[Harp-L] Re: Buckeye Cancelled

[Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

Without typing for days, "things" have to be flexible and willing to
adapt to survive.  I think some scientist guy originally made that
notion popular while another Ph.D. type made a comment about insanity
equalling doing the same thing over and over while expecting different
results.  I think there is some old adage about cake and not getting
to eat it too.

Bottom line is harmonica is often synonymous with blues...blues is
often generalized as a culture that idealizes the past to the point of
ignoring the present and future.  Same can be said of some of the
other traditional genres of music in which harmonica is generally
applied.  While there are many open minds pushing boundaries
participating in things like Harp-L, I am not sure that is the norm.

At risk of going down in flames, sometimes the old or current way of
doing things is not a good idea.  IME, many musicians use music as a
constant and take pleasure in doing so.  This often extends far beyond
the performance to the point of becoming an identity for many.  Sadly,
it is not a constant and is just as fragile as everything else in the
universe.  If you want something like harmonica festivals to go
differently, then you have to do things differently.  Some of those
things might hurt egos, put off some of the old guard, and alienate
some players.  However, if you want change you have to compromise.  If
you want to get a wider audience involved, you have to meet them where
they are at.  Often times that means sacrificing some of what is held
as holy to those that "get it" in an effort to make the music
digestible to others.

To get new blood on board, you have to appeal to new blood.  Expecting
those outside of the niche to fall in love with it is at best totally
silly.  I will give one brief and relatively meaningless example as it
pertains to the big picture.  I played in a very good blues/rock band
for over five years.  In that time, we never consistently broke the
$100 a guy/gig barrier.  We were never able to sell ourselves to a
booking agency.  We had extreme difficulty in attracting non-musicians
to shows.  We played the $h!t out of stuff, but were too focused on
the wrong things to make it a commercially successful unit.  We split
as a band and I started a new band that plays 50% of the same covers
but NEVER promotes using the word blues.  We also put a lot more
thought into our other songs and how we present ourselves on stage.
In six months, I have put a small fraction of effort into the project
and have already been able to sustain better crowds, twice as much
money, and secure a booker.

I am 100% convinced that any success from this group has come from
compromising a small part of my initial intent as a musician while
keeping an ear to what NON-musicians want from a band.  While a
harmonica band, I do not use social media to promote it to other harp
nerds.  I instead frame everything through the lens of a pop music fan
wanting to hear live music.  I am playing venues where there has never
been a harmonica player before and succeeding.  I turned my harmonica
playing into a unique selling point that was just crazy enough to work
at least a little bit...and there are many more talented harmonica
players on just this list who could be miles ahead of where I am.

The point I am making is that you have to be willing to meet others at
least part way and accept that there are very successful models
pertaining to music that can be expolited in the harmonica world...but
they are different than the harmonica cultural norm.  Having some John
Mayer's of harmonica would be a good thing.  Having some Maroon 5 of
harp led bands is a good thing.  Having hip-hop harmonica is a good
thing, etc, etc.

And for the real ego-heads out there, you can exploit those
personalities to put yourself into a position where it is win-win for
everyone.  Case in point, there is a local harmonica show coming up
where none of the players is under 50 (to my knowledge).  There is
room for one or two guys like that...worst case scenario they are too
bad/rock/whatever and make the older guys look even better while still
attracting a younger audience.  I mean, it just makes good marketing
sense to include things that would make a younger audience want to
come out, etc.