walterharp
154 posts
Dec 17, 2009
8:33 AM
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here is a bit from Smithsonian magazine
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/chicago.html
The blues scene had its own economy and cultural draw. "It welcomed [Southerners] into the city," says Chicago native and blues writer Sandra Pointer-Jones. "It gave them the go ahead to migrate here, because they knew that there were jobs here and they knew they had entertainment." To many of these Southerners, the city seemed less foreign because they recognized the names of musicians they knew back home. In the neighborhoods where blues clubs abounded, such as the South Side's Maxwell Street, newcomers spent their dollars at the grocery stores and on liquor at the clubs. Blues musicians frequented local hairdressers, tailor shops and clothing stores. Audience members sought out the stylish clothes performers wore on stage, contributing to the local market. This heyday cemented Chicago's title as a "blues capital" and continued through the early 1960s. "At one time Chicago was known as having the best blues musicians in the country," says Pointer-Jones. "Everybody who was anybody was in Chicago, came from Chicago, or went to Chicago."
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/chicago.html#ixzz0ZxrHBiQN
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jonsparrow
1437 posts
Dec 17, 2009
8:59 AM
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good point mickil
an nice find walterharp
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nacoran
553 posts
Dec 17, 2009
10:40 AM
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Mickil- except I have a friend who plays in a Kiss tribute band and another friend who did his dissertation on the deconstructionalism inherent in Marilyn Manson. Any form will have crappy songs and good songs. Sometimes the crappy ones are so prevalent and the shtick so heavy that it gets discarded. Twenty or thirty years later people pick through the ashes and separate out what was good and what was only popular because the music execs advertised it heavily.
And slightly off topic, but lets take a marketing note from those music execs. I used to go to an open mic every week (mostly just to listen). There were two types of artists, regardless of whether they were any good or not. There were some artists who would only play when they had something new to play. There were some who would play the same few songs over and over. Guess which ones got stuck in my head?
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nineveh_harp
25 posts
Dec 17, 2009
12:08 PM
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I wear the same thing I wear when I go out to dinner with friends or my wife. Casual, but nice. Usually a button up shirt (un-tucked) with nice jeans, a necklace with a cross on it, my watch, my wedding band, black cowboy boots, one of my many fedoras (not because I think they're "blues" but because I have always liked them and I got a lot of them from my great grandfather when he was still alive), and shades if I need them. Everything but the jeans is black because I like black. Or if it strikes me as being more comfy at the moment... blue jeans, t-shirt, baseball cap or beanie because my hair is long enough to where I don't like to take time doing anything with it!
-Sam Miller
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ness
129 posts
Dec 17, 2009
12:21 PM
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"Buttcrack hot"
Thanks Todd -- it's always nice to add one to the quiver.
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joshnat
19 posts
Dec 18, 2009
11:06 AM
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I wear a zoot suit and a porkpie hat. Tie, suspenders (braces) and beatle boots. I think you should dress for gigs, somehow. Our singer (female) always does, but our drummer and bass player usually come in T-shirts and jeans. Guitar player is usually in black bowling shirt and black jeans. That works for me. Gigging is like going to church. Show some respect.
And if you think dressing for gigs is somehow fake or superficial, think about us playing a 100-year-old musical form, playing other people's songs, a 150-year-old instrument through 50-year-old mics and amps. How real is that? What is performing, anyway?
Last Edited by on Dec 18, 2009 11:08 AM
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mickil
724 posts
Dec 18, 2009
12:55 PM
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"Gigging is like going to church. Show some respect."
I, for one, don't quite see the analogy. Still, that doesn't matter. I'm just not sure who's supposed to be disrespecting whom. Seems like a fairly civil thread to me. Just a lot of people expressing different opinions on the same topic. That is the point of a forum, after all. If it's me who's got up your nose, I apologise, though, with a bemused look on my face!
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YouTube SlimHarpMick a.k.a. HarmonicaMick
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scstrickland
373 posts
Dec 18, 2009
2:32 PM
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After reading joshnat's post it occurred to me that worse than over dressing for a gig or under dressing for a gig would be inconsistency. Like one band member dressed like Elwood Blues and another like Seasick Steve! Yikes!
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jawbone
191 posts
Dec 18, 2009
3:00 PM
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@mickil "Gigging is like going to church. Show some repect" I think whoever said it meant that if you are performing or in a congegation, respect the audience as much as you would the church goers. But I'm just guessing. I don't think it was directed at a forum member.
