March 8, 2025

James Harman retrospective with Rick Estrin and Nathan James

Rick Estrin and Nathan James join me on episode 131 for a retrospective on James Harman. James ‘Icepick’ Harman was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1946. After moving between various locations, including Florida, New York, New Orleans and Chicago, he settled down in Southern California in the early 1970s where he established himself in the vibrant blues scene there. Harman was a formidable song writer and had his own unique view on life which he delivered through his powerful singing voice. His ...

Rick Estrin and Nathan James join me on episode 131 for a retrospective on James Harman.

James ‘Icepick’ Harman was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1946. After moving between various locations, including Florida, New York, New Orleans and Chicago, he settled down in Southern California in the early 1970s where he established himself in the vibrant blues scene there.

Harman was a formidable song writer and had his own unique view on life which he delivered through his powerful singing voice. His harmonica playing was highly accomplished but he didn’t get too bogged down in the technicalities of the instrument, just playing it to great effect.

Harman released numerous albums under his own name from the 1970s to 2019, and also recorded with other artists, including three albums with ZZ Top.

Links:

Nathan James website: https://www.nathandjames.com/

James Harman appreciation: https://bluesjunctionproductions.com/an_appreciation_of_james_harman

Playing with ZZ Top: https://billygibbons.com/2016/10/james-harman-mystery-man-zz-top-band/

Videos:

James Harman Tribute Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf-z0fByTsM

James Harman interview from 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkbDA4jpB_c

Grit Soup with Rick Estrin and Nathan James:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7x1BajhVfc

Albums on YouTube:

Thank You Baby: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_xc_lneR8c

Extra Napkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVwrq57PM-Q

Strictly Live in ’85: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR1OEhF6Hr0&list=PLSzXohOP-AmcgBdbKmj-DNYiP6CfPTGUY

Black and White: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_0qUrM_XBw

Liquor Parking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fL9y1bydpCI

Didn’t We Have Some Fun Sometime album intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1WhxC8Q1ro

Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
--------------------------------
Blue Moon Harmonicas: https://bluemoonharmonicas.com

Support the show

01:33 - Rick Estrin and Nathan James join me on this retrospective on James Harman

01:46 - Rick is based in the west coast of the US and first knew of James in the 1970s, and they became friends when they spent time in Amsterdam together

02:32 - Rick and James both write their own lyrics for blues songs

03:25 - He was a true artist who made no concessions to anything and he should have been a household name

03:53 - Nathan James played in the James Harman band from age 19, from 1998, playing in his band for 23 years

05:37 - Nathan has also played with Kim Wilson, Billy Boy Arnold and Mark Hummel among others, and plays some harmonica on a rack

06:02 - James called Nathan his favourite guitar player on various occasions and they connected well

06:42 - James played on some of Nathan’s albums

07:09 - His mother started teaching James piano at age four, and James found his father’s harmonicas under the seat of the piano stool

07:26 - Used to play hammond organ in the first bands he was in but realised he wanted to get up to sing, play harmonica and dance

07:50 - Also played some guitar and drums but when he started playing in bands he just sang and played harmonica

07:58 - Sang in a church choir when younger, going from singing the church music to singing the devil’s music

08:16 - First heard blues from local busker ‘Radio’ Johnson, and started playing with him

08:32 - Nathan heard that James’ uncle was a famous Old Timey musician

09:03 - James was very proud of his southern US heritage and his father was a police officer

09:42 - He was an outlier, a unique and brilliant guy

10:06 - First started getting into bands when moved to Panama City in Florida at age 16, deciding he wanted to be a performer after seeing Junior Parker playing in a black club

10:39 - Part of the first generation of white blues players and probably took some harmonica lessons from Walter Horton

11:32 - Moved around various cities, including Miami, New York, New Orleans and Chicago, where we went hoping to meet his idol Sonny Boy Williamson II

12:43 - Played in various bands before joining the Icehouse Blues Band in Southern California, where he got the name ‘Icepick’ James

14:17 - Rod Piazza was also playing around the same area, and The James Harman Band supported Canned Heat several times in the early 1970s

14:52 - His band supported and backed big name blues players who were on tour

15:35 - Recorded first nine early singles in 1964 and another album in 1972

15:57 - In 1977 released formed the James Harman Band, and didn’t like to have ‘blues’ in the title, although was a blues player (with some R&B thrown in)

17:19 - Blues was changing through the 1970s to be more rock based, which was far removed from what the James Harman Band played

18:31 - Well known for bring through young musical talent, including Hollywood Fats and Kid Ramos (and Nathan James!)

19:06 - Despite a bit of a hard reputation Nathan always got on well with him and never dictated what Nathan should play in the band

19:49 - Very well known as a songwriter

20:47 - BB King inspired him to find his own voice with the music

21:08 - When young the black blues players said he was a boy with the voice of a man

21:21 - More on his songwriting and observational skills

22:39 - Groove was critical to the sound of the band and he would move to the rhythm of the song

23:38 - Thank You Baby album released in 1983, probably his first proper release

24:03 - Those Dangerous Gentleman album released in 1987, had the track Kiss of Fire which was used on the Oscar winning movie (Best Actress): The Accused

24:36 - Released Extra Napkins in 1988, which won a WC Handy award, and saw him performing live Rick for the first time around then

25:58 - Such a creative songwriter and one of Rick’s favourites: The Clown

28:45 - Live albums, including Strictly Live in ’85 and his live performances often included singing off-the-cuff

30:01 - The story of ‘grit soup’

31:54 - Some strong albums released through the 1990s, including Black and White

32:44 - Rick liked the album Do Not Disturb which had a theme of motels and being on the road

33:20 - Held artistic control over all parts of his music

35:09 - Harman wasn’t overly concerned with the technicalities of the harmonica, using it as a tool to serve the song

36:08 - Rick thinks it’s more important to say something with your music than to just have technical skills

37:13 - Listened to a lot of different music and drew inspiration from many different sources

37:41 - William Clarke has a similar sound to Harman and was probably influenced by him

38:18 - Played with ZZ Top, recording on three of their albums and was good friends with Billy Gibbons from that band

39:21 - Billy Gibbons had wanted to record him but James resisted that

39:58 - Played on some Kid Ramos albums in the early 2000s, including a great solo on the album Greasy Kids Stuff

41:14 - Played on the 2013 album Remembering Little Walter, but didn’t play chromatic on Crazy Mixed Up World, but a solo tuned diatonic: Marine band soloist

41:56 - May have received the Marine Band Soloist from Junior Wells, and Harman never played any chromatic (that Nathan can recall)

42:54 - Played in Europe numerous times, often as a guest with other bands (including with the Swedish band Trickbag) due to economics

