Harp Train 10 Update

Thought that while my blog seems to have straightened it's wonky posting problems I'd update my Lone Wolf Harp Train 10 amplifier experiences since a reader or two posted comments on the original post (search for Harp Train 10 for that one).

Last time out, I mentioned that I substituted the 12ax7 preamp tube for a 12ay7 to lower the gain just a bit and give the amp more headroom and be able to crank it a bit more. A blog reader asked about that swap and I'm repeating some of my answer. It came in especially useful at a frequent outdoor jam I participated in and at which the stage volume began to rise considerably each time out. The 12ay7 changed the tone somewhat, but not in a bad way and the HT10 held it's own. Eventually, I chained my Kalamazoo 1 into the mix using the Lone Wolf Terminator pedal for extra punch. I ran my Lone Wolf Reverb through one amp and my Lone Wolf Delay through the other. Eventually, a dude with an overkill sound system began setting up and miking up all the participants. My instructions were to lower the volume on my rig, so I used just the HT10 with the Balls knob and Loudness knob both just a notch above 3. That is what this post is all about.

I found that if I turned the HT10 Balls knob and Loudness knob below 3, the fine tone of the amp dropped out to dull. Not really a problem until I brought the amp to my regular gig at a small venue. My bandmates insisted that I needed to turn down below 3 and the tone was just not cutting it. I did stick my Lone Wolf Harp Break in front of the amp and recovered a decent tone--somewhat.

Listening to a FB clip by the fantastic Australian harp master, Ian Collard, solved my problem. In the clip (pretty sure it was a Little Walter number), he's practicing with his new lineup for his group, Collard Greens and Gravy. First thing I noticed is that he's blowing through his HT10 sitting on a shelf directly behind his head and getting a fabulous tone (of course, a lot of that is from Ian himself). I commented on the post asking whether or not he was playing a first generation HT10 and whether or not it was stock. He answered that it was stock (with the 12ax7 tube) and that he had the Balls knob and Loudness barely cracked. And that he had both his Lone Wolf Reverb and Delay pedals in line. So, if I had left things as was I would not have had the low volume tone loss. Once I swapped the 12ax7 back in, I discovered that, indeed, a nice tone could be achieved at low volume. And barely above 1 on both knobs proved to be perfect for the venue and a perfect blend with my bandmates. Of course, I had to stick my reverb and delay pedal in front just to emulate (or get somewhere close) to what I heard that Ian was putting out.

I've played with the same guys now at much larger venues and outdoors a couple of times. The key there has been that our lead guitarist knows how to mike us all up properly and I needn't push the amp above 3 on both knobs hear myself

Bottom line is that Randy Landry and company over at Lone Wolf knew what they wanted out of their amp. I'm just one of those guys that likes to tinker around with amps and things, but I'll likely keep the 12ax7 in place...until I don't. 'Nuff for now.

28th Annual Blues For Food Festival

It's that time of year again. A gathering of some of the most fabulous Houston blues musicians stinging it and slinging it for a marvelous cause--the 28th Annual Blues For Food drive. BOOYAH!

