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Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Eddie Martin interview

March 15, 2024 Neil Warren Season 1 Episode 106

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Eddie was born in London and now lives in Frome, Somerset

Has been described as the ‘ambassador of British Blues’, and has been playing since age 16, almost fifty years

Started playing guitar a year before the harmonica

Although is known as a blues player, Eddie thinks of himself as a songwriter, who writes mainly in the blues form

Grew up in era of classic British blues rock, blues and folk music, including Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan

Instrumental skills have always been to serve the song

Example of some of the great lyrics Eddie has written: Kind Lady Moon and Like Water

Thirst album was produced by Eddie and was influenced by The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album

Eddie works as a one-band, playing harmonica, guitar, vocals and percussion, as well as in his own band

Started playing rack harmonica early on in his formative years, as a means to support song writing along with guitar

Also played a lot of hand-held harmonica (off the rack)

Other rack harmonica players Eddie heard tended to play simple first position stuff

American folk rack harmonica of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, and learning for their approach to playing harmonica

Did Eddie learn harmonica initially both on the rack, and off-rack

Early on wanted to forge his own approach to rack playing

Tongue blocking wasn’t used by many of the earlier rack players, and Eddie was keen to incorporate that into his playing

Had planned to do an album entirely using rack harmonica, but the songwriter in Eddie always got in the way of that

Eddie practised the guitar and rack harmonica together, not working on them separately

Playing simultaneous solos on harmonica and guitar

Doing two different things on harmonica and guitar: Eddie thinks he has the ability to do this, which not everybody has

Importance of getting a good rack to use, that is stable, and adjustable to the correct height for you

Modified his own racks when he started out and there weren’t so many good options as there are now

Has adapted playing on a rack over the years to a level where he can use the cheaper ones now

Hohner Flexirack is the one that Eddie recommends to starting rack players

How Eddie positions the rack so it doesn’t get in the way of singing, with the height being important

Although is known for playing harmonica on a rack, is also an excellent player holding the harmonica in hands

What proportion does Eddie play rack versus non-rack?

Has a showpiece where plays electric guitar in one hand while holding harmonica in the other

Singing was the first musical pursuit when young, singing in the choir at school

Thinks have a good tone to your voice helps in having a good harmonica tone

Started as a semi-pro musician from age 18, turning professional in his thirties when started getting nominated for some awards

First CD album was Solo in Soho, from 1995 (after an earlier album just released on cassette)

First album was as one-man band, but always wanted to be in a band as well, and has done both throughout his career

One of reasons initially took up playing the rack is because couldn’t find the musicians in Bristol to play the other parts of his songs

Has three different outfits now: solo, trio and larger band

Second album: Blue To The Bone album (1997) is with Eddie’s band

Has his own record label, Blueblood Records, and released and produced all his own albums on there

Had some other artists on the record label

How produced and recorded own albums

Blue To The Bone album was produced alongside Dick Heckstall-Smith, a previous member of the John Mayall Blues Band, and Pete Brown, lyricist for Cream

Spent two years in the US, first touring with his British band in the East

Formed a band with an American rhythm section, who also toured with in Europe too

Played solo shows in the US and got some residencies on Beale St, Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi

American audience responded well to Eddie playing the blues over there, with Eddie a humble student of the blues while in the US

Two compilation albums of first 25 years of Eddie’s career: Blues Took Me By The Hand, volumes 1 and 2

Spent some time in Italy, recording with a band he formed called Big Red Radio, including a gospel choir

With this band used traditional blues instruments while bringing in the dynamics of rock music

How the project came together in Italy

Released seventeen albums under own name

Thirst album with song One Man Band, played with a full band

The Birdcage Sessions album, released in 2021 during the Covid pandemic and recorded at Eddie’s home

Birdcage Sessions won European Blues album of the year from Mojo magazine, as selected by Tony Russell

Happy Broke and Free song from Birdcage Sessions album

Decision on which songs to include harmonica on

When recording an album, Eddie might play harmonica on a rack to get a live feel, but recording on a rack can be problematic in the studio

Recorded using the Chess technique of playing in a room with lots of natural reverb and using a second mic to capture the room reverb, as was done with some Little Walter recordings

Has played with some great musicians, including Honeyboy Edwards, John Mayall, Paul Jones and others

Has toured in 35 different countries

Eddie runs lots of workshops, including a rack workshop at the Harmonica Masters in Trossingen in October 2024

Teaching at the Euroblues Week in the UK in 2024

Appeared at Harpin’ By The Sea near Brighton in the UK in 2024

Appearance at the UK NHL festival in 2006

Likes to teach and share his knowledge and does a little private teaching too

Awards won by Eddie include Best Solo/Acoustic Artist in the European Blues Awards

10 minute question

Lost mojo to write new music during the pandemic, and took up painting at this time but has got back into playing and hopes to record another album soon

Challenge of making money back from making albums

Doesn’t push for lots of gigs at the moment due to family circumstances, but plans to start playing out more in 2025

