Re: [Harp-L] Jazz Jams at SPAH 2009 - and not just jazz

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 6/3/2009 2:31:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
leone@xxxxxxxx writes:

On Jun  3, 2009, at 1:56 PM, IcemanLE@xxxxxxx wrote:

> It's normal for  different people to have different memories of an
> event  -

Especially if we are talking about DIFFERENT events...which we  are.
>
> My memory of the Jazz Club contradicts  Smo-Jo's.

No, they don't. Your recollections are about YOUR events, and  mine
are about MINE. Take Denver 01. There were only 4 people who  played
on that one. Randy, Rob, Mike (Turk) Mike (Polesky). I don't  recall
anyone else taking a shot at it. And there were a lot of  other good
players there. The lighting was Wrigley Field, the  atmosphere was
conference hall, the acoustics were  echoey.

oops, my mistake. I was referring to Golden Age, you were referring to
Diamond Age. Sorry.



You may be talking about 99. Unfortunately I wasn't there.  That's the
one that included Toots. I DO have an audio of the  event.
I'm referring to 97, 98, and 99.



> Acoustics were good,volume was under control, lighting  was tempered
> (Bob Williams wanted to give the
>   flavor of a Jazz Club), attendees knew what was going on,
>  attendance was
> good,  multiple mics let three harmonica players  on stage at the
> same time,
> which lead  to a lot of  interesting interplay,

That's the way it SHOULD be.

> and  Randy had a solid handle on  controlling some of the egos. It
> did run concurrent with other events,
> but the  idea was  to have a World Class experience in which it was
>  impossible
> to attend  everything and there was a lot to choose  from. Beginners
> were
> intimidated, as it  was a  much more professional situation.
> However, it gave
>  those with experience a  chance to really play with excellent  acoustic
> musicians.
>
> At the time, SPAH was moving in a  different direction than Buckeye,
> which
> was more geared  towards the beginner.

Let's talk about that statement. So, what's wrong  with gearing an
event that caters to the 'bread & butter' (so to  speak) of the
harmonica brother/sisterhood?

. The 82.5 % who  MAKE spah, Buckeye, GSHC, VHC, et al. can actually
GET something  useable out of spah, and to whom spah SHOULD represent.
Look, there  are 82.5 % of attendees and their spouses or other
significants, who  are average blokes. THEN there are 8.75% whom are
good enough to do  the shows. That leaves 8.75% who are in limbo. Not
quite good enough  to do a show slot, but also a little too high up
the food chain to  sit there and listen to players and seminar
instructors who aren't  any better than they are.

> The idea was that, between the  two
> events.

> both beginner and more advanced players would  find exactly what they
> needed.

What you're saying is elitist.  It smacks of "Hey, if you're a
beginner, go to Buckeye, we're not  interested, but if you're
advanced, come to spah".
(koff), uh, interpretation may be in the mind of the reader. We wanted SPAH
 to be a different experience than Buckeye. SPAH was headed into a more 
professional direction than Buckeye, which was more user friendly. Nothing
wrong  with that. To say ""Hey, if you're a beginner, go to Buckeye, we're not
interested, but if you're advanced, come to spah" sounds to my ears like a
bit of "spin doctoring" harkening back to the ol' Tate/Iceman exchanges. In
 all fairness, I used to be a lot more of an a**hole back then. The problem
 with having an "a**holectamy" is that people tend to hold onto the old
image  longer than is necessary. (I dug my own pit. I accept the responsibility
and am  not angered by responses like this - more amused than anything
else).

Ok, so  the fact that I played Buckeye 03,
05, 07, (and other years) makes  me a beginner.
See, another example of spin doctoring, throwing a negative  curve on a
posting that never stated that those that play at  Buckeye are beginners.

Now I  understand. I'm
one of the 8.75% in limbo.
>
> Randy was  instrumental in creating the Jazz Club

And I GAVE him the credit. Now I  can't say anything about Bob as I
had no interaction with him, but  on several occasions, I made
suggestions to the rest of the  establishment (Mitchell, Dobson,
Harris, etc), and it fell on deaf  ears. Ya know why? No respect.
Still harboring feelings of resentment, perhaps?



> and we were behind his
> ideas to bring in the  professional musicians and PA, piano, etc.
> Perhaps  Randy
>  has his own recollection of the Jazz Club to  offer.
>
> Lame it was not, in my opinion.

My use of the  word lame was in reference to DENVER 01 and Denver  06.
>
Once again, my mistake. Sorry. Thought you were talking pre Tate
conventions.


>  So, we leave the "viewer to determine which, if any, is the  truth."

Doesn't scare me at all..................smo-joe  Sosa
OK, Fearless Joe. You're the Man! :>)





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