43:56 - Nathan produced and played on the album Bonetime from 2015 and played on Fineprint from 2018

44:39 - Nathan produced the album Didn’t We Have Some Fun Sometime, released posthumously from some live streamed performances

45:06 - Shakedown’s Th’owdown album made with Belgian Shakedown Tim

45:30 - Liquor Parking was the last Harman album released (2019) while he was still alive

46:17 - James Harman passed away in May 2021

46:32 - Nathan released recordings from livestreams done in the early part of the Covid pandemic, on the Didn’t We Have Some Fun Sometime album, where James was losing his voice due to illness

47:43 - Had a few tours cancelled due to Covid

48:08 - Rick’s 70th birthday party was last time he saw James and some other players

49:29 - Was a true artist right up until the end and that came first above everything in his life

49:56 - Won various awards through his career, including numerous WC Handy awards and was entered into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame

50:23 - Played Hohner Marine bands

50:37 - Mostly played in second position, but played some third and first too

51:48 - Embouchre: Rick thinks he mostly puckered

51:57 - Amps: liked to use vintage equipment, but later on started using a Quilter amp

52:24 - When Rick first met him he used two Fender Vibroverbs with 15 inch speakers. And he removed the reverb

53:12 - Used a graphic equaliser and understood frequencies

53:29 - Spent some time working on re-coning amps

54:13 - Liked an echo on the mic

54:49 - Used a mic that was gifted to him by ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons

55:29 - Nathan still has the same band as that which played with James Harman, and they often reminisce about him

55:54 - Rick recounts a story when he had broken ribs and Harman kept him laughing

WEBVTT

00:00:00.162 --> 00:00:07.033
Rick Estrin and Nathan James join me on episode 131 for a retrospective on James Harmon.

00:00:07.674 --> 00:00:11.840
James Icepick Harmon was born in Anniston, Alabama in 1946.

00:00:11.980 --> 00:00:25.242
After moving between various locations including Florida, New York, New Orleans and Chicago, he settled down in Southern California in the early 1970s where he established himself in the vibrant blues scene there.

00:00:25.762 --> 00:00:32.716
Harmon was a formidable songwriter and had his own unique view on life which he delivered through his powerful singing voice.

00:00:33.478 --> 00:00:40.612
His harmonica playing was highly accomplished but he didn't get too bogged down in the technicalities of the instrument, just playing it to great effect.

00:00:40.993 --> 00:00:51.405
Harmon released numerous albums under his own name from the 1970s to 2019, and also recorded with other artists, including three albums with ZZ Top.

00:00:51.725 --> 00:00:54.189
This podcast is sponsored by Zeidel Harmonicas.

00:00:54.609 --> 00:01:03.939
Visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.zeidel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at Zeidel Harmonicas.

00:01:14.337 --> 00:01:29.049
Hello Nathan James and Rick Estrin and welcome to this episode on the James Horman.

00:01:30.370 --> 00:01:31.632
Good to

00:01:32.993 --> 00:01:36.739
be here.

00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:52.382
You know, I heard of James in the 70s.

00:01:57.665 --> 00:02:05.376
But I'm in Northern California, so before we started touring with Little Charlie, then I had only heard of him.

00:02:06.097 --> 00:02:10.463
I guess I first saw him in the mid-'80s, so that's when I first saw him.

00:02:11.806 --> 00:02:22.622
When we really got to be friends was one time we were in Amsterdam together, and that's when we really hit it off, and we just...

00:02:23.009 --> 00:02:28.615
I don't know, I think we had shared some common traits in our sense of humor.

00:02:30.496 --> 00:02:31.157
That's for sure.

00:02:32.578 --> 00:02:37.763
Well, you are quite similar from the point of view that you both write your own blues songs and see that as really important, right?

00:02:37.802 --> 00:02:39.123
So did you have that connection?

00:02:39.403 --> 00:02:40.685
Yeah, absolutely.

00:02:40.764 --> 00:02:50.153
I mean, especially once we became friends, then I made it a point to investigate his music and then I was also a fan.

00:02:50.213 --> 00:03:06.598
I mean, when I first met him, I was like, wow, this guy he's got a great he's a great singer and a great entertainer but every time he came out with a record it was just like some you know he's one of them guys that that i would go wow shit why didn't i think of that you know

00:03:08.421 --> 00:03:24.532
they remind me of i go And the more

00:03:26.395 --> 00:03:30.219
I got to know him, I mean, he was a true artist, man.

00:03:30.259 --> 00:03:35.445
He made no concessions to anything, man.

00:03:35.887 --> 00:03:41.873
He had a vision for what he was going to do, and he was a genuine artist.

00:03:42.401 --> 00:03:48.967
And I always said from when I first got to know him, I always said, man, if the shit was fair, he'd be a household name.

00:03:49.268 --> 00:03:49.728
Totally.

00:03:49.888 --> 00:03:50.468
So fantastic.

00:03:50.489 --> 00:03:51.770
So we'll get more into James shortly.

00:03:51.810 --> 00:03:53.091
So we'll come on to you, Nathan.

00:03:53.110 --> 00:03:57.495
So Nathan James, you played in the James Harmon band from the age of 19.

00:03:57.514 --> 00:03:59.616
So I think that was from like 1994.

00:03:59.877 --> 00:04:00.318
Is that right?

00:04:00.337 --> 00:04:00.617
98.

00:04:00.638 --> 00:04:01.318
98.

00:04:01.758 --> 00:04:03.460
That's great, man.

00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:04.540
From 19.

00:04:04.640 --> 00:04:06.782
Boy, you didn't think you'd ever had a chance.

00:04:09.104 --> 00:04:09.665
Yeah, I was.

00:04:10.545 --> 00:04:11.467
You were ruined.

00:04:12.288 --> 00:04:12.367
Yeah.

00:04:12.367 --> 00:04:14.169
He got what he wanted out of me.

00:04:14.210 --> 00:04:16.411
He molded me into what he wanted.

00:04:17.713 --> 00:04:20.235
So you played in his band for 23 years then.

00:04:20.295 --> 00:04:24.538
So, I mean, we'll get on to his albums later, but what was the first album you played with him?

00:04:24.579 --> 00:04:29.723
The first album that I recorded on with him was Lonesome Moon Trance.

00:04:30.264 --> 00:04:31.004
Right, yeah, in 2003.

00:04:31.105 --> 00:04:41.213
Lonesome Moon Trance

00:04:42.081 --> 00:04:42.461
Ah!

00:04:46.305 --> 00:04:51.189
You joined at a very young age, so were you around touring with him then?