Please join us Sunday, November 12th at the Shakespeare Pub for the 28th Annual Blues For Food Festival and celebration featuring the largest collection of Houston blues artists on one stage of the year!
Featuring BERT WILLS AND CLINT BOYD - THE HIPWADERS FLYING CIRCUS - LARRY FULCHER – CAMPFIRE SOUL - JAMES WILHITE - ALISHA PATTILLO - SONNY BOY TERRY BAND - RICH DELGROSSO - JONN RICHARDSON - Raa-Raa Zydeco - JOHN McVEY - MILTON HOPKINS AND TEXAS JOHNNY BOY- EVELYN RUBIO - TANYA RICHARDSON - ANTHONY TERRY - WILLIAM HOLLIS - LARRY GARNER along with radio personality R. CHRISTIAN TUCKER as emcee! Topped off with Spare Time Murray's World Famous Blues Jam. Over 12 hours of non stop Texas blues!
A special hand crafted Keith Alan Courson Cigar Box Guitar honoring the late beloved Texas Johnny Brown with auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Houston Food Bank with a special focus on those who have been hurt from the Harvey flooding.
Blues for Food event on Sunday November 12th at the Shakespeare Pub. All proceeds benefit the Houston Food Bank.Brought to you by Keith Alan Guitars, The Hart Foundation, KPFT 90.1, The Houston Food Bank, The Houston Blues Society and The Shakespeare Pub. PLEASE SHARE! THIS IS A MUST ATTEND EVENT FOR ALL LOVERS OF GREAT BLUES!
We have also added an important new twist to our annual Blues For Food Drive. A representative from the Hart Fund will be on hand to do basic blood pressure testing etc for any musician who wants to get checked out. The Blues Foundation out of Memphis has in recent years established the HART fund (Handy Artists Relief Trust) for blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns. The fund provides for accost, chronic and preventive medical and dental care as well as funeral and burial expenses. Blues For Food organizers feel this is a a great way to increase awareness for blues musicians who may need assistance while also letting blues fans know where they can assist in helping blues musicians in need. For more information about the HART Fund visit www.blues.org/hart-fund/

Ain't No One Like Paul Oscher

Trekked over to The Bugle Boy in La Grange once again to witness a legend of the blues once again lay down some of that Old School, down in the alley, gut bucket blues that very few choose to do any longer. Paul Oscher plays nothin' but....and he'll tell you that that's only what he knows how to play. It's more that skin deep with Oscher. He's lived the life since taking up with Muddy Waters back in the late 60s and he's still got it going on. I'm not going to go through his bio and all that stuff because it can be read first hand on his revamped website here

I've been meaning to make if over to C-Boys in Austin, where Oscher conducts a happy hour blues blast every Thursday, since the last time he visited The Bugle Boy. Just thinking about hitting Austin traffic that time of day raises my blood pressure, which I don't need. The last time Oscher kicked butt at The Bugle Boy, he was doing his one man band thang. He did not disappoint then and he danged sure didn't disappoint this past Saturday night when he brought drummer Wes Starr and bass player Randy Glines with him for a trio gig. Wes Starr has played with EVERBODY in the state of Texas and is on countless blues recordings, so I will not attempt a list of such. I will say that he has been traveling around with Mark Hummel, Anson Funderburgh, and Little Charlie Baty with their Golden State Lone Star Revue. Anyway, Oscher brought the an 'A' list with him this time. Glines has been a go to bass dude around Austin for quite some time. His main gig for a long time was with the late, great Jimmy LaFave. Anyway, the gig cooked from the time this rhythm section sat down and banged out an introduction piece that brought Oscher to the stage.

Once seated, technical glitches arose around his wireless mic rig attached to his harmonica rack that sent a signal to his vintage Premier amplifier. The glitch being...no sound. His young roady valiantly attempted to get it going, to no avail. They tried a number of things that would not work, until someone in the audience said, 'Just plug into the second channel of your guitar amp'. Oscher was reluctant to blow harp into the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe, not trusting it's tone for harp. He did it though and once again it proved to me that great harp tone lies not within the speakers of an amp, but within the body cage of the man. His fat, low down, greasy tone blasted out of an amp that I would consider a poor choice for amplified harmonica. There was no dialing in, just plug and play. He was quite perturbed that his reverb/delay rig wasn't operational either. Not to worry. His tone rocked. At intermission, he  was very apologetic for the tech issues and didn't feel the sound was optimal. I assured him, as a blues harp aficionado, that his tone was absolutely killer. I know of no harp rack players who can suck the blues out of a harp like Oscher can. At the last gig when I visited with him, Oscher pointed to his chest and said, 'This is where I get my tone' and that's where it came from last Saturday, because his equipment had let him down.

