Re: [Harp-L] 2010 IBC - I'm Upset

[Zack <zack.pomerleau@xxxxxxxxx>]

I was there, but didn't see the finals. Either way, what is is what is.

On Wed, Jan 27, 2010 at 3:55 PM, <BluzeHarp@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> Anyone else in Memphis for the IBC?  Jimi Lee was in a tough  preliminary
> room, with last years solo/duo finals runner-up, + Eric Hughes,  a Memphis
> staple & very talented guy (also a harmonica  player)...Jimi put on a great
> show & won that room!   He went on to the finals, where an act from Canada
> that I missed  seeing eventually got the top nod.
>
> Later on something happened in the band division  finals which really
> bothers me.  The winning act, Grady  Champion, put on a good show, except
> for one
> thing.  Grady played  a lot of long & well received solos on the harmonica,
> walking into  the crowd singing & playing harp with a wireless at the end
> of the  set.  His singing was good, the rest of the band was tight... but
> the
>  harmonica work was what I'd (kindly) describe as a near beginner level
> performance.  I'm quite familiar with the judging criterion, I've  judged
> for
> the last three years in local qualifying events in Colorado,  including
> when
> we sent Lionel Young as a solo act... who wound up winning  the whole damn
> thing in 2008.  The categories are weighted, tied as  one of the most
> important categories is musicianship, which in  this case seems to have
> been
> tossed out the window.
>
> So, what would the verdict have been if he played a guitar  instead of
> harmonica in the same amateurish fashion?  I  suspect the band would have
> never
> been sent to Memphis, much the less to  the finals.  I'm upset that the
> panel of judges at the  IBC finals, notable people in the industry who are
> there
>  because they "know" about musicianship & the blues, were so abysmally
> ignorant of what constitutes talent on the harmonica.  Did they simply  not
> know, or did they give him a pass because after all, it was only a
>  harmonica?
>
> I'm pleased that a band with a harp player got the nod, and am  not trying
> to deliberately insult the winner, he was indeed  otherwise a good
> performer.  Certainly there's hope for  his playing, lessons with a guy
> like Ronnie
> Shellist, Adam Gussow,  Dave Barrett or any of the other great teachers we
> know could  quickly get him to where the harp portion would  be listenable.
>  I
> genuinely wish this band great success on  the wonderful journey that is
> now ahead of them (I'd kill to get paid  to go on the Blues Cruise)... but,
> DAMN, if you're going to now be  playing blues harmonica on a national
> stage,
> do yourself a giant  favor and contact Ronnie at harmonica123.com,
> otherwise
> the harp part will hold  you back.
>
> Chris
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