...umm...I do think it might mean that the harp is "standing by" ergo "waiting to be played"...in that context it makes more sense.. (except for the "old")
...Frankly, if "I" was in the store waiting to buy one and saw someone else (No matter how famous) playing "every harp in the store" , I'd turn around and leave.
....About TIME someone talked about this. So for all you "purists" who think if you buy one "brand new" from a music store, or online, and not off EBay...that you're getting one unplayed by someone else's mouth and absolutely pristine, think again. As far as I'M concerned, I clean every harmonica I buy with alcohol before I play it, just in case.
.....Again, FINALLY...was waiting for someone to verify my own thoughts on this. While it sounds so "Zen" to say "breathe" and "inhale and "exhale"...you'd better be inhaling and exhaling with SOME kind of pressure, if you want to produce any sound at all, especially un-amplified. Joe Filisko gave me some amazingly good tips on working to control my breathing (because of my immense stage fright)...at last year's SPAH...and Joe is indisputably the Zen master of breathing. I was able to actually play on stage after his talk...and I wasn't exhaling into my chromatic but actually blowing some air (you were there, Joe) ...albeit with emotion and "some" control, and not force.
The tendency is to forget that only young healthy people or athletes, have lungs (and chests) like bellows..many older than teenage people have some impaired lung function, or long term bad breathing practices...so it makes it necessary to either relearn how to play properly or to expend a tad more effort.
....Ron: you could also ask all the SPAH members who talked to Charlie McCoy after giving him a standing ovation for his headlining performance and then his seminar in 2005. I remember his Shenandoah brought the audience to tears right after finding out Douglas Tate couldn't attend due to his final illness, and his Orange Blossom Special left jaws agape.
He spent a lot of time signing autographs, posing for photos, discussing his playing and harmonicas with so many serious harp players ...many of whom I'm sure are on this list. He then headlined at the Birmingham Festival as well, from what I've heard.
That interaction at a Convention is what makes the input so valuable from those who spoke to him, not just from one Show. I doubt he changed his harps in such a brief time. If I remember correctly, Cara Cooke and Tulsa Read (among others) from this list even interacted with and performed on stage with him during the SPAH country and Bluegrass seminar...
"Yeah Glacier man, inquiring minds and all that. Smokey-Joe's opinion."
> ron