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Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Adam Gussow interview

November 12, 2022 Neil Warren Season 1 Episode 73
Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast
Adam Gussow interview
Chapters
Chapters
1:30
I first heard Adam playing on on his 3rd Satan & Adam album in an Oxford Street bookshop in London, in the mid 1990s
2:08
Adam was raised in and around New York
2:32
Not many people on the podcast have been from New York: and the blues scene there
4:22
Blues scene in New York is more modern than Chicago and other areas of the US
5:00
Blues scene in New York is not as vibrant as it was
5:17
Adam now lives in Mississippi where he is a professor of English and Southern Studies at the university there and has written several books on blues, harmonica and black culture
5:48
Still an active musician down in Mississippi
5:55
Studied at Princeton and Colombia universities
6:04
Played guitar in a high school jazz funk fusion band
6:32
Went to Berklee music school for a short stint
7:11
Returned to Princeton and wrote a dissertation on blues music and southern violence
7:51
Willie Dixon and BB King witnessed violence in the south that heavily influenced their blues music
9:34
Adam started playing harmonica age 16
9:59
Whammer Jammer was the first track that inspired Adam to take up harmonica
10:58
Was also learning guitar at the same time and connecting the blues scale and the pitches between the notes that really make the blues
11:57
Adam was a self-taught harmonica and guitar player, discovering Nat Riddles as his mentor when he was a little older
12:33
Summer school at Berkeley School of Music where he learnt some jazz theory
12:57
Stopped playing music for a little while after graduating from college before going to a blues jam in New York age 25
14:02
Saw James Cotton opening for the J Geils Band, BB King and Muddy Waters in New York
14:44
Adam was part of the famous blues duo: Satan & Adam, and how he discovered Sterling Magee, aka Mr Satan, in October 1986
15:44
Adam didn’t know who Sterling Magee was, e.g. that he had played with James Brown and George Benson
16:17
The duo made an impact on the streets of Harlem when busking, with the groove the thing
16:57
Took a while for Adam to find his place in the duo with Sterling
17:36
Busked for four years initially with Sterling, earning other money from teaching harmonica
18:02
They weren’t called Satan and Adam until first demo came out
18:16
In 1987 The duo were filmed by the rock band U2, briefly appearing in a film and album (Rattle and Hum) from the band
20:30
Made first album together in 1991: Harlem Blues, after signing with a high-profile music manager
22:00
The album was well received and had a lot of air play on the radio and a WC Handy Award nomination for Best Trad Blues Album
22:22
They received some publicity and started to playing in clubs and touring, instead of busking
23:16
Touring around US and some internationally
23:50
Satan and Adam documentary
23:56
The duo dis-banded in 1998 when Sterling became ill, and re-formed later to release another album and Adam released some recordings of them busking in the late 1980s
25:12
Adam’s memoirs of that time: Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir
25:52
After Satan and Adam, released a solo record Kick and Stomp: playing solo harmonica, vocal and a kick drum
27:11
Tracked down a better quality kick drum from Pete Farmer, who created what is now the Seydel Gecko harmonica rack
27:33
Adam started his solo project at the same age Sterling was when he first met him
29:14
The album received air play on a national radio show: the first solo harmonica to be aired on there
29:59
Southbound album, released in 2011, with Adam adding guitar and a few musicians
30:23
2012: formed a duo with another university professor: The Blues Doctors
30:37
Now joined by the nephew of Sterling Magee: to form Sir Rod and The Blues Doctors
31:48
Latest album from Sir Rod and The Blues Doctors is Keep It In The Family
33:33
Adam’s YouTube channel, starting 2007, was the first of harmonica tutorial channel on that platform
35:11
Has two YouTube channels now, which have had millions of views, but first channel wasn’t monetised
36:12
Modern Blues Harmonica website accompanied the first YouTube channel
36:40
Created second channel in order to be able to monetise
37:19
Records lots of the videos in his car
37:39
Son plays several instruments, except harmonica
38:15
Modern Blues Harmonica website contains lots of information
38:35
Has written six books around blues and harmonica
39:37
Subject of latest book: Whose Blues: Facing Up To Race and the Future of Music
40:30
Blues is a worldwide phenomena now, partly from US and British military bases
41:35
BB King also helped spread the blues around the world
42:06
Blues has Senegalese roots
43:45
Adam has been involved in numerous harmonica teaching camps
44:09
Has played at different festivals around the world
44:25
Hoping to tour to Germany in 2023
44:52
10 minute question: practise blues scale and licks through middle and upper harp
46:50
Uses some custom harmonicas from Joe Spiers but mainly plays stock Marine Bands
47:48
Singing
48:06
Has played some chromatic, but not really now
48:53
What is ‘modern blues harmonica’ partly involves not just playing all the classic Chicago blues songs
51:15
Is a Hohner endorsee and plays mainly standard Marine Bands
52:13
Overblows: had one lesson with William Galison, who Adam also took over the Big River show harmonica part from too
52:28
Adam is part of the popularity of this technique, along with Mike Turk, Carlos del Junco and Jason Ricci
53:55
Embouchre: puckers and tongue blocks
54:35
Often uses two amplifiers at the same time
56:05
Uses a clean vocal mic, and not a bullet mic
56:44
Uses a delay pedal as main effect, sometimes reverb, and delay settings
57:34
Future plans include teaching a blues literature class (including some harmonica) in Parchment Farm penitentiary, the famous prison in Mississippi
Info
Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast
Adam Gussow interview
Nov 12, 2022 Season 1 Episode 73
Neil Warren

Adam Gussow joins me on episode 73.

