Re: [Harp-L] In Praise of Paul deLay

["Patrick Lines" <plines@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had a chance to talk to Paul delay at a small festival after his set. He 
alternated between playing through his vocal mic and a Green Bullet and I 
was curious because there was no apparent amp that he was playing through. 
So, I asked him and he showed me his " Space Case" which was a small 
suitcase deal that held his harps and a "Zoom" multi effect amp simulator 
and some other effect pedal (?). He plugged his mic direct into the case and 
out to the PA. The case also had a small light in it so he could see his 
harps. He got a cleaner sound with the bullet by holding it in one hand 
turned slightly into his palm so the edge of his thumb and his second and 
third finger made a partial cup. He'd then do a traditional tight cup for 
the darker tone.
I got to talk to him a couple of times because he was very available to 
everyone. This time in particular it was because long after the rest of the 
band had disappeared he was sitting on the edge of the stage cleaning his 
harps and his body language and smile were saying come and talk to me.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Wolf Kristiansen" <wolfkristiansen@xxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 4:02 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] In Praise of Paul deLay


> Paul deLay, Portland songwriter, singer and harmonica player, deserves to 
> be heard by all on this list.  He died on March 7, 2007. Most of you will 
> have heard him, on recording at least, by now. For those who haven't, seek 
> out a CD or two, and listen!  Your ears will be opened.
>
> I've been listening to him a lot lately.  His first recordings were 
> clearly blues based; his later ones not so much.  He always retained a 
> bluesy feel, to my ears.  His songs always had a spark of originality. 
> In his later years, he had the advantage of having a jazzy, talented, 
> rhythmically sophisticated organist and arranger in his band, Louis Pain.
>
> He was much more than a harmonica player.  But-- since this is harp-l I'll 
> focus on what I hear in his harmonica playing:
>
> 1. Subtle manipulation of tone by hand placement.  Not for him the 
> constant supertight grip to get a dark compressed tone à la  typical 
> "Chicago Style" blues harp.  His normal grip was a looser grip, with the 
> corresponding treblier sound.  He would throw in contrasting darker tones 
> via tighter grip when appropriate.  He often darkened the tone when he hit 
> the low notes.  The tone changes added a lot to the character of his 
> playing.
>
> 2. Wonderful use of a delay pedal.  He should have written a book-- "deLay 
> on Delay".  Anyone know what he used?
>
> 3. Use of arrangements to add power and punch to his live and studio 
> offerings.  Some of his solos, to my ears, are clearly improvised, but 
> there are always parts in his songs that have been carefully thought out. 
> As an example, he often uses what we used to call "pushes", where the band 
> plays ryhthmic shots in unison at some point in the song.
>
> 4. Absolutely original note choices, runs and harmonies.  You will hear 
> things in his playing you haven't heard anywhere else, either before or 
> after Paul's moment in the sun.  He was equally original with chromatic or 
> diatonic.  His third position diatonic playing was outstanding, and wasn't 
> limited to minor key songs.
>
> 5. A preference for a cleaner sound than most blues based harp players. 
> Despite being relatively clean, the notes had plenty of body.  The cleaner 
> sound let him put in more detail.  He had plenty of musical detail to 
> offer.
>
> 6. Perfect pitch.  Few or no rhythmic missteps.  He swung when he wanted 
> to, but played in all sorts of rhythms.  Whatever he did, it was always 
> rhythmic.
>
> Anyways, I just thought he needed fresh acknowledgment on this list, 
> especially for the benefit of the newcomers who may not have heard him.
>
> Cheers,
>
> wolf kristiansen
>
>
>      __________________________________________________________________
> Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your 
> favourite sites. Download it now at
> http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com.
>
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org
> Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l