This thread is a harmonica player's wish-list. Purely for the fun of it. What do YOU want for Christmas? (Only restriction: it needs to bear some arguably functional relationship with your life, or fantasy-life, as a blues harmonica player. So, for example, a sharkskin suit and a magnum of Cristal are OK. So is a Bugatti Veyron. I mean, a guy who blows harp needs some threads and wheels.)
I would like a 1960 Jaguar XK-120, battleship grey, with an Abarth exhaust system. That's the car my uncle had when my brother and I spent a summer in Downey, California (age 15 for me, one year before buying my first harp) working on the thing. We spent two months tinkering. Uncle Don, who'd been in the Navy during WWII and spent the rest of his life living a quiet suburban non-life with that great car stowed in the garage, took us out for one incredible 5-minute ride down the boulevard, vroom-vrooming, before the radiator gave up. I knew right then that my life as a man would have lots of that vroom-vroom sound in it. Thus the '55 Fender Bassman, all the other smaller amps filled with old parts that create a pedigreed roar, and my two vehicles, one old car and one old truck, that make loud pedigreed vroom-vroom sounds (a Thermal exhaust system on the '92 Honda, a Flowmaster exhaust system on the '73 Cheyenne). But I'd like to get back to the source.
What's on your Christmas wish list?
Last Edited by on Dec 07, 2009 7:41 PM
i currently drive a '95 miata, which i love even though it needs a lot of rehab. maybe when we win the lottery here i'll turn it into a giant-killer. hopefully by Christmas we'll have won our freedom from the daily drudge, pay off all the bills, build a great music room, trick out the miata for me and Jo's choice of cool and old ride for her. we saw a '63 merc comet the other day that she liked a lot. price tag was WAY up there! i'd love to get her whatever car she wants.
I want a Bends Croma Garlira, or at least the cover plates and comb. Let's face it, you don't actually play a harmonica that costs that much so the reed plates don't matter much!
i allready have a nice car. though im thinking about selling it. i want a harpgear hg50. oh ya an some of that stuff i used to get all the time...pussy. but if were talkin about ANY car, well then my friends i would have to say i wannt a nissan skyline R34
A Mustang would be nice but considering the price of petrol here in the u.k.(£1.09 a litre) i don't think im gona get one of those no matter how good i've been.
Looks like im gona settle for:- A Seydel Big six(Blues tuning) Harp attack C.D MBH Hoddie (which i know i've got because i got hit with customs charges, grr!!) Jason Ricci's Rocket no 9 C.D and whatever you guy's have got me(don't tell me its supposed to be a suprise)
I really,really need a new amp. But I work as a welder and don't make alot of money so it's not easy to afford one.. I play with a battle-worn Dean Markley tub-amp. My brother used it for guitar and when he thought it was crap,I took it over. Don't have to be something fancy,and I don't care if it's cheap.. Anything plays better than my old DM:)
The second thing is to know what harp Sonny Boy 2 plays on "Bye bye bird",the clip on youtube.. Is it low-D? Don't wanna buy it and then it's not the right one:) So if one of you guys could answer me you would give me a nice christmas-present:)
My wish is simple yet not so simple. I'd give almost anything to be able to sit in a quiet English pub with a pint and a cigarette. God, I miss that so much.
By the way, that Veyron thing with James May is one of my favourite Top Gear moments. If I owned one of those, I wouldn't know whether to sleep with it or drive it. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
Christmas is in the making for me. I haven't done a car resstoration in about 25 years but I'm in full swing with it now. I'm restoring a 66 Cyclone GT convertible. It is one of the 33 official Pace cars used at the Indianapolis 500 in May 66. I've dis-assembled it and taken it to get the Candy apple red paint. My goal was to get it back by the end of Nov. and have it put back together by Christmas but the paint work isn't finished yet. With a little luck I'll have it back by the weekend so Christmas will come late this year. I am fortunate to have the funds for this project and almost every day something new for the car shows up at my door step. I am excited and even though it won't be done on the 25th it's gonna look good in my garage. 355HP 390cid with a 519 degree lift on the cam. OH,OH,OHH, as Tim the toolman would say!
Hey thorvaldsen76, i believe it is a Low D harp Sonny boy use's. It sounds right when i try and jam along. There are a few people covering it on youtube and they are playing a low D. You should get one anyway, its one of my favorite harps. ----------
I've got harps, amps ,enough space, a tolerant and beautiful wife,two great sons, a good dog and a lot of places to play ...what I wish for is to have the brain cells that I burned up in the 70's back
Last Edited by on Dec 08, 2009 7:58 AM
Got my dream car already. You can see it on the Google map parked in front of my house. 92' 3.1 litre fuel injected right hand drive classic Mini. Vroom-vroom!
What I'd like for Christmas is a couple of B-radicals to arrive in the mail...but I ain't holding my breath.
"Here's one of those stories that seems far-fetched even for a schmaltzy holiday movie, but it is apparently 100 percent true.
Two brothers, homeless and living in a cave outside Budapest, recently learned they are set to inherit about 4 billion euros — equivalent to a staggering 6 billion US dollars — from the maternal grandmother they never even knew.
Charity workers broke the unbelievable news to Zsolt and Geza Peladi, who up until now earned scant money selling junk they found on the street.
"We knew our mother came from a wealthy family but she was a difficult person and severed ties with them, and then later abandoned us and we lost touch with her and our father until she eventually died," Geza Peladi, 43, told ATV television, according to the UK Telegraph. The grandmother, whose name is not being released, died in Germany, and German law dictates that direct descendants are automatically entitled to a share of any estate. Although this news must come as a shock to these previously-penniless siblings, it's clear the life-changing nature of the windfall is hitting home.
