The Harmonica Club

              of Huntington, WV    founded August 2001 

Home Page We meet every Tuesday 7pm-9pm   

at GINO'S PUB at 25th street and 5th AVE.   EVERYONE welcome 

but if you can't  make it to the meeting PLAY ALONG with us here, on-line

Home Harmonicollege HarmoniCollege Pictures Event Calendar 6th WV Harmonica Championship 2012 and The 1st Harmonica Quadrathlon Listen, read and see  past WV Harmonica Championships Play Along With Us Audio Downloads  Harp Tabs to songs that we play Pictures               NEW links to PICASA ALBUMS Videos Lessons Riffs Tab and Audio Jam Tracks for practice History of the Harmonica Club Contact Us Map to Gino's Pub where the club meets LINKS to other Harmonica Related Sites Buy "Evey Groove a Bluesman Needs to Know" by Jimi Lee

Hello Harpers      the newest harp news There's now a picture story of HarmoniCollege 2012 that will give you an idea of what you may see at HarmoniCollege 2 2013, click on the picture to see the story. When you see the HARMONICA CLUB sign, you'll know you're there. HarmoniCollege 2   Friday April 19 and Saturday April 20, 2013 The "bed and breakfast" harmonica event will once again be held at Heritage Farm in Huntington, WV. Friday night is the "meet and greet" and jam session. Saturday is classes from 9am to 5pm with a jam session that night. Click HARMONICOLLEGE on the upper left menu. Dennis Gruenling on Monday Feb 4th at 9pm . Dennis will perform for one hour with The Harmonica Club. The performance is a free event open to the public. The location is Gino's Pub, located on the corner of 25th street and Fifth Ave. in Huntington, WV. Preceding the 1- hour performance, there will be a 90 - minute workshop for only $20 per person. The workshop will be from 7pm to 8:30. The workshop will be in the office located 2 doors east of Gino's Pub. It is next to the Taco Bell.&nbsp; If you have questions, use the CONTACT US button on the lower left menu. The Harmonica Club will hold the Sixth West Virginia State Harmonica Championship. Saturday August 25th 2012 part of The Diamond Teeth Mary Blues Festival and the First Harmonica Quadrathlon click on the link on the left read more Below are links to practice songs for the 2012 Quadrathlon Wreck of Old 97 in C with "Freight Train" intro Dust My Broom in G, (blues tune) Summer Time jam track in A minor via Band in a Box Have You Ever Seen the Rain in G (major scale tune) 1-17-2012 Gino's Pub Nice evening with a 10 year old boy named Nate Goodwin coming with his Grandmother to watch the Club. He got some instruction and we played some songs in the key of D for him to follow. Al (one of the founding fathers of the group) was there, he is turning 93 soon and still playing. We did some songs that we had not perFor more info go to http://hhcwv.com/harmonicollege.html formed before and some that maybe only once or twice, some may be keepers, who knows. Karen sang a few tunes. Kate also sang a tune for the first time in a long time. Here's the recording 1-17-2012 Gino's Pub, Karen Comb's sings http://hhcwv.com/mp3/gp20120117.mp3 Tuesday, 8-16-2011, was special.  Brent Williams could not show to play drums. John Smith stepped up to play snare,  John use to come regularly at the old Java Joint on 10th street.  Blue Miller brought his congas to fill out the drum section.  Karen Combs sang our first rendition of "Spooky".  Later we did our first rendition of "Whole lotta SLast Tuesday, 8-16-2011, was special.  Here's a link to the recording Gino's Pub 8-16-2011, Toni Crozier sings, John Smith plays drums I just finished the recording of 7-5-2011. I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've done a recording. In it you will hear "Canadian Sunset" and Wildwood Flour". Canadian Sunset was a request by Tom (if I remember right) and I talked about playing 12th position. Barbara James' playing is fine, but I consider it a "learning exercise" as far as my 12th position playing. Wildwood Flour is Wildwood Flower with the end from the "Martha White Flour" jingle. Gino's Pub 07-05-2011 Gino's recording of 6-28-2011 Here is a recording from Gino's Pub on 6-21-2011. It is the first night to have Barbara James play piano with us. Gino's Pub 6-21-2011 Here is a recording from Pullman Square on 6-14 2011.  