Tad Dreis

At the end of April 2013 I flew to Indianapolis for a multi-day event organized by Jason Ricci and Winslow Yerxa called “Harmonica Collective.”

It was a blast. After an opening night jam at a local blues bar, we had three days of classes on improv, theory, breathing, tongue blocking, amplification, mic technique, and how to tweak harmonicas for better playability.

At the end, we closed out back at the blues bar with a staff concert, during which I was called up to perform with two of my teachers, Paul Davies and James Conway.

Paul and I played an improvised waltz as a duo, then James brought out his bagpipe-tuned harp for a solo piece, and we finished with an uptempo trio take on the Harvest Home Hornpipe.

I’m still processing all the class material, one-to-one conversations, and jam experiences. It was nice to meet so many people with their own harmonica obsessions.

I came away from Harmonica Collective with a renewed focus on tongue blocking, especially corner switching for fiddle tunes with big leaps.

Also, I quickly realized that most of the players there had played a lot more blues jams than me. I spend a lot of time woodshedding fiddle tunes and taking melodies through all 12 positions. It might be time to take a step back and just groove in cross harp awhile.

Thanks to all the Expert Guides: Jason Ricci, Winslow Yerxa, Richard Sleigh, RJ Mischo, Michael Peloquin, James Conway, and Guest Stars Paul Davies and Buzz Krantz.

Also, special thanks to the Saigon Restaurant for their delicious noodle bowls and friendly home-style service. Three meals in four days! Next time, I may even order an avocado shake of my own instead of just sipping everybody else’s.

Thought I’d share this picture from a couple months ago. Leslie Vogel invited me and Richard Backes to join her in playing for the Yankee Publishing Christmas party at Del Rossi’s Trattoria, in Dublin, New Hampshire. It was fun and we got to sample the lunch spread on our breaks.

I’m a longtime fan of Del Rossi’s. When I was first scoping out the Monadnock region before moving up in 2011, I looked on TheSession.org for local Celtic jams and discovered that Del Rossi’s hosted one on Wednesdays. I attended their jam just about every week during that first year. I’ve been really busy with my teaching recently, so it’s hard to make it out to Dublin for the full jam, but I occasionally can get there early enough to play the last few songs on Wednesday nights.

Thanks to Lou Eastman for taking this photo!

Ava Marie
Saturday afternoon was bright and breezy in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Families arrived at Ava Marie Chocolates in a large wagon drawn by, I think, a tractor. Should have been a tractor, if it wasn’t.

We three Irish musicians sat on bales of hay and shed layers of coats and gloves and scarves as the sun warmed us up. Some of the sets we played were hot, too, but as tree shadows fell on us, our fingers still got cold.

There was a goat that talked to us in between tunes. We took a picture together after the gig. That’s Scott on tenor banjo, Richard on fiddle, and me on guitar. The goat’s horns were streaked with pink. When I asked about it, the owner’s young daughter told us she paints its horns and hooves periodically. I regret missing the full effect. I’d like to see that goat freshly made up.

J’s Tavern
The night before, I sang classic rock cover tunes at J’s Tavern under the bridge in downtown Milford, New Hampshire. The room reminded me of Poor Richard’s Sandwiches in Manteo, North Carolina.

Both are small rooms with low ceilings, located on the water. Poor Richards has nautical memorabilia, ropes, nets, tillers, lamps. I didn’t notice a theme like that at J’s, but they did tell me they have a snapping turtle that hangs out in back.

The snapping turtle hasn’t been seen recently, which worried Bill, who took my picture. Snapping turtles can live a really long time. Hopefully theirs didn’t freeze or pick a fight with a propellor.

What of the gig itself? I had lyrics printed up in a binder, and while it’s kind of tricky to read and play from a music stand, I think it was worth it to include a high percentage of new cover tunes that were 85% there, but needed a lyrical safety net.

Folks bought CDs at both gigs, which is always great, but I worried that the patrons at Ava Marie’s might have thought they were buying a CD of Irish traditional music. I eventually drew up a small sign to clarify.

