Erin Harpe & the Delta Swingers http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:00:00 GMT http://bandzoogle.com Erin, James Montgomery, and Doug Bell at the Onset Blues Festival, 8/6/11! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1168524 ]]> Mon, 08 Aug 2011 03:00:00 GMT 7606CE37BFD95F854FBB3EC3F1FB03E5 Red photo shoot by Greg Shea! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1152423 We did this photo shoot right after our set at ArtBeat (the theme was Red, can you tell?) Which ones do you like? Comments please!!
We did this photo shoot right after our set at ArtBeat (the theme was Red, can you tell?) Which ones do you like? Comments please!!]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:40:38 GMT 32EF107EA2636415FD0E2F661D63160A ArtBeat photos! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1152422 ]]> Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:38:15 GMT 33515173FC0EC6238D5D24E3FAC049F4 Pics have come in from the NY State Blues Fest! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1111214 ]]> Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:19:22 GMT 2EF1BEAE42202223168D06FB639A8846 Syracuse New Times review of our NY State Blues Fest set! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1103099 &nbsp;&quot;Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers opened Saturday&rsquo;s festivities with their charming, old-timey, swinging blues. Harpe displayed a cute contradiction with a Gibson Les Paul devil-horned guitar hanging around her dainty little body in an off-the-shoulder sheer black dress cinched with a tight black belt around her waist, black fishnets, short heels and a flower headband. She sweetly told the audience how much she loved them and sang her songs with equal sincerity.&quot; <a href="http://www.syracusenewtimes.com/newyork/article-5107-blues-fest-2011.html">Read the whole review!

Read the whole review!]]> Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:15:00 GMT 4C93C68351B7F5FD596E0960FB9328D1 New York State Rhythm & Blues Festival video! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1101747 Here's a video from our performance last weekend at the New York State Rhythm &amp; Blues Festival in Syracuse NY. Featuring Erin Harpe guitar/vocals, Jim Countryman bass, Bob Nisi drums/vocals, and special guest Cliff Spencer organ! Video by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/jack.o.bocchino">Jack O Bocchino.

