[Harp-L] Satan & Adam @ NOLA Jazzfest

"Modern Blues Harmonica" <asgussow@xxxxxxx> · Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:02:39 -0000

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Ah, to be young again........

Well, that won't happen.  But the impossible has happened, or is about to.  On Sunday, May 5th, barring an act of You-Know-Who, Sterling Magee and I will be playing the Blues Stage at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.   Here&#39;s the link (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/hm5v7), so you know I'm not making this up.

This return visit will mark 22 years since our last--and only--performance at the festival, which happens to have been our first out-of-town gig.  Prior to that, we were those two happy buskers you see in the photo above.  (Photo courtesy of Danny Clinch, who ventured up to 125th Street in Harlem, back in the day.)  And then life happened, the full catastrophe.  Never say die!  We never did. 

See you there?

The rest of the news is just below.

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1)  GUSSOW/SHELLIST WORKSHOP - PHILADELPHIA

This spring, Ronnie Shellist and I will be giving the third in our continuing series of blues harmonica workshop/performances, following up on our 2012 events in Boulder, CO (January) and San Jose, CA (September).

This workshop will take place on Saturday, April 6th at The Twisted Tail (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/xe6v7), a blues club/restaurant ("specializing in charcoal bistro cuisine") in downtown Philadelphia, PA.  Like the others, it's an epic one-day event.  We'll begin at 10:30 AM, break for lunch, and run until 6:30 PM.  From 9 until 1 AM, we'll give you a three-act harp show that includes yours truly (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/d76v7) (in one-man band configuration), Ronnie (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/tz7v7), and Nate Myers (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/9r8v7), the last two backed up by Nate's swinging band.

The price:  $75, which includes the evening show.  In order to make sure that every registrant has a seat in this cozy upstairs lounge of a space, we are limiting the workshop to 45.  This is a firm limit and will NOT be expanded.  If you're interested in registering or simply want to know more about the specifics of our program, please check out the workshop website (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/pk9v7), and please reserve your spot TODAY.  

This is Ronnie's East Coast debut.  

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2)  SATAN & ADAM AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN??

Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival is sponsoring a contest in conjunction with Ernie Ball in which acts create band pages on the "Play Crossroads" website and then urge their fans to support them.  Each act's "buzz rating" begins at 50% and rises in proportion to that support.  In March, a panel of judges will select one winner from among the 100 highest rated bands.  On April 12th, that winner will open for Clapton & Co. on the main stage at Madison Square Garden.

1500 acts have currently registered.  I registered Satan & Adam three days ago.  In that brief period, we have risen from 207th place to 153rd place.  If we make the top 100, then the argument for our candidacy runs as follows:

     i)  Sterling "Mr. Satan" Magee was, in his prime, somebody who indisputably deserved to play the Garden--at least if we're talking about a badass blues guitar festival.  It's never too late to honor the true legends of the instrument

     ii) This is the Crossroads Guitar Festival.  We know that Clapton loves him some Robert Johnson, and we know that he loves the song "Crossroads."  Who better to anchor and legitimate his festival than the one and only Mississippi-born, Harlem-bred griot and his  (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/5caw7)?  No devilish soul-sale here, but some living Satan-and-Adam-ish mythology nonetheless.  Wouldn't it be nice to hear Mr. Clapton announce Mr. Satan?

I was going to say "Stranger things have happened," but they probably haven't.  It's a heck of a long shot.  Chances are that Clapton and Ernic Ball will pick somebody like the currently #1-rated 13-year old blues-rock boy-wonder, Tallan Noble Latz (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/l5aw7).  But there's always the chance that the judges, given the chance, will say "F-- it!" and go with the weirdly appropriate alternative that we represent to prevailing currents within the music industry.

We need your help to make this happen.  Please visit our band page (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/1xbw7), like and favorite us, spread the word via Facebook, sell your soul in whatever way Ernie Ball asks you to, and put us in the top 100.  That much is certainly achievable.   

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3) BLUES TALK

If you received my January 1st newsletter, then you know that I have recently launched a series of 12 one-hour videos entitled "Blues Talk" in which I explore the history, culture, and meanings of the music.  It's a significant departure from my video offerings of the past five years.

Instead of teaching harp or giving you dispatches from my career as a performer, I'm speaking much more directly from my perspective as a professor at the University of Mississippi, somebody who has been teaching courses on blues literature and culture for more than a decade.  I remain convinced that blues harmonica players of every stripe can deepen their blues playing by deepening and broadening their knowledge of the world that produced the blues.

I'm releasing two videos a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, for the first six weeks of 2013.  Tomorrow, January 22nd, it's "Blues Talk 7:  Zora Neale Hurston and southern blues culture."

If you haven't yet checked out Blues Talk, I'd urge you to visit the homepage (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/hqcw7) and read an outline of what it's all about.  If you scroll to the bottom of that page, you'll find a list of the twelve lectures with hyperlinks to those that have already been released or are just about to be released.  I've already covered a wide range of blues themes, and some interesting conversations have taken place on the Blues Talk forum (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/xidw7).

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4)  OTHER GIGS

Dates are beginning to fill in on my 2013 calendar.  Apart from Philly and New Orleans, I'll be working Little Rock, AR; Clemson, SC, and several points on the Mississippi map.  If you'd like details, please visit my gig page (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/dbew7).