00:04:51.230 --> 00:04:52.490
That was a big break for you, I take it.

00:04:52.550 --> 00:05:01.439
Yeah, so I happened to go to school with a nice, same little hometown with a guitar player of his before me named Robbie Eason.

00:05:02.160 --> 00:05:08.985
Robbie was a couple of years older than me and Robbie's mother let him quit high school at 17 to go on the road with James.

00:05:09.485 --> 00:05:11.247
And so I thought, man, I want to do that too.

00:05:11.307 --> 00:05:13.730
I want to quit school and go on the road with James Harmon.

00:05:13.769 --> 00:05:22.478
When I heard that Robbie was leaving the band And so I asked my parents, you know, if I could do that, but they wouldn't let me, of course.

00:05:23.119 --> 00:05:24.281
So I had to wait till I was 19.

00:05:24.300 --> 00:05:32.689
And then he gave me the call because I was playing with a piano player by the name of Tom Mann that was playing with James off and on.

00:05:33.250 --> 00:05:37.113
Tom and Robbie Eason put in the word for me and got me the gig, basically.

00:05:37.153 --> 00:05:42.961
So, Nathan, you've also played, you know, you've played with King Wilson and Billy Boy Arnold and Mark Hummel.

00:05:43.100 --> 00:05:45.783
And you also play some harmonica, I understand.

00:05:45.903 --> 00:05:46.223
I don't know.

00:05:46.223 --> 00:05:53.411
consider it really playing but i just play on the rack you know and just just like to make an extra sound when i do my my solo thing

00:05:53.911 --> 00:06:15.334
well that's great you know it definitely qualifies you to join the happy hour harmonica podcast you've got to play some harmonica so that's good to hear at least you know a little bit what you're talking about so yeah so i've seen some videos of james and numerous times he called you his favorite guitar player so he's definitely very complimentary about your guitar playing the fact that you could pick up country guitar playing as well and uh so yeah he obviously valued you in the band

00:06:15.475 --> 00:06:40.322
yeah i was very fortunate for that we just kind of connected you know like what rick said we kind of connected on the same sense of humor and just inside stuff the stuff he liked the most it really made an impression on me and you know when i was a teenager and seeing basically harman a grown man cry sometimes listening while listening to music that moved him deeply it can make quite an impression on a young lad

00:06:42.483 --> 00:06:46.389
yeah and he also played on on some of your albums as well didn't he yeah yeah Yeah,

00:06:46.408 --> 00:06:49.721
he was always open for being a guest on a song or two.

00:06:49.742 --> 00:06:54.401
Now looking back, I should have had him a lot more on guest spots.

00:06:57.826 --> 00:07:08.935
So we're getting into James' early life.

00:07:09.055 --> 00:07:19.004
So I understand his mother started teaching him piano at age four and he found some harmonicas in the piano store which belonged to his father and that's how he started playing harmonica.

00:07:19.043 --> 00:07:21.146
Do any of you guys know anything about that?

00:07:21.466 --> 00:07:26.009
Yeah, I mean it's pretty much that and he would always talk about that from time to time.

00:07:26.050 --> 00:07:30.055
He grew up playing in like regional rhythm and blues bands.

00:07:30.456 --> 00:07:37.144
He used to play Hammond organ in his first bands that he was in before he was really even fronting and playing harmonica.

00:07:37.185 --> 00:07:44.495
But he realized that if he was playing harmonica and singing, he could get up from behind the piano or organ bench and move around.

00:07:44.574 --> 00:07:46.418
And he had quite some dance moves.

00:07:46.538 --> 00:07:48.800
So I think he knew what he was doing with that.

00:07:50.050 --> 00:08:08.990
so yeah so he played some guitar and drums as well i think early on so he did he but he was just singing and playing harmonica was he main time when he was yeah yeah and he also sang sang in a local church choir when he was young so i think that's how he got his uh you know started singing yeah and he uh sort of singing he just basically transferred the singing in choir to singing blues

00:08:09.050 --> 00:08:16.317
songs yeah yeah pretty much he went from as james would always say he went from singing the church music to singing the devil's music you know

00:08:16.577 --> 00:08:22.242
So, yeah, I understand he sort of first heard blues from a local busker called Radio Johnson.

00:08:22.302 --> 00:08:25.925
He started playing with him, and that's how he, you know, when he started playing very early on.

00:08:25.985 --> 00:08:27.346
So, heard anything about that?

00:08:27.548 --> 00:08:29.228
Probably here or there, you know.

00:08:29.249 --> 00:08:39.977
I heard of other names of people that, like his, like a relative was Riley Puckett or something like that, a famous folk singer that recorded, old-timey singer.

00:08:40.018 --> 00:08:43.181
But, yeah, he always had different stories.

00:08:43.341 --> 00:08:44.761
It was hard to keep track of them all.

00:08:45.503 --> 00:08:46.543
You're not allowed!

00:08:46.543 --> 00:08:54.676
You know, he was

00:09:03.428 --> 00:09:08.679
very proud of growing up in the South and being from Alabama.

00:09:09.041 --> 00:09:17.272
That was, I guess, a big part of his roots, and he would talk about how his dad was the chief of police or a sheriff or something.

00:09:18.413 --> 00:09:33.494
Yeah, I remember that, going into a restaurant once in Anniston, Alabama, because he wanted to get us Brunswick stew, and on the wall was a picture of the police force, and his dad was in the picture on his motorcycle, like a motorcycle cop.

00:09:34.274 --> 00:09:38.840
So having a father as a policeman, does that make you a low-abiding citizen or does it make you quite the opposite?

00:09:39.541 --> 00:09:41.082
I know he was a hell-raiser, that's

00:09:41.123 --> 00:09:41.482
for sure.

00:09:42.083 --> 00:09:44.166
He was kind of an outlier, period.

00:09:44.486 --> 00:09:44.807
Yeah.

00:09:45.227 --> 00:09:47.309
He wouldn't have fit in anywhere, man.

00:09:47.409 --> 00:09:51.215
He was a truly unique person, man.

00:09:51.315 --> 00:09:52.397
He could not help it.

00:09:52.856 --> 00:09:53.238
Yeah.

00:09:53.677 --> 00:09:58.725
A lot of people try to be different or something like that, man.

00:09:58.784 --> 00:09:59.566
He was just...

00:09:59.970 --> 00:10:01.792
He was a natural.

00:10:02.052 --> 00:10:03.253
He was naturally that way.

00:10:04.114 --> 00:10:05.754
And a brilliant guy, man.

00:10:05.774 --> 00:10:06.495
Very brilliant.

00:10:06.956 --> 00:10:13.322
So getting into how he started playing music, I understand, well, he went to Panama City in Florida, I think in the early 60s.

