[Harp-L] SPAH conventions

[Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>]

   Michelle, thank you for your thoughts on this. I believe that if SPAH
didn't exist currently, it probably wouldn't have formed in today's
environment. To me, it's almost a sociological thing.  When I first went in
'91; I noticed most members were of the WW ll and Korean War generation.
Those folks were joiners and organizers.  They went through the Great
Depression and fought wars together.  Back then it was a status thing to
belong to a social group or organization.  They joined Elks, Moose clubs,
Shriners, Masons, VFW, American Legion, labor unions, etc., in great
numbers.  They were used to working together and getting things done.  Even
their harmonica playing involved playing with other harmonica players
in duos, trios, and quartets.  Definitely a social, cooperative thing.
   Along came my generation, the "boomers".  We jumped on the diatonic
harp.  It was sold as an "outlaw", "outsider" thing.  A way to express your
individuality.  I still remember the Tony Glover book, with a harp stuck in
a motorcycle boot on the cover.  It was like joining an exotic,
secret subculture.  You didn't play with other harpists, you were competing
with them for gigs.  Guys that knew stuff weren't too keen on sharing it.
For every guy you met that was friendly, there were two or three others who
were distant, grumpy.  Definitely not something conducive to forming a
national organization and having annual fests.
   I don't know what the answer is here.  I know Harvey Berman has formed an
informal group of mainly diatonic harpists in New Orleans.  I know Joe
Filisko controls a fairly sizable group of harp students, enough to fill a
nightclub once a year for a blues harmonica recital.  But I doubt if either
of these groups could muster enough man hours to run a festival in their
cities.  But maybe in the future they could.  Maybe this is where things are
headed.
   I went through this a few years ago in Judo.  Our local club, maybe a
couple dozen members, decided to host a national tournament.  The national,
salaried people came in and kind of ran roughshod over the locals.  We did
the grunt work, they imposed their formula and kept most of the money that
was made.  We had stuff that was sort of unique to our area, some of which
we were able to slip in and the tournament was better for it.  But the
experience and professionalism of the national folks was also helpful.  In
my opinion, you need input and compromise from both sides, national and
local, for a good tournament or convention.
   The current demographic, as Richard Hunter pointed out last year, isn't
sustainable.  But it is incredible that you could have a gathering of people
from 8 years old to 80+, from every conceivable musical style, every
socio-economic group, all united by the love of this primitive and largely
scorned little instrument.  It's a beautiful thing.  I hope we can keep it
going.

Mick Zaklan