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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Deak + Watermelon Slim in Clarksdale, MS
Deak + Watermelon Slim in Clarksdale, MS
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kudzurunner
4129 posts
Jun 20, 2013
4:27 AM
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I made an unusual midweek, midday trip to Clarksdale yesterday to do some research at the Clarksdale library and at 5 PM I went over to the Commissary to have a beer and interview James Butler, the owner, and Robert Birdsong, a local blues tour guide of sorts. In the course of our conversation, I mentioned Deak Harp, and they both told me that Deak was staying at the Shack-Up Inn. So I walked over there when things finished up and sure enough, Deak and his wife were getting ready for a gig at the Bluesberry Cafe in town. So I tagged along.
Deak, as many forum members know, has just relocated to Clarksdale--the big move, finally--and this was his first gig as a resident. That phrase--"Clarksdale's newest resident," or something like that--was actually chalked on the sign outside the cafe.
It was a great pleasure to watch and listen to Deak doing his one-man thing. It was a massive sound, with guitar/diddley-bow through one amp, harp through a Bassman RI, and stomp board (and amps) through a pair of big PA speakers. He carts all that stuff around. But the sound, massive and room-filling as it was, was never harsh or piercing. I think that Deak does as good a job as anybody on the scene of getting at some of the old deep Delta energy. He doesn't play "songs," in the conventional way, but instead lays down a groove and a Big Riff and then takes it into trance-land in a way that never seems self-indulgent. It's just groove, riff, and a feeling. There's no jive in what he does. And because he's gone to the source, rather than tried to replicate something that some other famous player has done, it sounds fresh rather than dated. He plays in D a lot, meaning he's working a G harp, and that helps him lock down the low end.
I'd be saying all this even if I DIDN'T know him from way back in the 1980s as a fellow East Coast guy, tearing up the Asbury Park Ballroom. If you're passing through Clarksdale, Deak is now THERE, and you can surely take a lesson or two from him while you're in town.
When Deak went on break, Watermelon Slim got up and played four songs. He just grabbed a vocal mic, stomped, wailed, and sang. It was some of the best solo playing of that type that I"ve ever heard, in any context. He's a superb and expressive singer who moves from a rich low basso up into tenor territory, and when he did a Sonny Boy song--"Pontiac Blues"--you didn't for one minute think that he was trying to "do" SWB. He just happened to be singing that song. Like Deak, he goes back to the source, which is the power of the solo voice, foot, and harp. It takes a big personality to pull off that kind of thing, and Slim has a huge personality. He's got gospel mixed in with his blues. He IS the blues, in some sense. He played very hard and raw. He worked the top end of the harp at one point, and held a bent 10 blow for longer than anybody ever does. There was nothing jive about what he does. Nothing retro. He was playing for his dinner. He was singing, shouting, because he had to. And he knows exactly what he's doing. Never OVER-controlled, but always very much in control, even as he gets a kind of wild energy-of-the-Oklahoma-plains into what he does.
Together, Deak and Slim threw down some of the best harp-based blues performance I've heard in many a year. They were two similar but also very distinct personalities, proving that the blues tradition is alive and well and in the hands of masters. I suspect this Wednesday night thing will continue. If you ever get a chance to see both guys in solo performance, do it!
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Jun 20, 2013 4:32 AM
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sustaireblues
35 posts
Jun 20, 2013
6:32 AM
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Great reviews, I haven't seen Deak but W Slim solo can't be beat. The genuine article! Such a privilege to see him work.
Joe
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Rick Davis
1988 posts
Jun 20, 2013
7:09 AM
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Excellent review, Adam.
Did Deak happen to mention what is happening with his amp project? He announced a while back he would be making harp amps in Clarksdale.
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Tip Jar
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blueswannabe
208 posts
Jun 20, 2013
7:37 AM
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Great story Thanks. If I lived close by, I would have been there in a heartbeat. Times like this need to be recorded - Memories of the lucky few fade quickly...and they are lost to posterity.I would like to see shows from Clarksdale streamed on line or at the very least recorded. I have seen those guys on a youtube video play together at an impromptu jam on the street in Memphis. THey were great together. I would love to see them team up.
For Pete's sake, Please someone record their next show!
Last Edited by blueswannabe on Jun 20, 2013 7:50 AM
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DeakHarp
297 posts
Jun 23, 2013
7:51 PM
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Have Harp Will Travel
www.deakharp.com
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DeakHarp
298 posts
Jun 23, 2013
7:58 PM
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Thank you so much Adam it was great to see and hear you too there is a u tube vid of me and you at this show .. great to hear you in this context On the one ....Yes if you want to scedule a harp lesson on your next Delta Trip .. Call me 217-218-2194 .. The shop is now open for busness 11 AM to 5 PM M-F .. @ 13 Third St Clarksdale Ms .. Custom Harps Mississippi Made Blues Whistles .. Amps Mic's .. Jewelery Hand made by my wife Ann .. and the new harp amp I will be working with Victoria Amps to make a Deak Harp Model 4 X 10 Bassman combo with re-verb .. There will be a prototype in the shop ...in a few months ... Kirk ou
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Have Harp Will Travel
www.deakharp.com
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Frans Belgium
3 posts
Sep 28, 2013
4:17 AM
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I did a three weeks tour in US, and had the chance to both talk to Deak Harp and Watermelon Slim the other week. Deak in his shop, while my wife was talking to his wife. Tried to sell me a modified C harp, but I was a bit short of cash :-)
Met Watermelon Slim at Bluesberry Café, where he insisted on talking French, though I'm actually Flemish speaking. ;-) He actually speaks very good French :-), which I told him.
All of them great characters and fantastic artists.
It was a treat meeting you,guys !
Last Edited by Frans Belgium on Sep 28, 2013 4:18 AM
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root
4 posts
Sep 28, 2013
8:01 AM
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Saw Deak at Spah this year; I was impressed with the tone he got from the harp. I'd love to know what his rig is like. Looked like he used pipe insulation on the rack.-Greg
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timeistight
1388 posts
Sep 28, 2013
8:10 AM
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I attended a Gindig camp where Deak and Slim were instructors. They are both true originals and nice guys to boot!
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