Some people will recognize this video from one of yesterday's threads. It's a solo performance by Tom Walbank, aka Devon Tom of the forum here:
Tom didn't ask to be subjected to heavy scrutiny here, but I suspect that he might be willing to answer a question or two.
Before I ask the question(s), I'll just say that I greatly admire the playing contained herein. It's very fast, it's creative, it's spontaneous. There's nowhere to hide when you've just got a naked vocal mic and a big room. Although the perfectionist in me might quibble about a couple of blue thirds that are bent a little further than I might have bent them, I'm also quite sure that I wouldn't want to be put on the same stage with Tom and asked to go head to head on this sort of train song / fox chase thingaroo. I can play a bit in this style, but Tom has me beat. I think he belongs in the fairly small circle of players who do this sort of thing very well: Joe Filisko, Wade Schuman, Ken "The Rocket" Korb, Sonny Jr., and a couple of others whose names escape me now.
Now, my questions: Tom, who were your main influences? I hear Sonny Terry, obviously, and I also hear Deford Bailey quite clearly around 3:10 or so: he loved that particular riff, which is I believe contained in "Pan American Blues."
Thanks for clearing up how you feel about the video. I was worried that my tastes were so far off the harmonica wall i'd never fit in. I find playing like this amazing. I work on train sounds some and wish i could do it better.
In case somebody's interested: It could have been you who posted this awesome website some time ago - a collection of train sounds for inspiration ;).
And here's a huge thread of old-timey/prewar harp musicians from the german harp forum (jack-black.de). It might be hard to understand but the most important, a lot of links and tabs, should all be comprehensible. I'll be posting this stuff in an own thread. But till then here you go: Prewar harmonica of the 20s and 30s.
As for some criticism of Tom, I love that first whoop which has that crazy edge to it. ---------- germanharpist on YT. =;-) - Resonance is KEY!
Last Edited by on Mar 13, 2010 7:34 AM
Very nice...this one makes the Harp Gods smile !! That LO sounds purdy good doesn't it?. Love the body language..like a ball player trying to coax a home run to stay fair LOL. ---------- Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art. - Charlie Parker
Many thanks for linking that thread. I don't know if the links will hyperlink, but I've cut and pasted the entry that had many of the links. (Unfortunately, the links didn't materialize. But the players and linked cuts are there. I'll encourage ALL on this forum to check out that stuff):
Vielen Dank Bruce, die Seite ist wirklich große Klasse!!!
Für alle die wenig Zeit zum Suchen haben hab ich nochmal einige der bekanntesten Interpreten rausgesucht, wobei ich mich besonders über Deford Bailey's "Davidson County Blues" freue, da dieser trotz seiner Popularität immernoch eine Rarität bleibt...
Crook Brothers String Band Going Across The Sea
David McCarn Poor Man, Rich Man
Deford Bailey Davidson County Blues
Dr. Humphrey Bate's Possum Hunters Ham Beats All Meat My Wife Died Saturday Night Take Your Foot Out Of The Mud And Put It In The Sand
Gwen Foster Black Pine Waltz Wilkes County Blues
Henry Whitter Lost Girl Of West Virginia Rain Crow Bill Blues
Kyle Wooten Choking Blues Red Pig
Murphy Brothers Harp Band Boat Song March Downfall Of Paris -unknown-
That's definitely an awesome thread from mazblues. I'll open a new thread sometime soon where I'll translate whatever necessary and link all the stuff, etc...
There is quite a fan community of prewar stuff here in germany. It's probably also due to the fact that this music still very much resembles the old-timey german/european folk music. ---------- germanharpist on YT. =;-) - Resonance is KEY!
i think i posted this video awhile ago an he came on here saying that some one else made it, an he never claimed the title "guru". but i guess thats just him being modest. ----------
First off, thanks for the kind words everybody, words of encouragement every once ina while is good for the soul. Here is a breakdown of the solo. The intro is Sonny Terry,but the high end stuff I got from Johnny Mars back in the day. Then the Crazed whoop ( guaranteed to get peoples attention in a noisy bar) and then into Whoopin' the Blues by Sonny Terry. At 1.20 I put a riff by, Adam got it, Deford Bailey. At 2.30 I morph into another great influence , Phil Wiggins for the train imitation. Freeman Stowers normally gets a heads up on that train ride as well. I didn't do it that time but I blow into six while humming the same note to imitate the whistle. The bird imitation right at the end I got from Rory Mcleod a fabulous all around harp player from England, does it all Eastern European harp, Fox Chases, a real gent as well. Mark Feltham and Charlie Mccoy are influences as well on faster songs. If anybody wants to know how to do any of those licks my email is walbanktom@hotmail.com. THANKS AGAIN, TOM
Last Edited by DevonTom on Apr 29, 2015 7:51 PM