00:10:13.361 --> 00:10:14.523
I think he went there with his family.

00:10:14.543 --> 00:10:15.864
And that's when he started playing.

00:10:15.903 --> 00:10:20.508
And he started attending black clubs to see black musicians playing.

00:10:20.567 --> 00:10:24.812
And I heard from him, he saw Junior Parker playing when he was 17.

00:10:25.011 --> 00:10:28.153
And that really inspired him to take up being a performer.

00:10:28.235 --> 00:10:28.975
Yeah, for sure.

00:10:29.014 --> 00:10:29.936
He had lots of stories.

00:10:29.936 --> 00:10:39.186
have seen Junior Parker and Bobby Blue Bland and you know you'd say he was like one of the only white faces in the audience back then when it was kind of segregated audiences

00:10:39.846 --> 00:10:54.982
so very much part of that you know first generation of white blues guys yeah who went and they were you know going into the black clubs and you know learning and he talks about mentoring from you know the great players in there and so that was a big part of his upbringing and getting the roots in the blues

00:10:55.023 --> 00:11:06.014
yeah I think he took lessons from Walter Horton did you ever hear any of those stories Rick about him going to meet Walter Horton and having to bring him a bottle of liquors or Walter lived above a liquor store or something like that I

00:11:06.894 --> 00:11:30.701
never heard that from James but I've heard the same story from Jerry Portnoy and this guy I knew that guy Joe Burson they would go visit Walter and they'd have to bring him a bottle and that would be what the price of a lesson which would consist of oh how do you do that oh I do it like this Yeah.

00:11:32.322 --> 00:11:33.224
So he moved around.

00:11:33.464 --> 00:11:36.586
He went to New York, Miami, New Orleans, Chicago.

00:11:36.706 --> 00:11:45.356
So do we know, was it in Chicago he was spending a lot of time with the blues players or was it in the various places and the clubs in those different cities or was it in Chicago?

00:11:45.476 --> 00:11:50.621
From what I kind of remember, he went to Chicago and he was looking for Sonny Boy Williamson No.

00:11:50.642 --> 00:11:52.264
2 and he had just missed him.

00:11:52.683 --> 00:11:59.351
He got to see and hang out with Muddy Waters Band and some other people, but I think his real big idol was Sonny Boy No.

00:11:59.371 --> 00:12:06.267
2 And he was told that Sonny Boy had just left Chicago and moved back home because he wasn't doing so well.

00:12:06.287 --> 00:12:08.171
It was kind of in his final years.

00:12:08.852 --> 00:12:11.499
Sonny Boy had moved back to like Helena or something like that.

00:12:11.538 --> 00:12:17.493
So he didn't get to see Sonny Boy, but he saw a lot of the other greats, you know, and hang out with them.

00:12:18.081 --> 00:12:22.595
Right, yeah, and he does a Sonny Boy song on one of his albums, Sad To Be Alone.

00:12:24.721 --> 00:12:31.902
MUSIC PLAYS

00:12:43.618 --> 00:12:58.687
So he moved around in various places and then he went over to well he played in a few bands I think before he joined the ice house blues band so was this when he moved to california which uh i think he did that in the early 70s

00:12:58.707 --> 00:13:08.596
yeah i can't remember like what bands he had at what timelines but that sounds about right i think the ice house blues band was formed in in la area i

00:13:09.076 --> 00:13:18.085
think that's probably how he got his name ice pick james harman yeah his ice pick james and the ice house blues band was uh what was his first uh name i think without

00:13:18.125 --> 00:13:19.145
yeah probably

00:13:19.186 --> 00:13:24.110
do we know if there's any more story behind the ice or was it just the connection to the ice house?

00:13:24.130 --> 00:13:24.291
That's a

00:13:24.311 --> 00:13:24.991
good question.

00:13:25.072 --> 00:13:34.481
I probably had heard it from him and I should have had a tape recorder for all those eight-hour van rides across the country.

00:13:34.581 --> 00:13:37.184
He could talk a long time.

00:13:37.365 --> 00:13:38.024
Yeah, he could.

00:13:38.306 --> 00:13:41.168
He told me he had a collection of ice picks.

00:13:41.208 --> 00:13:41.668
Yeah, yeah.

00:13:41.929 --> 00:13:46.114
People used to send them to him as fans would send those to him.

00:13:46.495 --> 00:13:49.136
If only we knew what happened to that collection of ice picks.

00:13:50.057 --> 00:13:50.158
Right.

00:13:50.778 --> 00:13:58.211
I can't imagine there's that much ice in southern california though it's probably not the coldest place so then he sort of based himself in southern california right

00:13:58.332 --> 00:14:13.721
he stayed out here because the weather was good that's what he always said otherwise he didn't like it down here he said he always had gulf coast blood and uh he preferred it in the gulf coast but it you know because it was warmer but it was just too intense out there so

00:14:13.985 --> 00:14:33.863
he went to wear the the weather suit in his clothes so yeah so in southern california there was a there was a good blues scene uh you know and rob piazza i think was was active then and he was another band i understood when he first went there he sort of opened for canned heat for for quite a few shows through the through the early 70s i don't know if that was part of him you know becoming established

00:14:33.942 --> 00:14:51.659
yeah i'm not sure i'm sure it probably was one part of everything that added up with him you know but he already had his own personality so that probably was real quickly he was friends with all those guys he had lots of stories of hanging and hell raising with like the can't heat guys and

00:14:52.321 --> 00:15:04.293
apparently he was he was based in some clubs in in southern california and he used to support the sort of traveling blues act so they're you know like the big blues names would come through and he'd either back them up or would support them with his

00:15:04.374 --> 00:15:04.474
band

00:15:04.533 --> 00:15:04.754
so

00:15:05.215 --> 00:15:18.669
yeah yeah i mean it just did like big joe turner and uh all kinds of names even t-bone walker would come out and i don't know if he backed up t-bone walker T-Bone, but T-Bone and Freddie King were always there and would sit in, stuff like that.

00:15:18.710 --> 00:15:31.245
There's some photos that James, I have a bunch of photos from James somewhere that I helped him scan, so I probably have some of T-Bone sitting in with him and Freddie King and Big Joe Turner.

00:15:31.284 --> 00:15:34.389
Big Joe Turner was one of his biggest influences and idols.

00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:38.720
I think he first made some nine singles in 1964.

00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:40.544
This was in Atlanta, Georgia.

00:15:41.047 --> 00:15:43.615
So yeah, he said he made another album in 72.

00:15:57.153 --> 00:16:04.232
Then in 1977, he formed the James Harmon band, which evolved from the Icehouse Blues band, as I understand it.