We started late that night. We started after Flag Day ceremonies performed by the Huntington Elks club Pullman Square 6-14-2011 4-26-2011 We may change our name to the FREE BEER HARMONICA CLUB. Our first night at Gino's Pub was a success. By the second hour everyone in the club was offered free beer. And even though, not everyone took advantage of the offer, I declare, at least one of the ladies was playing better than usual by the end of the evening. Even channel 13 news was there to get a few video clips. We have a nice recording of the night posted on the PLAY ALONG page Here's some pictures of the night Tuesday April 12th from 7pm to 9pm will be the last time for The Harmonica Club to play at The Java Joint 4-7-2011 After April the 12th the club will be wandering to and fro for a few weeks as they try to figure out where they want to be and as they do their civic duty. On April 19th the club will be at The Charles Russell Elementary grade school on Blackburn Ave in Ashland, Ky from 6pm to 8pm as part of the fund raising Blues Night and Spaghetti Dinner. Funds from the dinner will be used to buy harmonicas for the 5th and 6th grade students. They will be taught by their teacher and club member Joanne Reinhard. April 26th from 7pm to 9pm you will find the club at Gino's Pub at 25th street and 5th Ave in Huntington, WV. The following Tuesday May 3rd takes the club to The Huntington Kitchen at 911 3rd Ave. The second Tuesday in May is the 10th, and the beginning of the club's "Night on the Town" performances at Pullman Square from 7pm to 9pm. The club will continue to perform at Pullman square on the 2nd Tuesday of each month through October.  Locations of meetings after May 10th will be announced later. 4-2-2011   It's Official The Harmonica Club IS ON THE MOVE JAVA JOINT CLOSES IN APRIL It's been our home since 2001. It's like loosing a member of the family. We will miss Amber and Jason, but when one door shuts, another opens.  The Harmonica Club will continue, it will just be different. 3-1-2011 Tony Crozier joined us. It was good to have Tony back.  He played and sang "Crossroads" and "Can't You See" Here's a picture of Tony playing. Click it to hear him. 2-19-2011 The Greenbottom Chilli Cookoff We had a good turnout and a good time. There were 14 of us. We played for 1 and 1/2 hours and went home full of chili and good times. 2-8-2011  Chris Sutton did the opening tune for us. He also confirmed that we will do the WV State Harmonica Championship at The Diamond Teeth Mary Festival on Saturday August 27th. Now it's time to plan and organize the event. Grace Kahn sang 2 numbers for us about midway through the night. Very fine vocals, worth listening to. CLick link to listen http://hhcwv.com/mp3/jj20110208.mp3 2-4-2011  ALL 2010 recordings now posted on PLAY ALONG page. Go listen. Lightening strikes twice at The Java Joint 2-1-2011 Both Allan Hatten and Eddie Blue Dawson were at the Java Joint last night. The music was a notch thanks to their presence. I took the time to capture 8 solos Allan did last night. They are a joy to listen to and worth studying. CLICK ON THE PIC TO HEAR ALLAN's solos 7-31-2010   The 2010 4th annual  WV State Harmonica Championship First place       Allan Hatten,         Huntington, WV Second place  David Payne          Elkview, WV Thisrd place    Raymond Horsley  Lucasville, Oh Bear Award   Lewis Wyatt           Ashland, Ky TO SEE THE VIDEOS, GO TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP PAGE To hear the warm up jam, competition and after jam, CLICK HERE To hear 3rd, 2nd and 1st place, CLICK HERE To See More Pictures of the Championship CLICK HERE <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5m0F7npOChk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Raymond Horsley (3rd),Allan Hatten (1st),Lewis Wyatt (bear award),Jim Rumbaugh (host), David Payne (2nd) 10-10-2009 We played the Oktoberfest in Chesapeake Ohio. On a cold day, we only had a few volunteers. None of the ussual guitar players could make it, but the show must go on. Paula Stewart put her harmonicas away and took up her 6 string, leaving  Darrell, Ron, and Jim to be the 3 harmonica players. 9-28-2009 New jam track, Boogie Basic on Jam Track page 9-19-2009  3 members of The Harmonica Club take top 3 positions at Ohio Valley Harmonica Championship 2009 Jim Rumbaugh (left of center), drove Brian Salters (center) nad John Van Kirk (right of Center) to Belleville, WV on Saturday Sept 19th for the 2009 Ohio Valley Harmonica Championship put on by Dave Payne (right) of Elk River Harmoicas.  Lucky for us there was only 1 other contestant. Brian took 1st place, John took second, and Jim  took 3rd. We came home with many fine Seydel products from Elk River Harmonicas. Sept 11,2009 the club played Let Freedom Ring at Ritter Park as a guest of The Thundertones This year the 2009 WV State Harmonica Championship is sponsored by Picnic with the Pops. The Huntington Symphonic Orchestra will perform at Harris Riverfront Park, starting at 8pm. The gates open at 5pm. The Harmonica Club will be doing some pre-show entertainment. Satan and Adam's Aug 2009 tour will not be coming to Huntington, WV due to scheduling problems. Adam Gussow said he may be our way next year as a solo act.  