[Harp-L] Memphis and Weltongate

["Mick Zaklan" <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

   Can't pass up a chance to reminisce about the Memphis SPAH convention.
It was a memorable fest for a number of reasons.  I believe it was the last
appearance of Don Les at a SPAH function.  He passed away shortly
afterwards.  What a wonderful thing it was for Don to encounter an 11
year-old German kid who had committed Don's solo's to memory.  Watching
those two on stage, many of us felt that a torch had been passed from one
generation to another.  I should mention that Pat Ramsey stopped by to check
things out.  I think it was his first visit to a harmonica convention and he
was having a ball.  I recall him following Don Les around like a puppy dog,
trying to pry a few secrets out of the old master.
   I also remember Stan Harper stirring up a hornet's nest; telling a
Memphis reporter that diatonic players were "young crappers".  When it came
time for Stan to play on the convention stage, I quietly got up out of my
seat and left the room.  I noticed several others doing the same thing.
Frankly, quite a few of us were infuriated over that remark.
   This convention also marked the debut of Buzz Krantz's familiar purple
zoot suit.  I believe he bought this garment somewhere on Beale Street.  At
a store that catered to musicians.  And perhaps pimps.
   It was also the first time a SPAH performer ever gave his audience the
one finger salute.  I don't have much to add here.  That Saturday morning my
buddy, the late Ron Henderson, and I were standing around an empty lobby
when Danny Welton walked up and introduced himself.  After some harmonica
small talk, Danny invited us to join him and his girlfriend for breakfast.
I think Ron and I were initially excited about joining a fest headliner for
breakfast.  It was a memorable meal and probably indicated what was to
follow later in the day.  Danny did most of the talking and it seemed like
we were trapped in a bad comedy monologue.  Just a constant stream of
improvised wisecracks, many of them unfunny.  I remember a lot of
embarrassing things said to the waitress.  When I could get Danny to talk
harmonica; it was apparent that his main man was Larry Adler.  In
retrospect, Danny not only seemed to be influenced by Larry's playing style,
but also Larry's cockiness and knack for self-promotion.
   Danny seemed to have several lawsuits going.  He told us he had been
fired from a gig on a cruise ship and was suing the entertainment director.
He had a few unflattering words for this fellow's sexual preferences and I
remember him repeating this onstage later in the day.  This is the kind of
stuff that got his audience riled.  Our breakfast concluded with Danny
perusing the check and demanding to know "who ordered ' tax '?".  I remember
Danny's girlfriend following us back to the hotel a good ten paces behind,
like she didn't want to be associated with whole thing.
   Honestly, I liked the guy and sort of felt sorry for him.  Anybody who
brags that much is basically insecure and probably deep down miserable.  I
was pulling for him to do a great show.  But anyone who saw him at his
seminar could see that this man was unravelling.  I think he had his show
memorized and once he or the band flubbed that passage he was done.  He
could've done without some of the wisecracks ( "that was some dressing room
they gave me, a rusty nail!").  Or the one about the hotel being so rundown
that, being Jewish, he was afraid gas was going to come out of the
showerheads.  As nasty as this thing got onstage, though, it's important to
know that the guy was off his medication and messed up.  For me, one of the
saddest moments was when he started losing it and began to plaintively call
his girlfriend's name from the stage.
   I'm going to have to differ with the other guys who have written about
this.  I'm a big fan of the "trapped in the hotel" conventions.  There was
so much to do in Memphis with Beale Street and a downtown fest going on that
the hotel lobby was empty.  Everybody, at least the diatonic players, was
out on Beale Street.  At Romulus, Michigan and other sites; there was
basically nothing else to do but play harmonica.  The lobbies were always
full of people jamming or talking shop.  I loved the vibrancy of it.  I
didn't get that with the Memphis fest and I missed it.

Mick Zaklan