RE: [Harp-L] Dave Therault

[Ryan Hartt <rhartt1234@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have only met Dave once but have corresponded with him on and off for many years. He seems to be the type of guy that when he chooses to do something it becomes all consuming and he does it to the Nth degree. Whether it is trombone, harp or being a buddhist monk (I ain't making that up) he does it to the exclusion of all else and moves on. 

Dave paid me quite a high compliment when we met. He said he was gigging a lot and it was taking a toll on his marriage, much like the trombone did with his high school girlfriends. He said he saw/heard me, a relatively young guy playing great, traditional Blues harp that grew up in Connecticut like him, and felt that Blues and harmonica was in good enough hands that he could take a break. A great compliment and an awesome responsibility, but I gladly accept both from such a great player and interesting and nice fellow.

These days Dave only  gets out when his old buddies like LA Jones or Hash Brown come to play in Connecticut.

Ryan Hartt

Ryan Hartt & The Blue Hearts
www.ryanhartt.com



> Date: Tue, 28 May 2013 23:19:42 -0400
> From: turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Dave Therault
> 
> Mick Zaklan wrote:
> <   Dave is one of those underground guys that other harp players in the
> <know have been talking about for decades.  For years he was gigging and
> <running a jam in Colorado Springs. 
> 
> Dave was an accomplished trombone player when he heard me play harp at the Oar and Anchor in Falmouth, MA with an Eagles/Jackson Browne-ish cover and rock originals band called "Sweatband" in the summer of 1974.  I was using a very simple rig (amp and vocal mic, no reverb or other FX) in those days, and I was thinking of the harp as a horn (as opposed to an organ, or a synth controller), which I'm sure appealed to Dave's own sensibilities. (I was using all standard-tuned marine bands, and I do mean marine bands, too; ah, 1974.)  Dave came right up and told me that he was inspired to take up harmonica, and it turned out that he became an inspiring harmonica player. 
> 
> Dave and I didn't live in the same neighborhood, and in 1974 it took considerable resources (including time) to record music and distribute it on even a small scale.  I didn't hear Dave play harp until years later, by which time he was a monster.  So I don't know what stages he went through from inspiration to monsterdom.  I do think the evolution was pretty quick by contemporary standards. (The Youtube-enabled pace of development in young musicians now is astounding, apparently unprecedented.)
> 
> Regards, Richard Hunter
> 
>   
> 
> author, "Jazz Harp" 
> latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://hunterharp.com
> Myspace http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
> Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
> more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
> Twitter: lightninrick