“It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” Live
Comparing the Manji, Session Steel, and Kongsheng Soloist
I use a wider variety of makes and models of diatonic harmonicas than most players, because I try new models as they’re introduced, more or less, so at one time or another I’ve owned at least one of everything. I’ve had Suzuki Manji and Seydel…
How I recorded the big harmonicas that light up “Make the Noiseâ€
Sometimes it takes years to write a song. I wrote the first draft of some of the lyrics to “Make the Noise,†the leadoff song on my record “The Lucky One,†15 or so years ago for a piece called “In the Time of Your…
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…
A hard-rockin’ piece of “The Lucky One”: Double Lucky
The basic structure of Double Lucky, one of the hardest-rocking tunes on my record “The Lucky One,” is a double blues: 24 bars, with 8-bar vamp sections between each 24-bar form. There are variations in the turnaround in each 12-bar section. Bar 12 ends on…
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…
The 2015 Battle of the Bands is Over, and It Was a Blast
Recording My First Country Session With the RP360XP
No, this isn’t about recording my first country session, just the first one with the Digitech RP360XP.
Playing the Regionals for the Inc. Magazine Battle of the Corporate Bands
I was contacted earlier this year by Mike Corso, who like me works at Gartner, Inc. to ask me if I’d like to play with a (mostly) Gartner employee band in the Inc. Magazine Battle of the Corporate Bands. Mike, who is a frontman in…
