Re: Dying artform [offlist]



Hi Scorcher

You've raised some interesting ideas in your post with the above title. 
Thanks for the lengthly and thoughtful feedback to my fishing expedition.

You actually have a very active harmonica player in the San Diego district 
who organises a festival to raise money for harmonicas for kids every 
year.  He is usually attached to this list.  Harmonica John... do you know 
him??  WELL worth communicating with.

You have made the very valid point with a couple of questions you posed.

IMO anyone who contributes positively to these internet lists contributes 
to the health of the harmonica community.  Each time someone writes here 
they are holding and feeding a growing community of people worldwide.
This is a type of intellectual giveback.   Anyone can do it and 
occasionally one or two individuals try to ruin it.  However, the goodwill 
of harmonica players takes us through and allows this growth.

Yes, it would be nice if ~you~ became a member of SPAH... we are a specific 
organisation with definate aims.  Much more important, IMO, is for ~you~ to 
keep your local district healthy if there happens to be a club etc.  Many 
belong to both a local club and a national one... but this can be a 
financial strain on someone with a young family.

The main trick, again IMO, is to keep an open mind about what is going on 
and try to expand your and your neighbours horizons musically.

Conventions and get-togethers are fun, fun, fun. They show you what can be 
done and load you with good intentions and ideas.

Again... thanks for the input.. it IS valuable.  Let's see what we can do 
with it.

Douglas Tate
President ... SPAH
AKA Douglas t  :)

At 07:44 18/07/2003 -0700, Scorcher wrote:
>Douglas Tate responds to Scorcher:
>
> > The best person to arrange local classes is YOU.
><SNIP>
>
>Point taken.
>
> > Grants and Harmonica Subsidies.?
>
><SNIP>
>
>Just asking. As I'm not a member, and I don't know what programs
>currently exist.
>It was a request for information.
>
> > Quite a bit of my time as Pres of SPAH goes to pointing people to
>good
> > traders, or clubs where they can get a good deal.  We get nothing
>back.
>
>I don't mean to be argumentative, but if you get "nothing", why
>bother?
>I understand that there's very little MATERIAL gain to be realized for
>the effort,
>but I also understand that there are SOME people (like you, I suspect)
>who are not motivated
>solely by material gain. That do good things because they enjoy it and
>believe
>in the *intrinsic* value of some things....
>
> >
> > As a matter of interest... are YOU a member? :))
>
>Point taken.
>
> > 95% or more of all the
> > requests for info which I answer result in (a) no email of thanks
>and a
> > lack of interest in joining the organization which helped.
>
>I'm sorry to hear that - you contribute enormously to this community.
>You should hear our appreciation often, loudly.
>
> >
> > There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.    The more people who
>support
> > organizations such as SPAH and buy magazines such as The Harmonica
>Educator
> > and American Harmonica Newsmagazine, or join clubs, the more the
>things you
> > want can happen.
> >
> > All clubs, magazines etc are run by a very few dedicated people who
>give
> > freely of their time... none make any money out of it.  Guard these
> > resources by joining and buying etc.
>
> > OK... having given the lecture ... :))  How would you go about
>getting
> > funds together or organizing such a fund gathering and distribution
> > network  Scorcher??   Seriously.
> >
> > Douglas tate
> > President ... SPAH
>
>Douglas,
>First: thank you - for the effort and dedication, for the resources
>you provide, and for
>addressing this directly.
>
>
>I'll have to rethink my "non-membership" of SPAH;
>As there's no local Harmonica Club or chapter, (San DIego, CA, US) I
>haven't joined.
>(I guess that's not really an excuse.)
>
>Although I'm not a member, I participate (and have benefitted) in the
>discussions on this list -
>does that qualify me as contributing to the problem? Or the solution?
>;-)
>
>I also have not attended the annual get-togethers...not enough time or
>money in my
>present situation (raising 2 children). That's not likely to change,
>at least 'till they're out of the house - about 12 years.
>
>As to the rest -
>
>We all contribute as we can, I think.
>I have been an "evangelist" of the harmonica on the grass-roots
>level - I've given away dozens
>(maybe SCORES) of diatonics to friends and acquaintances. I've given
>"harmonica presentations" to a local
>loose-knit group of musicians I play with monthly. I CONSTANTLY talk
>about playing this wonderful little instrument -
>and find opportunities to play with other musicians every chance I
>get. (About 2 times a week, lately).
>
>As for "taking responsibility" to start a chapter or club here;
>Having run a computer user-group for 2 years, I've learned my lesson
>about starting/chairing/running clubs.
>As you mentioned, there's very little material return on the
>investment. I also found that information/benefits
>(in my organization) tended to flow in one direction only...
>No thanks.
>
>Finally, as I've never done these sorts of things before I don't know
>HOW I'd go about it.
>I'm sure someone in your position has tried many ways to promote
>harmonica - and, obviously, you've had better success with your
>efforts than I - look at all the people you reach with your message -
>I've only reached a few score - you've  reached thousands.
>
>As your question:
>" How would you go about getting  funds together or organizing such a
>fund gathering and distribution network Scorcher??   Seriously."
>
>Money: (a couple suggestions - maybe you've tried)
>We have an organization called "The National Endowment for the Arts"
>which gives monies to artists regularly...Schools and Universities
>also grant funds to educational foundations...I know an avid harmonica
>collector and player who is the VP of a large corporation (large
>corporations often grant funds to projects).
>
>Folks, Organization:
>Harp-L, Harp-Talk, Harp-On, and Slidemeister  have ...how many
>subscribers worldwide? 5 times the amount of SPAH members, I reckon.
>You know far more Harmonica Enthusiasts than I do....
>
>If I were trying to start a new rennaisance, I'd start with the
>newsgroups - identify the evangelists, (I really like Dennis's idea)
>and get the groups talking about it - then acting on it. I bet there's
>a way to get at least a LITTLE bit of funding (benefit concerts, hell,
>even donations from local music stores) on local levels to further the
>cause. Compared to my $17 Golden Melodies, a $400 Bass is a
>significant investment - local harmonica players who are willing to
>learn and play orchestral instruments (like me) may not be able to
>afford one (like me).
>
>As for me, I'm considering starting a band...in the jug/skiffle
>tradition. I think a band that applies new arrangements to *popular*
>music from other genres could be a fun and effective way to expose
>audiences to "new" sounds. I think I could insert a wide variety of
>harmonicas into some more *popular* tunes in a way that would
>be...well, intrigueing, if not appealing ;-).
>How about covers of Metallica, Jack Johnson, Blink, ZZ Top, Toby
>Keith, Pink,  Ray Charles, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, to start?
>
>-I'd like to see orchestral harmonicas get more exposure in an
>ensemble setting (of MIXED instruments)- before they get to be
>impossible to find. Any idea where I can find a harmonetta cheap? ;-)
>
>Keep doing what you're doing, Douglas - you're having a terrific
>impact on your community, and you're very much appreciated - even if
>you don't hear it as much as you should
>
>-Scorcher





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