Harmonicas of choice are the different flavours of Marine Bands and the Rocket

Plays some chromatic, including on the rack (without using the button)

Different positions Eddie uses to fit the songs he writes

Overblows: not used much but has been playing them recently and likes the overblow on 6 blow for the minor third

Does a little set-up of harps himself, but not too much

Embouchre: uses some puckering and tongue block

Amps: doesn’t play much amplified rack harmonica anymore, but still loves amped harmonica

Sometimes plays as a sideman harmonica player, which he loves to do

Owns several tube amps and vintage mics and likes the different varieties of vintage mics

Lately has acquired a Shure 521 mic

Effects: just some slap echo

Uses SM58 vocal mic when playing acoustic harmonica

Big fan of Son of Dave and the range of effects he uses

Info

Happy Hour Harmonica Podcast

Eddie Martin interview

Mar 15, 2024 Season 1 Episode 106

Neil Warren

Eddie Martin joins me on episode 106.

Eddie has been described as the ambassador of British Blues, having released seventeen albums over his near fifty year career, with many of the songs self-penned by Eddie. He started out as a one-man band, but also performs as part of his own bands too. In either format Eddie makes extensive use of rack harmonica, and is one of the leading players of using a rack, while also playing some hand-held harmonica as well. Eddie gives us some great tips on playing on the rack.

Eddie also had a two year spell in the US where he regularly played on Beale St, Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi, as well as time playing in Italy.

And he regularly teaches at workshops in the UK and Europe.

Links:
Eddie’s website:
http://eddiemartin.com

Big Red Radio:
https://soundcloud.com/eddie-martin/sets/eddie-martins-big-red-radio

Harmonica Master’s Workshop:
https://www.harmonica-masters.de/en/workshops-2024/master-workshops-diatonic/eddie-martin.html

EuroBlues week:
https://www.euroblues.co.uk/blues-week-2024/

Son of Dave interview:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/son-of-dave-interview/

Videos:
One Man Band video from Thirst album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK6Qr9nSugw&t=18s

Birdcage Sessions video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU87CViwfJA

Harpin’ By The Sea 2024: Breakeven Blues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S83O-scnX_I

Harpin’ By The Sea 2024: Early In The Morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fuwgMcaJ4Q

NHL festival 2006: Queen of Spades:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW-Y9JplJ4w

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

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

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

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
AND
The Harmonica Company. Use promo code: 'happyhour7'.
Email Jonathan at: sales@theharmonicacompany.com

Support the Show.

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Eddie Martin joins me on episode 106.

Eddie has been described as the ambassador of British Blues, having released seventeen albums over his near fifty year career, with many of the songs self-penned by Eddie. He started out as a one-man band, but also performs as part of his own bands too. In either format Eddie makes extensive use of rack harmonica, and is one of the leading players of using a rack, while also playing some hand-held harmonica as well. Eddie gives us some great tips on playing on the rack.

Eddie also had a two year spell in the US where he regularly played on Beale St, Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi, as well as time playing in Italy.

And he regularly teaches at workshops in the UK and Europe.

Links:
Eddie’s website:
http://eddiemartin.com

Big Red Radio:
https://soundcloud.com/eddie-martin/sets/eddie-martins-big-red-radio

Harmonica Master’s Workshop:
https://www.harmonica-masters.de/en/workshops-2024/master-workshops-diatonic/eddie-martin.html

EuroBlues week:
https://www.euroblues.co.uk/blues-week-2024/

Son of Dave interview:
https://www.harmonicahappyhour.com/son-of-dave-interview/

Videos:
One Man Band video from Thirst album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK6Qr9nSugw&t=18s

Birdcage Sessions video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU87CViwfJA

Harpin’ By The Sea 2024: Breakeven Blues:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S83O-scnX_I

Harpin’ By The Sea 2024: Early In The Morning:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fuwgMcaJ4Q

NHL festival 2006: Queen of Spades:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW-Y9JplJ4w

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

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

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

Podcast sponsors:
This podcast is sponsored by SEYDEL harmonicas - visit the oldest harmonica factory in the world at www.seydel1847.com or on Facebook or Instagram at SEYDEL HARMONICAS
AND
The Harmonica Company. Use promo code: 'happyhour7'.
Email Jonathan at: sales@theharmonicacompany.com

Support the Show.

