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Thursday, September 11, 2008
Harmonica man joined by Fi Fi the musical skunk
I am working on a site called HarmonicaBlog.com - Harmonica News. I have written a program that searches for news stories about Harmonicas, Blues Harp and Harp Gear and creates a daily post to a blog. I may add my own thoughts to the blog from time to time, but for the most part it will be automatic.

It is significant that the first news story on the blog is about Fi Fi the musical skunk and a man who plays harp with her.

It is a good start to a new project.



Harmonica man joined by Fi F the musical skunk
posted by Keith at 9/11/2008 10:44:00 AM | 0 comments
Monday, September 01, 2008
Jason Ricci Pictures

    I used the cheap camera Friday night at Mexcali Blues so the pictures aren't the best, but here are a couple of them. I posted Jason's amp settings over at HarpAmps.com.

 

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posted by Keith at 9/01/2008 12:52:00 PM | 0 comments
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Jason Ricci - 8/29/2008

I finally got to see Ricci play. The guy is technically amazing. He is able to play all of theos overblows and high end Popper stuff without ever leaving the world of deep dark blues based harp Playing. I am a blues bigot, but I still enjoyed his rock/jazz fusion of genres. I must say that his opening song called "Get Funky" or something lasted about 10 minutes too long, but the show is more of personal journey for Ricci rather than standard entertainment.

You've got to go see this guy before he burns himself out.

I was surprised that there were not many people at the show. There were only about 40 or so people. Many of these had video cameras going or recording devices so you might search around to find more stuff for the night.

He had the singer Gina Fox who is married to Dennis Gruenling touring with him, but she doesn't seem like a good fit for Jason's style.

Here's a video from a song "Keep the Wolf From the Door". It sounds like it is a Tom Waits song, but I don't know.

I have some pictures that I will upload when I have a minute. I have more video, but I blew my limit at Vimeo for the week.

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posted by Keith at 8/31/2008 10:04:00 AM | 0 comments
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
C.A.Reynolds Lightweight Microphones
Chis Reynolds just told me that he's finished cloning the JT30 shell in lightweight plastic. I bought one of his Shure 520 shells (I've got it partially done - I'm waiting for the paint to dry). These shells are great for harp players. I've always found that the lighter the shell, the easier it is to play. I can play faster and more accurately with a light shell.

I am thinking about sending Chris a "brown bullet" shell, but there is question about the suitability for making a mold. It picks up all the flaws so I have to find one in my collection as nearly perfect as possible. I also have some very odd shells, including the series of Japanese plastic shells that are very far out. I might send him three or four and let him choose which ones he wants to clone.

C.A.Reynolds Lightweight Microphones
posted by Keith at 8/12/2008 11:06:00 AM | 0 comments
Thursday, August 07, 2008
James Cotton continued



Two more photos.
posted by photor at 8/07/2008 06:55:00 PM | 0 comments
JamesCotton


I'd like to add these few photos to your James Cotton collection. Wonderful concert!!
posted by photor at 8/07/2008 06:47:00 PM | 0 comments
James Cotton - SUPERHARP!

Harp player Dexter Lane was at the Cotton Show and took some good pics. He had a nicer camera and a good eye, so he has managed to capture some really good images.

James Cotton - SUPERHARP!
posted by Keith at 8/07/2008 10:39:00 AM | 0 comments
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Cotton In Concert

I was lucky enough to make it down Weehawken, New Jersey to see James Cotton in concert. James sounds pretty good for his age and the band was great.

Here are some of the pictures...

 

DSCN0244DSCN0246 DSCN0247 DSCN0248 DSCN0249 DSCN0250 DSCN0251 DSCN0252 DSCN0253 DSCN0254 DSCN0255 DSCN0256
posted by Keith at 8/06/2008 10:21:00 PM | 1 comments
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Jason Ricci show
I've been listening to some Jason Ricci bootlegs and I am looking forward to seeing him at Mexicali Blues in Teaneck, New Jersey.

I am going down to buy the tickets this weekend. They are $15, which is cheap for an act like this. They are $20 online.

I'll see you there.

BTW there's an opening act that does not sound like it is blues or harp related. I just stopped by their web page, and they seem to be talented, but I am a blues harp bigot.

Mexicali Blues Cafe | NJ Hottest Live Music Venue
posted by Keith at 7/31/2008 03:20:00 PM | 0 comments
Thursday, July 17, 2008
10 Steps to Becoming a Harmonica Super Star
I updated my "10 steps" page over at Squidoo. I like their format - it makes it easy to write a short essay like this.

Check it out. I think I've condensed about 20 years of struggling with the harp down into a few hundred words.

10 Steps to Becoming a Harmonica Super Star
posted by Keith at 7/17/2008 01:11:00 PM | 0 comments
Friday, July 11, 2008
Danny Gs 2008 Harmonica Lovers Family Reunion
There's a cool sounding harmonica get-together out in North Benton, Ohio. Danny G is having another Harmonica Lover's Family Picnic. It's way to far for me, but if gas cost less, I might try a road trip.