Here's a video from our performance last weekend at the New York State Rhythm & Blues Festival in Syracuse NY. Featuring Erin Harpe guitar/vocals, Jim Countryman bass, Bob Nisi drums/vocals, and special guest Cliff Spencer organ! Video by Jack O Bocchino.]]> Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:50:13 GMT DBCD74AA1DC2A8C53F2878319FE03E83 The real king of Delta blues-Tommy Johnson http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1068453 Here's a great article I found about my all-time favorite guitar player and blues musician, Tommy Johnson, and how the Robert Johnson myth at the crossroads may in fact have been taken from Tommy Johnson's life. From <a href="http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=7109&amp;current_edition=2010-02-24">Frost Illustrated (click here for original article). &ldquo;He said the reason he knowed so much, said he sold hisself to the devil. I asked him how. He said, &lsquo;If you want to learn how to play anything you want to play and learn how to make songs yourself, you take your guitar and you go to where a road crosses that way, where a crossroad is. Get there, be sure to get there just a little &rsquo;for twelve o&rsquo;clock that night so you&rsquo;ll know you&rsquo;ll be there. You have your guitar and be playing a piece sitting there by yourself. You have to go by yourself and be sitting there playing a piece. A big black man will walk up there and take your guitar, and he&rsquo;ll tune it. And then he&rsquo;ll play a piece and hand it back to you. That&rsquo;s the way I learned how to play anything I want.&rsquo; And he could. He used to play anything, don&rsquo;t care what it was. Church song. You could sing any kind of tangled up song you want to, and I&rsquo;ll bet you he would play it.&rdquo;&mdash;the Rev. LeDell Johnson By Strings CRYSTAL SPRINGS, Miss.&mdash; So, you think you know your blues lore back and forth and heard the above story a thousand times. And, you&rsquo;ve seen the Coen brothers film &ldquo;O Brother, Where Art Thou?&rdquo; featuring Chris Thomas King as a wandering blues musician named Tommy Johnson who recites that same story. Of course, you can&rsquo;t help but guess this famous tale of a blues guitarist selling his soul to the devil is about the legendary Robert Johnson, belatedly called the &ldquo;King of the Delta Blues.&rdquo; Well, if you guessed all that, you&rsquo;d be wrong. In fact, the above quote, taken from a brilliant and telling book by David Evans, is the Rev. LeDell Johnson talking about his brother Tommy Johnson. And, the character in &ldquo;O Brother, Where Art Thou?&rdquo; really is modeled after Tommy Johnson&mdash;not Robert. In what many blues aficionados a huge miscarriage of historical injustice, the powers-that-be in the country&rsquo;s early recording industry appropriated Tommy Johnson&rsquo;s legacy and used it to market Robert Johnson for a number of reasons. But, people in the know, such as acclaimed blues musician Bonnie Raitt and members of the &rsquo;60s boogie band Canned Heat, know the truth. Fortunately, a dedicated group of folks, including relatives of Tommy Johnson have made a concerted effort to set the record straight and tell others the truth. Just a few facts: First, Tommy Johnson, born in around 1896 in Terry, Miss., was definitely a forerunner of the other Johnson the history books seem to mention more. Tommy Johnson had finished his formal recording career nearly a decade before Robert stepped in front of microphone. Tommy Johnson made a series of beautiful and influential recordings for the Victor and Paramount labels from 1928 to 1929. One of the Victor recordings was &ldquo;Canned Heat Blues,&rdquo; the said tale of the joys and dangers of drinking sterno, a staple of the poor during prohibition. And, yes, that&rsquo;s where the band got the name. By comparison, the other Johnson didn&rsquo;t record until 1936. (Tommy Johnson&rsquo;s complete &ldquo;official&rdquo; recordings are available as &ldquo;Tommy Johnson: Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order 1928-1929,&rdquo; Document Records DOCD-5001.) Second, even a cursory listen will tell you that Tommy Johnson had perfected the haunting vocal style of mixing straight vocals with strategically placed wailing falsetto to produce a spine-tingling, emotional effect on listeners&mdash;again, long before the other Johnson thought about recording, although the latter often is cited for that innovation to the style. Third, according to family sources and other musicians who survived late into the 20th century, Tommy Johnson was part of a group of musicians who worked together and exchanged ideas. That group included Charlie Patton and Willie Brown&mdash;two men considered to be prototypes and mentors of Robert Johnson. Again, Tommy Johnson was there long before. In fact, it&rsquo;s more likely that he honed his skills playing with those two legends rather than having got them through some supernatural means. Tommy had met the men after running away from home and spending two years away in places such as Rolling Fork, Miss., and Boyle, Miss., before returning to Crystal Springs, Miss., where the family was living in 1914. LeDell said Tommy taught him the style of music he had learned while away and eventually introduced him to Patton and Brown. It was then that he recognized his brother had learned a lot of his music from then as well as having developed an individual style of his own, which included some smooth, innovative guitar playing, with hints of early jazz, that many consider more sophisticated than his more famous antecedent. Four, a reading of Evan&rsquo;s well-researched book, which consists primarily of first hand accounts from family members, including brothers LeDell and Mager (pronounced &ldquo;Major&rdquo;) Johnson, who both were incredibly fine players, and numerous musicians Tommy taught give credence to Evans&rsquo; assertion that: &ldquo;For about thirty years Tommy Johnson was perhaps the most important and influential blues singer in the state of Mississippi. He was one of the few black musician to whom the epithet &lsquo;legendary&rsquo; rightfully applies.&hellip;&rdquo; Famed rock and blues musician the late Cub Koda of Brownsville Station and who later replaced the great Hound Dog Taylor in the seminal House Rockers, writing for All Music Guide put it this way: &ldquo;Next to Son House and Charley Patton, no one was more important to the development of pre-Robert Johnson Delta blues than Tommy Johnson.&hellip;.&rdquo; So, why is it in this day and age that so much credit for Tommy Johnson&rsquo;s work has been given to others? Johnson&rsquo;s niece, Vera Johnson Collins, has a number of ideas. According to Collins, daughter of Tommy&rsquo;s brother Mager, money and politics had a lot to do with what happened to her uncle&rsquo;s legacy. &ldquo;I think what happened with Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson, is they got little pieces of the story and they didn&rsquo;t read that much about Tommy Johnson,&rdquo; said Collins. Tommy&rsquo;s story about selling his soul to the devil and the truth of his traveling made a good story for marketing purposes. But, even though he officially stopped recording in 1929, Tommy, who didn&rsquo;t die until 1956, was still around, along with his relatives, where as Robert Johnson, who died in 1938, just two years after his recording debut, appeared to have no heirs (though one son Claude did surface later) and it was easier for record companies to push his music and exploit him after his death, explained Collins. And, she said, they used her Uncle Tommy&rsquo;s accomplishments and stories to market Robert Johnson&rsquo;s music. &ldquo;They took Tommy&rsquo;s story and knew that they could take that story and make Robert huge and they ran with it,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;And they had to keep on telling that lie because they had no one else to challenge them.&rdquo; Fortunately, Tommy Johnson, had hundreds of family members and friends in Mississippi, who knew the truth, among them, Collins&rsquo; dad Mager, who by all accounts was just as good, and maybe in some ways a stronger musician than his brother Tommy. She said her dad and her uncles LeDell and Clarence were all family men, so they weren&rsquo;t able to travel and roam like her Uncle Tommy to find work and fame as a full-time musician. &ldquo;My dad &lsquo;n&rsquo; them was bad. They were so bad they were registered in the war (World War II) and white folks wouldn&rsquo;t let them go because that was their entertainment. If that had gone to the Army and played those guitars, they would have been famous all over the world,&rdquo; said Collins. In fact, said Collins, the whole family was imbued with remarkable musical talent. Of the 13 children born to Idell and Mary Ella Johnson, sons Tommy, Mager, LeDell, Clarence and George and daughters Idella, Pearlie and Viola all played some. And, the family had a long musical pedigree. They were related to the famous bluesman Lonnie Johnson on their dad&rsquo;s side, but also to the famed Wilson family on their mother&rsquo;s side, which boasted 16 children, nearly all, except Mary Ella herself played. Collins said those skills really went back to Africa. &ldquo;Grandaddy was a black French African off the northern coast of Africa. Grandma was a white African, Caucasian,&rdquo; said Collins. &ldquo;If you listen to Uncle Tommy&rsquo;s music, you can hear it in the playing. You can hear it in the singing. You don&rsquo;t know anybody who could go from that howl to a low baritone. That comes from across the sea. My daddy could sing like that.&rdquo; In 2005, Collins started the nonprofit Tommy Johnson Blues Foundation in Crystal Springs to ensure that her uncle&rsquo;s legacy is not lost and that his story is spread throughout the world so that history can be corrected. The foundation already has undertaken a number of projects including organizing an annual blues festival in Tommy&rsquo;s honor and conducting a successful campaign to have his gravesite at a nearby church cemetery declared a historically significant site by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. In October of 2001 a headstone was provided for Tommy Johnson&rsquo;s grave by the Mount Zion Memorial Fund, thanks in part to contributions from musicians like Bonnie Raitt, a non-profit group that helps to restore the gravesites of Mississippi musicians. Unfortunately, a controversy over road access to the cemetery has prevented the Tommy Johnson Blues Foundation from placing the marker at the grave. The gravestone is kept at the Crystal Springs Public Library until access to the cemetery is reopened. Collins likened the problem to the general problem of getting Tommy Johnson&rsquo;s legacy restored to its rightful place. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of politicking in it, just like what they&rsquo;ve done with the cemetery issue. It shouldn&rsquo;t be taking ten years to get the marker at the grave,&rdquo; said Collins. Meanwhile, she said she&rsquo;s determined to spread the word about Tommy Johnson&rsquo;s impact on the music world. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of people that do know but he hasn&rsquo;t gotten is due. He should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.&hellip; he should have gotten a Grammy because if it wasn&rsquo;t&rsquo; for him there wouldn&rsquo;t be any blues. He hasn&rsquo;t gotten his due when it comes to our traditional country blues and blues as a whole,&rdquo; said Collins. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s like they wanted to keep Tommy Johnson hid because they didn&rsquo;t want him exposed because he&rsquo;s been dead over 50 years. &ldquo;These people have tried to steal everything that my uncle had. They came to Crystal Springs and recorded Howlin&rsquo; Wolf&mdash;Chester Burnett. But that sound that he got, they got from Uncle Tommy. My daddy said that sound that they got on that record, they got from Uncle Tommy. I went to the West Point [Mississippi] Howlin&rsquo; Wolf Museum and talked to the man there. He said, &lsquo;Everybody knows your Uncle Tommy was a great influence on Chester Burnett.&rsquo;&rdquo; Collins said others, such as John Lee Hooker, Bessie Smith, Little Milton, and Memphis Minnie were exposed to her uncle&rsquo;s music early on. &ldquo;All those people used to be in Crystal Springs,&rdquo; she said. As for the character that models his life in &ldquo;O Brother, Where Art Thou?&rdquo; Collins said she was happy to see that&mdash;especially since the producers acknowledge that it is Tommy Johnson, not the other Johnson, who served as the character&rsquo;s model. &ldquo;I was delighted in that, because that let me know that some people are reading and some people are aware and that movie brought that out,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Chris Thomas King did a wonderful job acting as Tommy Johnson. They couldn&rsquo;t&rsquo; have picked a better person. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m thinking about how he was at the crossroads and I&rsquo;m thinking about how my dad said he almost got lynched by the KKK and I said, &lsquo;Dang they must have done some research.&rsquo;&rdquo; For more information about Tommy Johnson, try to find a copy of David Evans&rsquo; excellent book &ldquo;Tommy Johnson,&rdquo; pick up the Document Records recordings and visit The Tommy Johnson Blues Foundations&rsquo; website at www.tommyjohnsonblues.com. Or call (601) 685-4751 or (601) 212-6088. This is part of the February 24, 2010 online edition of <a href="http://www.frostillustrated.com/full.php?sid=7109&amp;current_edition=2010-02-24">Frost Illustrated. Here's a great article I found about my all-time favorite guitar player and blues musician, Tommy Johnson, and how the Robert Johnson myth at the crossroads may in fact have been taken from Tommy Johnson's life. From Frost Illustrated (click here for original article).

“He said the reason he knowed so much, said he sold hisself to the devil. I asked him how. He said, ‘If you want to learn how to play anything you want to play and learn how to make songs yourself, you take your guitar and you go to where a road crosses that way, where a crossroad is. Get there, be sure to get there just a little ’for twelve o’clock that night so you’ll know you’ll be there. You have your guitar and be playing a piece sitting there by yourself. You have to go by yourself and be sitting there playing a piece. A big black man will walk up there and take your guitar, and he’ll tune it. And then he’ll play a piece and hand it back to you. That’s the way I learned how to play anything I want.’ And he could. He used to play anything, don’t care what it was. Church song. You could sing any kind of tangled up song you want to, and I’ll bet you he would play it.”—the Rev. LeDell Johnson

By Strings

CRYSTAL SPRINGS, Miss.— So, you think you know your blues lore back and forth and heard the above story a thousand times. And, you’ve seen the Coen brothers film “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” featuring Chris Thomas King as a wandering blues musician named Tommy Johnson who recites that same story. Of course, you can’t help but guess this famous tale of a blues guitarist selling his soul to the devil is about the legendary Robert Johnson, belatedly called the “King of the Delta Blues.” Well, if you guessed all that, you’d be wrong.

