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
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