"If this all works out it will certainly make up for the life we have had until now — all we really had was each other — no women would look at us living in a cave," said Geza. "But with money, maybe we can find a partner and finally have a normal life. We don't know yet if she even told our grandmother about us. I understand it was only while they were carrying out genealogical research that lawyers found we existed."
Yes, we all know that money can't buy happiness, but after years of living off the streets, it can at least make the lives of two brothers a whole lot more comfortable."
To have enough money to be able to send more working harps to the sandbox military (sailors, soldiers and airmen). Thus far, I've really only sent to the kids of friends, and the followups to the friends of those kids who requested so they could learn together. It's been 16 Special 20's so far. But, I'd love to have the money to send more.
I would like to have my 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider back. Rust bucket but mechanically it was great. Got rid of it cause the frame was shot. Could not see putting $3000 into it in 1986. Same with the 1982 Alfa 2000GT. Drive a frigging Impresa. Hate it.
you know- in my first post i didn't mention anything harp related! so here it is:
this weekend, i'm at Teddy's Juke Joint (Zachary, LA)saturday and sunday nights, with Big Red and the Soul Benders.
the 18th, i'm with Jolene at Tricia's restaurant in Clarksdale, MS. the 19th, same place with Big Red and co.
aside from getting to play 4 nights just before the holiday, i have already gotten 3 great harps as early Christmas presents in recent weeks- a Suzuki Pure in G, and 2 Manji's, in A and D.
so my Christmas wishes are fulfilled! we'll fix a nice dinner here at home on the day itself. all of this is present enough in my book!
I want a full set of firebreaths and an HG double trouble.
On a serious note I want Richard Sleighs book and tool kit, a LW harp attack and/or digital delay, and as many harps as possible especially from the flat side of the circle of fifths.
Mickil, while never having been in an "English" pub, I TOTALLY understand and want and wish and pray for the same thing! Well that and a carton to go along with it!
If I had a yacht it would have sails. It would probably be a 100' Jongert Classic ketch. But I get seasick, so it would just be for looking at. And I'd need money for its upkeep. Cars don't interest me. I'd be happy with a BMW 760/750/740. If I won the lottery I'd buy the first one off the forecourt. I wouldn't join a waiting list for a special job. Or if I had to lower my sights, I'd be happy with an Audi Quattro. That would be better than nothing. But I think a house in a couple of acres of land with fruit trees and a herb and vegetable garden and flowers to attract butterflies (I can't remember the last time I saw a butterfly) would be the number one (and a pension, cos the property wouldn't have any employment opportunities nearby). I suppose I could live on the yacht and kill two birds with one stone, but I wouldn't have a garden then. ---------- Kinda hot in these rhinos!
Last Edited by on Dec 09, 2009 1:51 AM
It's all kind of informal. I've toyed with the idea of attempting to get organized and develop itinto something more. But, it just feels like a bigger task than my workload can handle these days.
All I've done thus far is mail a quality harp to whoever's kid I know has gone to the sand theater. Whether they asked or not. I've spent a great deal of time far from home with a harp to keep me company. I just figured that even if they give it I've done my part as an evengelist.
The Christmas question hit home. Christmas was what brought me to harmonica. My grandfather always gave the kids harps in our Christmas stockings. Of all the grandkids, I was the one who really gave it my best effort to learn in order to please the old man. It all came from that.
Steve Martin 1971 Saturday night live: "If I had one wish that I could wish this holiday season, it would be that all the children to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace. If I had two wishes I could make this holiday season, the first would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing in the spirit of harmony and peace. And the second would be for 30 million dollars a month to be given to me, tax-free in a Swiss bank account. You know, if I had three wishes I could make this holiday season, the first, of course, would be for all the children of the world to get together and sing, the second would be for the 30 million dollars every month to me, and the third would be for encompassing power over every living being in the entire universe. And if I had four wishes that I could make this holiday season, the first would be the crap about the kids definitely, the second would be for the 30 million, the third would be for all the power, and the fourth would be to set aside one month each year to have an extended 31-day orgasm, to be brought out slowly by Rosanna Arquette and that model Paulina-somebody, I can't think of her name. Of course my lovely wife can come too and she's behind me one hundred percent here, I guarantee it. Wait a minute, maybe the sex thing should be the first wish, so if I made that the first wish, because it could all go boom tomorrow, then what do you got, y'know? No, no, the kids, the kids singing would be great, that would be nice. But wait a minute, who am I kidding? They're not going to be able to get all those kids together. I mean, the logistics of the thing is impossible, more trouble than it's worth! So -- we reorganize! Here we go. First, the sex thing. We go with that. Second, the money. No, we got with the power second, then the money. And then the kids. Oh wait, oh jeez, I forgot about revenge against my enemies! Okay, I need revenge against all my enemies, they should die like pigs in hell! That would be my fourth wish. And, of course, my fifth wish would be for all the children of the world to join hands and sing together in the spirit of harmony and peace. Thank you everybody and Merry Christmas. "
Todd, thanks for the link. They have their act together. I'm going to contact HD and see if they're stll doing it. If they are, I'll shoot them some cash to support the operation. Then, I'll just keep doing my thing. Probably buy the SP20's from HD though.
If you do decide to sit at the Angola poker table, by all means refrain from blowing the harp. That will single you out straightaway......whack!
Tod- That's what we need to do, send people to another country with harmonicas before they learn how to play! I hope there are woodsheds or we are going to be really unpopular.
Here's an idea from my still-military leaning mind:let's send harmonicas and battery-powered amps to the Taliban and convince them that Allah is praised by hearing beginning harmonica players...Makes for easy targeting! ---------- ~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
