet
heard that song; I sang a ghost vocal (that's why there's no harp except for
the solo) while holding up fingers to let the band know what the chord
changes were. We only did one take. John Mays learned the song from that
"demo" and then over-dubbed his lead vocal. I was pretty happy with the end
result. Now being the season, I just heard heard that song the other day and
thought it's held up pretty good.

When I play live with Fathead, I still use the SM57 thru a Super Reverb. My
Super has had the bottom two speakers removed and the cabinet chopped in
half... not for sound, but for a better fit in the trunk of my car! On
smaller gigs (trios etc) I often use a Fender Blues Jr (1 X 12). That is
also the amp I've used for most recordings I've appeared on over that past
five years (Morgan Davis, Mike Tabares, Rita Chiarelli, Willie Smith & The
The Juke Joint Rockers, and the upcoming Fathead disc, "Building Full Of
Blues").