[Harp-L] Sitting in with Charlie Musselwhite

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I had the great pleasure of sitting in with Charlie Musselwhite and his band--Matt Stubbs on guitar, June Core on drums, and Mike Phillips on bass--at the Infinity Hall show in Norfolk, CT last night.  I've been working with Charlie to set him up with a Digitech RP programmed for his needs--in this case an RP155.  I had the opportunity during sound check yesterday to tweak the device while Charlie played, which helped me plenty in dialing in the right tones for him.  Charlie had his Sonny Jr. Cruncher onstage for the show; he began the show playing through the RP, then switched to the Sonny Jr., in both cases using a bullet-style mic (maybe one of Greg Heumann's?).  I played through the RP when I sat in, using my Audix Fireball V.

The RP sounded very good alongside the Cruncher--it fit the style, and it came through loud and clear.  This was the first time I've heard the RP on stage with a top-line boutique amp, and it worked just fine.

For me, of course, the night was a dream.  There is no harmonica player on earth whose music I have listened to more often or more closely than Charlie's.  He was my earliest and most important inspiration.  Playing with him last night was the fulfillment of a lifelong goal. 

I'll close with a comment on the venue, Infinity Hall.  If you live within an hour's drive of this place, you owe it to yourself to see a show there.  The hall seats 300, it's ben beautifully restored, it has great sight lines to the stage from every seat, and there's a restaurant downstairs that serves very good and very reasonably priced food.  Well worth the trip, especially when Charlie is playing there.

Regards, Richard Hunter 

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