The Harps and Gear I Used to Record “50 Grand”
“50 Grand” is the only piece on my record “The Lucky One” that has something close to a standard 12-bar blues structure. I broke up the 12-bar form with a vamp that includes a cool harmonica horn section, and the lyric structure–unlike a typical blues–does…
The harps and gear I used on “Double Lucky”
As a rule, most of the pieces on “The Lucky One” have somewhere between three and five harmonica parts in the mix. “Double Lucky” is an exception, with only two harps, and I think its simplicity makes it a good place to start my series…
More from “The Lucky One”: Make The Noise You Came To Make
Like other pieces on “The Lucky One”, “Make the Noise You Came to Make” relies on a horn section made of harmonicas shifted down one and two octaves. To that we add an amped blues sound with a Whammy that shifts the pitch down a…
A Mysterious Piece of “The Lucky One”: Deeper
“Deeper” has been in my repertoire for years. I recorded a version of this piece for my subscription list, a decade or so ago. The original had a few harmonica parts and a lot of cool synth sounds, many of them courtesy of the hard-edged…
A Glimpse of “The Lucky One”: Orphan Jam
This clip of “Orphan Jam” from the sessions for my record “The Lucky One” is based on a simple chord progression: G major and Eb major. The lap steel sets an appropriately grand and spooky tone, and the harmonica comes in like some kind of…
Another day, another (country) session
I took some time off this week from working on the songs and arrangements for my upcoming record, “The Lucky One,” which is set for recording in the third week of September in Philadelphia, to record harmonica parts for Austin TX producer Bobby Flores. (Congratulations…
A shoutout for Jon Gindick
I got an email today from Jon Gindick, harmonica player, singer, songwriter, author of numerous books on playing the harmonica, and the man behind Harmonica Jam Camp. The message was all about the latest harmonica Jam Camp in Missisippi, which apparently was a damn good…
The new record is taking form
A couple months ago I announced on this blog that I’m getting ready to make a record. The shape and sound of that record is coming into focus. For a start, it’s going to be stripped-down. I’ve realized that the stuff I’ve most enjoyed playing…
Slammin’ and Jammin’ in London (with audio)
I was in London earlier this week, and I had two opportunities to perform: once with Lowlands at the Windmill in Brixton, and once at the Tuesday night jam session run by Dov Jones at the Spice of Life in Soho. Both performances had their…
More Christmas music: “Peace to You All Tonight”
I improvised and recorded “Peace to You All Tonight” a few weeks ago. The piece is played on a standard diatonic harp in second position. The signal chain starts with an AKG BT330DT mic (my preferred harp mic in 1987, when I bought it, in…