00:16:04.293 --> 00:16:10.148
So, again, watching him, he said that he didn't like to have blues in the title.

00:16:10.188 --> 00:16:11.652
He liked to keep that out.

00:16:11.913 --> 00:16:13.577
Well, I mean, it can just be...

00:16:14.210 --> 00:16:17.414
I don't know, Rick, blues spelled with...

00:16:18.054 --> 00:16:20.118
It could be a stigma, you know, as a way to keep...

00:16:20.499 --> 00:16:21.360
Especially nowadays.

00:16:22.201 --> 00:16:35.340
Yeah, well, even then, I mean, because the connotation to people that aren't actual into blues already would be, oh, that's some sad, miserable stuff, you know?

00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:37.844
And really, it's uplifting stuff.

00:16:37.884 --> 00:16:41.229
So, you know, even sad blues is...

00:16:42.433 --> 00:16:55.961
cathartic you know but so so rather than having people prejudge you like that you just you give it a name that doesn't have the word blues in it yeah

00:16:57.121 --> 00:17:04.348
yeah but i mean he was mainly a blues player i mean or did he do it because he did play some of the genres as well and he didn't want to be just tagged as just being blue

00:17:04.509 --> 00:17:19.442
and i mean he he was a blues player i mean as far as this harmonica playing that's a as far as i know that's all i ever heard play and uh you know he had some songs that were you know maybe a lean towards R&B and stuff like that.

00:17:19.521 --> 00:17:32.155
Because, I mean, even by the 70s, you know, blues kind of became so different from what his influences were and what he wanted to create that what became popular is a blues band.

00:17:32.737 --> 00:17:33.076
Yeah,

00:17:33.538 --> 00:17:34.558
there's that too.

00:17:34.659 --> 00:17:35.259
Yeah, yeah.

00:17:35.319 --> 00:17:40.645
You didn't want to be associated with that stuff, man, because it really, blues...

00:17:41.218 --> 00:17:44.804
increasingly became basically 70s rock

00:17:44.983 --> 00:17:55.138
yeah exactly kind of like with the same thing that happened with country music and disco and all that so it's kind of i could totally relate to why he wouldn't want to use that in the title

00:18:31.905 --> 00:18:53.183
great and he's well known for bringing through young musical talent a bit like yourself Nathan of course but we've already touched on that but you know he's brought through like Hollywood Farts and Kid Ramos and his early band and some other players who you know went on and did very well for themselves so that's something so talking about yourself again Nathan he obviously brought you in as a young age that was he was keen to nurture that young talent

00:18:53.285 --> 00:19:03.454
yeah no it was it was a great opportunity for me it was priceless you know looking back on it I don't regret not going to college or getting an education whatsoever because that was my education.

00:19:05.159 --> 00:19:06.141
You couldn't pay for that.

00:19:06.442 --> 00:19:07.763
What was he like as a band leader then?

00:19:07.904 --> 00:19:09.166
Oh, to me, he was great.

00:19:09.186 --> 00:19:17.064
I'd heard stories that he was difficult with people, but I think it was just how you connected with him, and I was just lucky that it was an easy connection.

00:19:17.104 --> 00:19:19.107
He never directed me...

00:19:20.034 --> 00:19:46.457
almost never directed me with telling me what to play or not play you know once in a while he would have suggestions like say yeah you know make you make your solo make make sure you people know when your solo is is starting and tell a conversation in your solo you know make sure and basically let me know when make it real clear when your solo is coming to an end so i can come back in singing you know that was the extent of anything he ever told me on what to play or how to play

00:19:47.137 --> 00:20:05.507
obviously we're this is a harmonica podcast so we're focusing that way very well known as a songwriter and you know as a big part of his sound right so again rick obviously you were very well known as a writing blues songs yourself contemporary blues songs i know he was very much you know about you know bringing blues song modern blues songs and not just you know playing the old blues songs

00:20:06.067 --> 00:20:18.036
he would had his own voice he was he was really an artist you know he was not at all like some people that just cover you know blues songs that that wasn't what he was about

00:20:19.959 --> 00:20:47.458
send me a fax or just telephone find me a groove give me a hand show me the spot i will make a stand come on don't be so unkind come on It actually

00:20:47.498 --> 00:20:49.099
goes back to even like B.B.

00:20:49.180 --> 00:20:49.420
King.

00:20:49.519 --> 00:20:50.701
He used to tell the story.

00:20:50.760 --> 00:20:52.962
He toured once opening for B.B.

00:20:53.022 --> 00:20:53.943
or probably several times.

00:20:54.403 --> 00:20:54.884
And B.B.

00:20:54.944 --> 00:20:55.965
gave him the advice.

00:20:56.006 --> 00:20:57.346
He said, sing your own songs.

00:20:58.127 --> 00:21:02.932
And so that kind of resonated with him when he probably was already kind of moving towards that.

00:21:03.731 --> 00:21:04.053
Yeah.

00:21:04.073 --> 00:21:06.335
And well, there's a few great quotes as well.

00:21:06.474 --> 00:21:08.256
And something said about him.

00:21:08.296 --> 00:21:15.383
Apparently when he was singing in the black clubs when he was young, he they said he was the boy who sang like a man.

00:21:15.884 --> 00:21:19.647
So he always had that big, strong, powerful voice with his blues looks.

00:21:21.369 --> 00:21:28.576
Something else he says, a quote from him, stories about the human condition told through blues songs was how he sort of saw his songwriting.

00:21:28.636 --> 00:21:35.444
Yeah, he would consider them little short stories on different situations that he would come up with or he would overhear.

00:21:35.464 --> 00:21:37.287
He was very observant.

00:21:37.326 --> 00:21:53.807
He was like the true artist that anywhere we would go from, you know, stopping at a truck stop or something on the road or he would sit there in his hotel with the door open and people walking by and he would hear little snippets of conversations and then he would be inspired to write something

00:21:55.137 --> 00:21:59.602
right he'd walk around with a pencil and notebook in his hand then

00:21:59.902 --> 00:22:27.808
he had this amazing ability to multitask because we'd be riding in the van all day and listening to all this great music on CDs you know CD era of all of our favorite old music and he would be listening to that stuff but at the same time he'd be humming a melody of his own song his own tune in the back and I'd see him writing stuff down and I don't know if he was being inspired by what we're listening to but I think that he he had like two different things going on at one time it was pretty amazing

00:22:29.090 --> 00:22:36.824
yeah and a great quote from him which which is a song is like a woman's dress it's got to be long enough to cover the subject but short enough to keep you interested

00:22:36.864 --> 00:22:38.907
that's very true he always said that

00:22:39.788 --> 00:22:46.861
but another thing he was really keen on was it was the groove and you hear him talk about the groove a lot and you know really critical to his sound yeah so well

00:22:47.362 --> 00:22:49.726
oh yeah

00:22:50.369 --> 00:22:53.564
so

00:23:04.130 --> 00:23:26.751
rhythm just flowed in his body movements like it was so easy to follow him when he would count in songs he wouldn't even have to you could tell if it was going to be a shuffle or a straight beat just by the way he would move his body counting it in it was great and sometimes if he didn't have the right band members with them and they didn't follow that right i could feel it with him that something wasn't right

00:23:29.185 --> 00:23:30.347
Like you said, he was a good dancer.

