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Date: Fri, 12 Apr 2002 13:53:42
From: "Jimbeau Harp"
Subject: Re: Guangzhou (Canton) harp scene request

>From: scott gold
>
>short notice here -- i just found out that i will be
>going to Guangzhou (Canton) Sun/Mon nights.
>
>any harp-related advice will be greatly appreciated.
>

Hi sg,

I've been to Guangzhou three times since 1989. The city has undergone quite
a few changes in that time.

I'm not sure what you're looking for, but there are not a lot of blues clubs
in China. The only one I ever saw was in Beijing. I also found a club in
Souzhou where a 4-piece combo was playing jazz.

Last year I was in Guangzhou and checked out a music store. Mostly Fender
and Japanese made guitars and Casio type keyboards. They may have had some
harmonicas there, but frankly I didn't look around there all that much for
them.

There is a Hard Rock Cafe in Guangzhou, which of course means the end of
Chinese civilization is in sight. ;-)

On my last trip I brought my 11 year old nephew who lives there a Hohner
270. My wife's maiden name is Huang, which is very common in China. She and
none of her family have never heard of Cham-ber Huang. They also didn't have
a lot of experience with hearing harmonica. I didn't get the impression that
harmonica is as common an instrument as it is in the US or Europe.

If you want flashy disco-type places, Guangzhou is littered with them. The
Western-style pop music machine from Hong Kong just churns out endless
copies of superficial Chinese equivalents of Britney Spears (although they
seem less overtly sexual; more on the cute side). This music just floods
Guangzhou.

If you want places that feature blues or jazz, that's going to be tougher to
find.

To be honest, I didn't look too hard for these types of clubs in China. Each
time I was in China with my wife to visit her family. English is not
commonly spoken or understood by most people in China, other than terms like
"Hello" and "Change money", so I wasn't going to venture out in Guangzhou at
night by myself (I don't speak much Cantonese). Since my wife doesn't
particularly like blues or jazz, I didn't want to drag her to smoky clubs
where she wouldn't have a good time.

Finally, you should be aware that Guangzhou has a pretty bad street crime
problem right now. You do need to be careful.

Let me know if you do find any interesting clubs there.

Have a great trip.

Jimbeau

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