[Harp-L] Re: Overblows in the blues - check this out

[Ev630 <eviltweed@xxxxxxxxx>]

>
> Saying that "Jason can't get his sound without his pedals" is true but it's
> hardly a comment on his basic technique. Of course he can't get certain
> sounds
> without the pedals. Nobody could.
>

Hi Richard - you are exactly correct. In fact, what you're saying confirms
what I have been saying all along. The tone of puckered and OB playing
differs from traditional methods - and (surprise, surprise) IT'S OKAY TO
ACKNOWLEDGE IT without throwing a hissy fit.

 Finally, talking about a "fat sound" as if it was the end-all and be-all is
> a
> mistake in itself. That sound is perfectly suited to blues, of course, and
> we
> all love it.
>

We completely agree. Right from my earliest posts I acknowledged that there
are different requirements for different genres, and great music made in all
of them. My point has never been to advocate a certain tone - but rather to
observe the flaws of a much-touted technique in the same way that I have to
read about the flaws of the techniques that I favour.

But blues is not the only thing out there. Toots Thielemans's
> sound is not "fat" in the same way that Little Walter's is. John Popper
> gets a
> lot of static on this list, but the fact is that his audience loves his
> sound,
> which has a lot of electronics in it, and it's a sound that's perfectly
> suited
> to the band he leads. I very much doubt that a straight-up blues sound
> would
> work with Blues Traveler for more than a few minutes.
>

We are in agreement!

But you must admit, Richard, that there are a group of musicians who use OBs
as a yardstick to denigrate other genres - in particular, the blues. They're
the sort of people who create an artificial divide between whatever music
they enjoy or study, and the musical form that they themselves owe so much
to. Like it or not, blues is at the center of the harmonica world - it's the
form that most laymen think of first when you mention harmonica. (Well,
okay, maybe sometimes Bob Dylan comes first). Those of us who have made an
artistic choice to play certain techniques and not others get very tired of
people who often couldn't play an authentic, traditional blues with a gun at
their heads lecture and hector us about not using a technique that does not
fit the genre. In other words, the point you have just made.

In point of fact, you have now presented two arguments used by
"traditionalists" and for which we often receive groans and catcalls from OB
fans: that you can't get a fattened tone without assistance using OBs, and
that it's FINE to not apply techniques and tones to certain genres.

I think we are making excellent progress. I certainly feel pleased to have
Richard Hunter making my arguments for me.

Best,
Drew