Re: [Harp-L] Cigar Harp update and breakthrough

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Apr 9, 2008, at 7:33 PM, <venkyr@xxxxxxx> <venkyr@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> Also, at the recent Buckeye Harmonica convention we had a juggler  
> play a bunch of harps perfectly.
>
> Great entertainment value!

As a general rule I neither crave someone whom thrashes around on  
stage nor do I fully appreciate someone who stands there and presents  
their performance with all the aplomb of a corpse.

While there are people whom don't like funny gimmicky hats,  
outlandish outfits, and  overly accentuated gestures, there are also  
those who want to know that the player is at the very least..alive.

The person you refer to is the GREAT..and here we go again with the  
'what do you want to be known as'.. Michael Runyan. Doctor Michael  
Runyan, in fact. In MY estimation, he would be known by the same term  
that 'I' would love to be known as. Namely..UNDER RATED.

Michael performed at the spah Milwaukee 2007 and did another novelty  
act dressed as a cowboy. The amount of harp switching (all types of  
harps) was stunning. It definitely required all the practice and  
coreography and timed movements that Michael Behn would have needed  
to do the fancy pistolero work in the movie 'Tombstone'.

Meanwhile, Michael is a premier player. Not always a novelty player.  
When necessary, he is capable of playing with the likes of Marvin  
Hamlish, Andre Previn, Burt Bachrach. He is the trustee of the  
archives of the Indianapolis symphony (of which he is a member). He  
also does the arranging. He has played with the Windsor Ont., Pgh.,  
Phila, Houston symphonies (and many more).

We're not talking the Zamboanga, Antofagasta, or Prudoe Bay  
symphonies. We're talking some serious gigs here. I am waiting for  
his first CD. But like me, he has shelved it several times. I can't  
wait to hear him do his renditions of: 'Variations on a Pagannini  
Theme by Rachmaninov, OR 'Interlude in the Afternoon of a Faun' (aka  
Moonlight, OR.. Claire de Lune), by Claude DeBusey (NOT Gary Busey),  
OR 'These Precious Moments..on the Warsaw Concerto'

Shy and quiet offstage with a presence not unlike a systems analyst,  
he really changes once on stage.

Yes, it was great having Michael get some recognition from spah.  
That's what we need more of. More new faces.

Be sure to check out his website. Just Google Mike Runyan

just my opinion...smokey joe



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