Re: [Harp-L] John Popper Performance at NAMM 2015

[John Schaman <jschaman@xxxxxxx>]

Thank you Michelle,

I had a rare opportunity to make this recording, however, I was unable to use a tripod. Hand holding while composing, zooming, maintaining focus, dealing with the crowd, etc. was a challenge. I had never previously seen or heard John Popper and was impressed by his singing and unique harmonica style. I understand he is also a great composer and song writer.

I believe the guitar player was a member of his band. At the beginning of the second song, which I believe is called "Carolina Blues", the guitar player had just re-tuned the Fender acoustic guitar with the built-in tuner and forgot to switch back to the amplified setting. As a result, the guitar briefly had no amplification and you can see John appears a bit miffed until a Fender tech appears with the solution. Regarding close-ups, I  attempt to get occasional close zooms during performance recordings. I'm glad you liked it.

http://youtu.be/3FkotY95kCA

John
www.harmonicaMD.com

Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2015 08:53:03 -0700
From: Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] John Popper Performance at NAMM 2015
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Message-ID: <54F335DF.9060107@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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J Schaman wrote:

> Here is the complete John Popper performance at the Fender booth at NAMM
> 2015:
> 
> http://youtu.be/3FkotY95kCA
Thanks for that terrific link, John. Very high quality audio and video 
close-ups of a rare acoustic Popper.

I had seen the first part with him playing "Runaround," probably my 
favorite Blues Traveler song, but I hadn't seen the second song (the 
name of which I do not know -- I'll call it the "Train" song). Having 
listened to "Runaround" a thousand times or so I was more impressed with 
his "Train" song in which he really lets go with his pyrotechnic playing 
style. What I found particularly interesting were the close-ups of him 
playing (9:00 - 10:20), which you almost never see as most other videos 
I've seen are taken from a distance with him on a big stage. I loved 
watching all the things he does with his face, mouth and jaw and 
breathing. They are all orchestrated in constant motion of one kind or 
another. I noticed a heavy reliance on "jaw flicks," which it seems many 
really fast players use, but I had never seen Popper doing it.

Even if you  don't care for his playing style, this high-quality video 
sequence of him with a single unseen guitar player in an acoustic 
setting offers a rare opportunity to gain insights into a great player's 
unique style.

Michelle