It's been said that music is a journey and that has sure been true about me. I like playing, but it's the people who you meet along the way that really do it for me. Here I've tried to arrange my links page to give you a little taste of why I started playing and who the people I've come across sound like. Actually, I like hanging out on this page and watching all the videos ... a lot of great stuff and people here. Buzz
Back in 1973 when I was a kid The Ozark Mountain Daredevils had a song on the radio called "If You Wanna Get to Heaven" and the harp solo was the coolest thing I ever heard. That's what started it for me and they still sound good to my ears. Their first disc "The Ozark Mountain Daredevils" is great ... and if you can find their album "It'll Shine When it Shines" pick it up. In my set's I'll do their tune "Standing on the Rock" ... and they have a bunch more of great tunes I'd like to start working in and recording. I've never seen these guys play live, but they are still around so maybe one day ... I hope!
These guys were HUGE around Michigan ... and unless you lived here I can't tell you how HUGE they were. When I was going to Michigan State University you'd walk across campus and hear the live version "Whammer Jammer" coming out a window of most every dorm you passed. It was the coolest thing I ever heard ... and I never even imagined being able to play something like that. They had their big radio hits and then went their seperate ways, but before that they were one hard rocking blues band and a lot of fun. Magic Dick, their harp player, is a true master of the instrument and is known for his way out there stuff ... but I really dig the little rhythm licks and fills that he adds to mix (like he does on this video). Great stuff ... and I did get to see them live (though it took me a few months to regain my hearing). Below, for the harmonica obsessed, is Magic Dick explaining Whammer Jammer.
I first saw these guys play around 1984 at the Amphitheater in Rock Creek Park. They were the first act of "The Brass Monkey Blues Festival" and were followed by Queen Ida and some electric acts. I'm not sure if it was a little after or a little before I picked up the harmonica, but these guys with just a harmonica and a guitar were SO POWERFUL and their sound was so acessable. That's what's cool about a guitar harmonica duo ... its so real and so accessable you can really feel it and be apart of it.
Phil used to live in my neighborhood when I lived in Washington, DC. I remember seeing him at a roof top restaurant and all I could think was "There he is." I ended up meeting John and Phil about 20 years later at the National Folk Festival in 1999 that was held in East Lansing. They did a noon show inside the City Hall tent and it was just like the first time I saw them. I've been real fortunate to be able to learn from both John and Phil ... and they are still inspiring to me.
I met Andy in 1979 and learned to play music with him. When I moved to DC ... he was in DC. When I was back in Michigan ... he was back in Michigan. We haven't played together in a while, but there's a natural feel that you get with somebody who goes way back like that. That's what we sound like on Trev Mo' and The Bell Song. I hope you are doing well, Andy.
Where I come from these guys are the guys and everyone of them is great. They are a real band and kind of remind me of The Ozark Mountain Daredevils who I grew up listening to. It's been cool to have these guys in Lansing, watch them develop and see what they come up with next. These guys are the guys ... and good ones too.
Andy and I started running around the state of Michigan to some of the better Open Mic's. I thought we'd do one and then we'd have our fill, but at The Ark in Ann Arbor (the first one we did) we ran into Dave Boutette and I was hooked. Dave asked me to sit in and I think we did a slow version of "Rock Island Line." I learned how to play live with Dave Boutette and really enjoy playing his songs. Not only that ... Boutette is the kind of rhythm guitar player that a harmonica player dreams of. He even came up with a rave up instrumental called "Buzz's Workout" (which I think should be called "Feeding the Monster"). Anyway ... it's "a something" and for the record Dave works way harder on that tune than I do.
Andy and I then went to Grand Rapids Michigan and met Sara Q and Michigan Mark DePree. I used to carry my harps in a maroon box with a handle. "What's in the Box?" she asked, Mark guessed "Harmonicas" and she was all in it asking me questions about them. This girl has one, big powerful voice and she did a great version of "Angel from Montgomery" that night. She played at my first recording session, her bass is the first notes you hear on my first CD ... and she generously sat through endless takes playing the role of "The Cornbread Woman." Her belief in my music really got this train rolling. Thanks Q!
I was really lucky to find Michigan Mark DePree. He looks at songs like a puzzle ... which is good because I can be puzzling. Most of Long Way to Memphis and all of Peace for My Baby was recorded with Michigan Mark ... and we both of a particular taste for Piedmont Blues and pizza.