I told him if he comes our way, we WILL make something happen. 6-13-2009, The Harmonica Club played for The Cabell Wayne Association of the Blind. Our own harper, Kermit Nance, was honored for 10 years service to the organization.  Guest guitarist Chris Sutton filled in for us. Deak Harp came down from the Chicago area to  played the V Club Tuesday April 7th. We all got to talk to Deak, ask a few questions, hear a few stories, and have a good time. The newest recording of  The Harmonica Club is ready. This from Tuesday 3-31-2009. Play Along With Us Audio Downloads Click here to SEE & HEAR a slide show of  The 2nd WV State Harmonica Championship Our last 2008 Pullman Square event on a pleasant October night. Wendy April from Ashland Ky joined us for the last hour. Play Along With Us Audio Downloads  Sept 27th Saturday at the  Chili Festival at the parking lot of The Paramount in Ashland Ky.  After finishing her set before us, singer Wendy April sang our first tune, Have You Ever Seen The Rain. Poage's Landing Days Sept 21 2008 was a success. The ladies showed that the harp is not just for men as  Joanne did 2 solos and Jane made her first appearance in a special event. The Cattletsburg Labor Day Parade was fun, 8 harps,guitar,bass & drums CLICK HERE TO HEAR The WV State Harmonica Championship 2008 Adam Gussow Harmonica Workshop July 29th 7pm at Rt 60 Music, was also a HUGE success.  go to LESSONS to hear it. 8-19-2008 The Java Joint was fine indeed.  Go to the PLAY ALONG tab on the left, than click on JAVA JOINT 8-19-2008.  There is over an hour of  music. Some is rough first run throughs, but some of the stuff, especially the Chris Sutton Tunes, are smoking.  Grab a C and A harp and play along. 5-25-2008  The Ironton Memorial Day Parade was FINE.  Everyone chipped in, so no one person worked too much.  We overcame a few technical difficulties and came out with a fine sound for a large audience. We had Brent on Drums, Richard and Bobby on guitars, Tom on Bass.  On harp was Dick, Ron, Banjo Jim, Paul, Jane, Joanne, and me.  Yes, I stepped on my microphone cord and unplugged myself, and I started a few songs on the wrong note. But we did FINE.  The girls even took the lead by starting   The Marine's Hymn and The Caissons go Rolling Along.  They would do the first verse as a trio, then us guys would jump in.  They made us proud. 5-4-2008 Just added the CROSS HARP tab to Have You Ever Seen the Rain. Click on Tabs to Songs in LEFT COLUMN 3-23-2008 So here is the first release of  the 3 tunes recorded this March. HERE to HEAR Happy Wonderer HERE to HEAR Freight Train / Wreck of Old 97 medley HERE to HEAR Big Boss Man 4-19-2008 MY SUZUKI BLUES MASTER HARPS are here. Thanks to all of you how made this possible. When my first pick of a 7 pack of  Special 20's were back ordered, I started looking for an alternative.  I looked at Lee Oscar and Bushman Delta Frost. I had a poor experience with my first set of Lee Oscars, and I've run into a backorder problem with Bushman, as well as a dissapointing performance with the last reed plates I received from Bushman. John Ball was telling me how happy he was with his Suzuki. Dick King had given me a ProHarp Valved that was impressive. I decided to look into them. Some digging turned up this tid-bit. The Suzuki BluesMaster and the Bushman Delta Frost have interchangeable phosphor-bronze reed plates. The combs are the same too. Many voices say they are the same harp with a different cover. I found a 6 pack for $100 even, including shipping.  The keys are A, Bd, C, D, F , G.  To me, this was a better line up than the Special 20 pack of ABCDEFG.  We NEVER use B and E, and I want a Bd to do the Adam Gussow video lessons. 2-18-2008 We have 2 recordings wrapped up. Go to the PLAY ALONG page (click on the link in the left column). You will find Wild Wood Flower and Sweet Home Chicago. You will also find Sweet Home Chicago WITH NO HARP for you to use for practice. 1-15-2008  We have started our recording session at Richard Tanner's home. The first 2 tunes are under way. We will tackle a few more next time on Feb 12th. What I have learned, is that we all need a refresher course on the 12 bar blues.  That's what we will work on in January at The Java Joint.  Expect to receive a handout and go through a 15 minute drill and lesson.  We will ALL be better by the end Here is a link to our last 2 recordings http://hhcwv.com/mp3/jj20071218.mp3 http://hhcwv.com/mp3/jj20080108.mp3 Sweet Home Chicago with NO HARP 1-1-2008 I just checked, and it's been a while since I've sent you guys anything.  