Globex Corporation Newsletter

What, you've never heard of "Icepick James" Harman? Obviously you haven't had nearly enough conversations with me!

When I started playing harmonica, I was blown away by some of the great blues players I'd heard. Listening to classic blues recordings of artists like "Little Walter" Jacobs and Junior Wells or contemporary blues recordings by the likes of Kim Wilson or Rod Piazza, I began to realize that I had a whole lot to learn about technique. The greats were all fast (don't even get me started on guys like Sugar Blue or John Popper), and try as I might I could never play that many notes in that short of an amount of time.

I was living in Forest City, Iowa, when John Rawls turned me onto a harp player named James Harman. Harman is a prodigiously tourning bluesman, and played lots of blues clubs in Lisa Rawls' hometown of Omaha, Nebraska (yes, Omaha is a great blues town). John and Lisa saw Harman there a number of times and obviously liked what they heard. They introduced me to his music and I was quite impressed.

Harman is a technically fine harmonica player. There are many playing today who are technically better, who play faster, but he's my favorite for one reason, his tone. The sound Harman gets out of a harp is the nastiest I've ever heard from a bluesman. When I started playing I knew the filthy tone I wanted to come out of my harp but just couldn't get it. Harman had it. He played exactly the way I wanted to. He plays exactly the way I still want to today. Someday I'll get it. Until then it's just a lot of trial and error.

Listening to more and more Harman, I started realizing what a great songwriter he is. So not only is the Icepick my favorite harp player, he's become my favorite blues songwriter as well. The subject matter of Harman's songs can seemingly come from anywhere. He writes the standard, almost cliche' blues songs (cheating women, drinking, fighting, etc.), but he can also write about the most unexpected things. Hollywood Girls is a collection lines from late night TV phone sex ads. Modern Numbers Game compares government run lotteries to "numbers games" run by mobsters. Lock Doctor was gleaned from an ad on the side of a locksmith's van while stuck in traffic. A Harman song can seemingly come from anywhere. His use of the unexpected and fantastic verbal imagry make for many humorous songs.

While living in the Twin Cities, I had the good fortune of seeing Harman a couple of times. I saw him on a steamy night at St. Paul's "Blues Saloon" where he put on an inspired show in the oppressive heat, his exertion causing him to change shirts a number of times.

His band filled in admirably during his absences to find dry clothes. One thing about a James Harman Band is that they are one of the best blues outfits you will ever see, no matter what incarnation of the band you see. Harman seems to be able to nurture talent like no other band leader I've ever seen. Line-ups from his bands are a veritable who's who of contemporary West Coast blues. I saw his band back Kim Wilson at the "Blue Cafe" in Long Beach, California, and it was one of the coolest musical experiences of my life. His band was great, but people just kept jumping in from the crowd, contemporary greats and former Harman band members Junior Watson and Kid Ramos to name two.

Living in Long Beach was something of a dream situation for me. With "Blue Cafe" as something of a regional hub, everyone in the vibrant local blues scene stopped in from time to time. Bands I had listened to since my college days would drop in, national greats as well (it's where I saw Sue Foley, for heaven's sake!). Best for me, though was Harman, who lived in nearby Huntington Beach. Though on the road most of the year, Harman and band would stick close to home in January and February, playing lots of local dates to make ends meet. Two straight years while I was living in the area, Harman played "Blue Cafe" once a week during the month of February. The bar was on my way home from work, and though I worked late into the evening, I knew I could stop by and catch Icepick's last set before going to bed.

It was great for me to get to see one of my heroes so close up and so often. As good as his albums are, they can't compare to the good time you'll have at a James Harman show. The Swing/Jump style of blues from the west coast is much more infectious in person than mere recording media could ever capture. Should you ever get a chance to catch a Harman show, drop whatever you're doing, drive as many miles as it takes. You won't regret it.

BOJ