Re: Subject: [Harp-L] Joe Leone

joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx> · Sun, 19 Sep 2010 23:07:39 -0400

On Sep 19, 2010, at 5:31 PM, Dan Axt wrote:
Summertime...ha!  Smo-jotime is more like.  After listening to  
that, I'm of two minds. One, be inspired and rededicate myself to  
my instrument, or two, throw all my harmonicas away. I'll never be  
at that level of musicianship. Beautiful, Joe.  Dan Axt

Thank you so much Dan. Your message is a great birthday present. But  
please don't consider doing anything rash. Here's why. I played a CD  
today that a man sent me. I was immediately sent into the doldrums of  
the dumps..the depths of despair, the dens of iniquity the porticos  
of pain, the facades of frenzy.
 This guy is SOOOOOO good, I actually got sick. He has quickly risen  
to my all time top list of players. His name? Jon Ericksen. My first  
thought is to nail my harmonicas to a tree. But we must persevere.  
That's what we do. We're harmonica players. We never quit. We never  
quit. We never quit.
Smo-Joe (oh, and btw, I have spies all over and they tell me that  
you're a cool tool on a harp). So thanks again for being nice to an  
old man.
----- Original Message ----- From: <EGS1217@xxxxxxx>
To: <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, September 18, 2010 1:47 PM
Subject: Subject: [Harp-L] Joe Leone
Hey Mick:
Then you might enjoy these: :)

Smokey Joe Leone: All from Buckeye 2007 Convention
Summertime (chromatic)

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8Jt7DKMOk_
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu8Jt7DKMOk)

Angel Eyes: (chromatic)

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzlaRAHwmq4_
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzlaRAHwmq4)

After the Lovin' - (diatonic - although I don't know if this is  
one of his

'special' SmoJoe tunings)...

_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4lBYzkW4kA_
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4lBYzkW4kA)

...there are a couple of others too - easily found on youtube  
after one

watches these vids.
Maybe you could convince him there really IS a reason for him to  
make  a

CD? Several of us have tried to no avail.

Elizabeth
Message: 13
Date: Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:23:46 -0500
From: Mick Zaklan  <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Joe Leone
To:  harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Back in the early 90's; I was walking  around the hotel during one  
of the

SPAH conventions looking for an  opportunity to play.  There were  
two or

three lobby jams happening and I  stopped off at each to sit in.   
Walking

around; I noticed I was being  followed.  An intense looking guy  
was moving

parallel to me, ten or  twenty feet to my side.  Every time I  
stopped, he

stopped.  If I  pulled out a harp, he moved in close to listen.

After awhile, he approached  me.  "I've been watching you", he  
confirmed.

"You don't sound like  anybody else here."  That was my  
introduction to

Smokey Joe Leone.   As we all know from reading Joe's posts over  
the years;

this is a guy who  definitely questions the status quo and values

individuality.  So the  fact that he was interested in my playing  
was a

great

compliment to  me.

Now; a few years later I happened to be walking past one of  the  
SPAH open

stages and somebody was just sailing through a standard, just   
eating up the

changes.  Can't remember the tune, but it was something  that I  
associated

with chromatic harp but the player was using a  diatonic.  I  
immediately

assumed it was Tom Troestler but it turned out  to be my friend,  
Joe.  It

was

the first time I had been able to actually  hear Joe play and it  
was a

revelation.  At one point, he switched over  to chromatic and,  
like Tom

Troestler, was every bit as adept on that  instrument as he was on  
the

"short

harp".

I'm excited to see  that Joe is actually officially involved in a  
fest.

That somebody finally  figured out that this guy has accrued a ton of

knowledge and playing ability  that ought to be recognized and  
shared with

the rest of the harmonica  community.  Long overdue.
Mick  Zaklan