Re: [Harp-L] Can one make a living playing harp? (Long)

[Grant Walters <grant@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I love the comments below and from a real pro...what a great site this is...

Saw an interesting interview with Rod Piazza and the ever lovely Ms. Honey-Owl  the other day...she sure had great attitude about where the blues had taken her...
Round the world and then some..don't forget that part of the equation...The Harmonica will open doors for you...break the ice...and get you invited to some goings on..

Just to mention Norton...(below)....He played some gigs I promoted ....I'm sure we barely covered his gas.....A true Pro...with a huge heart....
He wanted to help the old folks in my little town...and hang out at a car show...
His band was fantastic...and just had a blast....(knockouts)....
Hell...it is just fun to play....
I like the comments about the Horizontal experiences, for instance...my way into bands and promotion of gigs was to buy a second hand PA.

When I was a kid I learned that if I had a leather basketball...the older guys would always find a place for me when picking teams...( or I would take my ball and go home).

If you own the PA, book the gigs...do the graphics, deal with the club owners and treat your band mates with respectl...you will always have work...
Sometimes I get paid more to do sound (for other events) than I do to play Harmonica and sing...and I am not a trained sound man.
But don't get me wrong...Harp playing is fun.....the rest is work...and keeping the equipment in working order is expensive....Club owners are difficult...etc, etc...
Humping the equipment in the rain yesterday...I wondered why I do it all.

Secret is...I would pay to play music with the guys I get  to play with...I love it and some days I wonder what if I would have been "married to the blues"...(no day job)

In many cases, bands don't feel they "need" a harp player....bringing some other skills is a way into more doors...

But being in a band is the best...It is a family and an experience beyond a price tag.

Grant Walters
Big Crawdaddy Band




On Sep 19, 2010, at 6:41 PM, rob paparozzi wrote:

> You can make a livin playin harp but as you can see from the responses it sure can be quite challenging.
> In this day n' age only three players I know of and have tremendous respect for:  Robert Bonfiglio and Tommy Morgan and Mickey Raphael  play ONLY harmonica for a living. Their income is from PLAYING harmonica! I'd like to add Mike Turk but I'm not sure what he's up to Lately or if he is teaching etc.....who am I forgetting in the USA??
> Internationally I'm sure there must be more and hopefully some more in the US that I'm unaware of.....
> Though I love players like Toots, Galison, Peloquin, Levy, Madcat, Brendan, Randy S, Baker, Meurkens  etc, they either double on others axes, write or have harp related buisness' to generate a portion of their income such as myself. However, we should point out these players do quite well when paid for their expert Harmonica playing services be it live or studio.
> Dave Barrett, Gindick, Gruenling, Filisko, Yerxa,  also seem to be making a living or supplementing their incomes  playing, performing and teaching etc. I have tremendous respect for them and the great work they do fo our instrument......
> Then my list gets larger, if we think of diatonic players who JUST play harp you can include Magic Dick and Lee Oskar and Jerry Portnoy. WHEN they were with Full Time bands. Like War, J Geils,and Muddy n' Clapton.  Since then they have gotten into other endeavors aside from just playin harp to supplement their income.
> Two great players still with us that are retired but made a darn good living with just Harmonica are Stan Harper and Blackie Shackner.
> So I guess my point is, if HARP is your first love, don't be discouraged do it!You may have to add other music related skills ie: reading,doubling, singing, teaching, recordIng, songwriting, contracting....but don't sweat it as it will make you a better Musician and Harp Player in the long run.
> My situation as M.Fugazzi points out is rare indeed, but so Is everyone's and you have to do what works YOU and your situation. There IS no magic formula.
> I'm 58 have a BA in Sociology and have played Music part time, full time, had day gigs, did construction work, was a Juvenile Probation Officer, played on Broadway, did Studio work with Bo Diddley to Cy Coleman....played in bars and at some of the worlds largest festivals, TV with DOLLY to Boy George....fronted BS&T and The Original Blues Brothers Band on Vocals & Harp.
> ....It's all good and I was able to raise a family too thru all this craziness! Now that my kids are grown I can travel more w/ my music.
> Just like I NEVER think of myself as a either a diatonic player OR chromatic player, a blues player OR a jazz player TB or PUCKERER ..I carry THAT philosophy on with me in my life and music. No neat boxes or genre labels are allowed in MY world of music.
> It's just that I love the musical diversity and also LOVE that I can make more money via that ecclectic approach to music. Some can 'specialize' and for them THAT is what works best..I applaud as well.
> In the music Biz I play Harmonica, Sing, play Guitar, Piano. My expertise is in Fronting and Leading bands of all styles. I keep 'entertainment' and the art of it HIGH on my list of priorties.
> I hope thIs helps shed some lIght on this topic.......do what you do WELL and the Money WILL follow. It matters not whether u play FT or PT, Music will always be THERE for you to give you Joy!
> Whether you are performing in a bar a wedding or carnegie hall...give it your all and play like you mean it!!
> Kudos to Mitch Kashmar for his diversity in gigs and also Charlie Musselwhite and Toots for crossing over their Blues and Jazz with mainstream artists exposing MANY more to the Harmonica....
> My hat is off to the late Norton Buffalo for his amazing diverse approach to music.....he was as huge inspiration for many of us.
> My 8 cents,-)
> Best,Rob Paparozziwww.robpaparozzi.com
> Sent from my Verizon crackberry phone!
> 
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