If you are within $150 miles, and you drink enough free beer, you might just break even.
This years guests will include singer, guitar player and composer "Grizzly" (Dave) Warner, a friend who doesn't play harmonica but recently performed at the seasons opening festival at Nelson Ledges. Wally and Val Peterman. We have talked with a couple well know blues players this year, but no confirmations yet.

I'd like to attract more diatonic players to the party.
I'm going to give my Astatic model JT-30 microphone to the short harp player the audience votes as their favorite.

We have room for a bunch of tent campers.
(email me if you'd like to camp out so I can keep track and limit space if necessary)

Friday July 11th and Saturday July 12th (we'll run you off if you stay past Tuesday)

21746 North Benton West Road
North Benton, Ohio

DannyG@AllianceLink.com
Danny G's 2008 Harmonica Lovers Family Reunion
posted by Keith at 7/11/2008 11:42:00 AM | 0 comments
Do you collect microphones or work on mics? Do you attend blues harp events and take pictures? Do you know tips and techniques for playing harp that you'd like to share.
I need bloggers who are willing to post to JT30.com a few times a month on harp related subjects (not spam). Your posts will reach about 10,000 unique readers each month. Let me know if you are interested.
Thanks, Keith

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History of this page.

In the dawn of the World Wide Web (1994), Keith Graham created the JT30 page. It started out as a home page for modifying JT30 microphones. Eventually the page became a catchall for microphones and amplified harmonica playing. You can see these pages at: The Original JT30 Page

Now I have three pages for harp mics, harp tab and harp amps. I'm going to start another one just for learning harp.


Free Blues Concerts
JT-30 Blues Pages
• Blues Harp Learning Proposal
• Blues Lyrics Cheat Book Download
• Harmonica Learning Resources
• Keith Graham's Street Theory
• Street Theory - Intro
• What Makes a Blues Song
• Why Play Positions
• Blue Notes
• Keith Graham's Street Theory - Three Chords
• Street Theory - First Position
• Street Theory - Third Position
• Picking Up Blues Harp
• Care and Feeding of Harps
• Harp Key Chart
• Identifying the harp key of a song.
• What brand harp to buy
• What Harp Keys to Buy
• Why Blues Harmonica
• JT-30 Questions Answered
• 1941 JT30 Question
• Black Face Twin for Harp and Guitar Use
• Crystal vs. Ceramic Element
• Eliminating the XLR connector.
• Larger Cap in Piazza Circuit
• Shure Bullet Compared to JT-30
• The difference between a CAD HM 50 VC and a JT 30
• More Harmonica Links
• • Microphones
• Astatic JT-30 Mic Dates
• JT-30 Microphone Modifications
• JT30 Boutique
• JT30 FAQ
• Guide to Mic Connectors
• Microphone Element Comparisons
• Microphone Gallery
• How Microphones Work
• Johnny Rooster Custom Mic Paint Jobs
•  • The Original JT30 Page
• Dennis Gruenling Blues Band
• Felix Cabrera
• A Blues Harp Crossword Puzzle
• New Toys
• Kim Wilson at the Hungry Tiger Pictures
• Twin 8 Restoration
• Rod Piazza at Chicago Blues in NYC
• Sugar Ray Pictures at the Hungry Tiger
• Blues Class at RCC
• Texas Crude Amp
• Allan Delay visit
• Bassman Project
• Harpin for Hunger
Harp Amp Pages
Blues Harp Tab
Learning Blues Harp
USENET Articles

Links and Off-site Resources

There is a cool news search engine at Google and there is almost always something interesting about Harmonicas. Try a Harmonica Search at Google News.
There are interesting Usenet discussion groups at Google:
alt.music.harmonica
alt.music.blues
alt.guitar.amps
bit.listserv.blues-l


The Cable Channel CNBC had a small article on collecting vintage microphones on 3/28.
Microphone Techs! Here is a nice article out of Circuit Cellar Magazine on the D-104, the older brother of the JT-30. It has a great discussion on crystal mics and how they match to modern equipment. There is a project on how to rig up a little op amp matching circuit.
Click here to see where Little Walter is buried.
Click here to see where Muddy Waters is buried.
Here's Big Walter's grave
This is Sonny Boy Williamson's (Rice Miller) grave

If you haven't been checking out BassHarps Gig list, then you are missing out on great harp playing. If you are gigging and not on the list then you are probably playing to a half empty house.
There is a Jam Session FAQ on the Internet. Some of it is old and is missing some of the best blues Jams, but it may be useful for finding a local jam. Another more recent jam list is at the National Blues Pages.
Buy an Astatic mug, Harp Joke T-shirt or Mic Mousepad!

My Other Sites.
I fool around with Javascript, Java, PHP, ASP and Flash and I have a couple of interesting sites:
You can read my blog at Keith Graham's Wandering.
www.cthreepo.com
is where I rant and rave about how to write Science Fiction.
Astounding Tales Magazine is a Science Fiction ezine that I publish.
The Jump Gate for all of Keith Graham's websites is www.kpgraham.com



Web www.jt30.com www.harpamps.com www.harptab.com

The last thing the blues needs is another smart-ass white boy with a bad attitude.
- Brownie McGhee

Keith Graham (with Kim Wilson). I'm the tall one.


(I can hear Kim saying "who the hell is that jerk?")


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