Hohner's Iconic Harmonica
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SUMMER 2013 EASY REEDING HOHNER’S MAGAZINE FOR THE HARMONICA ENTHUSIAST HOHNER’S ICONIC HARMONICA THE ULTIMATE ACCESSORY ITEM ARTIST SPOTLIGHT HOWARD LEVY IN THE STUDIO WITH CHARLIE MCCOY HOHNER TIMES 2005 - PRESENT Hohner Blues-n-Bones T-Shirt and Prints available at hohnershop.com. See back for details. HOHNER News CONTENTS NEWS HOHNER News 2 Artist Spotlight 3 Hohner Inc. Names Drew Lewis Product Manager Howard Levy Hohner an- worldwide as well as the respect of key Tech Notes 4 nounces the April retailers across the country. He will now Foreign Object Damage 1st promotion of bring his energy, experience, and expertise Drew Lewis to the to the all-important harmonica segment of Our CD Pick 4 critical position our business” commented Scott Emmer- Allegretto/Espinoza of Harmonica man, Director of Marketing & Sales. “We Product Manager. expect many more great things from Drew. In The Studio 4 Drew originally It’s been my pleasure to watch him develop with Charlie McCoy joined Hohner in and prosper over these last years with Hohner’s Iconic Harmonica 5-10 May of 2007 as Hohner,” he added. Drew Lewis The Ultimate Accessory Item an inside tele- An avid bass player, Drew attended the sales associate and was quickly promoted to University of North Texas Jazz program in Hohner on Tour 6 the Fretted Product Manager position where 2002 and is comfortable with many music he built Hohner’s acoustic guitar business HOHNER Times 10 -11 genres. With the announcement of his new 2005 to Present along with the Lanikai and Kohala ukulele position, Drew has recently jumped into and brands. embraced harmonica culture. He is work- “Drew’s strong contributions over the past ing with his German counterparts on new 5 years in making Lanikai the number one product development as well as new ideas ukulele brand in the world attracted the for product packaging and the next revision admiration of the Hohner organization of Hohner’s harmonica P.O.P’s. Picks Hohner Marine Band this is the classic harp for the blues, country, folk, and rock. Because it’s set up to play a single key, you can’t really hit a wrong note on the harmonica’s 10 holes and 20 reeds. Visit Getting started is as easy as breathing in and out.” Popular Mechanics is an American Popular Mechanics magazine has selected magazine, which was first published Hohner’s 1896 Marine Band harmonica for January, 11, 1902 by H.H. Windsor, and their “Gears and Gadgets Gift Guide for has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Christmas 2012. They described the Marine Stay Connected! Corporation. Band harp in the following manner; “Played by Sonny Terry, Little Walter, and Bob Dylan, facebook.com/HohnerMusic pinterest.com/HohnerMusic Hohner Donates Harmonicas To “Make Music Foundation” Events Hohner, Inc. is proud to support the Make 1982. Ever since, the festival has become youtube.com/HohnerUSA Music Foundation’s efforts to bring music an international phenomenon, celebrated to the masses by conducting harmonica on the same day in more than 460 cities in events in six major US Cities on June 21st. 110 countries. Amateur and professional twitter.com/PlayHohner The Make Music Foundation is running its musicians are encouraged to perform in events in conjunction with the Fête de la the streets and in many free concerts mak- gplus.to/PlayHohner Musique; also know as World Music Day. ing all genres of music accessible to the World Music Day first took place in Paris in continued on page 12 2 | EASY REEDING Howard Levy Harmonica School has afforded students of all levels the unique opportunity to receive personalized instruction directly from an undisputed master. Howard was already an accomplished musician when he took up the harmonica in his late teens. He describes being drawn to the instrument for a number of reasons, specifically citing the harp’s portability and unique timber. “When I was in high school, I was in a band and the drummer taught himself how to play the harmonica; he sounded really good. He played all these records for me – Paul Butterfield, James Cotton - and he learned how to imitate them. Playing the piano, you always had to go to the instrument and you couldn’t bend notes. I fell in love with the sound and whole idea of carrying an instrument in your pocket. It was a combination of all of those things. When I started playing the harmonica, my main motivation was to be able to play blues. As soon as I bent my first note, I felt like the instrument had changed me. I was able to express all of these things through the instrument that I had never been able to express before. People fall in