"Harp Master" Mark the Harper Interview
www.MarkTheHarper.com
Interview by Roger Zee (08/30/22)
Roger Zee: We played a lot of the same clubs with the same musicians coming up in Manhattan in the same era... Who inspired you to pick up the harp and sing? Do you play any other instruments?
Mark the Harper: Like most White teenagers who picked up the harmonica in the mid-1970s, the Classic Rock guys piqued my interest: John Mayall (Room To Move), Jack Bruce (Train-Time), John Fogerty (Keep on Chooglin’/Pagan Baby medley off the live CCR in Europe album), and then of course Magic Dick when my older brother turned me on to the J Geils band. "Whammer Jammer" made my head spin!
At that point, although not quite yet steeped in the Blues genre, I went to see the Allman Brothers at the now defunct Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City with surprise opener Muddy Waters Band. That’s when I first heard James Cotton live, and between his playing and "Whammer Jammer," I decided to become a Blues harp player.
Once turned on to Muddy, I looked into all the other harp players he played with and familiarized myself with their music: Little Walter, Carrie Bell, James Cotton, Jerry Portnoy, etc. Other Blues harp players that really floated my boat include Sonny Boy Williamson II, Paul Butterfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Howlin’ Wolf, Kim Wilson of the Fabulous Thunderbirds, and Sugar Blue. And of course, as a big Deadhead, I loved Pigpen!
I got really good at the harp while in high school. As soon as I hit Syracuse University School of Visual & Performing Arts, I started sitting in with bands at frat parties around campus and in the city. I stayed up there during the summers working as a sideman with real local Southside bluesmen like Otis Lee, Don Zogg, and Willie Kye.
I started doing open mics around campus and wanted to get some gigs of my own since I wrote a bunch of originals. But people don't typically want to hear a solo harmonica player do a whole gig with no other players! So I dusted off an acoustic guitar that my mother bought me with Green Stamps that laid dormant while I focused on harp. With a rack-mounted harp and guitar, I started doing my thing. Obviously, I needed to sing as a soloist, and soon got away with it!
In senior year, I played in my first band, Rooster Express, as the singer, front man, and harp player. When I listened back to gig tapes, I cringe at my vocals! When back in NYC, I took singing lessons, first at the New School's Guitar Study Center, and then with Claude Stein of the Natural Singers Workshop.
Self-taught on the harmonica, Muddy Waters' singing inspired me the most. But fortunately I wasn't delusional enough to think I could try to imitate his voice, or that of any other Black artist. But I found other singers that I could realistically aim to emulate -- Lowell George, Waylon Jennings, Jim Morrison, Pigpen, and Greg Allman.
I also dabbled with saxophone, djembe, bongos, recorder, but didn’t give it enough diligence to get me to a level where I could gig with them. But I can twang a mean Jews Harp!
In my twenties, I started regularly hitting the Greenwich Village Folk circuit, playing the Monday night "Hoots" at Folk City and Speakeasy as a soloist with guitar and harp. I guested as a featured musician on the Joe Franklin and Joey Adams shows -- what a trip! I also went to the midnight electric jams at Kenny’s Castaways and Dan Lynch’s Blues Bar where I met a ton of musicians.
When I booked my first gig at Speakeasy, I enlisted some of the players I had met. I always recorded my gigs, at first on a boom box, so I could use selected songs to improve my demo tape and get more jobs. I worked my way up the local Blues music food chain that way. Kenny’s Castaways to Wonderland Blues Bar, Dan Lynch’s, Chicago Blues, Le Bar Bat, Manny’s Car Wash, Wetlands, etc.
And any club, bar or restaurant in the five boroughs, Westchester, Rockland, Long Island, CT, and NJ where I could score a gig. Along the way, I played some small local festivals and appeared on several cable TV programs. I also got called upon to lend harmonica tracks to various recording projects and work as a sideman in other bands.
