I spent last week in St. Louis at the annual convention of SPAH--the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica, an organization that has been around since 1962. I started attending SPAH conventions in the 1990s, when I was working on my harmonica book. Until last week I hadn't been to SPAH convention in many years. I considered it almost every year, but other priorities always seemed to interfere.
Attending a SPAH convention is a unique experience, to say the least. Living for five days in a hotel filled with harmaniacs can seem at times like you're living in the world's largest aviary. This is an event at which people can talk passionately for hours about the best way to gap a harmonica reed, whether tongue blocking is a superior approach to puckering, or who recorded the first overblow.
It's also an event filled with hundreds of incredibly fine and supportive people and the most astonishing collection of harmonica talent you'll ever see or hear in one place. The convention includes tons of jamming, vendors displaying all the many advances to the instrument, and formal performances by the top players. The photo collage shows some of the musical highlights: a session featuring Will Scarlett, Cheryl Arena (who did the blues harp proud all week), Joe Filisko, Johnny Long, and Buzz Krantz; a predictably killer set by the legendary Charlie McCoy; Chris Bauer and PT Gazell showing brilliantly how the chromatic and diatonic harmonicas are both great jazz instruments; Rob Paprozzi wowing the convention with Howard Levy backing him on piano; Tom Stryker’s fabulous harmonica big band; and Howards Levy and Susan Sauter sending the attendees home with their jaw-dropping performance of Bartok, Bach, and Vivaldi. Richard Sleigh and James Conway also gave a remarkable show, as did Filip Jers.
I had a ball. The best thing about being a musician--by far--is the people you meet. It was SO much fun to hook up with so many old friends, including the amazing Joe Filisko, Buzz Krantz, Kirk Jelly Roll Johnson (who was awarded a no-brainer, well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday night), Winslow Yerxa, Richard Sleigh, Michael Rubin, Howard Levy, Rob Paparozzi, Peter “Madcat” Ruth, Kyle Rowland, and any others. I also finally got the chance to meet many new friends and harmonica heroes, including Brendan Power, PT Gazell, James Conway, Paul Messinger, Charlie Barath, and Deak Harp. And I saw the bright future of the instrument in the music of all the outstanding young players, some of whom are years away from voting age.
A special thanks to Tom Albanese and Ron Rosco Selly, even though they were at times corrupting influences (what really happened on Thursday night, anyway?), and everyone at SPAH for going above and beyond in making SPAH 2018 a great experience for yours truly.