In fact, the above quote, taken from a brilliant and telling book by David Evans, is the Rev. LeDell Johnson talking about his brother Tommy Johnson. And, the character in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” really is modeled after Tommy Johnson—not Robert. In what many blues aficionados a huge miscarriage of historical injustice, the powers-that-be in the country’s early recording industry appropriated Tommy Johnson’s legacy and used it to market Robert Johnson for a number of reasons. But, people in the know, such as acclaimed blues musician Bonnie Raitt and members of the ’60s boogie band Canned Heat, know the truth. Fortunately, a dedicated group of folks, including relatives of Tommy Johnson have made a concerted effort to set the record straight and tell others the truth.

Just a few facts:

First, Tommy Johnson, born in around 1896 in Terry, Miss., was definitely a forerunner of the other Johnson the history books seem to mention more. Tommy Johnson had finished his formal recording career nearly a decade before Robert stepped in front of microphone. Tommy Johnson made a series of beautiful and influential recordings for the Victor and Paramount labels from 1928 to 1929. One of the Victor recordings was “Canned Heat Blues,” the said tale of the joys and dangers of drinking sterno, a staple of the poor during prohibition. And, yes, that’s where the band got the name. By comparison, the other Johnson didn’t record until 1936. (Tommy Johnson’s complete “official” recordings are available as “Tommy Johnson: Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order 1928-1929,” Document Records DOCD-5001.)

Second, even a cursory listen will tell you that Tommy Johnson had perfected the haunting vocal style of mixing straight vocals with strategically placed wailing falsetto to produce a spine-tingling, emotional effect on listeners—again, long before the other Johnson thought about recording, although the latter often is cited for that innovation to the style.

Third, according to family sources and other musicians who survived late into the 20th century, Tommy Johnson was part of a group of musicians who worked together and exchanged ideas. That group included Charlie Patton and Willie Brown—two men considered to be prototypes and mentors of Robert Johnson. Again, Tommy Johnson was there long before. In fact, it’s more likely that he honed his skills playing with those two legends rather than having got them through some supernatural means. Tommy had met the men after running away from home and spending two years away in places such as Rolling Fork, Miss., and Boyle, Miss., before returning to Crystal Springs, Miss., where the family was living in 1914.

LeDell said Tommy taught him the style of music he had learned while away and eventually introduced him to Patton and Brown. It was then that he recognized his brother had learned a lot of his music from then as well as having developed an individual style of his own, which included some smooth, innovative guitar playing, with hints of early jazz, that many consider more sophisticated than his more famous antecedent.

Four, a reading of Evan’s well-researched book, which consists primarily of first hand accounts from family members, including brothers LeDell and Mager (pronounced “Major”) Johnson, who both were incredibly fine players, and numerous musicians Tommy taught give credence to Evans’ assertion that:

“For about thirty years Tommy Johnson was perhaps the most important and influential blues singer in the state of Mississippi. He was one of the few black musician to whom the epithet ‘legendary’ rightfully applies.…”

Famed rock and blues musician the late Cub Koda of Brownsville Station and who later replaced the great Hound Dog Taylor in the seminal House Rockers, writing for All Music Guide put it this way:

“Next to Son House and Charley Patton, no one was more important to the development of pre-Robert Johnson Delta blues than Tommy Johnson.….”

So, why is it in this day and age that so much credit for Tommy Johnson’s work has been given to others? Johnson’s niece, Vera Johnson Collins, has a number of ideas. According to Collins, daughter of Tommy’s brother Mager, money and politics had a lot to do with what happened to her uncle’s legacy.

“I think what happened with Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson, is they got little pieces of the story and they didn’t read that much about Tommy Johnson,” said Collins.

Tommy’s story about selling his soul to the devil and the truth of his traveling made a good story for marketing purposes. But, even though he officially stopped recording in 1929, Tommy, who didn’t die until 1956, was still around, along with his relatives, where as Robert Johnson, who died in 1938, just two years after his recording debut, appeared to have no heirs (though one son Claude did surface later) and it was easier for record companies to push his music and exploit him after his death, explained Collins. And, she said, they used her Uncle Tommy’s accomplishments and stories to market Robert Johnson’s music.

“They took Tommy’s story and knew that they could take that story and make Robert huge and they ran with it,” she said. “And they had to keep on telling that lie because they had no one else to challenge them.”

Fortunately, Tommy Johnson, had hundreds of family members and friends in Mississippi, who knew the truth, among them, Collins’ dad Mager, who by all accounts was just as good, and maybe in some ways a stronger musician than his brother Tommy. She said her dad and her uncles LeDell and Clarence were all family men, so they weren’t able to travel and roam like her Uncle Tommy to find work and fame as a full-time musician.

“My dad ‘n’ them was bad. They were so bad they were registered in the war (World War II) and white folks wouldn’t let them go because that was their entertainment. If that had gone to the Army and played those guitars, they would have been famous all over the world,” said Collins.

In fact, said Collins, the whole family was imbued with remarkable musical talent. Of the 13 children born to Idell and Mary Ella Johnson, sons Tommy, Mager, LeDell, Clarence and George and daughters Idella, Pearlie and Viola all played some. And, the family had a long musical pedigree. They were related to the famous bluesman Lonnie Johnson on their dad’s side, but also to the famed Wilson family on their mother’s side, which boasted 16 children, nearly all, except Mary Ella herself played.

Collins said those skills really went back to Africa.

“Grandaddy was a black French African off the northern coast of Africa. Grandma was a white African, Caucasian,” said Collins. “If you listen to Uncle Tommy’s music, you can hear it in the playing. You can hear it in the singing. You don’t know anybody who could go from that howl to a low baritone. That comes from across the sea. My daddy could sing like that.”

In 2005, Collins started the nonprofit Tommy Johnson Blues Foundation in Crystal Springs to ensure that her uncle’s legacy is not lost and that his story is spread throughout the world so that history can be corrected. The foundation already has undertaken a number of projects including organizing an annual blues festival in Tommy’s honor and conducting a successful campaign to have his gravesite at a nearby church cemetery declared a historically significant site by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

In October of 2001 a headstone was provided for Tommy Johnson’s grave by the Mount Zion Memorial Fund, thanks in part to contributions from musicians like Bonnie Raitt, a non-profit group that helps to restore the gravesites of Mississippi musicians. Unfortunately, a controversy over road access to the cemetery has prevented the Tommy Johnson Blues Foundation from placing the marker at the grave. The gravestone is kept at the Crystal Springs Public Library until access to the cemetery is reopened. Collins likened the problem to the general problem of getting Tommy Johnson’s legacy restored to its rightful place.

“There’s a lot of politicking in it, just like what they’ve done with the cemetery issue. It shouldn’t be taking ten years to get the marker at the grave,” said Collins.

Meanwhile, she said she’s determined to spread the word about Tommy Johnson’s impact on the music world.

“There’s a lot of people that do know but he hasn’t gotten is due. He should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.… he should have gotten a Grammy because if it wasn’t’ for him there wouldn’t be any blues. He hasn’t gotten his due when it comes to our traditional country blues and blues as a whole,” said Collins. “It’s like they wanted to keep Tommy Johnson hid because they didn’t want him exposed because he’s been dead over 50 years.

“These people have tried to steal everything that my uncle had. They came to Crystal Springs and recorded Howlin’ Wolf—Chester Burnett. But that sound that he got, they got from Uncle Tommy. My daddy said that sound that they got on that record, they got from Uncle Tommy. I went to the West Point [Mississippi] Howlin’ Wolf Museum and talked to the man there. He said, ‘Everybody knows your Uncle Tommy was a great influence on Chester Burnett.’”

Collins said others, such as John Lee Hooker, Bessie Smith, Little Milton, and Memphis Minnie were exposed to her uncle’s music early on.

