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"Talking Blues Harp," on YouTube
I'll have more to say below about the three smiling gentlemen in the photo. First, though, I want to alert you to a FREE virtual event that is taking place this Friday, April 29.
If you're a blues harp player, student, or fan, and I say "Adam Jason Liam Ronnie Tomlin," you know those names. Jason Ricci, Liam Ward, Ronnie Shellist, Tomlin Leckie, and I have been doing the YouTube harp-guy thing for a grand total of SEVENTY combined years. I just checked. Jason and Ronnie both joined in 2006; Tomlin and I joined in 2007. Liam joined in 2014.
Together, we have hundreds of thousands of subscribers and tens of millions of video views. Some might argue--and I won't disagree--that we five basically invented the idea of web-based, video-format blues harmonica teaching.
But although we've all been friends for quite a while, we've never been together in the same space as a fivesome--until now.
This Friday, Ronnie and his YouTube channel will be hosting us in a live 60-minute conversation. When we got together several months ago to toss around ideas, we had some outrageous fun. This thing will be loose, free-swinging, and informative.
We're going to start at the obvious place: with YouTube itself, as each of us came to it many years ago. How did each of us start? What have we learned along the way? How has YT harp teaching changed over the years?
We hit at 8 AM Pacific / 10 AM Central / 11 AM Eastern / 4 PM UK time.
Here's the link for Ronnie's channel. A live video should appear at or just before the appropriate time.
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Sir Rod & the Blues Doctors on tour
Thanks to the many of you who responded generously to my newsletter call. We received dozens of hot tips regarding venues and possible gigs. Our May tour to Florida remains short and sweet, but that's how we wanted it. Our July tour has expanded. Here is our current gig list. Since things sometimes change at the last minute, it's always a good idea to call the venue a few days before and make sure the gig is happening.
5/20/22: Gulfport, FL - The Village Courtyard (Second Annual Sterling Magee Memorial Birthday Bash: SRBD, 6-9 PM)
5/21/22: New Smyrna Beach, FL - Chases on the Beach (SRBD, 2-6 PM)
5/22/22: Flagler Beach, FL - Oceanside Beach Bar & Grill (SRBD, 10AM - 2 PM)
6/23/22: Taylor, MS - Taylor Grocery (Blues Docs, 6-9 PM)
7/7/22: Greenwood, SC - Greenwood Blues Cruise (SRBD, 4-5:15 PM + TBA)
7/8/22: Greenwood, SC - Greenwood Blues Cruise (SRBD, 12-2 PM + 7-10 PM)
7/14/22: St. Georges, DE - St. Georges Country Store (SRBD, 6-9 PM)
7/15/22: Lansdowne, PA - Jamey's House of Music (SRBD, details TBA)
7/16/22: Piermont, NY - Turning Point Cafe (SRBD, details TBA)
7/19/22: New York, NY - Terra Blues (SRBD, 7-9:30 PM)
7/23/22: Bethlehem, PA - Bethlehem Blues Festival (SRBD, TBA)
Please note: We still have some open dates during that July tour. Specifically, we're looking for routing dates on July 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, and 18. We will be carrying a PA and will be ready and able to play YOUR backyard party, should you desire.
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Other stuff
§Sir Rod & the Blues Doctors will be releasing a new live album in mid-May; I'll send you a separate email about that when it's ready for purchase. It's titled Keeping It in the Family.
§We're delighted that Braver Angels, a political advocacy organization dedicated to bridging divides and creating constructive dialogues between Americans has chosen SRBD as "Artist of the Month." Read all about it HERE.
§I'm selling the truck. $15,000 firm. The basics: 1972 Chevrolet Cheyenne long bed, 350 V-8, 4-barrel Edelbrock carb, Flowmaster exhaust, 3.77 differential, power steering/brakes, American Racing rims, 115K miles, matching numbers. I'm the third owner and have put only 4,000 miles on it since I bought it in 2008. The second owner, who had it from 1980 to 2008, did a frame-off restoration in 1998. He put in new heads, a hot cam, the carb and exhaust. He ripped out the A/C and heat for a cleaner under-the-hood look; he also got it repainted after shaving off all door handles & mirrors and removing all trim. I had it repainted in turqoise pearl in 2015; I had the transmission serviced a couple of years ago. I've also given it a new radiator, a new starter, and a rebuilt alternator. It is a gorgeous, fun, hot rod truck that turns heads--and it's got some history, as many of you know, since it was the mascot for Hill Country Harmonica. It has 400 hp, according to the second owner, and gets 11 mpg.