What I aim for in my attire, black pants, white shirt, top button undone with loose tie and a vest, is to hint at blues attire. Sort of "I was all dressed up but now I'm rolling up my sleeves and getting down to work and getting more comfortable"
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If it ain't got harp - it ain't really blues!!!!
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mickil
725 posts
Dec 18, 2009
4:21 PM
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jawbone,
You may well be right. It just seemed like such a non sequitur that I found it very hard to draw any inference from it that made sense to me.
joshnat, I really don't understand what you are adding to the discussion. Do you wanna expand on it?
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YouTube SlimHarpMick a.k.a. HarmonicaMick
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bluesnut
122 posts
Dec 18, 2009
5:07 PM
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I have seen Junior Wells in concert at the Kailua highschool theater to a full house. He was the best dressed in the band. He wore a Stetson hat, Zute style suite and all bright yellow, black shirt and shoes. He walked through the crowd and did a smokin' harp solo through the whole walk. So I got a good look at him. Junior was the best harp performance I have seen so far. What a player, he lived up to the legend. I wear a black tee shirt, jeans, sunglasses and when the lights are in my face a singy brim black fedora, cause I wanna.
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bluedogg
33 posts
Dec 29, 2009
7:00 AM
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I currently play in a southern rock band. usually wear a harley T, jeans and boots. can't stand hats, but occasionally wear a doo-rag for sweat. Sunglasses only for the outdoor gigs. in the 80's I had big bleached hair, and wore spandex! lol wore a tux when i did fill ins with a wedding band. i think for me it's "dress for the band/gig"
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lumpy wafflesquirt
135 posts
Dec 29, 2009
7:18 AM
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If I go to hear a band I expect them to look like they've made a bit of effort in their attire, not just realised at the last minute they've got a gig and turned up in what they were wearing to dig the garden.
Thus, if I have a gig I'll be wearing something decent at the very least smart jeans and a shirt, possibly a suitI find the pockets useful for harps etc, but almost always a hat, I love hats.
From my time in big bands, if I am playing a gig it's nice to see the punters have made an effort and it is something special as well. It was always nice to see them in suits.
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waltertore
24 posts
Dec 29, 2009
7:45 AM
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I began my playing days with guys like Lightning Hopkins, Louisiana Red, Wilbert Harrison, Sonny Rhodes, Cool Papa....... They all dressed sharp. It really impressed me and I started wearing suits, hats, nice shoes, etc... I still dress. Whether I am playing a nursing home or festival, the dress is the same. Lightning Hopkins once told me "when your the man people need to know it whether you are on the can or on the stage." Walter
Here is a typical gig suit:
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walter tore's sponotbeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=157137
href=http://www.youtube.com/user/waltertore
Last Edited by on Dec 29, 2009 7:48 AM
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congaron
370 posts
Dec 29, 2009
8:10 AM
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I like black partly because my conga/bongo setup is plenty flashy by itself. There's chrome hardware and a simple red/orange//yellow/ black fade paint that really looks good on stage. Flashy clothes would be distracting I think. I like to just blend into the setup. Since a spot generally lands on me for harp solos anyway, black clothes and a shadow keeps me pretty low profile, so the music can be the draw. The rest of the time, the spot is on the lead singer or lead guitar solo. The different colored stage washes really don't need me to be flashy. I wear a hat because i like to wear hats...unless i just don't feel like it that day....it's really way down the list of important stuff....the outfit, that is.
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Miles Dewar
420 posts
Dec 29, 2009
8:35 AM
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Jeans, a "Hoodie", and a blue "Chicago Bears" Cap.
That's as Bluesy as it gets.
-I hate Sunglasses
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toddlgreene
297 posts
Dec 29, 2009
8:42 AM
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@ bluedogg-we're gonna need a pic of that hair you had and the spandex.
My primary band (am540)is essentially a jam band, and I've tried to dress them up to no avail. When ya can't beat 'em, join em-jeans, shorts when it's hot, t-shirts, sandals, sometimes bare feet.My take on sunglasses(and baseball caps) are that they are for wearing outside-in the sun. If you wear sunglasses inside or at night, you're either hiding a shiner or substance abuse, or long to be in an '80's tribute band, or have strange-looking eyes, a la Marty Feldman.
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
Last Edited by on Dec 29, 2009 8:43 AM
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