“All those people used to be in Crystal Springs,” she said.

As for the character that models his life in “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Collins said she was happy to see that—especially since the producers acknowledge that it is Tommy Johnson, not the other Johnson, who served as the character’s model.

“I was delighted in that, because that let me know that some people are reading and some people are aware and that movie brought that out,” she said. “Chris Thomas King did a wonderful job acting as Tommy Johnson. They couldn’t’ have picked a better person.

“I’m thinking about how he was at the crossroads and I’m thinking about how my dad said he almost got lynched by the KKK and I said, ‘Dang they must have done some research.’”

For more information about Tommy Johnson, try to find a copy of David Evans’ excellent book “Tommy Johnson,” pick up the Document Records recordings and visit The Tommy Johnson Blues Foundations’ website at www.tommyjohnsonblues.com. Or call (601) 685-4751 or (601) 212-6088.

This is part of the February 24, 2010 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

]]> Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:53:07 GMT F775801D1D296C9B9A30BE1AE644EEE5 May photos - Johnny D's and Ladies of the Blues! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=1010656 ]]> Sat, 04 Jun 2011 06:59:06 GMT 4C5904AC7D9453A176919777F4DFD779 A few more Wake Up The Earth Fest pics! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=972483 Photos by Emily Morris.
Photos by Emily Morris.]]> Mon, 16 May 2011 02:20:00 GMT 7658D83EEF0498D5C21F09E2039D9DA3 Wake Up The Earth video! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=966767 <a href="http://vimeo.com/23504104">Jamaica Plain Celebrates &quot;Wake Up the Earth&quot; from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user2045560">Chris Lovett on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo. Here's a video about the Wake Up The Earth Festival we performed at last week. We are featured at 0:53 to the end! Produced by the Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN).

Jamaica Plain Celebrates "Wake Up the Earth" from Chris Lovett on Vimeo.


Here's a video about the Wake Up The Earth Festival we performed at last week. We are featured at 0:53 to the end! Produced by the Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN).]]> Fri, 13 May 2011 00:10:00 GMT E28B2247ED4745007642639AA9EDB5FF Wake Up The Earth Fest pics!!! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=961635 ]]> Tue, 10 May 2011 22:36:32 GMT 383E5E5F175291DCD64B500F207F192A More love from Boston Band Crush!! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=902033 <a href="http://www.bostonbandcrush.org/2011/04/cd-on-songs-erin-harpe-delta-swingers.html">http://www.bostonbandcrush.org/2011/04/cd-on-songs-erin-harpe-delta-swingers.html Tuesday, April 12, 2011 C.D. On Songs: Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers - &ldquo;Love Whip Blues&quot; Posted by C.D. Di Guardia Sorry, vegans. But Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers are playing at a place called the Chicken Bone on Friday evening, and there's no way around it. You're going to the Chicken Bone in Framingham. You're going to see Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers (with the Tokyo Tramps). You're over 21 years of age and you have $5 in your pocket for some sweet, sweet music. Do we have an accord? Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers - &ldquo;Love Whip Blues&quot; [Download It!] In case you did not know that Erin Harpe is in a band called &ldquo;Love Whip,&rdquo; then let me be the first to tell you - Erin Harpe is in a band called &ldquo;Love Whip.&rdquo; And they sound nothing like Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers. Well, wait a second. Maybe that is not so true. Both experiences are a party - even if the whole electrical situation is slightly different. &ldquo;Love Whip Blues&rdquo; has a crispy sort of snap to it; where the quick bluesy tags at the end of each phrase sort of gather up everything tasty in the preceding moments and wrap them up all nice. The snap is palpable, like the whip is being wielded by an expert whipsman (or whipswoman?) and they could knock the ashes off your cigar from eight feet away. Whether she&rsquo;s the Electric Empress or the Veiled Veela, Harpe&rsquo;s vocals are always a high point of any mix, any record and possibly your entire week. As we have stated before, the woman&rsquo;s last name is an instrument - that&rsquo;s a dead give away. Harpe&rsquo;s smart vocals crack and swing like the figurative whip - she is capable of both batting her eyelashes and a few whip-lashes as well. Don&rsquo;t lie to us - you love it. http://www.bostonbandcrush.org/2011/04/cd-on-songs-erin-harpe-delta-swingers.html


Tuesday, April 12, 2011 C.D. On Songs: Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers - “Love Whip Blues" Posted by C.D. Di Guardia Sorry, vegans. But Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers are playing at a place called the Chicken Bone on Friday evening, and there's no way around it. You're going to the Chicken Bone in Framingham. You're going to see Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers (with the Tokyo Tramps). You're over 21 years of age and you have $5 in your pocket for some sweet, sweet music. Do we have an accord? Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers - “Love Whip Blues" [Download It!] In case you did not know that Erin Harpe is in a band called “Love Whip,” then let me be the first to tell you - Erin Harpe is in a band called “Love Whip.” And they sound nothing like Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers. Well, wait a second. Maybe that is not so true. Both experiences are a party - even if the whole electrical situation is slightly different. “Love Whip Blues” has a crispy sort of snap to it; where the quick bluesy tags at the end of each phrase sort of gather up everything tasty in the preceding moments and wrap them up all nice. The snap is palpable, like the whip is being wielded by an expert whipsman (or whipswoman?) and they could knock the ashes off your cigar from eight feet away. Whether she’s the Electric Empress or the Veiled Veela, Harpe’s vocals are always a high point of any mix, any record and possibly your entire week. As we have stated before, the woman’s last name is an instrument - that’s a dead give away. Harpe’s smart vocals crack and swing like the figurative whip - she is capable of both batting her eyelashes and a few whip-lashes as well. Don’t lie to us - you love it.]]> Wed, 13 Apr 2011 04:05:21 GMT 424DF01597F0FA3B3A25BBA61DC7408F Upcoming show news! Wake Up The Earth Festival, Johnny D's, Cafe 939 & "Ladies of the Blues" http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=901965 The Delta Swingers are playing the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108978869125939">Wake Up The Earth Festival this year! It's on Saturday May 7th in Jamaica Plain Then, we just booked a show at <a href="http://www.johnnyds.com">Johnny D's on Wednesday May 18th, so all you Somervillans mark your calendars! Then I make a few rare solo appearances. On Thursday, May 19th Erin plays an opening set at Cafe 939 with <a href="http://thedavidmayfieldparade.com/">David Mayfield Parade and <a href="http://www.jackgrace.com/">Jack Grace, this show is $10, all ages and Erin's set is at 8pm. Then on Saturday, May 21st the Boston Blues Society presents &quot;Ladies of the Blues&quot; at The Bull Run in Shirley, an all-women show featuring 10 local blueswomen, from the up-and-coming to local legends Toni Lynn Washington and Shirley Lewis. UPCOMING DELTA SWINGERS SHOWS: Saturday May 7th <a href="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=108978869125939">Wake Up The Earth Festival Southwest Corridor at Stony Brook T on the Orange Line, Jamaica Plain, MA 12pm-6pm, Free, All Ages! The Delta Swingers are on the Moon Stage at 12:45pm-1:30pm Wednesday, May 18th <a href="http://www.johnnyds.com">Johnny D's 17 Holland St., Somerville, MA SOLO APPEARANCES: Thursday May 19th <a href="http://cafe939.com/">Cafe 939 939 Boylston St., Boston MA, 8pm, $10, all ages w/<a href="http://thedavidmayfieldparade.com/">David Mayfield Parade and <a href="http://www.jackgrace.com/">Jack Grace Saturday, May 21, The Boston Blues Society Presents <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187917861234480">&quot;Ladies of the Blues&quot; at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bullrunrestaurant.com/">Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Rd., Shirley, MA, w/Toni Lynn Washington, Shirley Lewis, Cheryl Aruda, Diane Blue, Gracie Curran, Cindy Daley, Carolyn Waters, Lisa Marie, and Lydia Warren. For more info on the performers <a href="http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=187917861234480">check out the event page And a note about our new <a href="http://www.erinharpe.com/downloads.cfm">DOWNLOADS page. You can now download select tracks FREE,&nbsp; pay-what-you-want for albums and tracks, and stream full songs <a href="./downloads.cfm">here! The Delta Swingers are playing the Wake Up The Earth Festival this year! It's on Saturday May 7th in Jamaica Plain

Then, we just booked a show at Johnny D's on Wednesday May 18th, so all you Somervillans mark your calendars!