In the ‘90s, I played about fifteen gigs a month to supplement my income as a freelance graphic artist. I also hosted jam nights at a few places. The first notable one began at The New Frontier, a space on 5th Avenue and 13th Street that replaced the Lone Star Café when that went out of business. That lasted over six months. In 1996 or ‘97, we ran an open jam at a dive bar called The Terminal at the end of the 1 train line in the Bronx. Though short lived, I met Alexander Rastopchin there who became my main guitar player and remains so to this day.
RZ: Tell me about some of the musicians and groups you gigged and recorded with.
MTH: I feel so fortunate and honored to have played with so many awesome musicians and proud that I helped kickstart the careers of some guitarists by featuring them in my band, giving them a regular platform to shine. I performed with some really great players -- Warren Haynes, Bo Diddley, Eddy Clearwater, Sugar Blue, Big Daddy Kenzie and Kinsey Report, Big-Time Sarah, Dread Zeppelin, Robert Randolph, Tinsley Ellis, Popa Chubby, Big Brother & The Holding Company, Michael Hill, and Andy Aledort. I opened for Koko Taylor, Anson Funderburg and the Rockets, Max Creek, Gatemouth Brown, Tinsely Ellis, and others.
In the late ‘80s, I worked as a sideman with Jimmy Vivino's group. That proved very educational and helped me hone my own bandleading skills. I’d stand behind him and watch him direct the band, seemingly using his guitar as a magic wand, steering the music with ease.
The guitar slingers I employed in my own groups included some of the finest on the NY Blues scene. In chronological order from 1987 forward, I worked with Andrew Mazzilli, John Diamond, Charlie Hilbert, Peter Conway, Matt Dreyer, Joe Taino, JP Palmerini, Arthur Nielsen, Chris Vitarello, and Alexander Rastopchin.
I've always used great drummers. Over the last three decades, those included Don Castagno, Scott Hamilton, and Jason Devlin. In my early days, back in the late '80s and into the '90s when I worked with freelancers, I hired the best available for my dates. I had the pleasure of working with Sean Pelton, Steve Holley, Charles Otis, and others. As for bassist, most recently, I use bassists Angello Olivieri and Jack Maiorino.
In 1996 I released an independent CD, “Man ON A Mission” with eleven originals. I put together an awesome cast of players. Arthur Neilson and Chris Vitarello on electric guitar, myself on acoustic, Rob Macucci and Gary Colter on bass, Duane Cleveland and Jason Devlin on drums, Doug Petty on piano, Hammond and Wurlizter, Frank Pagano on percussion, and Larry Etkin and Crispin Cioe from the Uptown Horns on trumpet and saxes respectively. Pat Cisarano, Jerry Dugger,and Pat Frazier provided back-up and guest vocals.
The album received a lot of good reviews and some college and specialty Blues shows airplay in a few US regions as well as in the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and some other European countries. I’m very proud of this production. People can go to www.MarkTheHarper.bandcamp.com to hear it and buy a download.
I appear on a few compilation albums: "Live at The Bayou" recorded in 1992 before the original place burnt down, "Hobo Jungle," and "Big Apple Blues" on the Taxim label out of German). I’ve also done session work and laid harp tracks down in a variety of genres from kiddie music (Gary Negbauer, Dafna Kotek Shir Fun), torch singers (Maria Lee Carta), county rockers (Dime Store Rodeos, an early side-project by the Rubin brothers of Skyfactor), and PeyDalid, an Orthodox Jewish Reggae band, and a few others that don't come to mind at this moment. I also got asked to sit in with Deadgrass at Garcia’s and that performance made it onto their live album. Between my own CD project and my other session work, I logged approximately 200 studio hours. I’m available for projects!
RZ: What instruments/string/amps/mics do you currently use?
MTH: I bought a pre-CBS Fender Black-face Super Reverb from harp guru Adam Gussow while he still lived in Inwood, NY. Came in a heavy duty Anvil Road case. Possessed a monster oomph factor and stellar sound. But also felt incredibly heavy to tow around. I used it a lot while I had a roadie.
