Re: [Harp-L] Re. Overblows etc.

[Grant Walters <grant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Nick:

What I hear from you is passion...I love that.
My cousin, a sax player, seems to have come to this over blow quite easily...
I've yet to master it but I am not a total old schooler either.
I don't think he looks down on me for not using it...
I wish I could be as fluid as the guys on the list who have worked so hard on this new technique.

I have spent countless hours trying to match horn lines.
Little Walter, in my humble opinion, was playing his version of what the sax guys were doing in his time.
Therefore I am always drawn to Little Walter.

My guess is that if Little Walter was exposed to this  technique...he might, (only a might) have wanted to use it.
Horn lines flow in a way that is hard to match with in and out breathing...


But most of all I can't help but think of Norton Buffalo and how he referred to the "bag of tricks".
How could it not help to have another trick in your bag.

This whole conversation has me hot to get off the gig grind and woodshed on some of this "new" stuff.
Alas, I am still trying to master the revolutionary rhythm and pop of Sonny Terry, (hoots and hollers too) 
Deford Baily still blows my mind and there is this guy named Mad Cat that scratched my back on the Hohner album. ( still can't match it)
Don't even bring up Paul Delay's technique...to far out...These darn kids...what will they do next...should I just leave it alone.  
Naw...I still want to play barry Sax on my Low F.   Now, that is hard to do...

But I hear what you are saying...and that is why I show up to hear the old school guys every time they hit town...I love it.

Thanks for getting everybody worked up...
and reminding us that just getting a cowboy hat won't make anybody a cowboy...
There is room for all these styles...as long as you put your soul into it. 
I am sure you will.  Look forward to your project...
If you need some horns...try Michael Peloquin...on the harmonica.(insert over blows here)

peace brother
Grant


 




 

On Feb 9, 2010, at 5:16 PM, Steve Baker wrote:

> Hi Nick,
> 
> good luck with your music, I look forward to hearing it and hope that you can find your market. It's good to know that there are still young, dedicated harp players out there who are willing to put their money where their mouth is, respect! I can relate to that.
> 
> Regarding overblows, I think you'll find they're definitely here to stay. Maybe some day you'll feel the desire to check out the possibilities that they offer. I'm not a real overblow specialist myself but I learned the technique from a friend in the mid 80s (pre-Levy) and use the OB notes as standard choices in a wide range of styles where they make sense. It's just a playing technique, the only thing that has any significance is what you do with it. There's been a lot of hype surrounding OBs in the past and that has certainly led some to see the technique itself as some kind of holy grail, but an increasing number of players simply work it into their music. It doesn't have to be a big deal.
> 
> Traditional blues harmonica is probably the most popular musical genre among readers of harp-l, so I don't really understand why you see yourself as belonging to a minority. Personally I would say that although I worship Little Walter, who was probablythe greatest single (harmonica) influence on my playing, I've never really tried to emulate him. I just borrowed his ideas whenever they fitted the music I was playing, which is what Walter did with the horn players he was listening to in the early 1950s,
> 
> Steve Baker
> www.stevebaker.de
> www.bluesculture.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
>