Re: [Harp-L] Re: un-gussing

[The Iceman <icemanle@xxxxxxx>]

Here is another interesting phenomenon - being invited up to play, but playing a little too good. 


Has happened to me over the years....even cost me a job in a band once.....was keyboard player - 1994 - in a Detroit band called "James Wailen' ", run by a guitar player with a big ego. One night I was on fire keyboard solo-wise. Standing outside the bar during a break with the band, some patrons came out to compliment the guitar player (as usual), but then one of them turned to me and mentioned how I had really outdone everyone in one particular song with my burnin' solo. Guitar player got red in the face angry. Not too much later I was out of the group.

So, sometimes it is better to "tone it down" if you want to keep good relationships with musicians that have this type of personality.


-----Original Message-----
From: steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thu, Nov 8, 2012 9:15 pm
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: un-gussing



There are only a couple of other harp players where I live. One of them 
is a good blues harp player and has his own band, members of which are 
mostly friends of mine.
Back when I was really rough in my playing, he would almost always get 
me up to play a song, always something basic that I could more or less 
play.
But a funny happened on the way to the forum. When I started getting 
more serious about my playing, going to Buckeye and SPAH, etc. I got up 
with them once and played Stormy Monday and it was much better than my 
previous attempts. (Not saying it was all that good, but better)
Haven't been invited up to play again. Even when a couple of my 
guitar-playing friends in the band asked the leader numerous times.
It doesn't really bother me, but it bothered my friends.
The harp-playing band leader is still a friend of mine and we talk harp 
on the rare occasions we run into each other.
Maybe I should have stood in the back and wailed along. At least I would 
have known I was in the right key.
  Steve Webb in Minn.