I know lots of musicians and am friends with many of them. Because of my own background as a harmonica player, most of them also play this instrument.

I have been observing how musicians cope with the new realities in the music business for a long time (www.techdirt.com is a great blog for copy right and business model discussion) and would like to share one example of smart promotion that I came across today.

Brendan Power, an unconventional harmonica player from New Zealand living in England has posted a video of the solos he played in the album "Back to back", recorded with another extraordinary harmonica player, PT Gazell, from Nashville. It is a 5 minute clip with splashes of the songs. In the background, the cover of the CD, it is about the music.

Brendan is giving his music (and PT's) away in a way that makes his fans happy and doesn't hurt anybody. Hopefully, people will hear the best parts of the album, like it and feel encouraged to buy it. And Brendan gives them two ways to do that: either through his website or through PT's. As the people at Techdirt say: give fans a reason to buy and they will do so.

http://www.brendan-power.com

http://www.ptgazell.com

And probably Brendan can do this because this is an independent CD, not linked to restrictive big label contracts.

It was great to be in Trossingen again and feel kind of at home once more. I was very fortunate to meet several of my friends, listen to great music and see the first snow of the season. It was a great weekend, even though I am really, really tired.

My friend Guilherme came visiting from Amsterdam and we took the opportunity to go to a Son of Dave concert at the Botanique, a cultural centre in downtown Brussels. The activities that they have there are impressive!
The show was very good and we had great fun, what SOD does as a one man band is indeed amazing. But it was also a concert without surprises, as I had seen several performances of his on youtube and elsewhere. Google for him, it is certainly worth it.

[I've googled for you:

official site

blog

wikipedia

myspace

planetharmonica review

telegraph article

videos, loads of them!]

From 081018 Son of Dave at the Botanique

For those who don't know him, SOD is a former member of the Crash Test Dummies and performs using simple percussion, his voice, harmonica and a loop box. And that's it. Really cool.
More pictures on Picasa, as usual:

081018 Son of Dave at the Botanique

Playing some harmonica street music in Brussels, with an environmentally friendly amplifier.

I am eating something similar to a Soupy Snax, so I decided to publish this text I wrote as an MBA assignment. It is one case were I can combine the themes MBA and harmonica safely.

I had previously seen the Soupy Snax 4:00 example somewhere, but it is a very good instance where the purpose of the product is so well communicated to the client.
In yet another example of the harmonica industry, Hohner has secured for them the best name a diatonic harmonica could ever have: "The Blues Harp".
Harmonicas are divided in mainly 3 groups: traditional instruments, chromatic instruments and, the most popular, the ten hole diatonic harmonicas. The latter are the more affordable models and are the only ones whose notes can be soulfully bent, giving it the characteristic wailing sound so intrinsic to harmonica blues playing.
But these instruments are not known as ten hole diatonic harmonicas, but under the nick name "blues harp". So, by registering this name decades ago, Hohner has made sure that, when an aspiring musician comes to a music dealer and asks for a harmonica to play the blues, he or she will probably ask using the most common name in English (and several other languages, additionally): "I want to buy a blues harp". The consumer is not aware that he is using a specific model name, but he has narrowed the choice of the dealer to this Hohner product. If he or she asks for a blues harp and gets a Hohner Blues Harp, he or she will be reassured to be buying the correct item. If the dealer offers a Suzuki Folk Master, which is a very similar instrument, the customer might become confused.
Just as a side note, the most traditional blues harmonica is The Hohner Marine Band, which, for a harmonica, is an awful name, as it doesn't convey any meaningful message to today's population (the Marine Band was a popular American Navy brass band in the late 19th century).
Hohner has tried to name their chromatic harmonica in a meaningful way. A chromatic harmonica is a harmonica which, differently from the other two categories* of instruments, can play a full chromatic scale. It was probably the most significant invention in 200 years of harmonica history. The name the Germans out of Trossingen came up with was "The Chromonica", which should convey the differentiating quality of this instrument. They had success in that, as it is easy for a buyer to figure out that he or she is doing the correct purchase when looking for a chromatic instrument. But Hohner's hopes of establishing the name Chromonica as a synonym for chromatic harmonicas didn't really work out that well. Some older generation Germans will use it in that way, but most of the harmonica community uses the term "chromatic harmonica" instead.
During my stay there, we launched the "7 Blues Harmonica Starter Set", which is a set with 7 inexpensive and low quality harmonicas, for a very affordable price. We tried to manage consumers' expectations by including the "starter" word in the name and by mentioning in the package that this was the ideal product for starters wanting to experiment with different keys or tonalities. Furthermore, we refrained to use the expression "blues harp" to differentiate this product from the actual "blues harp" model.

*Okay, not really. Richter style harmonicas and even tremolo harmonicas can be played chromatically with the use of advanced techniques.