00:23:30.367 --> 00:23:32.491
The dancing was a big part of his act then, yeah?

00:23:32.952 --> 00:23:33.374
Oh, yeah.

00:23:33.815 --> 00:23:36.098
Yeah, he could hold his own with James Brown, I'm sure.

00:23:38.103 --> 00:23:41.087
And then, so he had an album called Thank You Baby, released in 1983.

00:23:41.127 --> 00:23:44.474
I think that's probably seen as his first main release.

00:23:45.957 --> 00:23:46.238
Thank You Baby

00:24:03.170 --> 00:24:05.875
And then in 1987, he had Those Dangerous Gentlemen.

00:24:06.174 --> 00:24:13.567
And from that, he had the song Kiss of Fire, which is used on the Accused soundtrack, which I understand won an Oscar for Best Picture.

00:24:14.509 --> 00:24:16.712
So he had a song on an Oscar-winning film.

00:24:17.213 --> 00:24:17.994
Yeah, I guess so.

00:24:18.016 --> 00:24:18.876
I've heard that too.

00:24:18.896 --> 00:24:18.977
Kiss

00:24:19.999 --> 00:24:25.387
of Fire

00:24:33.857 --> 00:24:36.804
So you were getting to know him around this time as well yourself, Rick.

00:24:36.844 --> 00:24:43.979
So into the late 80s, he released the album Extra Napkins, 1988, which won him several WC Handy Awards.

00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:46.865
So were you aware of him at this time, Rick?

00:24:47.125 --> 00:24:49.029
That's when I first became aware of him.

00:24:49.150 --> 00:24:54.421
And I can remember, I think the first time I saw him was...

00:24:55.009 --> 00:25:10.076
uh at the belly up we were on a bill with him with little charlie and and i just remember that just being a killer band man yeah you know it was stephen hodges and hollywood fats wasn't there anymore but it was kid and

00:25:10.596 --> 00:25:11.618
willie jay probably

00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:18.003
willie willie was there yeah willie jay campbell They were just a killer band, a great performance.

00:25:18.084 --> 00:25:23.209
I mean, you know, full energy, like you said, dancing and singing his ass off.

00:25:23.608 --> 00:25:30.634
And I remember Deep Bill and Junior Watson was on the bill as well with somebody.

00:25:30.654 --> 00:25:34.377
And he told me, you know, I had never seen James before.

00:25:34.538 --> 00:25:38.501
And he told me, he goes, oh, Harmon's voice is bothering him tonight, you know.

00:25:38.902 --> 00:25:42.085
But to me, he was a killer.

00:25:42.986 --> 00:25:45.647
You know, but later on, I heard him.

00:25:45.647 --> 00:25:48.531
when it wasn't bothering him.

00:25:48.551 --> 00:25:49.092
He was just...

00:25:49.813 --> 00:25:54.358
Like I said, man, if shit was fair, man, he'd have been a household name.

00:25:54.779 --> 00:25:56.862
He was just great, man.

00:25:57.102 --> 00:25:58.604
And he was such a...

00:25:58.624 --> 00:26:03.069
As a songwriter, man, he was such a creative guy, man.

00:26:03.190 --> 00:26:04.030
And he would just...

00:26:04.612 --> 00:26:06.634
And it all felt so natural.

00:26:07.035 --> 00:26:07.455
And it was...

00:26:08.135 --> 00:26:10.038
Because it was natural, you know.

00:26:10.619 --> 00:26:12.080
But I can remember just...

00:26:13.026 --> 00:26:21.011
Speaking for myself, you know, when he was around around that scene and I can remember there used to be a club that we played.

00:26:21.665 --> 00:26:35.577
in Pittsburgh, California called The Decade and it was an off-night gig and usually it was a long drive prior to that and we would get there to load in and I'd be worn out.

00:26:35.778 --> 00:26:39.181
I think it was like a Sunday night so we'd been working, working, working.

00:26:39.201 --> 00:26:57.471
I'd be looking forward to maybe a day off on Monday and they had the greatest jukebox in there, man, and I would sit down when we were done loading in and I would to sit down at the bar drink a Diet Coke, man, and play the jukebox.

00:26:57.550 --> 00:27:04.721
And they had on there, they had, believe it or not, they had the Swan Silvertones doing Savior Pass Me Not.

00:27:04.781 --> 00:27:08.267
And they had The Clown by James.

00:27:08.386 --> 00:27:13.093
And I would play those two songs every time when I would just sit there.

00:27:13.133 --> 00:27:15.056
And I'd just feel great, man.

00:27:15.497 --> 00:27:17.920
And I don't know if you know that song, The Clown.

00:27:18.441 --> 00:27:21.265
It's just, I think it's just bass and piano.

00:27:21.925 --> 00:27:22.046
Mm-hmm.

00:27:22.210 --> 00:27:27.457
and he's talking about If your good love kills me, baby, keep my body hanging around.

00:27:28.557 --> 00:27:30.098
Have me stuffed with cotton.

00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:35.263
You know, sit me in the corner in a chair and I'll just be, keep my body hanging around.

00:27:35.284 --> 00:27:38.906
Have me stuffed with cotton and paint my face up like a clown.

00:27:40.127 --> 00:27:45.353
Eddie's talking about, sit me in a chair and I'll watch you with your new man.

00:27:45.772 --> 00:27:49.756
Watch you doing all those horrible things you used to do to me and stuff.

00:27:49.776 --> 00:27:52.499
I mean, how do you think of shit like that,

00:27:52.638 --> 00:27:53.159
you know?

00:27:53.839 --> 00:28:10.503
That's

00:28:10.544 --> 00:28:27.044
the thing, as a songwriter I think I'm pretty good and I think I've gotten lucky with some stuff where I think I've got some pretty great stuff too but that's one of the primary reasons why I just love the guy, man.

00:28:27.364 --> 00:28:28.866
His mind, man, was just...