But my preferred go-to amp was a 1974 silver faced Fender Deluxe Reverb. Wow that was sweet. But as you know, as we get up there in age we start experiencing back problems. Guys over fifty years old always try to scale our load down. And now I mostly use a Fender re-issue tweed Pro Junior that I bought back in mid '90s. No frills. Two chicken-head knobs. Super sweet warm Fender tube tone. I’d throw a mic on it and stick it through the PA to get reverb. Also added a TC Electronics Hall of Fame 2 reverb pedal and that sounds wonderful with it.
Depending on the gig, I may bring out some bells and whistles like an MXR microamp for overdrive/boost and an Electro Harmonix Micro-Pog which I saw harmonica master Jason Ricci use in his board. That’s pretty versatile and you can get a thick sound with octaves above and below. You can also set it so it sounds like you’re playing a synth.
I used to own a Digitech PDS 1002, then got the 8002 and loved looping and playing over it. Really cool for psychedelic sounds when you vamp on one chord. I used those so much since the late 80's that they didn’t last. I now own a Boss Loop Station and I’m still getting the hang of it.
I own a small collection of mics -- an Astatic BLJT 30 that I got modified by some guy in Texas whose name I don’t remember. He gave it a bassier sound and replaced the XLR input with a nipple connector so I could attach the right wireless adapter. I also possess an old Electro-Voice mic which I later found out came from the Korean War. I love that one, although it lacks a volume control. I have the Red Howler, like a Green Bullet but fits in my hands better. I got my first mic, a Shure Unidyne B, just before I left for college and it still works great! I replaced the cable once. For vocal mics I use the tried and true sure SM58, but also a Sennheiser and a couple of EV dynamic mics.
RZ: What and how do you practice?
MTH: I spend more time practicing guitar than I do harp because of the long way I need to go on the strings to catch up with my reed skills. Usually it’s while watching TV... I’ll put my Takamine 12 string or my Washburn Cumberland cutaway on my lap and play songs that I would do on solo or duo gigs.
Looking to expand my repertoire. I pull songs and chord charts off of websites like Chordie or Ultimate Guitar tab and learn them. I also write music on the guitar. Usually it’s the music first, then the lyrics. I like to practice different fingerpicking patterns. I also enjoy tuning down to open G or D and playing slide.
Unfortunately, I lack the time management disciple for my musical practice. I bought a life-time membership to David Taub’s "Next Level Guitar" but have yet to sit down with that for an appreciable amount of time. Someday!!
As far as harp goes, I don’t go by any regular practice regimen. Usually I work out on it for about an hour the day of a gig. Sometimes I plug my mic and effects in but I live in an apartment building so I can't do that too much. When I’m hired for a session, I practice the parts I will record until it’s perfect so I can knock it out in the studio in one or two takes.
RZ: Do you teach music privately?
MTH: Yes. I did not set up a formal harmonica teaching business, but receive requests for private lessons from time to time and give them.
RZ: How has the Pandemic affected you? What's on the horizon?
MTH: Well, since I’m primarily a harp player, constantly sucking in tremendous amounts of air with varying degrees of force, I didn’t play out for the duration of the pandemic. I waited until after I got doubly vaccinated and boosted to even go to jams or sit in with bands. Right now I’m running an Open Mic and Acoustic Jam session at The Bronx Burger House, right off Broadway on Mosholu Avenue in North Riverdale. For the time being, we play alternate Fridays. I keep the public informed on my FB page: www.Facebook.com/MarkTheHarper.
My life got pretty complicated in the past fifteen years after my first marriage. And I'm not as enthused any more with the idea of being a one-man booking, bandleading, gig-marketing dynamo. I’d love to just be part of a great band -- singing, playing harp, and maybe rhythm guitar.