Just delivered the last assignment for the GIM class 30 minutes ago.
That means that, apart from the Global Supply Chain Management assignment due on Monday, I am done with MBA classes.
I wish I could continue to have classes indefinetely. I like classes. I like to learn, to ask, to discuss. And I like the feeling of beeing worry-free, as the only thing you are supposed to do is pay attention.
ButI need to find a job and to write a thesis. So it is good to be finally able to concentrate on that from now on.
Pity that this last module was, in my humble opinion, way below the level of other modules, so it wasn't very enjoyable. And I was (am) sick.
They are having a reception with champagne and snacks in the next room, I should join them. But I think that my health won't allow me to drink or eat much. That also the reason I am missing out on the Hazmat Modine concert in Stuttgart in an hour. But I should be fine tomorrow.

And see this concert:

Pat Bergeson

26 Jun 2008, 20:00
Montreal Jazz Festival

With Annie sellick and the Hot Club of nashville featuring Richard smith, Aron Till and Charlie Chadwick and Pat bergeson Opening for Leonard cohen

I just found out about Pat through the Seydel newsletter. Besides being an extraordinary harmonica player, he is also a great guitar player, guitar being his main instrument. And he is opening for Leonard Cohen, which also should be quite interesting.

But I went to Canada during the wrong season for music festivals, definetely.

I can't complain that my weekend in Kingston wasn't eventful. I started it by going, by bus, out of the Kingston Bubble to buy second hand ice skates. I went as far as the Gardiners Centre and discovered a new side of Kingston, which is a city with around 140 thousand residents.
And of course I had to enjoy the nice weather and test the skates right away, which I did on the City Hall ice rink, as you can see on the album on Picasa.

In the evening, living in a co-op house paid off: I was invited to an Irish dance with other co-opers, and really enjoyed it. Pity it only happens once a month. But I also found out that there is an Irish music session happening in town, which, if assignments allow, I plan to visit tomorrow. There is even a slow Irish session for those learning, and this one I will visit with my Pady Richter tuned harmonicas to give it a try.

After the Irish dancing I met Viktoria and Marc, who literally spent their whole weekend on the Mergers and Acquisitions assignment. It is really strange that some of the courses require so much extra work, while others are comparatively mild. I believe this really damages their ability to divide their attention even

After missing Sujay due to strange scheduling, we met him by chance at the Grizzly and people even played some pool.

Sunday was less interesting, but also quite nice. And Monday awoke to Kingston covered in snow, and it snowed the whole day. I guess the winter arrived again.

After having met so many great people because of my involvement in on line harmonica communities, this shouldn't surprise me anymore. But it does, every time: the power of belonging to an international network of like minded people is astounding!
I am at the moment in the Silver Dollar bar, on Spadina next to the University. On stage is Jerome Godboo from the Brokenjoe band, a harmonica player I had heard on the Internet because somebody recommended him on Harp-L, the (mostly) American harmonica on line discussion group. On that same discussion, Manfred, a Toronto based harmonica enthusiast, encouraged me to call him up once I arrived.
I did, and Manfred was kind enough to give me great tour around downtown Toronto yesterday, and we ended up talking shop in his house for a couple of hours.
He then called Mark "the bird" Stafford up and arranged for us to meet today (the 31st of Dec) and again I spent a great afternoon discussing and learning about the harmonica.
Mark made then sure that I came to hear Jerome, to whom I introduced myself passing regards from Mark.
And so it goes almost everywhere I go. I let the folks from Harp-L know that I will be in town and somebody gets in touch. I have already written that I saw Miguel Weissman in NY and met both PT Gazell and Jelly Roll Johnson in Nashville.
In Germany I have visited players in Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Hannover, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Muenster, Berlin, Klingenthal and Trossingen (of course!), to name a few places.
In England I met Brendan Power almost by chance in London and got to know and meet again a bunch of very friendly people in Bristol, at the National Harmonica League's convention. In Brazil some of my best friends are harmonica players and, during the years I have got to know or at least meet many of my harmonica role models, also in Moscow, France or Hong Kong.
And if I don't forget that my last and coolest job I owe to these connections and the Internet (thanks Steve Baker!), then I shouldn't be surprised by all this anymore.
Now I just have to find out how to apply all this in a business setting.

Obs.: Jerome played a good set, the bar is cool, but the ticket was really expensive: CA$ 40,00! But I figured out that it is New Year and didn't want to spend the evening in the hostel, even though it really is a damn cool hostel!

Sitting in the Telephone Bar and listening to Mjguel Weissman on harmonica and his swing band: accoustic guitar and bass and pretty brunette singer. All purely accoustic, no mikes, no amps. Very good indeed.
Now on a line 6 train uptown, back home. It was a good day. Lots of work in the morning for the endless economics assignment, finally over. Then the spontaneous buy of this Nokia E61 smartphone and a walk around 34th Street.
Found a public library where I could use the internet for exact 60 minutes, no more. But it was suficient to submit the assignment and post some pre-prepared posts.
Later a quick dinner at McDonald's to see if it really tastes like home, while watching a guy making open heart surgery on two Gameboys Advance.
And, after that, the highlight of the day: NY Knicks x Cleveland Cavalliers in the Madison Square Garden Arena with Henrique, and old acquaintance from Brazil who works for the Citigroup now.
All in all, a very good day.

