[Harp-L] SPAH convention

[Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

   I'll be there from Thursday on.  I've been coming since '91.  Again, this
is something most instruments don't have.  Their own convention.  Pros come
here on their own dime, just to hang out and share knowledge.  Kirk "Jelly
Roll" Johnson comes every year.  When I asked him about it once, his
response was: "I learn something every time".  Kirk told me that there is
always somebody at the convention that has a fresh take on the instrument;
somebody doing something that he (Kirk) wouldn't have thought of.  Last year
Charlie Musselwhite, who has come two years in a row, told an audience that
the experience was "like church" to him.  That he got the same kind of warm
feeling being around his fellow harmonica players in one place.
   As I and others have pointed out before, a SPAH convention is an
opportunity to see the history of our instrument.  Collectors are present
with antique harmonicas. Instruments that you seldom see played nowadays,
bass and chord models, are there in force and being played remarkably well
by men and women who have spent considerable time mastering these beasts.
   There is no telling what you might encounter merely by standing around.
Don't hesitate to share your table with someone at the hotel
restaurant.  I've had many memorable meals and great discussions with fellow
players this way.  A couple of years ago in Milwaukee, I noticed an Asian
man having trouble finding a table at dinner.  I offered him a seat and it
turned out that he was one of the headliners at the Saturday night banquet,
Jia-Yi He.  Despite the language barrier, we had a very pleasant
conversation.  I made the mistake of picking up the tab and he went into a
panic mode.  In fact, it became apparent to me that I had made the man
miserable.  Perhaps it was a cultural thing.  I had done him a favor and
he felt hopelessly indebted.  Finally, he offered me one of his cds for
free.  I had him autograph it, his blood pressure went down and his
face instantly lost several stress lines.  I think I came out ahead.  His
tab was only about nine bucks and the cd was lovely.
   Another time I wound up eating lunch with Pat Ramsey and another player
well-known to us whom I won't identify.  Harmonica was never discussed.
Both men had experienced jail and prison and spent the meal
discussing addiction and the programs that allowed them to reclaim their
lives.  I didn't have much to add to the discussion, but it was a
fascinating listening experience.
   You never know what you might stumble upon instrument-wise while
wandering around.  As I mentioned in an old post, one evening I found myself
riding an elevator with Jerry Portnoy.  I mentioned to him that we both had
something in common, we had both put in time playing with the late blues
mandolinist Johnny Young.  Next thing I knew, I was in Jerry's room and he
was handing me a Pierre Beauregard specially tuned harp to play.  Those
things are like a "Big Foot" sighting and I actually had one in my hand!.
Another time, I was chatting with a guy we all know who I hadn't seen in
many years.  A couple minutes into the conversation, he gets a funny look on
his face and tells me he's got something he wants to show me.  The next few
moments were like a drug deal.  He insists on walking through the hotel
basement past the boiler room and all sorts of funky little enclaves, trying
to find a secluded spot.  Finally we're in a deserted corridor where he can
see anybody approaching from a distance.  His explanation for all this
paranoia?  "I don't want Filisko to see this!", he tells me.  He proceeded
to unveil a prototype harmonica with a very nifty feature which I had never
seen before.
   Anyway, the SPAH convention is a great experience and it needs our
support.  Anybody who can go, should!

Mick Zaklan