To say that Oscher can capture a room with his charisma and his tales of playing with the greatest bluesman whoever lived, is an understatement. BUT it is the playing of the blues that he learned from the great bluesmen around him that rocked the house. He played with the real deals and he is the real deal...ain't no pussy footin' around. When he slips his slide across his guitar strings and it sounds so eerily exact to Muddy's wail, when he blows Little Walter's stuff like Juke, or Jimmy Roger's That's Alright, or the myriad of his originals that seep ChiTown authenticity, well, the hair on back of your neck just may stand on end. I can't sit here and tell my readers exactly what he played, because I was in the moment each and every time a note hit the air, or his roughed edged (but unpretentious) vocals filled the room. When Oscher sings about having the blues, there is not doubt that he either does, has, or will have. Stages ooze and drip the blues that Oscher occupies and no one can avoid getting it on them.

I can't say enough about Glines and Starr (who, by the way, had never played with Oscher before). Even as a one man band, Oscher manages to fill a room, but these two guys followed him and chased him down when needed  and gave the stage a lot more wang dang doodle...all night long. The music mushroomed with their help. There certainly could have been a lot more patrons at The Bugle Boy. In my mind someone as legendary and has the stature of Paul Oscher should be a sellout event. There ain't too many folks left who do it like Paul. The right way.

Great show by a great bluesman and his sidekicks. 'Nuff for now.

Sweet Home Brenham

My little Texas town of Brenham has been re-inventing itself over the past few years. The downtown area has become more dynamic as a tourist destination. New restaurants have popped up and the live music scene has been hopping.

Venues such as Home Sweet Farm, Brazos Valley Brewery, Roux Street, Deer Road BBQ and 96 West are some of the newer kids on the block offering live music at least once a week. Down the road a piece in Burton, The Whitehorse and the Burton Roadhouse have it pumping. Mobius Cafe, Nathan's BBQ, Shooter's, and Little Mike's have been doing it for awhile. Local musicians such as Sam Murski, Neil Kulhanek, Robert Zientek, Allison Crowson, Rob Moorman, the Amelang Family, Lou Lou Barbour and the Kelms (Charlie, Pat and Peyton) have been stirring the live music pot for quite some time.

Of course, what gets me up and off the couch most often is when some blues gets played up in there. Home Sweet Farm Market has been a go to place for a dose of what I need to hear. They've been featuring a very eclectic lineup since opening a year or so ago, but they bring the blues to the stage very often. They not only feature local blues folks like Ben Laskoskie and Aaron Loesch, but have brought in some very talented Austin and Houston musicians. The downtown businesses plotted out a Sunday Funday for the first Sunday of every month full of music, food and fun. Home Sweet Farm's part in that scenario was Sunday Blues Day with Loesch, Austin's Coming Up Muddy and Houston's The Mighty Org. The Mighty Org has been a favorite of mine for a long time, so it made my day that he trekked in from the big city. His original tunes knocked me out and the man can sing.

The Might Org

I missed the band, Coming Up Muddy, but caught them this past Memorial Day. The band consists of Todd Roth playing acoustic guitar, slide, cigar box guitar, harmonica and vocals. Chel Rich accompanies him on drums and they kicked butt, playing a mix of originals and chestnuts from Son House to Muddy Waters with a rendition of Voodoo Child played on the cigar box. Todd knows his book of blues and plays a rack harmonica as good as anyone I've heard.

Coming Up Muddy

I've played Mobius Cafe with Rob Moorman and Company for a number of years, so they are near and dear to my heart. Long time restauranteur and bass player, Henry de la Garza has assumed ownership and is upping the music ante at the venue. He held down the bottom for us at the last gig and never let Moorman's eclectic set list throw him.

Deer Road BBQ has been a barrel of fun since local legend, Sam Murski started a Thursday night jam. Since it is just over the hill from me, I've joined in with my harp more than a time or two. Brickyard Kane featuring Mitch White and guitar wizard Brian Sherer and Sam began swapping out jam nights and those guys can cook. Some fantastic musicians have shown up over the past year.

Anyway--I've run out of steam, so 'Nuff for now.

The Oaxacan Kid Goes Live

The Oaxacan Kid hit the Amazon market this past Friday (4/21/17) in e-book format and the paperback version should pop up very soon. Go grab one or the other or both or borrow it from someone who does. I just want it in the hands of readers and I do believe that anyone reading this blog post will find it an enjoyable tale. Leave some feed back here or on Amazon and let me know whether it sucked or rocked or fell somewhere in between.

