personal harp story (long)

[Moandabluz@xxxxxxx]

This is just a little thing about me and my harp playing. No information 
here, nothing new for you list members.
   For those of you who know me, i make no claims to being a great harp 
player. I can play basic things and I have improved a lot over the past few years. 
A few weeks ago i stopped at a local restaurant to say hello to some friends 
who were playing there. They are always kind enough to let me play a song or 
two and keep it simple, usually a shuffle and something standard.
   So, imagine my surprise last week when the leader of the group called me 
and asked me if I could play with them on Saturday. Turns out, a lady in the 
place was there when I played, was looking for a band for a private party for 
employees of the local TV station. She loved the harmonica sound and told them 
she'd hire them if they could get the harmonica player.
   Now, I should mention, the drummer, guitar player and bass player in this 
group are considered the best in town on those instruments and the band is 
popular. So we played outside last Saturday, and I got to use my own setup, with 
the amp   mic'ed thru the PA and the whole deal.   I have always wanted to 
play a full night with a quality band and this was my chance.
   Nervous? No kidding. But the band is mellow and plays a wide variety of 
music, loosely blues-based. I survived, found something to play on everything 
that needed it, and had a very memorable night.
    I pass this along because this list and some members here have done so 
much to help me improve. I'm not a kid (61) and ijust got serious about this a 
few years ago. I don't have a lot of time to invest,   and not a lot of musical 
talent, but I love playing and this was something that meant a lot to me.
So, excuse the rambling. But those of you here who might wonder why they keep 
trying so hard to improve with no real reason in sight, keep this in mind.... 
You never know when the practice and the love of   playing harp will all come 
together.
Steve "Moandabluz" Webb
still a fool for the harp