[Harp-L] thoughts on gigs and electrified harp

[rainbowjimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Survived a gig last night. Had to be at work at 7 am this morning. Got  
to bed at 1.30. I'm dragging so please excuse my rambling. Here's a  
few observations:

Practice with your rig. I knew I had to woodshed for the gig, had zero  
inspiration playing acoustic so I plugged in--something I almost never  
do. It helped. I was inspired to play longer and I got to work on some  
electric techniques. I spent a lot of time getting a tight cup and  
getting a little resonant chamber in my hands by sticking the mic way  
back down by my pinkie. My wife hates it--it's a little loud.

We usually start out with country western or something not real  
raucous. Last night we started right out with Gloria. Set the tone for  
the night.

If you have a good tube amp and you're pushing it a little hard,  
toungue slapping chords on the low end sounds awesome on rock tunes. I  
like a really tight cup for this--where you can feel your hands  
getting sucked in.

Also, I heard a great band with a Celtic harp player playing blues  
with a Persian band and it made me pay attention to those cool sharp  
percussive notes. I tend to play long notes. More techniques=more fun.

Folks will tell you equipment is secondary but when you finally get  
the rig and woodshed with it it's a real joy to play out. And if you  
go out on the dance floor and jump around like a crazy person with the  
guitar player and a bunch of semi drunken dancers you can lose 3  
pounds in a single night. Must remember not to wear work boots to the  
next gig.

Rainbow Jimmy
http://www.spaceanimals.com
http://www.soundclick.com/theelectricstarlightspaceanimals.htm