I have no idea if my crime fighting bluesmen series ran its course or not. It was not an easy decision to leave the adventures of Mitty Andersen and Pete Bolden (my two blues harp blowing protagonists in River Bottom Blues, The Devil's Blues and Howling Mountain Blues) behind and move forward with a stand alone story. Those two characters have been a part of my life for some time now and I'm quite sure that they will re-emerge somewhere down the line. One of the reasons for the move was to attempt to attract an agent this time around and the word seems to be that it's very difficult to get an agent to bite on the fourth book in a series.

Querying the stand alone to agents proved as frustrating as my first attempt with my first book, so I decided just to go back to small press mode. I felt quite sure that my publisher, Barking Rain Press, would agree to a deal, but as I said in the last post, I felt a need to shake things up by submitting to pubs which aimed at the crime fiction market. I researched several such pubs and sent The Oaxacan Kid out on it's mission. Chris McVeigh, chief wrangler of Fahrenheit Press, jumped on the tale first and with enthusiasm, so I wasted no time hopping on board his train. He wasted no time getting my book on the market, so here we go. Sad thing is that two of the pubs I submitted to, and thought highly about, went belly-up. That's another reason I'm beholding to Mr. McVeigh for having faith in my work and making an offer. I been left hanging before when a press folded.

So...I am certainly excited to have a book back out there for my readers to enjoy. Mitty and Pete aren't riding along, but I do think that what Foster Cane gets himself is quite an adventure. Go ahead. Get it. 'Nuff said.

The Oaxacan Kid

On the writing front: My fourth crime novel, The Oaxacan Kid just might be hitting the market by the end of the week. 'Course that depends on the good Lord willing and the creek's not rising. The creeks are rising by the way. It began raining yesterday afternoon and continued through the night. I believe we'll get by without any flooding, but there are some southeast Texas folks that have not been as fortunate. Prayers to them.

Back to The Oaxacan Kid. Chris McVeigh, the publisher of Fahrenheit Press (that's one of their logos above), offered to take on my latest and he's on the verge of unleashing it on the world. I submitted to Fahrenheit Press just to sort of shake things up a bit. It has nothing to do with any kind of dissatisfaction with the publisher of my three crime fighting bluesmen books, Barking Rain Press. I'll always love BRP and owe them a huge debt of gratitude. I just decided to do exactly what I said. Shake things up a bit. So, I sat out looking for a press that focused on the criminal elements of fiction. I ran into Fahrenheit Press and the renegade attitude of Mr. McVeigh and felt somewhat of a kinship with the philosophy adopted by the press. By the time I received an offer of publication, I'd read a couple of books by Fahrenheit authors and was impressed by the talent. Quite possibly by the time anyone gets around to reading this post (since I've neglected it far too long), The Oaxacan Kid will be out there amazing the crime fiction community and kicking butt. Look for it really soon on Amazon and while you are at it grab one of my books in the crime fighting bluesmen series.

Here's a little teaser: Two of his friends are killed, a blues club he’s remodeling burns down, his wife is forced to kill three home intruders, his car is firebombed, and he becomes the target of a Mexican Cartel because of his meddling. It all began because Foster Cane collects old blues recordings, the older the better. It’s a passion that his wife fails to understand and she’s quite amused when he tells her his plans to search an estate sale in a predominately Hispanic neighborhood in Houston. “Couldn’t hurt,” he tells her, and he firmly believes it until he attempts to track down an obscure harmonica player called The Oaxacan Kid.

Lost Cause

Back in April, I really believed that my blog had become a lost cause. In the middle of writing a post about Trudy Lynn's latest album, everything wonked out all of a sudden. Nothing worked right. I couldn't italicize or boldface anything. Paragraph spacing screwed up. I couldn't post pictures. I could not edit mistakes. And I spent almost an entire day trying to figure out the problems and didn't. I assumed a hack job jumped on my. I just threw up my hands and walked away and haven't come back here until today. Lo and behold, everything seems to be back to normal (as I type). So, to get back in the blog swing, I'm just going to throw out some randomness.