If you're seriously interested in buying this one-of-a-kind heirloom--and ONLY if you have the cash, since I don't take credit cards or offer financing--please contact me: asgussow@aol.com. I'll repeat: serious inquiries only.
Here are some more photos:
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Channels, Books, Music, Lessons
YOUTUBE CHANNELS:
BOOKS:
MUSIC:
HARMONICA LESSONS:
Modern Blues Harmonica Advanced Beginner's Special
For beginning players who have completed the first handful of lessons on my website (most of which can be found in the "Beginner's Special" and "Beginner's Deluxe") and are ready to commit to the next step, here is a bargain: six video tutorials with the tab sheets thrown in for free. The lessons in this collection continue your education into the world of blues harmonica by teaching you a range of ways of moving through the 12-bar changes--the "blues progression." These include a boogie-woogie (Bittersweet Boogie), a melody drawn from a vocal line (Same Old Blues), a jazzy melody that deliberately breaks across the bar lines (Whistlin' the Blues), a two-beat stomp that uses double stops and chords (Red Dress), a simplified version of a Chicago blues standard (Mojo 1.0), and a rock classic (Rock Around the Clock). There is a method in Gussow's madness! These songs socialize you into the wide and wonderful world of blues musicianship, even as they develop your lip-strength, coordination, and reflexes.
PLEASE NOTE: All these songs are demonstrated using a key of C harmonica, except for Mojo 1.0, which uses a key of A harmonica.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: You do NOT need to know how to bend notes in order to play these songs. This is why they are appropriate for beginners and advanced beginners.
Chicago Blues Classics
For INTERMEDIATES and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATES who want a selection of the best that the Chicago blues tradition has to offer, I've bundled five video tutorials into an easy-to-download zip file, with the tab sheets thrown in for free. Included in this package are Sonny Boy Williamson/Junior Wells ("Checking Up on my Baby"), Junior Wells ("Messing With the Kid"), Big Walter Horton ("Easy"), Paul Butterfield ("Born in Chicago"), and Little Walter/Kim Wilson ("Got My Mojo Working"), all for only $25, a savings of $10 off the item-by-item price.
"Bending the 3 Draw": NOT just for BEGINNERS and ADVANCED BEGINNERS, but for INTERMEDIATES as well. The 3 draw bend--several different bends, actually--is more challenging than 4 draw and 2 draw. I help you extract the deep bluesy sound that lies buried in the harp; I use a guitar to explain exactly which pitches you're trying for and where they're located.
"Harmony for Improvisation": For blues harmonica students in the BEGINNER and ADVANCED BEGINNER category who seek some basic grounding in harmony that will strengthen their understanding of the instrument and improve their abilities as improvisers. INTERMEDIATE players who have neglected this element of their musical education may also find this lesson useful. This zip file includes one QuickTime video plus one jam track in the key of G. There is NO tab sheet with this lesson.
Harp: C
"Upper Octave Boogie": INTERMEDIATE / ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE, although ADVANCED BEGINNERS will be able to get most of it. An original composition that breaks open the upper octave and make it available for further exploration. Please check out the free preview available on either Tradebit page below!
Harp: C
"Buford Chapel Breakdown": a gospel-flavored original blues, with three complete choruses. For ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE and fearless INTERMEDIAT players. This is an exact transcription of what I play on the recording, which can be purchased on iTunes and it part of my debut solo CD, KICK AND STOMP. (Note: This lesson includes a three-chorus extract from the original recording, so you can hear exactly what I do in the studio.)
harp: Bb
"Help Me": This is arguably Sonny Boy Williamson's best-known song--a harmonica blues staple of blues bands and jam sessions the world over. An amazing amount of harmonica knowledge is packed into this 12-bar solo: warbles, angular triplets, chuck-chuck accents. For INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED INTERMEDIATE players.
"St. Louis Blues": This is the most famous blues song in the world, bar none. W.C. Handy's 1914 hit deserves a serious blues harp arrangement; this is it. An incredible value, this lesson focuses on a four-page tab (the longest currently offered at MBH): three 12-bar verses with that distinctive, Latin-flavored, 16-bar, minor-key bridge thrown in. This is a really cool solo performance piece. (NOTE: The second verse contains several 6 hole overblows. If you're not an overblower, you can simply repeat the first verse.)
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That's all for now. Stay hungry, practice hard. Onward!
--Adam
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