To the Peterborough folks who bought my folk-pop singer-songwriter albums, I hope that the energy and musicianship displayed thereon were of a par with that of the Celtic trio they enjoyed at Peek Into Peterborough, even though the musical style differed. I sure didn’t mean to sucker anybody. Caveat emptor, and enjoy!

I was rained out of a solo gig at Humdingers two weeks ago, but on Saturday August 18, the weather held at cool and sunny for the debut of The Kids on the Mountain, my Irish traditional duo. Perin Ellsworth-Heller fiddled and I played guitar and harmonica, and together we delivered sets of Irish and New England fiddle tunes, plus a handful of vocal numbers.

I alternated between picking melodies and strumming, and also acted as musical tour guide to the minigolfers and ice cream families who joined us on the patio and who may or may not have had any idea what they’d signed up for. Judging from CDs sold and tips in the red bucket, plus several tables of dancing gnomes, we were a hit.

I’m returning to Humdingers for a non-Irish set on Friday Aug 24, and The Kids will be back at the same location on Friday Aug 31. Directions and venue info at the Shows page.

1. GREETINGS

Howdy! Hard to believe it’s August already. I only just packed up my winter clothes a few days ago. Hopefully I can store the snowsuit for a month or two. Last month, a friend asked me to join his oldies rock’n'roll band for the summer, so I’m alternating between electric guitar and drums with Sonic Tonic for a few shows. Hopefully we’ll get happy, exciting video of that soon. I know I look kinda glum in the picture at left, and while I’m not exactly a master drummer, I do have three beats that I can play reaaaally steady. In other band news, in July I sat in with the young contra dance band Trip to Nelson for a concert, and there’s Youtube proof here. On the solo front, I’m playing a few dates this month at Humdingers, a local minigolf / ice cream joint near the county jail. Next week, I’ll welcome a visit from hometown NC buddy Alex Wilkins, who’s on the road and playing a show with me in Keene. Irish traditional music gets its due with two upcoming duo gigs featuring me and a fiddler, which I’m billing as “The Kids On the Mountain.” What else? I’ve been learning new fiddle tunes (and forgetting old ones), transcribing songs for students, teaching in person and via Skype, making frequent trips to the NH coast, working on harmonicas and other little projects – making sauerkraut, building a video backdrop holder out of PVC. I hope you are having a great summer as well!

2. UPCOMING GIGS

Thu Aug 2 – HANCOCK, NH – Hancock Bandstand – w/Sonic Tonic – 7pm
Fri Aug 3 – BRATTLEBORO, VT – Gallery Walk at BMAC – 6pm
Thu Aug 9 – KEENE, NH – Fritz – w/ Alex Wilkins – 7:30pm
Fri Aug 10 – KEENE, NH – Humdingers – 5pm
Sat Aug 18 – KEENE, NH – Humdingers – 5pm (Irish duo)
Fri Aug 24 – KEENE, NH – Humdingers – 5pm
Fri Aug 31 – KEENE, NH – Humdingers – 5pm (Irish duo)

Maps and directions at the Shows page.

3. LESSON UPDATES

Free Jam Tracks – My uke, guitar, and harmonica students inspired me to create some audio tracks to help folks practice playing scales and jamming. So over a couple mornings, I recorded and posted MP3s of acoustic guitar accompaniment in various keys, which you can stream or download FREE to play along with. Go get em:

Jam Tracks for Guitar
Jam tracks for Harmonica
Jam tracks for Ukulele

Backdrop & Audio Experiments – in the past, I’ve taught Skype music lessons in front of white curtains, or a panoramic view of my music room bookshelves, complete with board games piled precariously ceiling-high. As mentioned earlier however, I recently put together a homemade PVC backdrop stand and have begun teaching online guitar, harmonica and ukulele lessons in front of a simple black background. You can imagine the amazing low-rent greenscreen opportunities this affords: “Look…I’m on a tropical island! Or in the middle of a Star Wars battle scene!” Seriously though, using a backdrop seems to simplify and focus the visual component of what we’re doing, and should help to separate foreground from background so students can see instrumental demonstrations better. As a side note, using jam tracks during Skype lessons seems promising as a way to allow online students to have a similar experience to playing with me live in person. I know I’m geeking out a little here, but I really do enjoy figuring this tech stuff out.

Alright, have a great month and keep in touch!