[Harp-L] list-owner retiring?




I think I might have met the elusive list-owner a long time ago at a Buckeye Convention in Ohio.
That said... we couldnt' give enough thanks for fjm for his steady hand at the helm of this sometimes-contentious list.
I started on Harp-L, I think, about 1997 or 1998. At that time I had been fooling with harp at least 15 years without making a lot of real progress. I should mention that I am not so very talented musically.
I became acquainted with Chris Michalek on Harp-L and I found Buckeye on here. I learned a lot from both of them, more from Chris than I realized until later.
But it was at Buckeye and SPAH that I found out how to make harps play better, how to play in third position (at least a little), and so much more. I met and was helped by such great players as Rob Papparozzi, Joe Filisko, Jelly Roll Johnson (who always came to Buckeye and answered my dumb questions), and a whole bunch of others, most of whom are on this list.
I became friends with Ed Vedock, Ken Hildebrand and Tom McGovern and Alec Brachmann, Hal Iwan and Tom Albanese. And I learned something from all of them and from so many people.
Now I am famous as a harp player (at least in my own home).
Nahhh... I never got really good at it, but I got better at it and I began to understand how the harp worked. A lot of that knowledge came right here on Harp-L.
I always look at this list kind of like going down to the neighborhood tavern and sitting around with some friends, except here we always talk harp. (almost always).
I did get good enough to play harp for 3 years in a trio after I retired. I got good enough that my musician friends invite me to sit in if I show up at one of their gigs to say hello. I live in a community of more than 100,000 people and I only know three other harp players around here. We are all pretty much intermediate players.
One day,I hope, I will attend one of Jon Gindick's jam camps. I am always sure that the next event like that will put me over the hump into that "next" level, whatever it might be.
I'm not one for posting here a lot, but I spend half an hour before bed every night with you people and I would sure hate to see that change.


Please humor an old harp player late at night in a pensive mood.
Steve Webb in Minnesota.



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