Lucy ran a songwriters workshop in Grand Rapids and I hit that a few times. Got two songs out it at least ... one being Lucy's Feet which started out as a joke name for an instrumental, but then words started coming to it. So if you want to see where songs come from, click on through to check out Lucy's Feet. Then click on through to her website and find a whole batch of great songs on her SongRamp Site
Here's the truth: "Rollie Tussing plays his acoustic, electric, and cigar box guitars in a rootsey delta-blues manner, with a gospel-soaked voice and foot stomping beat. Very few people can leave a Rollie show without goose bumps, wondering in amazement how so much music comes from just one man." Madison Courier Sept. 2005 ~ I did a gig with him at Jambalaya's back in 2003. Was kind of bummed when he showed up with and electric guitar and an amp he rigged up instead of his National Steel. He led off with a 45 minute solo set ... and it was the best set I've ever seen by anybody. That's the truth.
It's something to go into a "house of music" and that's what the Pennington's home is. I met Eddie in 2000 through and visited him in Kentucky twice in 2001. What a great family he has ... I really enjoy them. Three songs from Long Way to Memphis ... If I Find a Bell, The Colin Shuffle, and DeFord's Train ... were recorded at his house with his son Alonzo.
This guy is one heck of a picker and has been a great help to me. I bought the "Mystery Red Guitar" on a Thursday and then put it in his hands on a Saturday (April Fools Day 2000) and he made Long Way to Memphis, The Black and White, and The Miracle Stop really real. A great one to gig with too.
Alonzo Pennington is "drop your jaw" good ... which should say it all. He's the guy who took me to Memphis to play the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival ... which is a pretty big deal for a guy with a song called Long Way to Memphis. On that trip I got the photo of the Lorraine Motel which Michigan Mark and I turned into the cover of Long Way to Memphis. Thanks Zo.
Just say Mo' to Music ... what a great duo partner and character to hang out with. We started playing a few gigs in Michigan together in 2004 & 2005 and I just love playing his songs. He really get's it real and his song "Whatcha Gonna Do" is a classic to live by. When we doing it next, bud?
Founding and last member of The Greater South East Western Folk and Hippy and Roots and Blues and Singer and Songwriter and Rock and Roll and Oneness Appreciation Society for the Advancencement of Cornbread and Jugglers.
Jen Sygit writes 'em, sings 'em and plays real Blues & Twang. She has been occasionally spotted doing a gig with Harmonica Buzz ... so if you ever see a "Harmonica Buzz & Jen Sygit" date listed:
1: Put on some comfortable shoes
2: Wear your favorte shirt
3: Bring a friend. And if that isn't enough ... she digs Springsteen ... which raises the question "what more could a buzzard ask for?"
This guy I thought had the best, bad harmonica name ... but as it turns out it was his real last name and now he lives in the good company of people with just one name. That said ... I just love the way this guy writes songs, plays harmonica and incoporates the didgeridoo into his music. When I first heard him play he was really easy for me to listen to because he was so different from what I do. Now that I've been listening to him his music is really opening me up to some tricks I hadn't considered or didn't think I had. Harper's CD Way Down Deep Inside you should own ... just like you should own my CDs.
The more I got into Long Way to Memphis ... the more it became about DeFord Bailey to me. This site is the best and most complete DeFord Bailey site on the net. Created by Nashville Public Television in support of the video they produced on Bailey, it is extremely well put together and detailed featuring a Timeline on Bailey's life, a well chaptered Biography, DeFord's Music and many great photos.
Scroll on down to the 1975 recording of DeFord Bailey's Pan American Blues, Bailey's signature train song, shows what a song can sound like after a lifetime of work.
Here's Baileys biography by David C. Morton w/ Dr. Charles Wolfe. This book is out of print and could be tough to find, but check here because it is well worth finding.
The cover of Long Way to Memphis is an interpritation of the song DeFord's Train and feature's DeFord Bailey's name upon the marque of the Lorraine Motel. It was really important for me to put it there ... you can read about the artwork came to be here and what the cover might mean.
"The Field of Dreams of the Blues" where TC DeLisle answers the question "If you build it in the back of your garage they will come???" Turn off your TV and take the scenic route to "MUST SEE TC's" Home of the Blues!!!
This is a cool little diagram showing what harp you use to play blues harp. If you have an A harp, look to the right and see what you'd be playing cross harp in ... which would be the key of E.
Learn HTML code & tags interactively by example with the help of this free coding tutorial!
HTML: An Interactive Tutorial for Beginners - Dave's HTML Code Guide - Learn to code HTML with our free HTML help guide! Dave is a "Good Buzz" and is highly recommended.