IN ACTION--I didn't get out to see much in the way of live music this past year, but those acts that I did catch were well worth the effort:
Paul Oscher at the Bugle Boy--No way I could possibly miss seeing this legend. The first white boy to play in Muddy Waters' band admirably filling the harp shoes of Little Walter, James Cotton and Junior Wells. Had a wonderful chat with him pre-show on the patio and he regaled me with a few quick stories, some of which he repeated on stage. He did his one-man blues stuff, drawing on tunes from his mentors and many more of his own originals. Played guitar and piano with his harmonica in a homemade rack/with mike and produced the fattest deepest tone I've ever heard. Highlight of my year. I've mentioned the Bugle Boy before, which sits over in LaGrange, Tx. Premier listening room.

Billy Gibbons and The BFG's--My brother-in-law's sister scored tickets for her husband's birthday to see the ZZTOP main man and it rocked. It was the ZZman touring behind his solo album tinged with latin flavor. The stage was occupied with two drummers, percussionist, and B3 organ laying done the bass line. He did mention that he never had so many people behind him on stage. Of course, it doesn't matter what the groove is, Billy Gibbons nasty guitar licks kept it all where it belongs.

Johnny Nicholas at the Bugle Boy--Another one of those Ricky must not miss shows, and another legendary figure. Johnny had Scrappy Jud Newcomb (Austin cat, whose played with everyone) in tow on guitar and they preceded to kick serious butt. Johnny spent a number of years touring and recording with one of my harp heroes, Big Walter Horton. He told me to stay tuned, that Blind Pig has a bunch of his and Big Walter's stuff in the vault that he's negotiating to get back on the market.

Hash Brown at the Navasota Blues Fest--I've picked up a number of albums with Hash Brown playing harp and guitar throughout the years and looked forward to hearing him live. He did not disappoint and blew the reeds out of the harmonica. He brought an 'A' list of DFW musicians with him, including the great Mike Morgan on guitar.

Trudy Lynn at the Navasota Blues Fest--I had not seen Trudy live for about 20 years. She upset the house then and she upset the house in Navasota. Her and her band smoke 'em on down.

Myself--I ventured out a few times myself to blow a few tunes with Rob Moorman and Company at a local coffeehouse. He keeps me on my toes with tunes anywhere from John Denver, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, The Monkees, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Neil Diamond, you name it. I put my Lone Wolf Harp Train 10 through it's paces with an old Shure Bullet mike packed with a white label controlled reluctance element.

Local legend, Sam Murksi began a jam just over the hill from me during the summer and I blew quite a few nights with him. He bailed out on the patio gig as the temperature began to creep into the upper '90s. A couple of guys fronting a group called Brickyard Kane took over and I played a few rounds with them. They leaned towards stuff by Hootie and the Blowfish, Bob Seeger, 90s rock, and originals. They were fun, but pulled me out of my blues roots to much. I chained my Kalamazoo I and my Harp Train 10 together with the Lone Wolf Terminator and stuck the Lone Wolf Reverb pedal on the input of one or the other. Took both amps to keep up with these guys.

RECORDED MUSIC--I bought the least number of albums this year than ever. Not sure why, but here are some I really enjoy:
The Rolling Stones Blue and Lonesome--I rather like this album. The title is taken from a Little Walter song and they cover a number of his tunes, along with other blues chestnuts. A lot of harp players diss Mick Jagger's harp playing, but it's effective. He knows his way around the music with his harp, he's just not highly proficient at reproducing the tonal palette that blues harp fans expect. The band cooks on high octane, though.

Johnny Sansone The Lord is Waiting and the Devil is Too--This is my favorite grab. It's been out for a few years, but I didn't get around to picking it up until this one. I've been a fan of his since seeing a double bill with him and Fingers Taylor at the old Billy Blues in Houston. Didn't know who he was, but he blew me away. He's got it all. Fat harp, fat song writing, and fat vocals. This ain't your run-of-the-mill blues re-hash, he's got some really interesting stuff booming out here.