Then I make a few rare solo appearances. On Thursday, May 19th Erin plays an opening set at Cafe 939 with David Mayfield Parade and Jack Grace, this show is $10, all ages and Erin's set is at 8pm. Then on Saturday, May 21st the Boston Blues Society presents "Ladies of the Blues" at The Bull Run in Shirley, an all-women show featuring 10 local blueswomen, from the up-and-coming to local legends Toni Lynn Washington and Shirley Lewis.


UPCOMING DELTA SWINGERS SHOWS:

Saturday May 7th
Wake Up The Earth Festival
Southwest Corridor at Stony Brook T on the Orange Line, Jamaica Plain, MA
12pm-6pm, Free, All Ages!
The Delta Swingers are on the Moon Stage at 12:45pm-1:30pm

Wednesday, May 18th
Johnny D's
17 Holland St., Somerville, MA


SOLO APPEARANCES:

Thursday May 19th
Cafe 939
939 Boylston St., Boston MA,
8pm, $10, all ages
w/David Mayfield Parade and Jack Grace
Saturday, May 21, The Boston Blues Society Presents "Ladies of the Blues" at Bull Run Restaurant, 215 Great Rd., Shirley, MA, w/Toni Lynn Washington, Shirley Lewis, Cheryl Aruda, Diane Blue, Gracie Curran, Cindy Daley, Carolyn Waters, Lisa Marie, and Lydia Warren. For more info on the performers check out the event page

And a note about our new DOWNLOADS page. You can now download select tracks FREE,  pay-what-you-want for albums and tracks, and stream full songs here!]]> Wed, 13 Apr 2011 03:40:00 GMT 37B71E5B9B6F2F5148E6811541B62A1D Erin Harpe And The Delta Swingers rocked Smoken' Joe's Fri. 4/9/11! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=896391 Words and photos by <a href="http://www.billcopelandmusicnews.com/2011/04/erin-harpe-and-the-delta-swingers-rocked-smoken-joes/">Bill Copeland on April 10, 2011 Erin Harpe And The Delta Swingers recently competed in the International Blues Competition in Memphis, and they just got back from a gig at South By Southwest Music Conference And Festival in Austin. Harpe and her Delta Swingers are a Boston-based blues band who play authentic renditions of the old time sounding vintage blues from the 1920 and the 1930s. Their show last night at Boston&rsquo;s Smoken&rsquo; Joe&rsquo;s BBQ and Blues found them in top form. Boy, this band is a real treat for fans of serious vintage blues. The purists will always dig the vintage guitar and harp sounds from the 1920 and 1930s. They will also love the big stomp in the rhythm section. There was just so much for a blues historian to sink his teeth into. The harp is fulsome and played with a lot of historical knowledge of this great American music. The first half hour of last night&rsquo;s show was dedicated to duets between by Harpe and her harp player Richard &ldquo;Rosy&rdquo; Rosenblatt. It was cool how Rosenblatt&rsquo;s flying notes circled around Harpe&rsquo;s nimble, mellow picking style. Harpe really knows how to play those vintage blues songs from the early days of this respected American genre. Each of Harpe&rsquo;s notes seemed to echo old time colors and tones. Her picking style can make you picture a poor southern family gathered on their front porch mid-summer playing and singing of their troubles in their time. Her melodies are almost hypnotic in that they can lull you with their subtle interplay of strikingly sharp colors. Moreover, Harpe&rsquo;s has an incredibly vibrant voice for crooning these nuggets from yesteryear. Her voice holds a niche between silky and raspy, flowing smoothly with just the right touch of edge. This showed in tunes like &ldquo;Nobody Knows You When You&rsquo;re Down And Out,&rdquo; in which she pushed her verses with elegant grace around her rhythmic guitar melodies. Harpe&rsquo;s picking got crisper and Rosenblatt&rsquo;s harmonica got chirpier on &ldquo;You&rsquo;re Gonna Quit Me,&rdquo; showing their control of dynamics and style. Harpe manufactured on her guitar the low end notes and her higher melodic ones simultaneously. Her voice got wider and her timbre expanded, and the full vibrant sound the two conjured whetted the appetite to hear what the full band would eventually do. Harpe introduced Memphis Minnie&rsquo;s &ldquo;In My Girlish Days&rdquo; and put a little extra pizzazz into her picking, taking those old time notes for a walk around the block before returning them back home again. Her vocal was more assertive here, too, bringing out that Memphis Minnie attitude. Her take on Bessie Smith&rsquo;s &ldquo;Take It Right Back&rdquo; sounded like country blues guitar, guitar subbing for the piano on the original, and she nailed how Smith stretched vocal notes and spun the lyrics around the supposed beat. Harpe and Rosenblatt were then joined by bass player Juicy Jim Countryman and drummer Bob Nisi, and The Delta Swingers showed that they have earned their name. They moved each song forward with a breezy, grand grace that made you feel the moving steel parts in this rhythm section. On &ldquo;Bye Bye Blues&rdquo; Rosenblatt whipped up an extra dose of power when he cupped his microphone to his harp. The three players forced Harpe to step up her game, making her more expressive at the mic and in her picking approach. Her voice got sharper and her vintage guitar styles took on a larger, wider angle in the songs. Her own &ldquo;Charles River Delta Blues&rdquo; found her and her boys taking it down to Mississippi. The rhythm section gave it a heavy two-step feel while Rosenblatt took it up high with a melody line that stabbed into the groove. Harpe found the right spaces in the song to assert her twangy blues notes and her harmony with Nisi, who is also a backing vocalist, gave each chorus some lift, making you picture the wings of the song catching an air current and taking off. Harpe&rsquo;s picking style often, on slow tempo material, tugged the song forward with sharp, melodic notes. She and her boys were doing something right last night. Their popular rendition of vintage blues tunes proved popular with the crowd who had packed Smoken&rsquo; Joe&rsquo;s. When Harped sang in a hint of drawl voice, her vocal melody got the needed muscle to politely glide over a knobby beat. Harpe had fun with &ldquo;Chauffer&rdquo; by throwing some twangs in, making it sound punchy. She and her Delta Swingers turned John Prine&rsquo;s &ldquo;Angel From Montgomery&rdquo; into a stomping two-step complete with harmonica blasts and crisp guitar notes that made you picture blues out on the range. Harpe held her vocal notes in the air on Lonnie Johnson&rsquo;s &ldquo;Winner The Wailer,&rdquo; breathing blues into them while Rosenblatt blew a wide circular melody that conjured up the enormous sea. The second set showed Harpe and her Delta boys pumping out a danceable beat underneath Rosenblatt&rsquo;s serious harp on &ldquo;Virtual Booty Blues.&rdquo; The group got many people on their feet with a Delta swing. An original Harpe tune called &ldquo;LoveWhip Blues&rdquo; was how, according to Harpe, how Memphis Minnie would have interpreted the name of her other band LoveWhip. The tune was marked by Rosenblatt&rsquo;s whirling dervish of happy harp notes. &ldquo;Sitting And Watching&rdquo; featured an interesting harp line that skipped along on a joyful beat and &ldquo;Stop And Listen&rdquo; was a country two-step with frenetic pacing that brought a lot of people to their feet. Erin Harpe And The Delta Swingers definitely control and channel vintage blues. Blues purists will likely always welcome them, and just about anybody who likes a good time will enjoy seeing them perform. You don&rsquo;t even have to be a fan of their style of music to have fun at their shows. See the original article at <a href="http://www.billcopelandmusicnews.com/2011/04/erin-harpe-and-the-delta-swingers-rocked-smoken-joes/">Bill Copeland Music News! Thanks for the nice words Bill!
Words and photos by Bill Copeland on April 10, 2011

Erin Harpe And The Delta Swingers recently competed in the International Blues Competition in Memphis, and they just got back from a gig at South By Southwest Music Conference And Festival in Austin. Harpe and her Delta Swingers are a Boston-based blues band who play authentic renditions of the old time sounding vintage blues from the 1920 and the 1930s. Their show last night at Boston’s Smoken’ Joe’s BBQ and Blues found them in top form.