Adam is a native New Yorker now living in Mississippi, working as a professor at the university there.
Adam rose to stardom as part of the blues duo Satan and Adam in the late 1980s. They found their audience on the streets of Harlem, where they were briefly filmed and appeared in a U2 documentary and album. Satan & Adam enjoyed great success, playing together for 15 years, releasing three albums before disbanding in 1998, re-forming some years later and releasing another album.
With the passing of Mr Satan, Adam formed his own one-man band, then a duo which has recently added Mr Satan’s nephew: Sir Rod & The Blues Doctors.
Adam was the first person to release blues tuition videos on YouTube and has had over 20 million hits, accompanied by his website Modern Blues Harmonica.


Links:
Adam’s website:
https://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/home.html

Satan & Adam documentary:
http://satanandadamfilm.com/

Pete Farmer kick drums and harmonica holders:
https://www.footdrums.com/


Videos:

U2's Rattle and Hum clip of Satan and Adam:
https://youtu.be/x6M2aWVx0LA

Ronnie Shellist ‘Funky Blues Harmonica’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs_OchfmBc8

Gussow's classic blues harmonica videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYHJbTZklgZU1bEVLaZyvQ

Modern Blues Harmonica YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kudzurunner

YouTube video teaching Sunshine of Your Love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqFnpCcvUvQ

Adam busking solo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-E3qQ59VcQ

Crossroads video:
https://youtu.be/KeMis-B7f58

Sir Rod and the Blues Doctors: What’d I Say:
https://youtu.be/retCfgoCO3M


Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
and Blows Me Away Productions: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/

Support the show

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Show Notes Chapter Markers

Adam Gussow joins me on episode 73.

Adam is a native New Yorker now living in Mississippi, working as a professor at the university there.
Adam rose to stardom as part of the blues duo Satan and Adam in the late 1980s. They found their audience on the streets of Harlem, where they were briefly filmed and appeared in a U2 documentary and album. Satan & Adam enjoyed great success, playing together for 15 years, releasing three albums before disbanding in 1998, re-forming some years later and releasing another album.
With the passing of Mr Satan, Adam formed his own one-man band, then a duo which has recently added Mr Satan’s nephew: Sir Rod & The Blues Doctors.
Adam was the first person to release blues tuition videos on YouTube and has had over 20 million hits, accompanied by his website Modern Blues Harmonica.


Links:
Adam’s website:
https://www.modernbluesharmonica.com/home.html

Satan & Adam documentary:
http://satanandadamfilm.com/

Pete Farmer kick drums and harmonica holders:
https://www.footdrums.com/


Videos:

U2's Rattle and Hum clip of Satan and Adam:
https://youtu.be/x6M2aWVx0LA

Ronnie Shellist ‘Funky Blues Harmonica’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hs_OchfmBc8

Gussow's classic blues harmonica videos:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfYHJbTZklgZU1bEVLaZyvQ

Modern Blues Harmonica YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/kudzurunner

YouTube video teaching Sunshine of Your Love:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqFnpCcvUvQ

Adam busking solo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-E3qQ59VcQ

Crossroads video:
https://youtu.be/KeMis-B7f58

Sir Rod and the Blues Doctors: What’d I Say:
https://youtu.be/retCfgoCO3M


Podcast website:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com

Donations:
If you want to make a voluntary donation to help support the running costs of the podcast then please use this link (or visit the podcast website link above):
https://paypal.me/harmonicahappyhour?locale.x=en_GB

Spotify Playlist:
Also check out the Spotify Playlist, which contains most of the songs discussed in the podcast:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5QC6RF2VTfs4iPuasJBqwT?si=M-j3IkiISeefhR7ybm9qIQ

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com  or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
and Blows Me Away Productions: http://www.blowsmeaway.com/