00:28:29.067 --> 00:28:34.315
And it was so much fun to show him something that I knew he would dig, you know?

00:28:34.955 --> 00:28:41.665
Show him something I came up with that I knew he would appreciate, because everybody don't appreciate it in the same way, man.

00:28:41.766 --> 00:28:45.412
And I was just a total fan of it.

00:28:45.432 --> 00:28:48.797
He had a few live albums out, which I think, you know, are capturing really well.

00:28:48.998 --> 00:28:50.440
There's the Strictly Live in 85...

00:28:56.930 --> 00:28:58.589
Yeah.

00:29:05.857 --> 00:29:10.263
And then they released one after he died, I think, from a show in 1992 as well.

00:29:10.364 --> 00:29:14.009
So, yeah, some strong live albums to hear him from as well.

00:29:14.048 --> 00:29:18.234
And, you know, did he, were his live shows, you know, was that where he really shone?

00:29:19.135 --> 00:29:27.205
Yeah, I mean, in my era with Harmon, the live stuff, because, you know, unfortunately we didn't ever get to record as much as I would have liked to.

00:29:27.227 --> 00:29:35.538
I mean, we did a fair amount of recording for sure, but live, it was just so natural for him and like singing stuff off the cuff, you know.

00:29:36.673 --> 00:30:12.055
he would have these little ideas that I think he would write down while we'd be driving in the van and then he would just pull them out all of a sudden at each gig each night you know and my favorite times was when people like Rick would come out to see us and hang out with James and James would really put on his A game when Rick would come around and just seeing the joy you guys would have together man it's like it was just priceless there's a couple clips on YouTube that I put up myself actually when I had carried a video camera with us of you sitting in with us with James and it's just It's next level stuff.

00:30:12.315 --> 00:30:13.415
Grit soup.

00:30:13.435 --> 00:30:14.076
Grit soup.

00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:18.461
I could tell a little story on that.

00:30:18.520 --> 00:30:26.208
We were on our way to a gig in Northern California and we went to a Denny's, which is not usually the greatest eating experience.

00:30:26.887 --> 00:30:28.189
And they ordered grits.

00:30:28.229 --> 00:30:30.852
I think it was James and Tempo, the percussionist.

00:30:31.491 --> 00:30:33.413
And it took them forever to get the food out.

00:30:33.433 --> 00:30:36.717
And then it finally comes out and it's like this really watery grits.

00:30:37.156 --> 00:30:58.105
And they were so offended by it because we not only had to wait all this time to get the damn food but it comes out and it's just it was horrible so that he was talking about it all day long saying man those grits were so messed up those that was like soup man and then we get to the gig and rick was there in the parking lot shows up and then James couldn't help but sing about it.

00:30:58.766 --> 00:31:02.632
I was sitting there at the time, and he just started singing.

00:31:02.991 --> 00:31:05.155
Nobody knew what he was going to do, and he started singing.

00:31:05.195 --> 00:31:10.022
But he had been complaining about it verbally before, you know.

00:31:10.503 --> 00:31:17.213
And he started singing about Grit Soup, man, and I'm trying to play, and I can't stop laughing, man.

00:31:17.346 --> 00:31:23.711
It was just great, especially, too, because, man, I had been miserable all day.

00:31:23.791 --> 00:31:27.914
And I knew James was playing up there, and it was about 30 miles from me.

00:31:28.035 --> 00:31:31.478
And I thought, oh, man, I don't feel like going.

00:31:31.538 --> 00:31:32.699
But I'm so miserable.

00:31:32.739 --> 00:31:34.039
I'm going to go up there, man.

00:31:34.121 --> 00:31:37.242
And he just could always make me feel better, man.

00:31:37.502 --> 00:31:39.285
He could always lift my spirits,

00:31:40.266 --> 00:31:47.311
man.

00:31:47.311 --> 00:31:53.297
So

00:31:55.219 --> 00:31:58.021
through the 90s, I think he released some really great albums.

00:31:58.061 --> 00:32:01.924
So the first album I was aware of him was Black and White, which I think is a really brilliant album.

00:32:01.944 --> 00:32:02.865
It's got some great songs on it.

00:32:02.885 --> 00:32:03.666
It is a good one.

00:32:03.826 --> 00:32:05.008
Which I really liked, yeah.

00:32:05.087 --> 00:32:05.429
That is

00:32:05.509 --> 00:32:06.028
a good one.

00:32:06.409 --> 00:32:07.410
The Four Questions.

00:32:11.453 --> 00:32:15.837
Where in the world are we gonna meet?

00:32:18.433 --> 00:32:35.230
So I can put my hands all on you, girl Mmm, cause your good love's so hot and sweet

00:32:41.538 --> 00:32:43.622
So he had some great albums through the 90s.

00:32:43.842 --> 00:32:47.709
Another one from them that I really dug was Do Not Disturb.

00:32:47.808 --> 00:32:48.430
The whole theme.

00:32:48.470 --> 00:32:51.194
And the whole theme of motels.

00:32:51.275 --> 00:32:58.288
And if you were a road musician then, it was like, man, you could so identify with all that stuff, man.

00:33:06.753 --> 00:33:21.074
like

00:33:21.134 --> 00:34:16.480
i said he was a real artist man and he had total artistic control from uh over everything not just the sound of the the record but you know like me i mean i've been on alligator all this time and so it's a negotiation always you know how this stuff's gonna be presented and you know generally and especially the last few years it's been totally cool but but james had total artistic control over the the the the packaging the artwork the every little thing man i can remember when he had this one album on cannonball records in the spine of the cd he had a little bb yeah inserted in there i mean he he was just all about detail and he had a vision for what he was going to do and it was going to be that way

00:34:29.186 --> 00:34:43.507
Hey, everybody, you're listening to Neil Warren's Harmonica Happy Hour podcast, sponsored by Tom Halcheck and Blue Moon Harmonicas out of Clearwater, Florida, the best in custom harmonicas, custom harmonica parts, and more.

00:34:44.009 --> 00:34:48.074
Check them out, www.bluemoonharmonicas.com.

00:34:48.375 --> 00:34:55.025
So, I mean, on that album, Do Not Disturb, he plays a harmonica instrumental called Wake Up Call.

00:34:55.045 --> 00:34:55.326
Do Not Disturb

00:35:01.985 --> 00:35:10.440
So what about his harmonica playing?

00:35:10.481 --> 00:35:17.233
We talked a lot about his character and his songs, but how important was his harmonica playing to his act?

00:35:18.177 --> 00:35:23.791
it was him that you could tell it was him just from the first measure of hearing the harmonica

00:35:23.831 --> 00:35:38.849
yeah he he's a musical guy and a very very musical guy and very creative musically and he never and this would probably come out Sounding wrong, Nathan will know what I mean.