John Primer That Will Never Do--I've been listening to John Primer for years and have a lot of what he lays down. He's a master at recreating the Chi-town blues sound and covering the masters, which this CD does. He ain't gonna re-invent the wheel, but he will show you how it's supposed to be done. Got this one as much for Bill Lupkin's harp playing as I did for what Primer lays down and am not disappointed.

Trudy Lynn Everything Comes With A Price--This came by way of Steve Krase's Connor Ray Productions. This is the one that crashed my blog as I tried to review it. This is Old School Houston Blues at it's best, just like her Royal Oaks Blues Cafe.

Billy Gibbons and The BFG's Perfectamundo--Pretty interest twist on what Billy Gibbons is known for putting out with ZZTop. His signature guitar tones are unmistakable as he applies them to grooves with a latin boost. Love the blues standards that he gets all grungy with...Got Love If You Want It, Baby Please Don't Go and Roy Head's Treat Her Right.

Johnny Nicholas Fresh Air--Except for a Sleep John Estes and a Willie Dixon, this is a program of Nicholas originals and they are substantially well written and performed. Some of it has an old time feel with ragged and right acoustic slide, fiddle and accordion, and some of it as smooth as butter with a B3 organ trio feel going on, but it all melds together as something that smells like Texas, where JN has been holding court for years at a cafe on the hill.

ON WRITING--I'm working on getting my fourth novel, The Oaxacan Kid, out there sometime before the end of this year. Was hoping this some time ago, but 'tis the way things go. I've written a few short stories. Hope to have one accepted this year also.

--'Nuff for now.

Trudy Lynn

I wrote this review way back in April 2016 and then my blog got hacked and worked out on me. I still don't know what went awry, but I just sort of abandoned trying to straighten things out. Re-visited today and things seem to be working again. The review is unfinished, but Imma gonna publish it as is and just say--GET THIS ONE. Since then, I caught up with Trudy at the Navasota Blues Fest last August. She did kick butt, giving the Fest folks a taste of how it should be done. Anyway--

Way back in the day I ventured over to the Continental Club in Houston, Texas for an annual birthday bash honoring Big Walter Price, a legendary piano pounding bluesman (J Geils covered his Packed Fair and Square). Mucho many musicians throughout the city participated in the party. While standing there, bopping to the rockin' tones of Jerry Lightfoot (too early deceased now), I noticed glamorous lady decked out in her finest, alongside of me. She was bejeweled with fancy trinkets and sported long, long finger nails. She was bopping along with me. In short order, she was summoned to the stage and introduced as Trudy Lynn. I had certainly heard of her, but until that night had never seen her perform on stage. Perform didn't actually capture what she did. She dominated the stage and completely upset the house with a set of raucous, raunchy tunes that had the audience entranced in the spell of the Devil's music. As she flirted with the birthday boy (it was his 80 something celebration, I swear he took on the demeanor of a teenager. That moment in time will alway stick with me.

Trudy has been doing the do for quite some time now, but lots of folks have just recently 'discovered' her due to the release of Royal Oaks Blues Cafe in 2013 and the 2015 Everything Comes With A Price. The critical raves about the former led to appearances at the top blues festivals, where I'm sure she managed to upset the house at every turn. 

Everything Comes With A Price picks up where Royal Oaks Blues Cafe left off with a package of songs from the way back when...when women blues singers ruled the roost and strutted the blues ike nobody's business, and self penned songs that fit the though as nails female blues protagonist. Many of the legendary blues singers, such as Alberta Adams, Lucille Bogan, and Ella Johnson told it like it is, or was, from that female perspective in regards to their male relationships. They were not shy about busting loose with a bit of raunch and bawdiness and sexual double entendres. Trudy dang sure knows where that bone is buried. 

Trudy latches onto Alberta Adams' I'm Gonna Latch On with that earthy, husky voice and leaves no doubt as to what she's going to latch onto. Her own Fat Daddy with it's stop time hoochie kootchiness references the big man's bone more than a time or two.