love with instruments for these reasons, so it was just an emotional thing in the beginning.” Levy often looks beyond the instrument itself for artistic inspiration. “I learn from everything; applying ideas from other instruments to the harmonica is a really big thing for me. One side of it is spiritual- ity, and being inspired by great musicians who had a spiritual component to their Howard Levy playing…people like Bach or John Col- trane; those are probably my two favorite rammy Award winning multi- posed his “Concerto for Diatonic Har- musicians. Coltrane had a very spiritual Ginstrumentalist, composer, and monica & Orchestra”, the first concerto for component to his playing, as did Bach. I producer Howard Levy has reshaped the the ten-hole harmonica. Levy continues to also play for Jewish services and I’ve com- vocabulary of the diatonic harmonica. tour and perform internationally and is a posed music for Jewish worship services. A founding member of Béla Fleck and frequent guest on National Public Radio’s I’ve just put out a cd with Trio Globo and the Flecktones, Levy has also performed “A Prairie Home Companion.” a Jewish Cantor named Alberto Mizrahi or recorded with an astoundingly broad (“Matzah to Menorah”), which consists of range of artists, including Donald Fagen, In addition to maintaining active record- absolutely unique treatments of music for Rabih Abou-Khalil, and Dolly Parton, ing and performance schedules, Howard the holidays of Passover and Hanukkah. among many others. In 2000, Levy com- is also a gifted educator. Since 2009, the I don’t think anyone’s ever played any of continued on page 12 3 Tech Notes multi-harmonica briefcases to a single harp In The Studio pouch. Cases are a barrier for foreign ob- with Jelly Roll Johnson jects and the new soft pouch cases will of- ten fit comfortably in your pocket. You can By Paul Lusk also loop the pouch onto your belt, thus keeping it handy for impromptu playing with Charlie McCoy very day Hohner technicians perform sessions. When you are finished with your Ea variety of services, from warranty re- instrument, lightly tap out any condensa- pairs to complete refurbishment, to return- tion that may have accumulated during ing harmonicas to playing form. One com- playing so the moisture doesn’t dry and mon issue we encounter is Foreign Object interfere with reed function. If you find Damage or F.O.D. Borrowed from the avia- yourself with a stuck reed due to F.O.D. and tion industry, F.O.D. refers to an object get- can see the culprit, use tweezers to gently ting lodged in the small gap between the remove the offending item. Be careful to reed and the slot in the reed plate. Often avoid making contact with the reed itself. this is dried moisture residue from previous If you must touch the reed to remove the playing. It can also be from putting the har- item, use something non-metallic to open monica in a pant or shirt pocket where it the space like a wooden or plastic tooth can ingest pocket lint, small hairs or sand. pick. As always, you can send your harmon- Bigger F.O.D. can get wedged between the icas to be serviced by Hohner’s world-class cover plate and reed plate. Our Technicians technicians when necessary. Thanks for have found paper, coins and even guitar Playing Hohner!! picks lodged inside harmonicas rendering Cases are available from the Hohner them unplayable. So what does the player Service Department. Simply call us do? toll free at 800-446-6010, send an email y the time Charlie McCoy was in- Keep your harmonicas in a case. There are to [email protected], or visit the vited to participate in sessions for many cases available from Hohner, from B accessories section of www.hohnershop.com. “The Boxer”, Simon and Garfunkel’s landmark 1968 recording, the harmonica giant had also come to be associated with an impressive array of other instruments, including guitar, trumpet, keyboards, and Our CD Pick bass, among others. “They asked me if I Allegretto/Espinoza”, a collaboration of the connection with the blues that cow- had a bass harmonica that I could bring “between musicians Gary Allegretto and boy music has. He brought some songs to to the session”, he recalls. Ian Espinoza, is an acoustic tour-de-force. me that blew me away and I had a bunch Though best known for his mastery of the Consisting of primarily original cowboy mu- of songs that I’d written, so the project is diatonic harp, McCoy was able to accom- sic, the CD showcases Allegretto’s soaring primarily original material.” modate the request, despite the unique harmonica, Espinoza’s Fans of Allegretto’s elec- technical demands of the bass harmoni- masterful guitar work, tric blues albums will ca.