I love the Blues genre of course, but I want to stretch out of that, too. Ideally, I’d like to play in or co-form a jam band rooted in Blues, but equally involved with Rock, Americana, and Psychedelia. But I’m also open to being just a harp player in a kick-ass band. And I could get involved with some Dead cover bands that would like to emphasize Pigpen’s work and Blues from that group, but I frown on bands trying to be carbon copies! I much prefer the approach that Joe Russo & Almost Dead take.
RZ: Describe your most special and/or unusual gig.
MTH: My most memorable gig came when I performed for an audience of 12,000 bikers at a motorcycle rally on the southern coast of Portugal in 1994. As I played in Dan Lynch's Blues Bar in the East Village on a typically slow Tuesday night, it flashed through my mind, "Shit, we’re not gonna make the first bonus level at the bar register, let alone the second, and there’s not a whole lot going into the kitty." Still we played our asses off like we always did.
Good thing! Because one of the guys in the bar served as the Commissioner of Motorcycles of Portugal, liked what he heard and saw and then brought us over the pond, where they treated us like Rock stars -- given our own hotel rooms, a driver, and a very nice amount of Benjamins on top of the roundtrip air-fare. I went over there with Arthur Nielsen, Angello Olivieri on bass, and Chris Cullo on the drums. You can find it on my YouTube channel at
YouTube.com/MarkTheHarper/videos.
Another glory moment that I pinched myself over to check if dreaming occurred at the Wetlands Power Jam in 1999. They invited me to participate because I played Wetlands a few times with "Tribute To Pigpen" shows. I found myself jamming on stage with Warren Haynes, Buddy Cage (pedal-steel player for the New Riders of the Purple Sage), and Bernie Worrell, (the keyboard wizard from Parliament/ Funkadelic). That's the third or fourth time that I played with Haynes. He asked me to sing and lead the band for a song. I called Taj Mahal’s Leavin’ Trunk in Bb and the next thing you know, I can’t believe my eyes and ears, but I'm leading a band with these amazing cats and doling out the solos. I remember thinking, "WTF, this is sooo cool!"
In 2009, a couple of high school buddies of mine living in Alaska brought me up there and arranged for me to front a regional Blues band called "The Mighty Untouchables" at The Howling Dog Saloon in Fairbanks. I went straight from the airport to the gig due to a delay in Seattle. I remember standing on the stage looking at the sunshine outside the window and grokking on the fact that it was 11 PM!
RZ: What advice do you give up-and-coming musicians?
MTH: Learn your craft! Learn to play with feeling and without having to look at the music score. Practice. Don’t get wasted on a gig. If you're a sideman, learn the requested songs for cryin out loud! Don’t think you can wing everything because you've got a good ear!
Don't limit yourself to practicing your instrument to predecessors of that instrument... Try emulating the phrasing of other instruments as well, and it will break you out of the expected mold. When I started playing harp, I practiced along to slide players like Duane Allman and Johnny Winter in addition to the great harp masters.
RZ: Do you live with any animals?
MTH: I’m allergic to cats, and my building doesn’t allow dogs, so no.
RZ: Anything else you'd like to add?
MTH: I’d like to let people know that I'm available for sideman, front-man, and sub work, as well as recording sessions. If you book music, I’m available as a soloist with a duo, trio, or a band. But I would be very remiss if I didn't also let you know that I'm also an excellent Realtor. If you you want to buy or sell a home in Westchester, Bronx, or Manhattan, I'm also known as “Mark The Realtor”, and I AM THE MAN TO CALL! Thanks.
For music, email me at Bronxharp1@aol.com.
For real estate: MarkWeitzman@kw.com.
YouTube - "Rockin' the Joint" - Mark the Harper in Faro, Portugal
YouTube - "Walkin' Blues" - Mark the Harper at the Redline Saloon 4/14/2013
YouTube - "Ladies Love Outlaws" - Mark the Harper
©2022 Roger Zee
