Re: [Harp-L] Re: future harmonicas and all that

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> All true, but my main point is that the harp players who break  
> through, for the most part, are the guys who aren't doing the same  
> old s--- in bands that are putting out the same old s---.  If you  
> want to break through, you do something different.

I haven't noticed anyone really breaking through as of late.   
Moreover, I find the entire idea of "same old s--" offensive and  
indicative of a really sad way of viewing music.  I appreciate those  
who try new things as much as anyone else, but I also appreciate and  
respect those who want to work and play within a tradition.

> Stevie Ray Vaughn's band had no harp, but Vaughn's guitar playing  
> brought a lot of things into the blues that hadn't been there  
> before him.  The Canadian guitarist David Gogo's work is similar in  
> that respect--the instrumentation is familiar (bass/drums/organ/ 
> guitar), but the guitar is doing very new things.

Which is great, but just because SRV did new things doesn't mean that  
I can't like BB King just as well, or some of his more traditional  
contemporaries.  Moreover, I don't have any greater respect for SRV  
than those who were more traditional--I respect and appreciate anyone  
who wants to try and make a living in music and wants to play what  
they love.

> Most bands that really make it have something different about them-- 
> something that makes them stand out.  In that sense, I'm really  
> only interested in what's "normal" because it's something to be  
> taken into consideration and then surpassed.

And that's my issue with this--"surpassed".  It's a word loaded with  
a sense of improvement and a ton of value judgements.  Those who try  
something new don't "surpass" traditionalists.  They may expand, but  
that's not the same as being inherently better than those who stay  
well within a tradition.

> And as Blues Traveller has amply demonstrated, the harp--played in  
> an original style--can be the "something" that surpasses the norm.

I wouldn't say it surpasses anything.  It added an element to their  
music which made them distinctive.

> Lots of bands not using harp now?  GREAT! Lots of opportunity there  
> for a killer harp player or two with big, original ideas and a  
> great sound.  Hard for a harp player to break through, you think?   
> Try being a guitar player or a keyboard player--think about THEIR  
> competition.

Frankly, I don't care about that.  That was from the post to which I  
replied, my care between the two threads on the future and creativity  
was to point out the error of dismissing, denigrating and other wise  
denying the artistic value and worth of traditionalists while  
worshiping the god of "creativity" and "originality" as if these are  
inherently superior traits to anything else.



 ()()    JR "Bulldogge" Ross
()  ()   & Snuffy, too:)
`----'