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5) FROM THE ARCHIVES

Albums:

Satan and Adam, BACK IN THE GAME (2011) (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/t3ew7)

Adam Gussow, KICK AND STOMP (2010) (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/9vfw7)

Satan and Adam, WORD ON THE STREET (2009) (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/pogw7)
Adam Gussow and Charlie Hilbert, LIVE IN KLINGENTHAL (2008) (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/5ghw7)

YouTube video/audio:

An almost-complete set of my YouTube blues harmonica video tutorials--a total of 196 videos, from .000 all the way through my "final video" with Jason Ricci at the crossroads.  I have bundled the videos into three very large zip files (roughly 1.1 gigs each), and they are available either individually (for $19 each) or together (for $49, a savings of $8).  These are the ORIGINAL VIDEOS as uploaded to YouTube in the MPEG-4 format.  Perfect for PCs, laptops, and iPhones!

COMPLETE:  http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/103181302-gussow-blues-harmonica-tutorials-on-youtube-complete (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/l9hw7)

Collection #1 (000-065):  http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/102822107-gussow-blues-harmonica-tutorials-on-youtube-000-065 (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/11iw7)

Collection #2 (066-128xtra):  http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/103181295-gussow-blues-harmonica-tutorials-on-youtube-66-128xtra (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/hujw7)

Collection #3 (129-193):  http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/103181291-gussow-blues-harmonica-tutorials-on-youtube-129-193 (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/xmkw7)

Lessons:

Modern Blues Harmonica Advanced Beginner's Special

For beginning players who have completed the first handful of lessons on my website (most of which can be found in the "Beginner's Special," above) and are ready to commit to the next step, here is a bargain:  six video tutorials with the tab sheets thrown in for free.  The lessons in this collection continue your education into the world of blues harmonica by teaching you a range of ways of moving through the 12-bar changes--the "blues progression."  These include a boogie-woogie (Bittersweet Boogie), a melody drawn from a vocal line (Same Old Blues), a jazzy melody that deliberately breaks across the bar lines (Whistlin' the Blues), a two-beat stomp that uses double stops and chords (Red Dress), a simplified version of a Chicago blues standard (Mojo 1.0), and a rock classic (Rock Around the Clock).  There is a method in Gussow's madness!  These songs socialize you into the wide and wonderful world of blues musicianship, even as they develop your lip-strength, coordination, and reflexes.

PLEASE NOTE:  All these songs are demonstrated using a key of C harmonica, except for Mojo 1.0, which uses a key of A harmonica.

ADDITIONAL NOTE:  You do NOT need to know how to bend notes in order to play these songs.  This is why they are appropriate for beginners and advanced beginners.    

http://www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/96043721-mbh-advanced-beginners-special-zip (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/dflw7)

Chicago Blues Classics

For INTERMEDIATES and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES who want a selection of the best that the Chicago blues tradition has to offer, I've bundled five video tutorials into an easy-to-download zip file, with the tab sheets thrown in for free.  Included in this package are Sonny Boy Williamson/Junior Wells ("Checking Up on my Baby"), Junior Wells ("Messing With the Kid"), Big Walter Horton ("Easy"), Paul Butterfield ("Born in Chicago"), and Little Walter/Kim Wilson ("Got My Mojo Working"), all for only $25, a savings of $10 off the item-by-item price.

www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/9162190-chicago-blues-classics-zip (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/t7lw7)

"Bending the 3 Draw":  NOT just for BEGINNERS and ADVANCED BEGINNERS, but for INTERMEDIATES as well.  The 3 draw bend--several different bends, actually--is more challenging than 4 draw and 2 draw.  Gussow helps you extract the deep bluesy sound that lies buried in the harp; he uses a guitar to explain exactly which pitches you're trying for and where they're located.

   Harp:  C
   Video: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/3179910-Documents-eBooks-Music-Tutorials (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/9zmw7)
   Tab: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/3179911-Documents-eBooks-Music-Tutorials (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/psnw7)

 "When the Saints Go Marching In":  This New Orleans classic is perfect for the INTERMEDIATE players (and a challenge for the adventurous ADVANCED BEGINNER) looking to add a little jazz to the repertoire.  Play it fast or slow--it always swings.

    Harp:  C
    Video: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1818292-Documents-eBooks-Music-Tutorials (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/5kow7)
    Tab: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/1818293-Documents-eBooks-Music-Tutorials (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/ldpw7)

âMessinâ With the Kid":  I've tabbed out Junior Wells's two-chorus solo from Hoodoo Man Blues and adapted the guitar riff from bars 11 & 12.  This is an amazing, challenging solo--so challenging that I encourage you to slow it to 80% of full speed using the Amazing Slow Downer application.  Great rewards await students who embrace this challenge; Junior's approach, properly understood and adapted to your needs, can significantly expand your bag of tricks.

   Harp:  F
   Video:  www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/3268319-messin-with-the-kid-mov (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/15pw7)
   Tab: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/3268318-messin-with-the-kid-gussow-pdf (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/hyqw7)

"Got My Mojo Working":  The holy grail for many harp players.  A song that you absolutely, positively need to know.  This is a two-part lesson organized around a two-page tab sheet.  First page is my adaptation of the "head" or intro that always kicks the song off; second page is a transcription of the first 12 bars of Kim Wilson's solo on Jimmy Rodgers's LUDELLA album--a kick-ass harp throwdown, decoded and reassembled.  The head is within reach for INTERMEDIATE as well as ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players; the solo is extremely challenging at full speed.

   Harp:  A
   Video: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/7594912-got-my-mojo-working-mov (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/xqrw7)
   Tab: www.tradebit.com/filedetail.php/7594911-got-my-mojo-working-gussow-pdf (http://e2.ma/click/xuaae/dnn7n/djsw7)

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That's all for now.  See you later, down the road.

--Adam

402 Meadowlawn Drive | Oxford, MS 38655
www.modernbluesharmonica.com | asgussow@xxxxxxx

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