LP Dust Jacket "An Evening With PDQ Bach"
On April 6 I performed at the Woodview Coffeehouse open mic. My past two times there I'd included excerpts from my novel Covenant . But since we were in the middle of Passover in addition to Good Friday, I read from my 20-years-ago journal entry, "The Old Men of Revere Beach." After beginning with extemporaneous a cappella singing, I put my Yiddish brogue to good use here.
I was also fascinated by an instrument that one of the featured performers (in the duo Pete Price and Mike Roberts) used. He called it a "paddlewheel harmonica," which I think is the perfect name for it, although my Google search for that term turned up empty. For the first part of the set I couldn't help but notice this weird thing on the floor. From where I sat, it didn't even look like a musical instrument. Then it literally came into play for a song with a "modulation" (change in key) and captivated me. You can see one here.
When I told Mary about the harmonica, she expressed her interest in a slide kazoo. Simple enough, I thought. Not. I've found references to alto slide kazoos, tenor slide kazoos, contrabass slide kazoos, electric slide kazoos, and discussion on what kind of a mouthpiece to use on a slide kazoo. Though I believe the "left-handed E-flat slide kazoo" mentioned in one post plays in the same orchestra as PDQ Bach's Left-Handed Sewer Flute, lovingly detailed on the cover of this debut album, which I grew up with along with other mishegas.
LP Dust Jacket "An Evening With PDQ Bach"
On April 6 I performed at the Woodview Coffeehouse open mic. My past two times there I'd included excerpts from my novel Covenant . But since we were in the middle of Passover in addition to Good Friday, I read from my 20-years-ago journal entry, "The Old Men of Revere Beach." After beginning with extemporaneous a cappella singing, I put my Yiddish brogue to good use here.
I was also fascinated by an instrument that one of the featured performers (in the duo Pete Price and Mike Roberts) used. He called it a "paddlewheel harmonica," which I think is the perfect name for it, although my Google search for that term turned up empty. For the first part of the set I couldn't help but notice this weird thing on the floor. From where I sat, it didn't even look like a musical instrument. Then it literally came into play for a song with a "modulation" (change in key) and captivated me. You can see one here.
When I told Mary about the harmonica, she expressed her interest in a slide kazoo. Simple enough, I thought. Not. I've found references to alto slide kazoos, tenor slide kazoos, contrabass slide kazoos, electric slide kazoos, and discussion on what kind of a mouthpiece to use on a slide kazoo. Though I believe the "left-handed E-flat slide kazoo" mentioned in one post plays in the same orchestra as PDQ Bach's Left-Handed Sewer Flute, lovingly detailed on the cover of this debut album, which I grew up with along with other mishegas.