Search Results for: "9 Below Zero"

Announcements Little Walter Diary 

The Little Walter Diary Ch.1 – Introduction

The Good Doctor 8 Comments ,

LogoIn search of the inner Walter.

I am officially a liberated blues harmonica player. I woke up this morning and admitted to myself that I just don’t get Little Walter. I never have. I’ve been denying the fact for years, cowering in the deepest recesses of the blues closet, fearful of public ridicule. But now I’m out. O U T, out.

Listen to

Everyone knows mastery of Little Walter’s diatonic blues dialect is an essential step in any half-decent harmonica apprentice’s development. If you can’t recite Juke note for note, name all his hits and tongue block them, you’re nobody. Well, I can play the intro to Juke from draw two or blow three, with or without octaving blow six, I can tongue-block or purse it at will, but I’ve never stopped to learn the whole piece. The reason for which is two-fold. Firstly, there was a timing issue I just couldn’t unravel, whether or not it was a mistake on Walter’s part. Secondly, for love nor money, I simply couldn’t copy Little Walter’s phrasing, nor did I feel the urge to do so. Oh, and there was another reason. Big Walter.

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Reviews - CDs 

Our First-Ever Blues Harp Albums (Part 2)

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As we review the albums that first got us hooked on blues harp, The Good Doctor tries to pick out his all-time favourite harmonica album from his days as a beginner.

The Good Doctor’s choice:
When she was a pre-schooler, I used to joke that my eldest daughter was the epitome of indecision. Presented with two options, she would innocently substitute ‘either or’ with ‘and’. Bargaining was fruitless. Consequently I developed my own circus act, flipping pancakes and toasting waffles simultaneously.

I have since learned that, given the opportunity of two best options, ‘either or’ is quite simply an unfair question. So I am taking a leaf from my daughter’s book and, free of compunction, I have to name two favourite albums. In the frying pan we have Girls Go Wild by The Fabulous Thunderbirds, while under the grill we have Live at The Marquee by 9 Below Zero. No amount of balloon debating will change my mind.

As a teenager, both these albums had me air-harping in front of the bedroom mirror. Nothing else mattered. Kim Wilson and Mark Feltham were my surrogate blues harp mentors. Real-life harp tutors did not exist in 1980 suburban England. There was Tony ‘Little Sun’ Glover’s now famous reference manual, but we had no Youtube or DVD. We had to engage our ears and our imagination, take a deep breath and figure it all out by ourselves. Which is another reason why these two albums rarely left the turntable. While they were a joy to listen to, I was also trying to copy and learn from them. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Pack Fair And Square – Mark Feltham […with tab]

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Life is like a card game, you always take a chance

And so to the final installment in our 9 Below Zero trilogy. So far we have covered Riding On The L&N and Swing Job. We’ve looked at the key musical influences in each case and considered some of the history involved. We’ve also tried tabbing out the harp parts. Pack Fair And Square holds no secrets. It’s drawn directly from The J.Geils Band’s live Full House album. Simple.

With 80s contemporaries such as The Cheaters from Manchester, 9 Below Zero were inspired by the high voltage delivery of the J.Geils Band’s live performance and they set about reproducing it British Pub-Rock style. (more…)

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Swing Job – Mark Feltham […with tab]

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Thank you. Good night!

Welcome to the second part of our trilogy, covering the top three harp tracks from 9 Below Zero‘s debut Live At The Marquee album, released on A&M in 1980. By that time the UK had already experienced the revolution of Punk Rock and DIY record labels such as Stiff, Beggars Banquet and Rough Trade. New Wave was virtually passe, two-tone ska was skanking it’s heart out and dueling shirted New Romantics such as The Teardrop Explodes and Duran Duran were waiting in the wings, busily back-combing. (more…)

Announcements 

Monkey Swings

A Monkey Swing is when you loop off one bend into a neighbouring hole. You can continue the journey bending reeds as you go. Alternatively you can swing right back to where you just came from, sustaining the original bend for your return. Monkey swings can be used at the top or bottom of the harp, wherever there is a bend or ‘vine’ to grab hold of. If you are unsure what this actually sounds like, we should probably use some examples.

Basic Monkey Swing

Itty Bitty Pretty One

Low End Combination Monkey Swings

9 Below Zero / Swing Job

Middle Range Combination Swings

Top End Combination Monkey Swings

Dog House / 9 Below Zero

Harp Tab How Do They Do That? 

Riding On The L&N – Mark Feltham [..with tab]

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You can imagine sittin’ at Tulse ‘ill can’t ya!

I first encountered this barnstorming track on 9 Below Zero‘s debut Live At The Marquee album (A&M) when it hit UK record stores in 1980. The band had already raised heads with its eponymous EP a few months earlier (originally on M&L records featuring Pack Fair And Square, Rocket 88, Last Night and Tore Down). Their new LP bowled in, tweaked noses and blew everyone away. My copy flew onto the bedroom turntable straight from its jacket and there it stayed for months. Of the fourteen tracks that received a daily spin, L&N, Pack Fair And Square and Swing Job went straight to the top of the ‘I want to play harp like that‘ list. It was a tall order, but through trial and error the decoding process slowly took shape. (more…)