Eddie was born in London and now lives in Frome, Somerset

Has been described as the ‘ambassador of British Blues’, and has been playing since age 16, almost fifty years

Started playing guitar a year before the harmonica

Although is known as a blues player, Eddie thinks of himself as a songwriter, who writes mainly in the blues form

Grew up in era of classic British blues rock, blues and folk music, including Woodie Guthrie and Bob Dylan

Instrumental skills have always been to serve the song

Example of some of the great lyrics Eddie has written: Kind Lady Moon and Like Water

Thirst album was produced by Eddie and was influenced by The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album

Eddie works as a one-band, playing harmonica, guitar, vocals and percussion, as well as in his own band

Started playing rack harmonica early on in his formative years, as a means to support song writing along with guitar

Also played a lot of hand-held harmonica (off the rack)

Other rack harmonica players Eddie heard tended to play simple first position stuff

American folk rack harmonica of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, and learning for their approach to playing harmonica

Did Eddie learn harmonica initially both on the rack, and off-rack

Early on wanted to forge his own approach to rack playing

Tongue blocking wasn’t used by many of the earlier rack players, and Eddie was keen to incorporate that into his playing

Had planned to do an album entirely using rack harmonica, but the songwriter in Eddie always got in the way of that

Eddie practised the guitar and rack harmonica together, not working on them separately

Playing simultaneous solos on harmonica and guitar

Doing two different things on harmonica and guitar: Eddie thinks he has the ability to do this, which not everybody has

Importance of getting a good rack to use, that is stable, and adjustable to the correct height for you

Modified his own racks when he started out and there weren’t so many good options as there are now

Has adapted playing on a rack over the years to a level where he can use the cheaper ones now

Hohner Flexirack is the one that Eddie recommends to starting rack players

How Eddie positions the rack so it doesn’t get in the way of singing, with the height being important

Although is known for playing harmonica on a rack, is also an excellent player holding the harmonica in hands

What proportion does Eddie play rack versus non-rack?

Has a showpiece where plays electric guitar in one hand while holding harmonica in the other

Singing was the first musical pursuit when young, singing in the choir at school

Thinks have a good tone to your voice helps in having a good harmonica tone

Started as a semi-pro musician from age 18, turning professional in his thirties when started getting nominated for some awards

First CD album was Solo in Soho, from 1995 (after an earlier album just released on cassette)

First album was as one-man band, but always wanted to be in a band as well, and has done both throughout his career

One of reasons initially took up playing the rack is because couldn’t find the musicians in Bristol to play the other parts of his songs

Has three different outfits now: solo, trio and larger band

Second album: Blue To The Bone album (1997) is with Eddie’s band

Has his own record label, Blueblood Records, and released and produced all his own albums on there

Had some other artists on the record label

How produced and recorded own albums

Blue To The Bone album was produced alongside Dick Heckstall-Smith, a previous member of the John Mayall Blues Band, and Pete Brown, lyricist for Cream

Spent two years in the US, first touring with his British band in the East

Formed a band with an American rhythm section, who also toured with in Europe too

Played solo shows in the US and got some residencies on Beale St, Memphis and Clarksdale, Mississippi

American audience responded well to Eddie playing the blues over there, with Eddie a humble student of the blues while in the US

Two compilation albums of first 25 years of Eddie’s career: Blues Took Me By The Hand, volumes 1 and 2

Spent some time in Italy, recording with a band he formed called Big Red Radio, including a gospel choir

With this band used traditional blues instruments while bringing in the dynamics of rock music

How the project came together in Italy

Released seventeen albums under own name

Thirst album with song One Man Band, played with a full band

The Birdcage Sessions album, released in 2021 during the Covid pandemic and recorded at Eddie’s home

Birdcage Sessions won European Blues album of the year from Mojo magazine, as selected by Tony Russell

Happy Broke and Free song from Birdcage Sessions album

Decision on which songs to include harmonica on

When recording an album, Eddie might play harmonica on a rack to get a live feel, but recording on a rack can be problematic in the studio

Recorded using the Chess technique of playing in a room with lots of natural reverb and using a second mic to capture the room reverb, as was done with some Little Walter recordings

Has played with some great musicians, including Honeyboy Edwards, John Mayall, Paul Jones and others

Has toured in 35 different countries

Eddie runs lots of workshops, including a rack workshop at the Harmonica Masters in Trossingen in October 2024

Teaching at the Euroblues Week in the UK in 2024

Appeared at Harpin’ By The Sea near Brighton in the UK in 2024

Appearance at the UK NHL festival in 2006

Likes to teach and share his knowledge and does a little private teaching too

Awards won by Eddie include Best Solo/Acoustic Artist in the European Blues Awards

10 minute question

Lost mojo to write new music during the pandemic, and took up painting at this time but has got back into playing and hopes to record another album soon

Challenge of making money back from making albums

Doesn’t push for lots of gigs at the moment due to family circumstances, but plans to start playing out more in 2025

Harmonicas of choice are the different flavours of Marine Bands and the Rocket

Plays some chromatic, including on the rack (without using the button)

Different positions Eddie uses to fit the songs he writes

Overblows: not used much but has been playing them recently and likes the overblow on 6 blow for the minor third

Does a little set-up of harps himself, but not too much

Embouchre: uses some puckering and tongue block

Amps: doesn’t play much amplified rack harmonica anymore, but still loves amped harmonica

Sometimes plays as a sideman harmonica player, which he loves to do

Owns several tube amps and vintage mics and likes the different varieties of vintage mics

Lately has acquired a Shure 521 mic

Effects: just some slap echo

Uses SM58 vocal mic when playing acoustic harmonica

Big fan of Son of Dave and the range of effects he uses