Re: [Harp-L] Going Solo? [+ JamMan loopers; long]

[Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Fugazzi asked about doing solo harp gigs -

This subject is one that I think about a lot too, Mike. I live in a 
rural area that is far, far behind the Twin Cities area in terms of 
venues and the tastes of the potential audiences, so I have different 
constraints on the scope of my solo performances. My solo gigs are more 
likely to be in the corner at a private party, at an open mic or a bar 
in a small restaurant than a 3-4 hour gig at a venue where people 
specifically pay to see live music performed. None-the-less, here are a 
few suggestions to consider.

With any solo show, especially one that long, you've got to figure out a 
way to capture and hold your audience's attention. I've seen you perform 
and know that you will have no trouble grabbing the audience. 
Maintaining their interest will be your challenge. After you do your 
opening few songs and have the audience's attention, you have to keep 
"tweaking" them periodically by throwing something new, unexpected or 
even something very familiar at them to make sure you don't lose them. 
You want to make them think, "I better watch this guy closely so I don't 
miss anything..." To do that, you simply cannot play one genre, one type 
of harmonica, one type of "accompaniment," and so on for the entire 
show. A solo performer is like a pitcher in baseball -- you can't keep 
throwing the same pitch for the whole nine innings.

Here are a few ideas I've thought about in terms of building my own solo 
act that you might find useful:

1) Vary your instrumentation: Do you play chromatic, bass, or chord 
harps? What about echo harps? (Mickey plays 'em.) How about playing 
racked harp and some other instrument(s)? For example, rhythm 
instruments - one man band style with a bass drum and a foot-operated 
snare or high-top cymbal, along with a hand-held instrument like a 
guitar or uke. Maintaining the beat is key to a good solo act, so I'd 
think about an acoustic "stomp box." The commercially available 
"Porchboard Bass" or simple home made wooden box or even a piece of 
plywood that you can use to stomp out rhythm with your feet can be very 
effective and inviting to an audience. Various hand percussion 
instruments also come to mind. I'm into pre-war blues, old-timey, jug 
band, bluegrass, ragtime and so on, so rhythm bones are one of my 
personal favorites. But a tambourine, marimba, shaker or other hand 
instruments could come in very handy. I'll admit that it is a great 
challenge to play more than one instrument at a time and I am definitely 
still working at it. But when it is done well, it is spellbinding.

2) Vary your "accompaniment:" By this I mean different ways to back 
yourself up. I can think of three: simultaneously playing multiple 
instruments as suggested above, a "looping" device, or some sort of 
playback device like backing tracks or even "Band In The Box." Any of 
these can be used very effectively, but to my ear wouldn't they stand up 
to a long show unless you switched around the way you use them to good 
result. Also, unless it is done smoothly and transparently, there is the 
ever-present concern that the device will "steal" at least some of the show.

I'm experimenting with the "JamMan Solo" looper that coincidentally was 
recently reviewed by Richard Hunter. It is a very powerful device that 
affords an host of capabilities that will take me years to fully 
exploit. As an example, I am working towards layering different tracks 
starting with catchy rhythms with bones, washboard, and/or "jug," then 
adding some rhythm harp to support my live harp soloing and singing 
(probably my biggest personal challenge). A bass harp is a very cool 
instrument; it attracts attention visually and ads a whole other 
dimension to your sound. If you've ever heard Paul Davies or Peter 
Madcat Ruth get their rhythm harp playing into high gear, you know how 
effective they can be at grabbing attention. A 48-chord harp (or one of 
its variations) could be a real grabber, too, both aurally and visually.

As Richard mentions in his review (must reading if you are into 
loopers), both the JamMan Solo and Stereo both support uploading backing 
tracks from your computer. This opens an infinite array of possibilities 
like various levels of sophistication with drum tracks and other 
combinations of instruments and even vocal tracks. But, Son of Dave and 
Brandon Bailey do just fine with their looper-based acts using only a 
simple shaker and beatboxing to back themselves, respectively. However, 
three hours of even their virtuosic performance would definitely push my 
personal limits even though I love the both of 'em. BTW, I might mention 
that AFAIK, both of these terrific artists use older, simpler loopers. 
By that I mean that their loopers are basically limited to sequentially 
layering multiple tracks on top of each other. They build up one 
"summary" loop that the artist can then play and/or sing over. It 
constantly amazes me how much these two guys can get out of such a 
"simple" device. More modern loopers are capable of far more than than 
building up a single loop. They can store hundreds of loops that can be 
indexed to, for example, play a song with more than one key in it. (Ever 
notice how Son and Brandon play one-key tunes only?) As I mentioned, 
modern loopers can interface with a computer to upload loops, which can 
include entire backing tracks. Loops created on the devices can also be 
uploaded to the to a computer for later recall, give the option of 
building each and every loop live -- or not. Your choice, simple or 
complex. The possibilities are endless, but so is the homework and 
practice that must be done to use them effectively.

