Re: [Harp-L] Re: blown out harps

["bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
I saw Big Walter at least a dozen times during the 1970's and hung out with him and got to know him a bit. All the amps he used were all borrowed and set up loud as most players do, but for about 75-80% of the time, he did NOT play hard at all. In fact, it was often quite soft and when he did hit some notes harder (tho not REALLY hard, the effect was dramatic and by him not playing hard all the time, it allowed him to get a stunning variety of tonal colors not possible if you're playing too hard all the time.
 
Walter was also one of the biggest BS artists I've ever met, and some of the things he said, you needed to take with a grain of salt. I remember someone asking him one time if he ever tongue blocked, his answer was "I don't ever put a goddamned tongue on no damned harmonica!" Well, hello, we all know you have to in order to tongue block and play octaves, but there are other stories of him saying crap that are too numerous but often quite funny.
 
while I was on the road with Jimmy Rogers, Jimmy told me one time he had both Walter and Eddie Taylor at his house for dinner and Walter told him that he and Eddie just flew a plane!!! If anyone ever knew Walter, they'd be laughing like hell because if anyone ever saw him back up a car, it was almost a frightening experience to wacth, and I for one saw that right in front of my eyes.
 
Instead of just the non stop knee jerk reactions, if one was to listen with "bigger ears," (which doesn't mean someone stretching your ears out like dumbo the elephant) meaning listening not like a music fan, but a pro musician, listening to things in INFINITE detail, not just for the notes, but the subtle nuances, and as an example, listen to his classic, "Easy," on the first two choruses, he plays 90% of it with a very soft breath, and to prove it, try it first acoustic and then amplified and you will hear it.
 
One day in 1978, a friend of mine came up from NYC to see him and at the end of the night, my friend asked him how did he play the intro on his cover of "Can't Hold On Much Longer," that's on the Alligator LP he did. He had packed his harps up and so he borrowed mine, and then proceeded to play it. He played very softly, almost like a whisper, and minus the distortion, exactly like he recorded it, which was unusal for him to do. Later, I tried it for myself and yep, there it was, and when I got a chance to do it amplifed, there it was again. it was 2 minutes of a huge lesson in REALLY playing harmonica, and I went back to all of his recordings and found out how often he did NOT play hard, and also along with LW, both Sonny Boys, Wells, you name it, and the same thing was true with all of them that they didn't play anywhere near as hard as many people believe, except in spots for emphasis. An example of this plays right now and that's Kim Wilson.
Trust me, that was an eye opener of a lesson I've never forgotten.
 
Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/ 

---------- Original Message ----------
From: HTownFess <Spschndr@xxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: blown out harps
Date: Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:52:41 -0700 (PDT)

The complete Big Walter quote on p. 56 of Tom Ball's book concerns the
recording of the song "Easy":

"In Escott and Hawkins' book Sun Records--The Brief History, Big
Walter recalled, 'We cut that thing in three or four takes but my box
started screechin' and we had to cut it.  I played real loud on that
one.  I like to play loud.'"

If BW was talking about his amp feeding back on that session, then was
he talking about how he liked to turn his amps up loud, rather than
how hard he played the harmonica?

Too bad we can't ask him if he's been quoted out of context :-).

Stephen Schneider

On Jun 22, 12:14 pm, Rick Davis <bluesharpa...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Bob-
>
> Read Tom Ball's excellent book about Big and Little Walter harp licks.
> In the book, Ball quotes Big Walter Horton:
>
> "I like to play loud."  Indeed he did!
>
> To bad you couldn't give him your pointers about breath control...
>
> Some players use an economy of air in the harp, others wail.  Let's not
> pretend one is more virtuous than the other.  There are other factors in
> reed failure than playing loud, and some of us who do play loud do so with a
> full understanding of the costs.  It is a choice, not a failing.
>
> Sincerely,
> -Rick Davis
>

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