James Reeser & The Back Seat Drivers

About Me

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I'm working on a tour of Finland with "Tragic Sam & The Lowdown Rockers" but not dates are set yet. STAY TUNED!
We are a jumpin' swingin' fun Blues band. We come out of the box swingin'. No build up just cranking from the start. But that does not mean we are loud and in your face. We play the rooms at volumes as necessary, we just have a high energy level.
We mainly play in the Great Lakes region mostly around West Michigan but I (James Reeser) play all over the country from time to time and with many other Blues bands as well.
As far as the harp gear I use goes, these days it's all Victoria amps for me. I have 3 of them, two 45410's and a 35210. I have owned and or used many amps and for me Victoria is my Holy Grail of harp amps. I do have a HarpKing (Number 12 off the production line) and it's OK. It has plenty of power 100-watts, enough so as to keep up with any loud wanker dude on guitar. As for now the HarpKing has been shelved but I will hang on to it, don't ask it aint for sale. It just doesn't quite do it for me. I sold off all my old Fender amps (and I had a pile of em) save for the tweed 57 Champ.
I use mainly Astatic JT30 mics, some new some old. They have no special electronics inside em, just plain stock as in my opinion it's a waste to add anything to the mic, the tone mostly comes from using a good amp. I do install a hidden push button on off switch where the stand threads are. I hate volume knobs on harp mics, on or off is all you need. I sill use some mics that are all stock with no switches. I used to have a pile of Shure Green Bullet style mics. I still have one I occasionally use, it has a brushed chrome finish. I sold most of the Shures off as I'm not a collector of gear. I buy and keep what I will use.
I do use some stomp boxes. Mostly an old Boss digital delay that I have had since like 1985 or so. I also occasionally use a Danelectro Rocky Road spinning speaker for a simulated Leslie effect. It a really kewl pedal but it needs a mod right out of the box as it has a gain boost when you tap it on and gain boost is a big no no for harp. The mod is simple to do.
For info on what harps I use click on my blog and feel free to add your 2 cents worth.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 8/28/2006
Band Website: jamesreeser.com/
Band Members:

Buck (Sweet Pea) Robinson

Buck slaps a backbeat all night on his upright bass. He is the last remaining member of James' original line-up. Sharing the stage with James for over 16 years.
Pete Muszkiewcz Pete has been with me on drums since 2003 and he is incredibly lively and fun to watch.

Paul Hauschild On the Hammond B3

Troy Amaro Troy Amaro has played music for the last 20 years in various stints with both Blues and Jazz groups. With the music of Little Walter being (and still) the reason Troy was drawn to the Blues, he continues to be influenced by both past and modern players whoâ€™s main focus is to maintain the real, original, raw, authentic Blues he loves. Troy considers a playerâ€™s sound and tone to be just as important as his musical ability and therefore uses only guitars and amps (Victoria Amps, Don Mare pickups) that replicate the 1940â€™s and 1950â€™s sounds from the golden era of Blues. Current and past musical and tone influences include, Pee Wee Crayton, T-Bone Walker, Willie Johnson, Luther Tucker, Hollywood Fats, Kid Ramos, Junior Watson and many others.

Other guitar players that were with us or have helped us out in the past:
Pat Hansen

Matt Young
Pete Bullard T-Bird Huck
Doug Deming
Harry Oman
Mondo Cortez
Nick Moss
David John
Roy Cashman (Cadillac Slim)
Influences: I guess I would have to say that the biggest influence on me was Sugar Ray Norcia. I lived in New England for 12 years and had the pleasure of seeing his band Sugar Ray & The Bluetones very often while living there. I lived very close to a club that is long gone now, it was called "Spinnakers". My best friend and drummer Dave Armstrong and I hung out there every weekend soaking up the blues sounds of New England Blues bands.

Other influences include in no particular order:

William Clarke, Big Walter Horton, Rod Piazza, Little Walter, George Harmonica Smith, James Cotton, and many more. I just can't think of them here and now.

These days I try to play with my own style but I'm sure harp aficionados can probably hear many others styles in my playing.
Sounds Like: Really good jumpin' swingin' lowdown and diirty Blues to me.
Record Label: http://juicybluerecords.com/
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Harp brands.

OK here's my take on harps. I use almost exclusively Suzuki Promaster non valved diatonic harmonicas. I bought one years when they first came out to try it. I found them easy to play, they lasted long...
Posted by James Reeser & The Back Seat Drivers on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 09:37:00 PST