Roly Platt interview

Roly Platt joins me on episode 108.

Roly is a Canadian player who has recorded countless sessions over his 45 year career. He started out playing in a country band which set the scene for him playing a diverse range of genres throughout that time. Roly has recorded 1700 individual session cuts, with the numerous bands he has played in, and also various film, tv and commercial jingles.

Roly ecorded his own album in 2017, Inside Out, where he showcased his versatility by including a range of different types of song.

Roly produced and sells the great Harp Wah harmonica mute and later this year he will be releasing a book about his life with the harmonica.

Links:
Roly’s main website:
https://www.harmonicamute.com

Other website:
https://rolyplatt.com/

The Book - pre-order:
https://www.harmonicamute.com/product/i-play-harmonica-book-preorder/

Roly’s harmonica workshops:
https://www.harmonicamute.com/2-hour-harmonica-workshops-prerecorded/

Roly’s gear reviews:
https://www.harmonicamute.com/gear-reviews/

Ross Garden interview with Jimmie Fadden:
http://www.rossgarren.com/jimmie-fadden.html

Videos:
With Matt Minglewood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbXuNtkxTSY

Inside Out album interview:
https://rolyplatt.com/canadian-harmonica-player-roly-platt-talks-debut-cd-inside.html

It Ain’t Right:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx0NOq5ma5Q

Toronto Blue Jays theme song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTGDF0dc5T0

New Orleans Funk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPljRQKt59o

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

Chapters

• 1:30 Roly is based in just north of Toronto in Canada
• 1:41 Canadian harmonica players, including Steve Mariner
• 2:46 Canadian harmonica drew influences from its US neighbours, with Roly also listening to a lot of John Mayall in his early days of playing
• 3:16 Bands would travel up to Toronto from New York
• 3:46 Listening to brothers records and bought himself a harmonica aged 17
• 4:24 Roly is about to complete writing a book
• 5:03 Paul Butterfield was a big influence on Roly, with the double live album the first he heard of Butter
• 6:20 Listened to Bluegrass music early on and playing along with this more traditional form of music influenced the direction Roly took on harmonica
• 7:17 Jimmie Fadden from Nitty Gritty Dirt band plays some Country / Bluegrass harmonica and had an influence on Roly
• 8:17 These early influences took Roly down the path of the diverse range of session work he has recorded through his career
• 8:29 Roly’s first band was a country band called the Cement City Swampers
• 8:53 Charlie McCoy was another early influence on Roly
• 9:02 Most of Roly’s early session work was to play country music
• 9:49 Session work was around Toronto, where there was a lot of studios back then
• 10:37 How the internet has changed recording sessions in studios
• 11:29 Started playing professionally 18 months after picking up the harmonica, after practising ‘like a mad man’ in the early days
• 11:49 Great music scene in Toronto in those days with gigs 6 nights a week
• 12:20 Joining his first band (the Cement City Swampers) was one of happiest days of his life
• 13:08 Started touring Canada with Matt Minglewood and other bands played with early on
• 14:41 Had to find a way to make harmonica fit in music which didn’t previously have harmonica in it
• 16:02 Started listening more to other instruments and not just harmonica which developed his style
• 17:09 First recording session Roly did was age 19 when he knew very little, but they liked his playing so he got more work
• 19:14 Recording on albums with bands came after the more commercial session work
• 19:20 Started session work in the late 1970s
• 19:43 Has made 1700 individual session cuts
• 20:30 Roly’s career has been as a sideman harmonica player as opposed to harp players who run their own bands
• 21:54 Some recordings with Canadian bands
• 23:27 Played in a Bollywood movie called ‘Delhi Belly’ with a big Indian star as the main character
• 25:10 Recorded numerous jingles for commercials
• 25:24 Most of working life has been as a professional harmonica player, with a brief interlude as a graphic designer
• 26:52 Recordings with Wayne Buttery
• 27:49 Released own album ‘Inside Out’ in 2017
• 29:58 Hard process to put the album together, but worth it
• 30:54 If recorded another album would need a game plan as to why and how it would be used, such as for self-promotion
• 31:47 Advent of streaming makes albums financially challenging to make
• 32:08 Has own YouTube channel where puts out material which is under his complete control and is easy to release
• 33:33 The book that Roly is writing is about his life in harmonica and what it will be about
• 35:06 Book is almost complete and should be out in July 2024
• 35:50 Roly’s advice for anyone else interested in writing a book
• 36:54 Compares writing a book to creating an album
• 38:18 YouTube channel and song recordings Roly has made on there and generating backing tracks
• 39:41 Always does YouTube videos in one take
• 39:48 Using AI to pull out individual tracks from recordings to enable creation of backing tracks from the original recordings and the moral conundrum this brings
• 41:12 Recorded the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team theme song, in which Roly had to imitate a seagull on harmonica
• 43:21 Won some music awards as part of recording on other artists albums
• 43:36 Does some teaching, including at harmonica camps, and has pre-recorded video tutorials via his website
• 44:12 Ten minute question
• 46:27 Roly’s Harp Wah product, like playing the harmonica through a cup or glass
• 48:16 Harp Wah is a specific effect to be used when required
• 48:56 Sound you get from the Harp Wah and the material used
• 50:03 Resonates best on the low notes
• 50:23 Released a handle with it later, to make it easier to hold
• 51:08 Roly has gear reviews on his website
• 51:25 Roly is a Seydel endorser and plays the 1847 after first trying out the Session Steels for a harp where the reeds laster longer
• 52:39 Doesn’t play any chromatic, although owns several
• 53:06 Has used some different tunings on recordings
• 54:01 How Roly discovered Country tuning via Charlie McCoy
• 55:12 Embouchre: mainly puckers but some tongue blocking for splits and octaves
• 55:26 Holds harp on almost a vertical angle, except when tongue blocking
• 55:34 Amps: Bassman re-issue, Gibson Maestro,
• 56:01 Uses Ultimate 58 and 57 mics, also uses bullet mics
• 56:56 Makes some use of effects generated by computer when recording YouTube videos
• 57:38 Uses Sub n Up pedal for octave effect
• 57:53 Uses some pedals when playing live
• 58:17 Future plans is to complete book this year and see where that takes him, as well as selling the Harp Wah, recording sessions and playing out live