Boy, this band is a real treat for fans of serious vintage blues. The purists will always dig the vintage guitar and harp sounds from the 1920 and 1930s. They will also love the big stomp in the rhythm section. There was just so much for a blues historian to sink his teeth into. The harp is fulsome and played with a lot of historical knowledge of this great American music.

The first half hour of last night’s show was dedicated to duets between by Harpe and her harp player Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt. It was cool how Rosenblatt’s flying notes circled around Harpe’s nimble, mellow picking style. Harpe really knows how to play those vintage blues songs from the early days of this respected American genre.

Each of Harpe’s notes seemed to echo old time colors and tones. Her picking style can make you picture a poor southern family gathered on their front porch mid-summer playing and singing of their troubles in their time. Her melodies are almost hypnotic in that they can lull you with their subtle interplay of strikingly sharp colors.

Moreover, Harpe’s has an incredibly vibrant voice for crooning these nuggets from yesteryear. Her voice holds a niche between silky and raspy, flowing smoothly with just the right touch of edge. This showed in tunes like “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out,” in which she pushed her verses with elegant grace around her rhythmic guitar melodies.

Harpe’s picking got crisper and Rosenblatt’s harmonica got chirpier on “You’re Gonna Quit Me,” showing their control of dynamics and style. Harpe manufactured on her guitar the low end notes and her higher melodic ones simultaneously. Her voice got wider and her timbre expanded, and the full vibrant sound the two conjured whetted the appetite to hear what the full band would eventually do.

Harpe introduced Memphis Minnie’s “In My Girlish Days” and put a little extra pizzazz into her picking, taking those old time notes for a walk around the block before returning them back home again. Her vocal was more assertive here, too, bringing out that Memphis Minnie attitude. Her take on Bessie Smith’s “Take It Right Back” sounded like country blues guitar, guitar subbing for the piano on the original, and she nailed how Smith stretched vocal notes and spun the lyrics around the supposed beat.

Harpe and Rosenblatt were then joined by bass player Juicy Jim Countryman and drummer Bob Nisi, and The Delta Swingers showed that they have earned their name. They moved each song forward with a breezy, grand grace that made you feel the moving steel parts in this rhythm section. On “Bye Bye Blues” Rosenblatt whipped up an extra dose of power when he cupped his microphone to his harp. The three players forced Harpe to step up her game, making her more expressive at the mic and in her picking approach. Her voice got sharper and her vintage guitar styles took on a larger, wider angle in the songs.

Her own “Charles River Delta Blues” found her and her boys taking it down to Mississippi. The rhythm section gave it a heavy two-step feel while Rosenblatt took it up high with a melody line that stabbed into the groove. Harpe found the right spaces in the song to assert her twangy blues notes and her harmony with Nisi, who is also a backing vocalist, gave each chorus some lift, making you picture the wings of the song catching an air current and taking off.

Harpe’s picking style often, on slow tempo material, tugged the song forward with sharp, melodic notes. She and her boys were doing something right last night. Their popular rendition of vintage blues tunes proved popular with the crowd who had packed Smoken’ Joe’s. When Harped sang in a hint of drawl voice, her vocal melody got the needed muscle to politely glide over a knobby beat.

Harpe had fun with “Chauffer” by throwing some twangs in, making it sound punchy. She and her Delta Swingers turned John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” into a stomping two-step complete with harmonica blasts and crisp guitar notes that made you picture blues out on the range.

Harpe held her vocal notes in the air on Lonnie Johnson’s “Winner The Wailer,” breathing blues into them while Rosenblatt blew a wide circular melody that conjured up the enormous sea.

The second set showed Harpe and her Delta boys pumping out a danceable beat underneath Rosenblatt’s serious harp on “Virtual Booty Blues.” The group got many people on their feet with a Delta swing. An original Harpe tune called “LoveWhip Blues” was how, according to Harpe, how Memphis Minnie would have interpreted the name of her other band LoveWhip. The tune was marked by Rosenblatt’s whirling dervish of happy harp notes.

“Sitting And Watching” featured an interesting harp line that skipped along on a joyful beat and “Stop And Listen” was a country two-step with frenetic pacing that brought a lot of people to their feet.

Erin Harpe And The Delta Swingers definitely control and channel vintage blues. Blues purists will likely always welcome them, and just about anybody who likes a good time will enjoy seeing them perform. You don’t even have to be a fan of their style of music to have fun at their shows.

See the original article at Bill Copeland Music News! Thanks for the nice words Bill!

