Subject: [Harp-L] Views on Blues

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Sorry, Thomas - very much disagree. We can read his explanation  straight 
without re-interpreting. 
 
As well, any of those three gentlemen have played longer than three of  the 
younger players have been alive, so it's a bad analogy. We surely  don't 
need to keep comparing venerated performers with younger players in a  
negative way. Adam didn't despite several attempts to make it appear so.
 
Here's a direct quote(snipped out from the rest of his explanation -  he's 
given permission on his forum to be quoted here on harp-l):
 
AG: "I said as much of this as I could to the journalist in question, but  
he mangled it. When I said **"cathected," he wrote "confected." He grouped 
Kim  in with Rod and Rick as somebody who, I implied, has "costumed" the 
music. (I  never said a word about how Kim dresses.) "It has been costumed [and] 
profoundly  confected onto that old-time stuff like it's the only way to 
go," I'm quoted as  saying. "They resist modernization."

"As firebreathing as I can be, I  choose my words carefully. In the 
paragraph in question--and I've quoted only  part of it--I was quoted about 75% 
correctly. It's the 25% extent to which my  words were mangled, reshuffled, and 
selectively quoted that pains me. More than  once I interruped my modernist 
effusions to say, "Look, I love what those guys  do. I STUDIED those guys." 
The journalist didn't quote that stuff.'
 
***** 
 
**"Cathected" is a word I sometimes use when I'm talking about the blues.  
It's Freud's word. "Cathected onto" means "attached themselves to," in  
psychological terms. It's another way of saying, "I'm one of them."

************
 
 
EGS: As someone who also chooses my words carefully and am continuously  
misinterpreted by some here, I'd suggest that perhaps some of those who became 
 so enraged by what they thought Adam Gussow said should reread (or  check 
out fjm's link to the MBH site as I just did), 
 
http://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/board/board_topic/5560960/2099567.htm



...and then perhaps watch a few of Adam's free teaching videos during which 
 he imparts his feelings about everything to do with Blues and some of 
those very  players far better than any journalist 'interpreting' what he meant. 
He  just wrote it again (above): 'I LOVE what those guys do'. 
 
Here he is in Klingenthal (Germany) talking about Little Walter and  Juke:
 
_http://www.youtube.com/user/KudzuRunner#p/u/131/hUJPl-vzysY_ 
(http://www.youtube.com/user/KudzuRunner#p/u/131/hUJPl-vzysY) 
 
Pretty definitive.
 
and then there's this:
 
_http://www.youtube.com/user/KudzuRunner?feature=grec_ 
(http://www.youtube.com/user/KudzuRunner?feature=grec) 
 
This is someone who's long given back to the Blues harmonica world and  
clearly shows his love for it and it's discomfiting to see him being  attacked 
and dissected here.
 
I don't belong to his forum, don't know the man very well at all in fact,  
but do know some of the Company he keeps and have checked into his  forum 
periodically to read the posts when I'm in the mood. Any statement  he's made 
there has usually been democratic and fair. I've noticed  he's also quick to 
admit fault.
 
An earlier post by someone here claiming that the Dirty South forum is  
'rife with many characters who show sneering disrespect for players such as  
Little Walter' is inexplicable (see the above Klingenthal video) since I've  
long known that AG appoints monitors who are very quick to call a  halt to 
threads which threaten to go astray, even to removing hateful posts  
(something I appreciate on any public forum). 
 
He doesn't monitor the site on a day to day basis from my understanding -  
they do, but does reserve the final say for himself, stepping in when  
necessary to toss people who violate his rules of civility.  From my scant 
observation, it's all done quite openly. Assigning  him the blame for comments 
made by others is highly unfair and seems  personal. Could it be that those who 
came here to attack him knew they  couldn't get away with it on his site?
 
As long as I've known anything at all about AG I've never once gotten  the 
impressions conveyed by this 'journalist'. My first thought was that he  
must have misunderstood and misquoted him and I personally wanted to verify  
whether or not Adam actually did make those statements before reacting  since 
I rarely believe everything I read without verification.  'Back-peddling' is 
clearly not what Adam Gussow is doing now, rather is  making sure to 
explain what he did say originally. If you weren't present during  the interview 
you can't possibly know.
 
Elizabeth
 
"Message: 13
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2011 11:32:45 -0400
From: THOMAS FIACCO  <mx714@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Views on Blues
To: _harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx) 

I stand with Michael on this one-back in July of 2009, I attended a show in 
 Fairfield,Ct. at the Fairfield Theater.
Sugar Blue opened for Rod Piazza. Do  you really think it would ever be the 
other way around? Rod opening for  Sugar?
No-it would not. 
Take just one of the three artists mentioned-that  artist-mind you-Rod,Kim 
or Rick,has sold more CD's than Jason,
Adam,Brandon  and Jay Gault combined. One reason is that at every 
performance that Rod,Rick  and Kim play on,
thet devote attention to mecrhandising. They tour  extensivley,and people 
obviously attend these shows,so they are all
still  able to draw crowds -Kim is going on his 36th year. 
Adam is back peddling  when called out-blaming the interviwer for 
misquoting  him."