I must emphasize that these babies take a good deal of practice to be 
used ~smoothly~. You definitely need to be able to rub your tummy and 
pat your head at the same time and then some. Don't plan on picking one 
up on the way to your gig tonight! How you use these devices is key to 
the continuity of your act. A well-known example: As enthralling as his 
looping work is, I find the way Brendon Power, God love 'im, uses his 
hands with his stand-mounted device to be very distracting. The device 
is right out in front and his hand actions are too (recall my "device 
stealing the show" comment). The human interface to any particular 
looper is key to its effectiveness. In his review, Hunter points out 
some interesting insights into the human interface differences between 
the JamMan Solo and the JamMan Stereo units. In truth, modern loopers 
are pretty complicated to use. Some actions are best accomplished with 
the hands; some are best accomplished using the feet. I find that the 
JamMan Solo, with the optional foot switch, offers the possibility of 
using both' This affords me the ability to choose foot vs. hand for 
many, but not all actions. Richard likes the Stereo unit, but that is 
integrated into one box, which obviously has to reside on the floor or 
somewhere on a stand. Bottom line: fully study how any particular looper 
is used. I downloaded and studied several "User Guides" for competitive 
devices before I chose the JamMan Solo. I discovered even more "nitty 
gritty" in actually using the device. Like I said do your homework!

Another idea is one of the vocal harmonizing devices that can make you 
sound like a group of singers. You are far more familiar with the vast 
number of "effects" boxes than I. Hunter is well known for his advocacy 
of the Digitech RP series of effects synthesizers. He contends that, for 
example, the RP's octaver works very well to simulate a bass harp. I'd 
leave it to you to figure out how to integrate the RP series or like 
devices into your act to broaden your "sounds." Using Richard's 
inexpensive patches for the RP's would certainly give you a "leg up."

3) Vary your genres: I know your past performances have included rock, 
blues, funk, jazz and so on. Unless you are booked into a venue that 
specializes in one single genre (like a hard core blues or jazz club), 
I'd advise exploring as many genres as your venue would permit. Putting 
the set list together "intelligently" is key. If you don't have a set 
act already, I urge you to consider cohesive, flowing sets in which the 
songs relate to each other in some natural way (see "tell a story," 
next). Were it I playing for 3 hours, I'd select sets featuring a 
specific composer or Broadway show like oh, say Gershwin or "West Side 
Story," or maybe a theme like "Theme songs from old TV western series," 
depending on your audience, of course. I suspect that you have a lot of 
more esoteric material, but people like to hear at least some songs that 
are familiar to them. Knowing your progressive attitude and bullishness 
about our instrument, methinks you will have to be vigilant in avoiding 
the temptation to make your act simply a showcase of your technical 
skills. The likelihood is that few in your audience will know enough 
about what you are doing to appreciate it. When in doubt, try to put 
more emphasis on what your audience might like to hear than what you may 
like to play to satisfy the inner harmonica freak in you. ;-)

4) Tell a story: Another important suggestion is to try to create a show 
with a "story" or at least a "theme" to it, preferably containing a 
beginning, a middle and an end. If you have a story to tell rather than 
just playing a set of songs, you are more likely to succeed in holding 
your audience. I'm thinking of a solo performance by, say, Leo Kottke 
who holds a banter between his songs that ties them all together, or Joe 
Filisko doing one of his "History of Harmonica" shows, with interesting 
stories about the old players and their songs to give the audience an 
historical background as he plays them. Acts that have an arc to them 
are much more interesting than just listening to 3 sets of tunes.

In closing, I would suggest that you remember that the vast likelihood 
is that your audience won't love the sound of the harmonica as much as 
you do. They are there to be entertained and to do that you need to be 
an entertainer. For a solo performer to do that for 3 solid hours is a 
challenge in anyone's book. That's why I think it is essential that you 
throw the "kitchen sink" at them over the course of your show and tie it 
all together and making it interesting by telling a story of some kind, 
either in music alone or including verbal storytelling.

Mike, please understand that I've just modified these things that I keep 
telling myself to better fit your situation. I won't claim by any means 
to have a fully developed solo harmonica act. Mine is definitely a 
"works in progress." I'm only telling you what I keep telling myself. 
Hopefully it might help some. :-)

Good luck and let us know what you decide and how you do as you go!

Michelle