]]> Sun, 10 Apr 2011 23:35:00 GMT 761C84CB8BE7603C2523E9E5F679592C Bill Copeland interviews Erin about Memphis and the IBC! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=856548 Here's the article, featured right now on <a href="http://www.billcopelandmusicnews.com/2011/03/erin-harpe-recounts-her-recent-memphis-experience/">Bill Copeland Music News: Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers recently returned to Boston after competing in the International Blues Competition in Memphis. The band got as far as the semi-finals, and, although they didn&rsquo;t make it into the finals, they still value their experience and their memories of Memphis. Winning the Boston Blues challenge months earlier was a huge high. Harpe was surprised, though. The other bands were electric and heavier sounding. &ldquo;How can we beat them with our little old Delta blues,&rdquo; she said she had asked herself at the time. &ldquo;I think it was really close.&rdquo; After that victory, Harpe and her Delta Swingers received support from the Boston Blues Society who had hosted the Boston contest. Fundraising efforts featuring Harpe and many other notable local players made it possible for this band from Jamaica Plain to go to Memphis. As time went by, Harpe and her boys became more sure of themselves. Aside from Harpe who sings and plays acoustic guitar, her band features bass player Jim Countryman, harmonica player Richard &ldquo;Rosy&rdquo; Rosenblatt, and drummer/vocalist Bob Nisi. Heading down to Memphis, Harpe and her band mates got themselves psyched up and confident, and Harpe kept saying, &rsquo;We&rsquo;re gonna win! We&lsquo;re gonna win.&rsquo;&rdquo; Harp and her band mates befriended down there a blues band from Israel. Harpe had read an article about these Israelis players, and, at the end of the article they too were saying they&rsquo;re going to win. &ldquo;We realized there were a hundred and thirty bands out there going, &lsquo;We&rsquo;re gonna win!&rdquo; After their first night, Harpe and her Delta swingers were at a jam at an old theater called The New Daisy when they found out they had won. Competition officials were making the rounds to each venue to announce the winners at that stage of the game. &ldquo;When they got to our venue, we thought something was up because the guy who was MCing every night came running out, and they said he&rsquo;s going to do the announcement for this one.&rdquo; The announcer had gotten more excited about Harpe&rsquo;s band each night when they were playing the first two quarter finals. He came up to make the announcement, and after he had announced they won, Harpe and her band mates got very excited and started screaming with glee. Yet, they didn&rsquo;t get any further than the semi-final. Harpe said that her band mate, Richard &ldquo;Rosy&rdquo; Rosenblatt,&rdquo; had just recently received their copy of the judges scores. &ldquo;From what Rosy said, it sounded like one of the judges wasn&rsquo;t as into what we were doing,&rdquo; she said, &ldquo;but everybody else loved us.&rdquo; One of the other judges came up to Harpe excitedly and gushed. Harpe wasn&rsquo;t sure if a judge was even supposed to offer such a glowing personal opinion. Competition was really tight during the semi-finals. The club was crowded with people wearing their best outfits. Harpe felt she had finally hit the big times when she saw that an official from Alligator Records was one of the judges. Other bands were asking her to stay around to check out their sets. In these Memphis contests, the talent caliber of any given band usually stands no chance against the personal preferences of the judges. Harpe feels that her band has a unique approach to blues in that they&lsquo;re a Delta influenced band and that most players playing that brand of blues usually play it in a solo or duo format. &ldquo;I think we were probably something unique and out of the ordinary, definitely. But there were a lot of people doing Delta stuff that were like duo or solo. I think it was a little of both. I think we were something different because there were a lot of Chicago style blues bands.&rdquo; Harpe didn&rsquo;t have time to socialize with judges, but the few she talked to liked her band a lot. After watching bands play for six to seven hours a day, the judges may have thought Harpe and her Delta swingers were a breath of fresh air. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s pretty respectable to have gotten to the semi finals,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;My friends from the Israeli band didn&rsquo;t even make it to the semi finals. So, that&rsquo;s hard. You go all the way down there and don&rsquo;t even go to the semi finals.&rdquo; Harpe said the experience was well worth the time and effort she and her band mates put into it. &ldquo;The blues scene isn&rsquo;t really that big around the world. They all really came together. A lot of different people came down to see us.&rdquo; Harpe got a chance to meet people who book festivals in Europe and internationally. &ldquo;We couldn&rsquo;t have done that anywhere else,&rdquo; she said. With their competition cut short by the judges, Harpe had time for sight-seeing. She and her band mates checked out the Stax museum, Sun recording studio, an awards show, and drummer Nisi went to Graceland. Sitting in on Bob Margolin&rsquo;s blues jam at Rum Boogie on Beale Street on Saturday night was the most memorable experience. After getting through the first song without incident, Harpe broke her acoustic guitar and her to play the second tune, &ldquo;Virtual Booty Blues&rdquo; with Margolin&rsquo;s electric. The scene will appear in a video to be posted on the band&rsquo;s website and social networking sites. Other footage will also appear as the band brought a videographer with them to Memphis so their entire journey would take place in front of a camera. The next step for Harpe and the Delta Swingers will take place this Monday when they land in Austin, Texas to play at a venue near the South By Southwest Conference and Festival. The band want to play festivals this summer and they also hope to tour. The Memphis line-up of Harpe&rsquo;s blues band is still together and their future goal is to make a full length. Harpe&rsquo;s Afro-pop band LoveWhip is still intact and it will play together again in April as a larger band than the three piece it has been in recent years. <a href="http://www.billcopelandmusicnews.com/2011/03/erin-harpe-recounts-her-recent-memphis-experience/">See the original article Bill Copeland Music News:

Erin Harpe and the Delta Swingers recently returned to Boston after competing in the International Blues Competition in Memphis. The band got as far as the semi-finals, and, although they didn’t make it into the finals, they still value their experience and their memories of Memphis.

Winning the Boston Blues challenge months earlier was a huge high. Harpe was surprised, though. The other bands were electric and heavier sounding. “How can we beat them with our little old Delta blues,” she said she had asked herself at the time.

“I think it was really close.” After that victory, Harpe and her Delta Swingers received support from the Boston Blues Society who had hosted the Boston contest. Fundraising efforts featuring Harpe and many other notable local players made it possible for this band from Jamaica Plain to go to Memphis. As time went by, Harpe and her boys became more sure of themselves.

Aside from Harpe who sings and plays acoustic guitar, her band features bass player Jim Countryman, harmonica player Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt, and drummer/vocalist Bob Nisi. Heading down to Memphis, Harpe and her band mates got themselves psyched up and confident, and Harpe kept saying, ’We’re gonna win! We‘re gonna win.’”

Harp and her band mates befriended down there a blues band from Israel. Harpe had read an article about these Israelis players, and, at the end of the article they too were saying they’re going to win.

“We realized there were a hundred and thirty bands out there going, ‘We’re gonna win!” After their first night, Harpe and her Delta swingers were at a jam at an old theater called The New Daisy when they found out they had won. Competition officials were making the rounds to each venue to announce the winners at that stage of the game.

“When they got to our venue, we thought something was up because the guy who was MCing every night came running out, and they said he’s going to do the announcement for this one.”

The announcer had gotten more excited about Harpe’s band each night when they were playing the first two quarter finals. He came up to make the announcement, and after he had announced they won, Harpe and her band mates got very excited and started screaming with glee. Yet, they didn’t get any further than the semi-final. Harpe said that her band mate, Richard “Rosy” Rosenblatt,” had just recently received their copy of the judges scores.

“From what Rosy said, it sounded like one of the judges wasn’t as into what we were doing,” she said, “but everybody else loved us.” One of the other judges came up to Harpe excitedly and gushed. Harpe wasn’t sure if a judge was even supposed to offer such a glowing personal opinion.

Competition was really tight during the semi-finals. The club was crowded with people wearing their best outfits. Harpe felt she had finally hit the big times when she saw that an official from Alligator Records was one of the judges. Other bands were asking her to stay around to check out their sets.

In these Memphis contests, the talent caliber of any given band usually stands no chance against the personal preferences of the judges. Harpe feels that her band has a unique approach to blues in that they‘re a Delta influenced band and that most players playing that brand of blues usually play it in a solo or duo format.

“I think we were probably something unique and out of the ordinary, definitely. But there were a lot of people doing Delta stuff that were like duo or solo. I think it was a little of both. I think we were something different because there were a lot of Chicago style blues bands.”

Harpe didn’t have time to socialize with judges, but the few she talked to liked her band a lot. After watching bands play for six to seven hours a day, the judges may have thought Harpe and her Delta swingers were a breath of fresh air.

“It’s pretty respectable to have gotten to the semi finals,” she said. “My friends from the Israeli band didn’t even make it to the semi finals. So, that’s hard. You go all the way down there and don’t even go to the semi finals.”

Harpe said the experience was well worth the time and effort she and her band mates put into it. “The blues scene isn’t really that big around the world. They all really came together. A lot of different people came down to see us.”

Harpe got a chance to meet people who book festivals in Europe and internationally. “We couldn’t have done that anywhere else,” she said.

With their competition cut short by the judges, Harpe had time for sight-seeing. She and her band mates checked out the Stax museum, Sun recording studio, an awards show, and drummer Nisi went to Graceland.

Sitting in on Bob Margolin’s blues jam at Rum Boogie on Beale Street on Saturday night was the most memorable experience. After getting through the first song without incident, Harpe broke her acoustic guitar and her to play the second tune, “Virtual Booty Blues” with Margolin’s electric. The scene will appear in a video to be posted on the band’s website and social networking sites. Other footage will also appear as the band brought a videographer with them to Memphis so their entire journey would take place in front of a camera.

The next step for Harpe and the Delta Swingers will take place this Monday when they land in Austin, Texas to play at a venue near the South By Southwest Conference and Festival. The band want to play festivals this summer and they also hope to tour.

The Memphis line-up of Harpe’s blues band is still together and their future goal is to make a full length.

Harpe’s Afro-pop band LoveWhip is still intact and it will play together again in April as a larger band than the three piece it has been in recent years.

