Re: [Harp-L] Re: Why Charlie's Cruncher was backwards, and other stuff

<bfrain@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:08:33 +0000

shocking.  a harp player trying to dupe a sound man.  lol
---- Rob Paparozzi <Chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> Greg,
> 
> Thank You for getting Charlie's response and posting it here....and I too 
> couldn't agree more...
> 
> Look, everyone is entitled to hear Blues in their own special way and I 
> truly respect folks having opinions about that and it's "all good".
> 
> But what Charlie has done and has been doing ALL of his career is IMHO, is 
> to be commended. He constantly keeps BLUES on the cutting edge by testing 
> and contributing to it's boundaries. Obviously for Musicians of the caliber 
> of BB King, Toots Thielemans, Charlie, Yo Yo Ma, Howard Levy, Mark O'Connor, 
> Sam Bush...and I can go on & on...there ARE no boundaries!
> 
> These amazing artists have kept there EARS open and brought these eclectic 
> sounds back to their Genre of Choice and  given US the listeners some 
> beautiful and innovative music. That is exactly why POP artists have sought 
> out their services.
> 
> That is the difference, Charlie & Howard and Toots aren't just Harp Players, 
> they are MUSICIANS first and the results are obvious.
> 
> I have taken a lot of heat over the years for branching into to a wide 
> variety of styles, you can rest assured, I have laughed at my critics.
> I love the idea of playing in a Broadway show, then going to jam with Johnny 
> Winter for 3 hrs at S.I.R then the next day playing on a Beer Commercial or 
> playing with a Big Band or on a Celebrity's CD or anybody's CD! Then going 
> to play a wedding or a film date with the NY Philharmonic.
> 
> I'm a Musician and a Harmonica Player and I do not preface it with (Diatonic 
> or Chromatic)...I may not always get to DO IT the way I want but at least 
> I'm getting paid to do what I love and that is play music.
> 
> My Highest Bravos and Kudos go out to my Friend Charlie Musselwhite and wish 
> him an amazing tour with 'new audiences' near and far,
> I thank him for all he has taught me thru his music over the years....Travel 
> Safe as always Charlie and have a Ball with it!!!!
> 
> PS... I remember getting a call one afternoon, from the late Mindy Jostyn, 
> she used to play Gtr, Fiddle and Harp with Cyndi in the 90's.
> She wanted to know how I played my solo on a Cyndi Lauper record and she was 
> confused, ( I was switching back and forth between 2nd and 3rd postion) so I 
> explained it to her so she could play the song live). The song was called 
> 'Broken Glass' and had kind of a hip hop groove, I also remember getiing an 
> email from Charlie Musselwhite at that time too as he heard the track and 
> love it!,-) Different Strokes Folks!
> 
> PSS....Greg's Volume controls are a must, if you get stuck on stage with an 
> ASS soundman that is always trying to 'duck out' the harmonica in the mix, 
> you can set the volume to half during soundcheck tell the sound guy you are 
> at full volume and need more! Then later at the show when your getting 
> buried by the guitar player, you Crank to the right baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,-) a 
> little trick of the trade!
> 
> 
> Love & Respect,
> Rob Paparozzi
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Greg Heumann" <greg@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 2:37 AM
> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Why Charlie's Cruncher was backwards, and other stuff
> 
> 
> >I emailed Charlie and asked him. Here's what he said:
> >
> > "They picked up the band at 5:15am. When we got to the studio they had  it 
> > all set up like they wanted. A Times Square TV studio like that  with an 
> > audience and all is a very busy and complicated place. I was  curious 
> > about why they had my amp turned around, but there was no time  to even 
> > discuss it. We just had time to get straight to work. When it  was over 
> > the crew started breaking everything down with the precision  of a drill 
> > team while they hustled the band out to a waiting van. Next  week when I 
> > fly back to meet Cyndi in Cleveland to start the tour,  I'll get to 
> > discuss it because I'm curious too about the amp  placement. Another thing 
> > all those folks should know is that whatever  sound I was getting from my 
> > Cruncher, it was at the mercy of the  studio before it reached the TV 
> > listening audience. I have no way of  controlling that and they can change 
> > your sound dramatically and the  player has no way of knowing about it.  A 
> > professional that's backing  somebody up plays what's appropriate for who 
> > they're backing up and  what's appropriate is what the artist that hired 
> > them wants. If you  ignore what they want and just play what you 
> > want.....you ain't going  to last long in that line of work. It's not a 
> > difficult concept to  grasp. If you hired a guy to paint your house and he 
> > decided to paint  it his favorite color instead of the color the homeowner 
> > asked  for.....well that'd be plain stupid.  That shouldn't be so hard to 
> > understand unless you're the kind of person that just likes to look  for 
> > something negative to say. If you come to hear me live, you would  hear 
> > something very different. But, no matter how hard you try and no  matter 
> > how much you care, there's always some sour puss out there just  waiting 
> > to jump on you with something negative and they are, for the  most part, 
> > clueless - they weren't there; they don't know what all  went on behind 
> > the scenes, but they're not going to hesitate from  blabbing a bunch of 
> > baloney as if they're some kind of authority.  Personally, when I see 
> > anybody getting any kind of work at all in this  business - I'm pulling 
> > for them. All that negative baloney is just  plain silly."
> >
> > I couldn't agree more.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > /Greg
> >
> > http://www.blowsmeaway.com
> > http://www.bluestateband.net
> > http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/duracool/id343874731
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > 
>