Re: [Harp-L] loud drunk guitar player

["steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is an interesting thread. I have hearing loss, some of which I blame on loud music. I carry musician ear plugs with me now at all times and use them as needed.
The trend in my area lately seems to be, hopefully, headed toward lower volume. There are more acoustic groups and smaller groups playing in smaller venues where the volume doesn't need to be loud.
I am in the beginning stages of playing with a local guy who has been doing a solo act. He likes harp and has been inviting me to come to his gigs and sit it, which I have done several times. Last weekend, it went pretty well and he asked if I wanted to join him on a (small) paying basis. Not blues, more country and country-rock, but a good mix and a good challenge. But I'm anxious to actually learn some songs, as opposed to always find myself playing things I don't know, or songs that I know but haven't played on harp.
Last Saturday, my wife and i went to a party where the band was set up outside under a canopy. There were about 30 people there when we arrived and when we sat down at a table about 40 feet in front of the band, we had to shout in each other's ears to be heard. Eventually we got the volume under control to a degree, but . . .  I did have to use the ear plugs.
Steve (formerly moandabluz) Webb
still a fool for the harp in Minnesota