[Harp-L] Re: Garden State Harmonica Club Festival

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Smo-Jo wrote:
<Yeah, there SHOULD be a smattering of everything. I know that's a  
<tall order. I mean, no one is getting paid (on the one hand) to do  
<all this planning, but on the other hand it DOES represent some  
<serious outlay for some of the attendees. It really comes down to  
<money. Back in the old days, all the members from Michigan could get  
<to Romulus, most were retired, most had the time, most had the money,  
<and they were preserving what THEY wanted.

Roots of SPAH aside, one of the things that I like most about SPAH is the wide range of music I hear there.  It is amazing to hear how many ways there are to play the harmonica.  Sometimes just knowing that something CAN be done is enough to get you thinking about how it might be incorporated in your own playing.

Regarding Smo-Jo's second point, we are apparently at the beginning of a new boom era for harmonica.  There are more harmonica manufacturers than ever, more harmonicas at every price point and quality point, more amp manufacturers big and small, more mic manufacturers, etc., etc.  If so many commercial vendors are paying more attention to harmonica, there must be money out there to raise the prominence of the harmonica and this festival.

I mean, can you imagine what the world would make of a 5-day guitar festival that included almost every famous guitarist in the world, mingling shoulder-to-shoulder with absolute novices?  That is exactly what SPAH is.  Granted that harmonica players are not (yet) as famous as guitarists in general.  That can change.  SPAH could be a vehicle for that change.  

Regards, Richard Hunter


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