[Harp-L] Custom Harmonicas: Rick Epping's Role

[Buddha <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>]

Of course there were guys who did it before Joey.  I knew Dick Gardner
for years before I met Filisko and in fact I gained my foundation with
Dick and was able to have a common point with Joe when I met him in
1991. I learn about Rick Epping during this time.

When I say Joe started the movement, I mean he was the catalyst that
spawned so many to work on their own instruments and to start their
own "custom" shop.

We all know Overblows were around before Howard Levy and for a player
like me, it's almost impossible to concieve that I learned OBs before
I ever heard of Howard or his music. Mike Turk used several OBs on his
"beans taste fine" album recorded in 1967.  Mike Turk is the person I
give credit to for learning OB's however one could argue that it was
Howard Levy who started the OB movement even though Mike Turk was
doing it in 1967 when Howard says his first one popped out in 1969.


Brendan Power writes:
Interesting reading the recent posts about custom harmonicas, and the
different brands. One comment from Buddah caught my eye:

"Joe Filisko is the guy who really started the custom harmonica
movement."

Is that true? Well before Joe there were some very expert customisers,
but they tended to concentrate on chromatics (the great Dick Gardner
comes to mind).