See the original article

]]> Thu, 24 Mar 2011 22:20:00 GMT BA94ED318870CC21C9F1566024EB6342 More pics and stories from Austin! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=843051 We had a really great time in Austin last week, and we're finally starting to get over our SX-jet-lag. We would like to thank the local Austinites who hosted us and booked us shows while we were down there: John Conquest from 3rd Coast Music, Curtis at the Evangeline Cafe, Leeann Atherton, and Jane from Amelia's Retro Vogue. We saw many, many bands, and of note were: Brennen Leigh, Wanda Jackson, !!!, Baskery, Porter Davis, Leeann Atherton, Lil Mo &amp; the Monicats, Yvette Landry, Barbara K, Border Blasters, Linda McRae, Matt Harlan, Ray Bonneville, Sally Spring, Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, Eillen Jewel, and Les Sampou. We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to, which is impossible, but we saw a lot. We only got one pic of us playing (thanks to Bob's sister Mary!), though I saw a lot of cameras so perhaps more will show up soon. Here are a few shots we snapped as we ran around and played 7 gigs and watched tons of bands, ate tacos and talked to people from Norway, France, Texas, and all over the country and world!

We had a really great time in Austin last week, and we're finally starting to get over our SX-jet-lag. We would like to thank the local Austinites who hosted us and booked us shows while we were down there: John Conquest from 3rd Coast Music, Curtis at the Evangeline Cafe, Leeann Atherton, and Jane from Amelia's Retro Vogue. We saw many, many bands, and of note were: Brennen Leigh, Wanda Jackson, !!!, Baskery, Porter Davis, Leeann Atherton, Lil Mo & the Monicats, Yvette Landry, Barbara K, Border Blasters, Linda McRae, Matt Harlan, Ray Bonneville, Sally Spring, Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, Eillen Jewel, and Les Sampou. We didn't get to see everyone we wanted to, which is impossible, but we saw a lot. We only got one pic of us playing (thanks to Bob's sister Mary!), though I saw a lot of cameras so perhaps more will show up soon. Here are a few shots we snapped as we ran around and played 7 gigs and watched tons of bands, ate tacos and talked to people from Norway, France, Texas, and all over the country and world!
]]> Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:20:00 GMT 3D427C4F9B0996C0A4205EC64C7E646E Podcast of our appearance on WZBC's Sunday Morning Country! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=817757 Last Sunday we stopped by WZBC and paid a visit to Cousin Kate. We had a great time, played a few tunes, and talked about our upcoming trip to Austin next week and more. Check out the podcast of the show! You can just click on the play button at the left to stream it from this web page, you can click the Download button, or subscribe with iTunes. ]]> Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:00:00 GMT E57A7ACEA078003385CC26B20C808063 Next week: Erin & the Delta Swingers hit SXSW! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=815190 Stay tuned for blog updates, and video shorts from Austin all week here at our blog, and you can stay connected with us at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/ErinHarpe.and.the.Delta.Swingers" target="_new">FaceBook all week too!
Stay tuned for blog updates, and video shorts from Austin all week here at our blog, and you can stay connected with us at FaceBook all week too!
]]> Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:05:19 GMT B1FC52A0314EEDC1938FA49AFE9AFFED Green Door Pub Stratton Mt. VT this Saturday! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=797797
]]> Mon, 28 Feb 2011 11:04:36 GMT 46CBDED1C3070A5113A027A5B9C3F495 Boston Band Crush review of "Virtual Booty Blues" with free download! http://erinharpe.com/blog.cfm?feature=202666&postid=790713 Our friend C.D. Di Guardia over at <a target="_new" href="http://www.bostonbandcrush.com/">Boston Band Crush has been a supporter of mine for years, here he reviews our new song Virtual Booty Machine Blues in his column C.D. on Songs, and gives away a free download too! (<a target="_new" href="http://www.bostonbandcrush.com/2011/02/cd-on-songs-erin-harpe-delta-swingers.html">Click here to go to the full article and the download.) Here's the review: Erin Harpe &amp; The Delta Swingers have been all over Memphis lately, but they are now safe and sound back in good old 1955 Jamaica Plain. Well, maybe they're just back. They will prove they are back by bringing the blues explosion to the Midway Cafe on Friday night. They will be joined by Rick Berlin, Jonny Woodard &amp; The Handsome Homeless, and Pariah Beat. You don't have to sing the blues to get in or get out &ndash; there's going to be enough of that onstage. I have been writing about Erin Harpe for a while. Like years and years. I consider her one of the best vocalists in town. Sorry, Kay Hanley. One thing that struck me today is that I have never seized the irony of the woman&rsquo;s last name being a musical instrument. Duh. It makes perfect sense &ndash; Harpe herself is a musical instrument. How else would she be able to straddle the worlds of psycho-electric dance music and down-low dirty delta blues and come out smelling like a rose every time? &ldquo;Virtual Booty Machine Blues&rdquo; is a great moment in Harpe&rsquo;s personal catalog. Just last night, I saw the episode of House M.D. where the guy from The Hurt Locker is a punk/noise musician, but writes melodic sensible stuff under a different identity. Harpe is da bomb, but she smashes down the walls between Electric Empress and Black-Veiled Blues-Woman with &ldquo;Virtual Booty Machine Blues.&rdquo; This track doesn&rsquo;t act as if Lovewhip doesn&rsquo;t exist; it simply reworks the original piece. A honking harmonica and set of razzle-dazzle guitar chords jangle this track on its way down the line, with Harpe hanging off a rail on the side of the trolley and letting her voice fly. Harpe&rsquo;s performance sparkles with what the French might call &quot;a certain I don&rsquo;t know what,&rdquo; even when she&rsquo;s not pushing the vocal envelope. Harpe lives in her own vocal wheelhouse, making each blue note beeeeennd to her will and then thank her for bending it. And we thank her also. Our friend C.D. Di Guardia over at Boston Band Crush has been a supporter of mine for years, here he reviews our new song Virtual Booty Machine Blues in his column C.D. on Songs, and gives away a free download too! (Click here to go to the full article and the download.) Here's the review:

Erin Harpe & The Delta Swingers have been all over Memphis lately, but they are now safe and sound back in good old 1955 Jamaica Plain. Well, maybe they're just back. They will prove they are back by bringing the blues explosion to the Midway Cafe on Friday night. They will be joined by Rick Berlin, Jonny Woodard & The Handsome Homeless, and Pariah Beat. You don't have to sing the blues to get in or get out – there's going to be enough of that onstage.

I have been writing about Erin Harpe for a while. Like years and years. I consider her one of the best vocalists in town. Sorry, Kay Hanley. One thing that struck me today is that I have never seized the irony of the woman’s last name being a musical instrument. Duh. It makes perfect sense – Harpe herself is a musical instrument. How else would she be able to straddle the worlds of psycho-electric dance music and down-low dirty delta blues and come out smelling like a rose every time?

“Virtual Booty Machine Blues” is a great moment in Harpe’s personal catalog. Just last night, I saw the episode of House M.D. where the guy from The Hurt Locker is a punk/noise musician, but writes melodic sensible stuff under a different identity. Harpe is da bomb, but she smashes down the walls between Electric Empress and Black-Veiled Blues-Woman with “Virtual Booty Machine Blues.” This track doesn’t act as if Lovewhip doesn’t exist; it simply reworks the original piece.

A honking harmonica and set of razzle-dazzle guitar chords jangle this track on its way down the line, with Harpe hanging off a rail on the side of the trolley and letting her voice fly. Harpe’s performance sparkles with what the French might call "a certain I don’t know what,” even when she’s not pushing the vocal envelope. Harpe lives in her own vocal wheelhouse, making each blue note beeeeennd to her will and then thank her for bending it. And we thank her also.
]]> Fri, 25 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT BB6D7F61F2A923A88974742B6EC385E9