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Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002 13:54:03 -0800 (PST)
From: Winslow Yerxa
Subject: RE: question re. 'oblowers'

John Gilmour asks:

>Could some kind soul tell me if Kim Wilson, Billy
>Branch, Charlie Musselwhite, Gary Primich, Paul
>Oscher, Paul Lamb or Rick Estrin OB and if their
>opinions are known on the matter.

Here is what I know from contact with some of the
above. A few days ago I wrote at length on Jerry
Portnoy in this regard.

Charlie Musselwhite seems overblow-friendly. Back when
he was promoting Hering harps, he mentioned to me that
the were easy to overblow. I've never heard him use
one, but I'm not up on his recent recorded work.

Kim Wilson once remarked to me that he felt like a bit
of a caveman relative to all this overblowing stuff.
It was just a remark in passing and didn't seem to
carry any emotional heat. He was curious enough about
the Discrete Comb to shell out for one, but I have no
idea what he did with it. I'm not aware of him using
extended techniques like overbends, and considering
what he's developed without them, I doubt he ever
will.

Paul Oscher told me that he recorded a hole 6 overblow
on a Muddy Waters record in about 1968 or '69; I don't
remember what tune. The few times I've heard him play,
he was all over multiple instruments in the course of
a single tune - piano, guitar, chromatic, several keys
and positions of diatonic, along with Tombo Contrabass
and melodica. But I didn't hear any overbends.

Rick Estrin seemed very interested by the extended
bending capabilities of the Discrete Comb - probably
after hearing the trick where I bend the Draw 4 down,
then back up higher than the regular draw note.
However, he also remarked to me that he wished BIC
made harmonicas (i.e. cheap and disposable but of
usable quality, like BIC's pens, razors and lighters).
That kind of attitude sort of militates against
ponying up for the custom-tweaked instruments required
for extended techniques.

I can't offer any comments on Branch, Lamb, or
Primich. I've sat in a couple of times with Gary, but
have never discussed extended techniques with him. My
hunch is that he's not into them - but that's just my
hunch.

Winslow

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