Support the show

1:30
I first heard Adam playing on on his 3rd Satan & Adam album in an Oxford Street bookshop in London, in the mid 1990s
2:08
Adam was raised in and around New York
2:32
Not many people on the podcast have been from New York: and the blues scene there
4:22
Blues scene in New York is more modern than Chicago and other areas of the US
5:00
Blues scene in New York is not as vibrant as it was
5:17
Adam now lives in Mississippi where he is a professor of English and Southern Studies at the university there and has written several books on blues, harmonica and black culture
5:48
Still an active musician down in Mississippi
5:55
Studied at Princeton and Colombia universities
6:04
Played guitar in a high school jazz funk fusion band
6:32
Went to Berklee music school for a short stint
7:11
Returned to Princeton and wrote a dissertation on blues music and southern violence
7:51
Willie Dixon and BB King witnessed violence in the south that heavily influenced their blues music
9:34
Adam started playing harmonica age 16
9:59
Whammer Jammer was the first track that inspired Adam to take up harmonica
10:58
Was also learning guitar at the same time and connecting the blues scale and the pitches between the notes that really make the blues
11:57
Adam was a self-taught harmonica and guitar player, discovering Nat Riddles as his mentor when he was a little older
12:33
Summer school at Berkeley School of Music where he learnt some jazz theory
12:57
Stopped playing music for a little while after graduating from college before going to a blues jam in New York age 25
14:02
Saw James Cotton opening for the J Geils Band, BB King and Muddy Waters in New York
14:44
Adam was part of the famous blues duo: Satan & Adam, and how he discovered Sterling Magee, aka Mr Satan, in October 1986
15:44
Adam didn’t know who Sterling Magee was, e.g. that he had played with James Brown and George Benson
16:17
The duo made an impact on the streets of Harlem when busking, with the groove the thing
16:57
Took a while for Adam to find his place in the duo with Sterling
17:36
Busked for four years initially with Sterling, earning other money from teaching harmonica
18:02
They weren’t called Satan and Adam until first demo came out
18:16
In 1987 The duo were filmed by the rock band U2, briefly appearing in a film and album (Rattle and Hum) from the band
20:30
Made first album together in 1991: Harlem Blues, after signing with a high-profile music manager
22:00
The album was well received and had a lot of air play on the radio and a WC Handy Award nomination for Best Trad Blues Album
22:22
They received some publicity and started to playing in clubs and touring, instead of busking
23:16
Touring around US and some internationally
23:50
Satan and Adam documentary
23:56
The duo dis-banded in 1998 when Sterling became ill, and re-formed later to release another album and Adam released some recordings of them busking in the late 1980s
25:12
Adam’s memoirs of that time: Mister Satan's Apprentice: A Blues Memoir
25:52
After Satan and Adam, released a solo record Kick and Stomp: playing solo harmonica, vocal and a kick drum
27:11
Tracked down a better quality kick drum from Pete Farmer, who created what is now the Seydel Gecko harmonica rack
27:33
Adam started his solo project at the same age Sterling was when he first met him
29:14
The album received air play on a national radio show: the first solo harmonica to be aired on there
29:59
Southbound album, released in 2011, with Adam adding guitar and a few musicians
30:23
2012: formed a duo with another university professor: The Blues Doctors
30:37
Now joined by the nephew of Sterling Magee: to form Sir Rod and The Blues Doctors
31:48
Latest album from Sir Rod and The Blues Doctors is Keep It In The Family
33:33
Adam’s YouTube channel, starting 2007, was the first of harmonica tutorial channel on that platform
35:11
Has two YouTube channels now, which have had millions of views, but first channel wasn’t monetised
36:12
Modern Blues Harmonica website accompanied the first YouTube channel
36:40
Created second channel in order to be able to monetise
37:19
Records lots of the videos in his car
37:39
Son plays several instruments, except harmonica
38:15
Modern Blues Harmonica website contains lots of information
38:35
Has written six books around blues and harmonica
39:37
Subject of latest book: Whose Blues: Facing Up To Race and the Future of Music
40:30
Blues is a worldwide phenomena now, partly from US and British military bases
41:35
BB King also helped spread the blues around the world
42:06
Blues has Senegalese roots
43:45
Adam has been involved in numerous harmonica teaching camps
44:09
Has played at different festivals around the world
44:25
Hoping to tour to Germany in 2023
44:52
10 minute question: practise blues scale and licks through middle and upper harp
46:50
Uses some custom harmonicas from Joe Spiers but mainly plays stock Marine Bands
47:48
Singing
48:06
Has played some chromatic, but not really now
48:53
What is ‘modern blues harmonica’ partly involves not just playing all the classic Chicago blues songs
51:15
Is a Hohner endorsee and plays mainly standard Marine Bands
52:13
Overblows: had one lesson with William Galison, who Adam also took over the Big River show harmonica part from too
52:28
Adam is part of the popularity of this technique, along with Mike Turk, Carlos del Junco and Jason Ricci
53:55
Embouchre: puckers and tongue blocks
54:35
Often uses two amplifiers at the same time
56:05
Uses a clean vocal mic, and not a bullet mic
56:44
Uses a delay pedal as main effect, sometimes reverb, and delay settings
57:34
Future plans include teaching a blues literature class (including some harmonica) in Parchment Farm penitentiary, the famous prison in Mississippi