“Blue Monk” on the Country-Tuned Harp: It’s All About the Chords
I last recorded Thelonius Monk‘s “Blue Monk” (which Monk originally released in recorded form in 1954) for my solo acoustic CD “The Act of Being Free in One Act” in 1994 as part of a medley that included Jimmy Reed’s “Let it Roll” and “Bright…
Power Surges and Amp Modelers Don’t Mix Well
I own two Digitech RP500s, and it’s a good thing, because one of them might be about to die. The cause of death–if indeed it’s imminent–is a power surge.
Looping Setups Old and New and a Couple of New Loop Jams
I decided in the last couple of days to buy some new gear for looping. The main idea with this gear is to sync everything to everything: loopers to each other, loopers to drum machines, drum machines to sequencers–you name it, I want it synced…
Hot Jams at Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues
I was in London Sunday through Tuesday at Gartner’s Project Portfolio Management and IT Governance Conference, and as usual I made a point to get to either the Sunday or Monday jam session at Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues. The Monday night jam in particular,…
So many records, so little time
In the last couple of months, I have been privileged to acquire a huge stack of harmonica records from some of the best players in the world. Mike Stevens, the mind-boggling Canadian virtuoso, dropped a stack of 5 CDs on me that include styles ranging…
Big Shimmering Textures: Comin’ Home Baby Looped Live
I recorded this performance of “Comin’ Home Baby” live, using Lee Oskar natural minor harps in G and F, an Audix Fireball mic, a Digitech RP500 running my patch set, a Digitech JamMan Stereo looper, a Peavey KB2 keyboard amp, and a Zoom H4 to…
Video of the Day 7 May 2015: Carlos del Junco with Rick Fines
4 Years After: Mississippi Queen Redux
I recorded myself performing Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen” about four years ago, and I happened to record it again last week while I was running through my solo repertoire. This performance is backed by the same recorded arrangement I used four years ago, so it’s easy…
Video of the Day 23 Feb 2015: Madcat Live and at Length
Big Sounds Looped and Unlooped: Zoom G3 and Digitech RP500 Combined
I’ve been jamming with my new rig, and as usual I’m recording those jams. The new rig lets me get big tones in two different ways: first, I can combine the amp modelers and the iStomp running SwingShift to get big textures with lots of…
