The sound of Mississippi...

I've always been attracted to the sound of slide guitar and blues harp ever since I saw the movie "Crossroads" way back in the 80's. I'd never gotten any closer to "The South" than Las Vegas until I visited my wife's family in Biloxi, Mississippi a few years ago. I've got to tell you, it really changes you. The whole area feels, well.....old. I mean, here in California everything is bright, shiny and new, but in the south time seems to move so much slower. You can just tell by breathing the air and walking through the dirt that so many important things have happened there. The music of the south has a purpose much deeper than fame and fortune. History has been preserved and recounted, passed down from generation to generation through song. This is what draws me to the blues, bluegrass and folk music. It's storytelling at its best.

Anyhow, I've finally committed myself to learning to play slide guitar and blues harp. I found some great videos on YouTube of people teaching the basics and it inspired me. I bought a DVD by one of the posters, Ronnie Shellist, on how to learn blues harp (a.k.a. Mississippi Sax). I ran down to the local Guitar Center and picked up a Hohner Special 20 diatonic harp in the key of A and away I goes...

The DVD, entitled "Harmonica Foundations" takes a totally green beginner like myself and teaches you the in's and out's of blues harp. I've seen the Mel Bay books that try and teach you how to play 'Kum by Ya' on the harmonica, but that's not for me. I've only gotten through the first half of the hour-long DVD and already I've learned some very important things.

I'm a firm believer that if there is something you want to do or learn in this lifetime, you'd better get to doing it. Who knows how long you can put it off before it just slips away from you. I don't want to be a senile old fart pushing my walker around the halls of a hospice gumming my harmonica and playing nonsensical squeaks and honks. Damn! I wants to blow some HARP!! Yesssum...