So let me catch up on the past and talk about the future. Below you will find a link to the Dec 4th session at The Java Joint. The special event that night was that we had 7 different people sing. There was me, Brent, Tom, Rick Ruggles, John Van Kirk, Lonnie, and a guest who's name escapes me at the moment.  There are some Christmas tunes thrown in there too. I've been slow the last 30 days due to computer woes, but I have it under control now…… after a reformat and re-install, but the process was helped out by the new 320 gig external drive that now holds the club's recorded tunes.  The 120 gig was maxed out. We will meet at The Java Joint January 8th at the usual time, but January 15th marks our first RECORDING SESSION at Richard's house in Barboursville.  No instructions on how to get there yet.  All I know is, make your way to the 4-H camp …… and the instructions will go from there.  Come early, bring a snack, and expect to sit around a lot.  It should be a learning experience for all of us. 12-04-2007 Java Joint with 7 singers and Christmas Tunes 11-25-2008   Adam Gussow is coming summer 2008.  Paula is making arrangements and we are working out details.  Make plans to meet with this exceptional harp player and teacher. We will start a recording project. Starting in 2008, we will meet the 2nd Tuesday at Richard's house to do a "real" recording. Richard has a 16 track digital studio in his home.  We should be able to do anything we want. Ask for details I've added links to our latest recordings. You can even find a few Christmas tunes buried in one of them. 9-4-2007,Tuesday was the return of Bobby on guitar and Toni Crozier on Harp.  They both showed up for the second half of the get-together.  During the first half we did a run through of Maggie.  Check out the tab for Maggie on the web site. In the second half we did Black Magic Woman.  You'll find the tab, chords, and words for Black Magic Woman on the web site. 9-04-2007 Java Joint second half with Toni Crozier 9-04-2007 Java Joint first half 8-28-2007 We had Jason and Brian show up again.  John Ball played guitar with Richard.  Brian showed up for the last hour. You can hear him play on some of the last tunes.  We watched the Gussow Lesson #22 and #23. Learning about amplifying the harp and some some split note draw chords. On Tuesday, Sept 11th Pullman Square.8-10  It is also Brent's Birthday (our drummer) and our last Night on the Town 2007.  Expect a cake and bring a token gift for Brent. ( a token gift is something you have laying around the house that you don't want anymore, like a book of matches or pictures of your old girlfriend….. be creative and wrap it up. )  Maybe we'll have Brent open a gift between songs and tell the audience what it is. Click to Hear 8-28-2007 with Brian Salters Last Tuesday 8-21-2007, hit near the new semester for Marshall University. So 2 young faces appeared. Andrew came with his guitar and Jason Breslin came with his Harp. Brent and Tom were out, so no bass or drums. One thing different, we did a run through of about 10 straight harp tunes. It was a good drill and refresher. Saturday was The Multi Cultural Festival. The 5 o'clock group sent their regrets, so we were asked to start early, but Paula and I were the only early birds. Paula volunteered to do her own "Shopping at the Walmart Blues". Then as others drifted in, we slowly took form.  Ron lead the gang in a tune as I went to get my bass and amp.  Then like a steamroller, we started slow and built up steam.  Then about the time we got rolling, strong winds threatened a storm and the sound man said, "shut it down". Still, it was a good show.  The players were Jim (me), Paula, Richard , Lonnie, Dick, Ron, John Van Kirk, Pete. Click Here to Hear  Java Joint Tuesday's 8-21-2007 recording. Tuesday 8-14-2007 was our Night on the Town at Pullman Square. Tom and BrI just checked, and it's been a while since I've sent you guys anything.  SO let me catch up on the past and talk about the future. At the bottom you will find a link to the Dec 12th session at The Java Joint. The special event that night was that we had 7 different people sing. There was me, Brent, Tom, Rick Ruggles, John Van Kirk, Lonnie, and a guest who's name escapes me at the moment.  There are some Christmas tunes thrown in there too. I've been slow the last 30 days due to computer woes, but I have it under control now…… after a reformat and re-install, but the process was helped out by the new 320 gig external drive that now holds the club's recorded tunes.  The 120 gig was maxed out. We will meet at The Java Joint January 8th at the usual time, but January 15th marks our first RECORDING SESSION at Richard's house in Barboursville.  