shanester
5 posts
Dec 19, 2009
8:18 PM
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Hey folks, I just joined today, brought here by the great and generous master Adam Gussow.
Adam, as I mentioned in the where you from thread, I found you by chance on the web a year ago when my local construction business dried up and I was doing some hurricane repair in Baton Rouge away from my beloved home and wife in South Austin, Texas.
After an enormous drought of music where I had all but given up on being a performing musician, I had happened to bring some rusty old Special 20's from back when I played in the mid 90's with me thinking I would take advantage of my solitude. I was browsing the web one night and found your youtube videos.
I immersed myself in them, the harmonica opened itself to me as much from contact as from actually playing with the lesson. Something stuck! It feels like finding my excalibur! I found my voice as a musician!
Understand I didn't start music until my 20's, and self taught. I had a musician girlfriend and was always surrounded by musicians as a young slacker about town. I tried to learn guitar and am a decent rhythm player. I noodled with harp because I lived with an awsome alt -country harp player for a while.
I finally got into a band on my very simple bent note cross harp melodic sustainy thing. I felt like a hack and the band dissolved mysteriously.
I got married and worked as a carpenter and gave up on music and blamed my wife!!! I just didn't have the cajones to go for it. Now I have shifted the listening of my wife and my community.
Since discovering those videos I have studied the harmonica, its music, and it's history. I love its underdog status and its accessibility. I love that you play it from the core of your body.
I "came out" as a committed harp player at a talent show event for an educational organization, with an absurd blues that i wrote called "They Call Me the Farter" (Still thought I had to be funny). All respect to the blues, i just wanted to come out joyously with something absurd, and if I could make people rock to something uncomfortable, all the better. I got applause, but my greatest compliment was when the black women from Jamaica complimented me on my playing, shyly avoiding subject matter.
Since then I just play. I play with a group of old hippy musicians at a weekly jam. I accompany a singer songwriter gal. I play when I drive, sometimes through a pignose.
My background is spoiled middle-class white boy from the most liberal town in Texas. Punk rock as a teenager, dropped out of UT, and had many fun years in my twenties hanging out with musicians and having my musical horizons broadened.
I probably spend half my time on the blues and the rest on anything from rock to country to mariachi. I am exited by the future of harmonica and how to spread it's reach.
Thank you Adam Gussow, you are an artist and a teacher. Not just your playing, but your insights into the blues, musicianship, channeling emotion, etc. Thank you to this community as well! What a positive group!
Just wanted to say hi!
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Greg Heumann
193 posts
Dec 19, 2009
9:01 PM
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Welcome! One of the things I love about music is you can have it from an early age or start in your 50's - grow/play steadily or in fits and starts, often with long breaks. If you stop, you can come back to it any time. Most importantly you can do it well into your oldest years - and enjoy it. I'm sure many of us have experienced "cathartic" events along the journey - I know I did. How wonderful.
Glad to have you among us.
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/Greg
http://www.BlowsMeAway.com
http://www.BlueStateBand.net
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bluestate
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Hobostubs Ashlock
192 posts
Dec 19, 2009
9:07 PM
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hellow fellow harpster you might be new but your not a newbie sounds like you been paying some dues along the way.Yea Adams Utube stuff is great ive about filled my laptop up with his videos,I dont want him to stop but now i got to firgure out where to put them.OPPs there he go's again man i need a extra hard drive lol
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shanester
6 posts
Dec 19, 2009
9:25 PM
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Thanks for the welcome, y'all! Wow Hobostubs, he really did! I just clicked over, ha ha! I've been watching.
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tookatooka
894 posts
Dec 20, 2009
3:31 AM
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Welcome to the forum from London England shanester.
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Kingley
552 posts
Dec 20, 2009
3:38 AM
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Welcome Shanester. I'm sure you'll find lots of interesting and helpful people on here.
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shanester
11 posts
Dec 21, 2009
10:19 AM
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Pleasure, y'all. I'll start a youtube channel tonight and upload something. Fun, fun, fun!
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toddlgreene
272 posts
Dec 21, 2009
10:32 AM
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Welcome shanester. I might have to look you up next time I head to A-Town...I love that place!
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~Todd L. Greene, Devout Pedestrian
"listen to what you like for inspiration, but find your own voice"
crescentcityharmonicaclub@gmail.com
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Ant138
226 posts
Dec 22, 2009
3:38 AM
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Welcome aboard from not so sunny Wales, U.K.
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