[Harp-L] [Harp-L ] SPAH present and future (was: Re: Media Editorial - Denver news and video)



<billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"... I think SPAH has to work more on the "A" letter in it's acronym -
advancement, rather than 'preservation'. I went to buckeye a few years ago
because I was in town for work, and was somewhat disappointed that it was
dominated by the really old chromatic stuff and diatonic/blues was just a
stuck-in-the-corner thing ... some folks have said offline that the
conference, great as it was, still treated blues or jazz diatonic folks as
"second class".... So much has been hinted in some of the posts here as
well... "

I really think this is an unfair characterization of the 43rd SPAH
convention by someone who wasn't there, and alludes to others' un-posted
comments.  As a primarily (near totally) blues-focused diatonic player, I
did not feel in any way a second class attendee.  Actually, there was
something for the diatonic player going on ALL THE TIME.  I arrived to a
blues jam at brunch, went immediately to a tone workshop with Paul Davies
and friends, followed by the fabulous Blues Showcase.  Blues jams every
night and afternoon (~5 hrs of jamming every day).  Filisko workshops for
2.5 hr every afternoon, predominantly focused on diatonics (but with stuff
for the chromatic guys as well).  Seminars by Tim Moyer on position playing,
Tim, Jimi Lee and Winslow on altered tunings, Bonfiglio, Harper and Winslow
on tongue (corner) switching, Mr. Microphone and Scooter on amplified
playing, Tulsa Read and friends on country / bluegrass diatonic.  Evening
shows were pretty close to half diatonic, and more than half "advancement".
I am glad there wasn't more diatonic-oriented stuff going on, or I would
have missed too much of it !!  I don't know who felt they were second class
- maybe they are just paranoid or on a power trip - but it was none of the
diatonic guys I talked to.  Finally, it is great once a year to hear a some
of the very top trio or group playing, like the awesomely good Yellow Pine
Trio and Al and Judy.  Hey if Jason Ricci can appreciate them, I think they
deserve at least some of my attention too.

"I know some folks don't go to the spah convention or join because of
this..."

THEIR LOSS, MAN

"it's getting a rap (deservedly or not) of being a nostalgia club and
I think we need to get past this to really move things along, if in fact
that's what people do, and take advantage of the recent exposure to get past
the stereotype of harmonica for making train sounds and playing age-old
diddys."

Not a whole lot of that in my opinion...just enough to satisfy all
attendees.  Yes, news stories focusing on one aspect of the harmonica
heritage don't help, but neither do uninformed and in my view inaccurate
criticisms of what I thought was a fantastic harmonica event.

And Bill also wrote:
"I think that if SPAH doesn't accept the diatonic styles more, then soon
there will be a separate conference or even organization by some
enterprising individual."

Not such a good idea methinks.  If you split off the 150 diatonic focused
folks from the 250 other attendees, what would you have - two inferior
events IMO.  The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  

Secondly, as I've said, SPAH accepts, embraces, and promotes all sorts of
diatonic styles....look at the artist list, man! or at least attend one.  It
ain't Buckeye, it's SPAH and it's THE place to be for a diatonic player IMO.


Thirdly, putting on an event coming anywhere near to SPAH in caliber is a
massive undertaking, and one that requires SPAH and a healthy local club to
pull off on a yearly basis.  Splintering the harmonica gathering scene even
further would be disastrous to both "sides".  Plus, I never would have heard
some of my favorite harmonica players like Toots, Wm Galison, Mike Turk,
etc, etc had this occurred in the past.  Many people have worked very hard
over the years to make us as much of one harmonica community as we can be
(Rob Paparozzi, Larry "Iceman", Doug Tate, Paul Davies, and Joe Filisko
among them), and we're better players and people for their efforts. 

And finally Bill writes:
"Maybe by next year with the advancing exposure that jazz/blues diatonic has
been getting there will be a lot more folks at the conference next year
looking for that."

Right on!  You can't influence things by abstaining.  I've noticed more and
more diatonic offerings and focus since I attended my first SPAH in 1999.
It's a natural progression.  Bill mentioned we need to preserve and advance,
and I think the 2006 SPAH did a great job at both.  There's always room for
improvement (making the Jazz jam more convenient is #1 on my list), but
let's be fair in our criticisms.  SPAH is evolving and will be different in
the future than it is now.  We need people with a passion for the harmonica
to join and attend conventions.   Without an on-going vital SPAH, our
ability to preserve, advance, and enjoy the harmonica will be greatly
diminished (not to mention losing the sponsor of Harp-L).  

Ok, I'm done.  I try to avoid soap boxes as best I can, and although my
first inclination was to reply to Bill off-list, I felt clearing up what I
perceived as some distortions of my reality to be worth a wider posting.
Feel free to disagree.  I'm sure Bill meant his post in a spirit of doing
the best for our instrument's future, and I hope this reply is taken in the
same spirit.

Fred S






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