No instructions on how to get there yet.  All I know is, make your way to the 4-H camp …… and the instructions will go from there.  Come early, bring a snack, and expect to sit around a lot.  It should be a learning experience for all of us. 8-14-2007 Pullman Square with quest guitar player Steve Jeffers. Steve and I played in a local band some 30+years ago. Tom kept Steve informed on what to do, and we all made music. CLICK HERE to HEAR Pullman Square 8-14-2007 8-7-2007 Another pleasant evening at The Java Joint.  The heat kept some at home, but we had a pleasant time. We had Gussow lessons 20 and 21 on the 3 chord blues progression and a review of basics. Click to hear- Aug 7 2007 Java Joint 7-31-2007 The Java Joint was full of local harpers talking about The WV State Championship. To read about the championship, click on the link in the left hand column.  As well as talking, we  had Dave Gussow lesson 18 and 19 on the 3 chord blues progression and the cross harp blues minor scale. Click to hear- July 31 2007 with Brian,Mark and Rick Click to hear....... The West Virginia State Harmonica Championship 2007 7-22-2007  Darrell Brown wins 2nd place in Ohio State Harmonica Championship.  I was PROUD as 4 members from our club participated in the event.  They were Ray, Kermit, Paula, and Darrell. Ray had the hard job of being the first participant. Darrell had the problem of being the last out of a total of 13 players. This year there was more players, variety, and tougher competition all around. Our gang did GOOD. 7-10-2007 Pullman Square was fun.  We had a good turnout of harpers and pickers. Tony Crozier stopped in and did one tune. Click to listen to the mp3 Pullman Square 7-10-2007 6-23-2007  The Iron Furnace Festival at Lake Vesovious was a success.  Good weather and a pleasant crowd made for a good time by everyone. At the end of the performance we were told to reserve June 14th, 2008 for our 3rd appearance. 5-29-2007 Michael Salters plays guitar at The Java Joint The usual drums and guitars were not there Tuesday, but Brian showed up about http://hhcwv.com/mp3/jj20070529.mp39 with his 2 boys.  Paula let Brian use her guitar, and we all had a smile as Michael started picking out the blues chords.  Give a listen Java Joint 5-29-2007 with Brian and Michael Salters I just checked, and it's been a while since I've sent you guys anything.  SO let me catch up on the past and talk about the future. At the bottom you will find a link to the Dec 12th session at The Java Joint. The special event that night was that we had 7 different people sing. There was me, Brent, Tom, Rick Ruggles, John Van Kirk, Lonnie, and a guest who's name escapes me at the moment.  There are some Christmas tunes thrown in there too. I've been slow the last 30 days due to computer woes, but I have it under control now…… after a reformat and re-install, but the process was helped out by the new 320 gig external drive that now holds the club's recorded tunes.  The 120 gig was maxed out. We will meet at The Java Joint January 8th at the usual time, but January 15th marks our first RECORDING SESSION at Richard's house in Barboursville.  No instructions on how to get there yet.  All I know is, make your way to the 4-H camp …… and the instructions will go from there.  Come early, bring a snack, and expect to sit around a lot.  It should be a learning experience for all of us. Here's a 10 second  MOV file video of us at:   The Ironton Memorial Day Parade 2007   We had 2 guitars, a bass and 7 harps as we played in front of over 20,000 spectators. 4-17-2007 Here's the recording from last Tuesday. You'll hear our first attempt at 'The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald". We now have a ship wreck song to add to our train wreck Songs. I guess we should hunt for a car wreck song and an airplane crash song too. The video lessons were on the 1 hole draw and the 3 hole bent. I am VERY happy with the Gussow series of lessons. It's just what I have needed to grow to the next level. If you listen to the recordings you'll hear: DRUMS: Brent GUITAR: Richard, Tom, Bobby, Nick Medich HARPS: Jim (me), Lonnie, Paula, Dick, John Ball HERE to HEAR Java Joint 04-17-2007

The HarmoniCollege Video link to our big calendar of events.   To ask us a question about upcoming events, click here, or CONTACT US  in the left column We meet every Tuesday 7pm-9pm at Gino's Pub at 15th street and 5thbdreyer@cinci.rr.com ave,  EVERYONE welcome., from beginners to old-timers, to people that just like to listen and sing along. But every 2nd Tuesday of May through Sept at Pulltman Square You can learn about The Harmonica Club from the Youtube video below, done by  a local newspaper