RE: [Harp-L] CD Review of Climb Jacobs Ladder

"Paul Messinger" <paul@xxxxxxxx> · Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:51:29 -0400

Thanks man . I agree very much about Popper . the guy has made his mark as a
songwriter . the harp stuff he did was great for the time and place that he
did it . but the songs are what really gave him (and other harmonicists) the
bigger stage .

I don't play harmonica on every song, but mostly because I sing lead vox
about half the songs in my band, also play some flute and percussion . but
with harmonica parts, above all I try to establish the harmonica as part of
what I'm calling the 'fabric' of the musicality of the song . 

I don't wanna just be the harp guy that plays a flashy solo, then does
nothing else for that piece . even if I do play the featured solo, I try to
make sure I've played 'lines' or 'pads' beforehand to establish that the
harmonica is part of the musical underpinnings of the song . 

By 'pads', I mean basically, thinking like a keyboard and taking that 'spot'
in the sound . I do it by playing octaves, then extending the splits to
include added colors . 

I also try to think in terms of where the 'melody' lies best, then play in
the harmonica 'position' that gives the best 'timbre' to fit the song and
melodic idea . in doing so, I'm not trying to play things that are perceived
as 'hard' things to play, just for the sake of playing 'hard' things . 

It's really the opposite . if it sounds like it's 'hard' to play, then it
won't sound like it's natural to play, will sound forced . which pretty much
defeats the purpose . and the musicality of it .

Bottom-line, the harmonica is an instrument that connects deeply to the
listener, so my thing is to find stuff in the harmonica that sounds good,
and people will respond . it's just that there 'are' things that sound good
that aren't necessarily in the blues and country tradition or 'formats' that
are perceived by the public that sound good with harmonica . 

To get the opportunity to 'mine' those veins, though, I'll go back to the
point that we have to be 'songwriters' that understand how to construct
resonant tunes . that the public will respond to . 

Now, of course using language like that brings the knee-jerk reaction .
well, if the public responds to it, then it must be crap .

Trust me, the reason why most of the great blues tunes that are played 30,
40, or 50 years after they first were played on the radio is not because of
the great harp playing . it's because they were great, catchy, or meaningful
tunes that resonated with the public for some reason . reasons that that
follow certain musical 'rules' that are transferable to all sorts of music .
it just has to work . we just have to 're-imagine' how our instrument can
sound, and apply those re-imaginings .

Finally, by 're-imagining', I'm not trying to put in a cleverly-coded call
for overblows or anything else . that was then, this is now . sometimes an
overblow is useful . sometimes not . In most cases, I try to avoid them if I
can . if it doesn't 'sound' good, it will disrupt the musicality of whatever
the player is trying to do.  

A good example of that kind of thinking occurs on one of the tunes on the
DooWatchaDoo CJL CD . 'Makin' It.'  It's a song written and sung by the
guitarist Gary Mitchell, the other principal songwriter and vocalist in our
group . 

In that tune, I start with a line in cross-harp (Bb) harp, then take a solo
with the same Bb harp in what I guess would be called 11th position (root is
half-step bend, third hole draw, or Bb on a C-harp), then play pads, then
some killer amped-lines later in the song, still in that position . 

It all sounds so natural, most people (even harp players) never notice that
I'm doing anything special . 

Because really I'm not . am just playing the harmonica like the instrument
it can be, finding ways to make it sound good through a particular piece .
If I don't have to change harps (and thus change timbre unnecessarily), it
makes more sense and sounds more natural to me, (plus is less confusing in
performance, etc) . 

Anyway . thanks for the kind words, and am of course open to further discuss
any of the above .

Warmly, Paul Messinger/Chapel Hill NC

From: PINTO DIGITAL [mailto:pintodigital@xxxxxxx] 
Sent: Saturday, September 10, 2011 7:59 AM
To: paul@xxxxxxxx; HARP L HARP L
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] CD Review of Climb Jacobs Ladder

Hey Paul and all, 

I've heard some of the clips of the cd and I think  there are a pile of
really nicely 
written tunes there and a great vibe. Congratulations.
It's also a great example of "less is more" on harmonica. If you are reading
this and just starting out on harmonica don't make the mistake
I did when I first started by playing too much harp on every single
tune. Do that in practice but not live. Regardless of the level you are at,
you'll wear out your audience by the first set. 
In the blues bands I sit in with I'm playing traditional blues and I do
play in almost every song but many sparingly. In my own band
"Little Joe & the Werewolves" which is a rockabilly band, I only
play harmonica on about a third of the night.  Some of the songs
are really basic Beatles harp parts and I stick to the couple notes
they played on the original through the PA and not through my amp.
Even though it was just a couple notes that the Beatles played, they
were the Beatles and they wrote a few good songs. If it's not broken
don't fix it.

At the end of the day it's still about a well written song above everything
else. Unless you get lucky like "Sugar Blue" did to session with the Rolling
Stones
you should practice writing original songs or look for people to play with
that
do this well.
Some harp players knock John Popper but check out "the Hook". He wrote the
words and music to that song, sings it, and plays harmonica.  

I would love for Pat's music to make it huge on the air and internet
or any harp player for that matter. It helps us all and reminds the World
that it's
not just the sound you hear in the cereal commercial. 

Joe Pinto
Little Joe & the Werewolves

> From: paul@xxxxxxxx
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 13:26:12 -0400
> Subject: [Harp-L] CD Review of Climb Jacobs Ladder
> 
> PT/Stevie B/Mojo and other TRENCHANT friends:
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the kind words, have received a few others via e-mail as well
> (paul@xxxxxxxx) .
> 
> 
> 
> As some of you know, the Climb Jacob's Ladder band project started from a
> song I'd written (Jacob's Ladder), after the passing of my 21-year old son
> Jacob . It's been three years now, and although grief has its own rules
and
> its own calendar, I can honestly say that music does indeed heal, and
> playing music does indeed create joy in one's heart . 
> 
> 
> 
> The music on the CD (the CD name is actually DooWatchaDoo) is music I've
> wanted to make and record for a long time, using harmonica as part of the
> fabric of a band-sound . as well as of course step up front when the
> occasion requires. 
> 
> 
> 
> There was a harp-l thread a few years ago where Rob Paparozzi posed the
> question: What do we as a community have to do in order to get producers
to
> feature more harmonica in modern popular music?
> 
> 
> 
> My response was that we as a community had to become better songwriters. 
> 
> 
> 
> In doing so, we would create an extended harmonica musical vocabulary that
> the public recognized and embraced and wanted more of. It would only be
> then that harp players would be called in to play parts that the guitar
and
> keyboard and horns are being called in to play today.
> 
> 
> 
> Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it . would be glad to discuss
of
> course .
> 
> 
> 
> Again, thanks for the kind words and please check the tunes out on our
> web-site: www.climbjacobsladder.net . 
> 
> 
> 
> Also, we are playing a double-bill with Joe Filisko and Eric Noden on
> September 22nd at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro NC
> <http://www.artscenterlive.org/event/performance/523>
> http://www.artscenterlive.org/event/performance/523 , a 300-seat theatre,
to
> celebrate the release of the DooWatchaDoo CD . hopefully we'll see some of
> you fellow harpers there . 
> 
> warmly, 
> 
> Paul Messinger/Chapel Hill NC
> 

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