00:35:39.190 --> 00:35:41.733
He didn't give a shit about the harmonica.

00:35:41.753 --> 00:35:41.793
It

00:35:41.813 --> 00:35:42.135
was a tool.

00:35:42.815 --> 00:35:44.277
It was a tool, you know?

00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:48.103
He was just artistic with it, man.

00:35:48.143 --> 00:35:49.947
He was using it to create.

00:35:50.148 --> 00:35:57.739
There are people that try hard to develop technique, and all that stuff just happened naturally with him.

00:35:58.721 --> 00:36:01.806
You know, it's not like he didn't have technique, but it was...

00:36:02.648 --> 00:36:03.608
The harmonica was...

00:36:04.673 --> 00:36:08.217
Strictly, the purpose of it was to be in the service of the song.

00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:09.119
Yeah,

00:36:09.500 --> 00:36:09.659
exactly.

00:36:09.679 --> 00:36:11.342
And I appreciate that, man.

00:36:11.762 --> 00:36:12.884
You know, I appreciate that.

00:36:12.923 --> 00:36:23.516
It's much more interesting to me than hearing someone that's got insane skills, but they're not saying much.

00:36:23.876 --> 00:36:24.197
Yeah.

00:36:24.237 --> 00:36:28.443
You know, I came up listening to...

00:36:28.902 --> 00:36:31.326
Jimmy Reed was the first harmonic player I heard.

00:36:31.407 --> 00:36:33.929
I mean, you know, technique-wise, he...

00:36:34.434 --> 00:36:38.179
It was pretty minimal, but he was saying something.

00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:39.621
Saying something, exactly.

00:36:40.001 --> 00:36:40.163
Yeah.

00:36:40.784 --> 00:36:44.489
And that's what James cared about, saying something, you know.

00:36:45.050 --> 00:36:45.630
No, absolutely.

00:36:45.990 --> 00:36:50.538
And I've seen an interview when he's with you, I think, Nathan, and he's talking about the harmonica in that sort of way.

00:36:50.577 --> 00:36:52.300
Like you say, he's using it as a tool and he didn't.

00:36:52.762 --> 00:36:54.063
Yeah, so yeah, he definitely, yeah.

00:36:54.103 --> 00:36:56.847
But, you know, he certainly did some good harmonica work.

00:36:56.947 --> 00:36:58.309
Oh, hell yeah.

00:37:00.974 --> 00:37:01.054
Yeah.

00:37:13.601 --> 00:37:23.914
You know, he listened to so much music that rubbed off on me that I'm forever grateful for, you know, from outside of blues, you know, from all the great gospel music to jazz.

00:37:23.954 --> 00:37:27.378
He was heavily into classic jazz, old country music.

00:37:27.878 --> 00:37:32.844
I think a lot of that music that he heard, listened to, subconsciously came out in his harmonica playing.

00:37:32.884 --> 00:37:37.148
You know, the horn players he would listen to, Lester Young, all the guys who...

00:37:38.050 --> 00:37:40.331
without him trying to, it would just come out.

00:37:41.333 --> 00:37:48.300
When I was listening, particularly to those 90s albums, like on the Two Sides to Every Story album, there's definitely a sound of William Clarke about him as well.

00:37:48.360 --> 00:37:54.507
It's like he sings quite like him as well, and he's got, like you say, he's got the saxophones in the band, and he's got that real swinging West Coast thing.

00:37:54.527 --> 00:38:06.931
¶¶¶¶ well

00:38:08.233 --> 00:38:11.539
william clark was hugely influenced by james i think

00:38:12.099 --> 00:38:13.682
right so it's either way around yeah yeah

00:38:13.742 --> 00:38:14.563
yeah definitely

00:38:14.605 --> 00:38:27.485
yeah because obviously james was before him yeah so but then it also uh another big thing he did which um probably brought him some exposure he played with zz top yeah and he appeared on i think for three of their albums i think

00:38:37.538 --> 00:38:41.547
Yeah, that was one of his best friends was Billy Gibbons up until the very end.

00:38:41.608 --> 00:38:45.036
They met each other at a record store, I think in the 70s.

00:38:45.056 --> 00:38:47.563
And they were friends for many years.

00:38:47.704 --> 00:38:53.940
And Billy would come out and see us all the time whenever we would play in Texas or anywhere that Billy was.

00:38:54.978 --> 00:39:08.972
I remember him

00:39:10.673 --> 00:39:20.103
telling

00:39:21.704 --> 00:39:52.894
me way back that you know billy gibbons had wanted to record him and use like drum machines and all the kind of stuff that they were using I guess you know the kind of studio techniques that they were using and they were gonna he was trying to tell them oh man you know you could be huge if you just do this and all that and he didn't want no part of it I mean it was his friend but he dug you know he was appreciative of them and everything

00:39:53.775 --> 00:39:57.197
he wanted his own sound though as you said earlier on he knew what he wanted

00:39:57.639 --> 00:39:57.898
yeah

00:39:58.599 --> 00:40:04.264
and then through the sort of 2000 he played with ZZ Top and then he played with a few he played on a few of Kid Ramos's albums

00:40:04.465 --> 00:40:35.369
there was a Ramos album that had a bunch of different harmonica players on it called Greasy Kid Stuff and there was a bunch of people on there and some people that were everybody on there was great I thought and Paul DeLay was on there he had a couple great songs on there James had a couple great songs on there and James played this one song Low Down Woman about this woman drinking cleaning fluid and he played one 12-bar solo.

00:40:55.617 --> 00:40:58.409
That was the coolest harmonica on the whole album.

00:40:58.471 --> 00:40:59.534
And there was everybody.

00:40:59.815 --> 00:41:00.820
Rod was on there.

00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:02.327
Everybody was on there, man.

00:41:02.347 --> 00:41:02.527
That was...

00:41:03.010 --> 00:41:10.235
The one 12-bar solo that James played on that one song was just killer, man.

00:41:10.255 --> 00:41:14.440

James Harman retrospective with Rick Estrin and Nathan James

Listen On

Featured Episodes

Diatonic harmonica Episodes

Blues harmonica Episodes

Retrospectives Episodes

Recent Episodes

Diatonic harmonica Episodes

Chromatic harmonica Episodes

Blues harmonica Episodes

Retrospectives Episodes

Female harmonica player Episodes

Chromatic blues Episodes

Classical chromatic Episodes

Classical diatonic Episodes

Browse episodes by category

Support On

Featured episodes

Joe Powers interview

James Cotton retrospective

Ben Bouman interview