[Harp-L] To be Heard... In a rock band

["Bradford Trainham" <bradford.trainham@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Okay...  I'll be as succinct as I never am... 
I sing and play harmonica for a "classic rock" band.  The lead guitarist
doubles as a sound man... And when he's doing sound, he pumps up my vocal
mic such that I can step back just a little when singing and then do my
harmonica stuff without much if any feedback while still being heard. 
But when we have gigs where someone else is running the sound, my harmonica
never quite cuts through the mix. 
So far, I've resisted the idea of an amp because I'm not sure I'd like the
sound of myself electrified.  But I do begin to wonder what strategy would
have me producing a clean sound that would cut through the mix well enough
to be heard, but which wouldn't introduce distortion unless the song
warranted distortion. 
What combination of mic and amp/processor would have me with an "acoustic"
sound, (I'm a guitarist and tend to divide everything into things acoustic
and electric.) but would give me the capability of upping the volume if I
wasn't coming through someone's mix?
Please "talk down" when you reply as I'm ill-acquainted with
tubes/wattage/wiring-schematics/anything-at-all-scientific.
Brad Trainham