If I talk about going to a harmonica convention and having lots of fun there, I imagine that many people might think this is at least a bit curious.
To give a better impression of what I heard there, I am posting the following link to a sound clip.

• Brendan Power in Bristol

This is Brendan Power, one of my favourite harmonica players ever, playing a set accompanied by an accordion player. I found this file floating around in the internet, and, although its quality is not the best, it has captured the moment well and is fun to listen to. So be my guests, enjoy!

Thumb messages are quick notes I typed or tapped in into my cellphone while waiting bored somewhere. I later transfer them via bluetooth to my computer, and post them here. This is the first one.

Waiting at the birmingham coach station for the bus to Bristol which is already late. It seems to be the norm, so I write this article T9-tapping on my phone. I hope to get on time for the jam, I haven't played since London, has been a while.
Coach arrived, but still not boarding. Anyway, this weekend promises to be fun. Meeting some known friends, getting to know new ones. Meeting the people from Seydel, seeing what news they have. Workshop on Saturday, will be fun. Lets see if I'll apply any of the presentation techniques: practice! Next week we have the first exams, so, actually, I shouldn't be travelling. But this is not only about studying. And the bus is broken down, and I an still in Birmingham, 7:20. I'm gonna play some harp.

Well, didn't get to play at the jam session, the bus departed with over 2 hours delay. I also got to the hostel only at 2:30 in the morning to find out they had cancelled my reservation and were fully booked. But this is for another time.

Cristiano took this video on a whim during the coffee break. We also try to have some fun from time to time.



I usually don't drink coffee during the coffee breaks. But am happy to attack the fruit basket and drink water.

And later on I went to the Adelaide to a very cool jam session. Very nice room, friendly atmosphere, well organized, not too loud and fun.
I recommend it greatly. There I met other 4 harmonica players. Mano from Brazil (we have several friends in common, as he also comes from São Paulo), Dave, Phil and Huwey (not sure of the spelling).
And the bus stopping at the door brought me practically home, so it was a great evening.


No plans for tonight or tomorrow, so, if any of you have any suggestions, I'll be glad to read them. I might go to the 55 tomorrow, but am actually looking for something different.

View Larger Map

Information:
The Adelaide
143 Adelaide Road, London, NW3 3NL
(Swiss Cottage or Chalk Farm tubes)
The Niall Kelly Band began hosting a weekly jam here 10 April 2007. Feedback and comments welcome.
E-mail: jamattheadelaide@gmail.com
Web: http://www.myspace.com/jamattheadelaide

Well, I was on my way on Exhibition Road to the Imperial College's library, looked left and saw a familiar face. It was the yound and already very successful chromatic harmonica player Philip Achile. I had met him briefly during the World Harmonica Festival 2005, where he ended up being champion.
Philip had a saxophone case with him. It turns out that he is studying sax at the Imperial College, but wants to try playing harmonica there too. Well, he has made it to the Royal Albert Hall already, I guess that says a lot!

And it seems that, this time, it will be Irish. First I found the following:

Irish Music Sessions: Community Corner:

The second Friday of the month.

At Hammersmith Irish Cultural Centre, London
From 7:30pm
Price: Free

And then, by chance, I saw that Brendan Power, harmonica extraordinaire, and old acquaintance, will be playing the same venue on Saturday:

Saturday, 15 September 2007
Brendan Power
At Hammersmith Irish Cultural Centre, London
From 8:15pm (Doors 7:30pm)

On Monday I'll probably go to the blues jam at the "Ain't nothin' but..." with two or three harmonicas in the pockets. Let's see.

Well, I have decided on the last minute to visit my friends Ria and Eric in Utrecht, Netherlands, for their wedding. I got there at about half past eight at night, time enough to see a musical family presentation which was very impressive and to get a piece of the wedding cake, with a whole marzipan harmonica on it, just for me!
Yesterday we had a great brunch with the extended family, which I had to leave early to catch the train back to Germany.
After 7 hours plus on the train I arrived in Trossingen, my "hometown" in Germany. We are having a weekend of festivities here for the 150th anniversary of the Hohner company. I had the opportunity to attend to great concerts, specially Piaccordia with Marko Jovanovic on the diatonic and chromatic harmonicas and B.B. & the Blues Shacks, conseidered Germany's premier blues band.
Today I am looking forward to see the concerts of Blues Delivery and Blues Culture, with Riedel Diegel and Steve Baker, respectively.
I was a good decision to come, my friends and former work colleagues were very pleased to see me and I am happy for that.
I will eventually put some of the videos I shot online, in the meantime, take a look at the following links:

• www.piaccordia.de/
• www.bluesshacks.com/
• www.blues-delivery.de/
• www.bluesculture.com/