Harmonica Red Band profile picture

Harmonica Red Band

About Me

All you really need to know about these guys is their fanatical following of "Harp Heads" number in the thousands and drive hundreds of miles to get a serving of Harmonica Red and The New Heard's "Cosmic Swamp Rock." Harmonica Red and The New Heard will be on the road coast-to-coast for 200+ days this year in support of his 4 CDs- "Harmonica Red- Vol. 1," "Louisiana Swamp Blues," "Even Trolls Love Rock and Roll," and the new release on Paid Records, "I Was Born In Louisiana."
George Heard, aka Harmonica Red, is a legendary live performer and international recording artist who has performed with, toured with and recorded with some of the true heavyweights of the Blues, Jazz, Country and Rock worlds, including such diverse artists as Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Little Feat, Lee Oskar and WAR, Zachary Richard, The Meters, Rockin' Doopsie, Jr., Robert Jr. Lockwood, Larry Garner, Chris Thomas King, Dr. John, Asleep At The Wheel, Commander Cody, Jimmy Vevino, Bruce Daigrepont, Clarence Edwards, Rudy Richard, Jeff Foxworthy, David Alan Coe, and of course his 5+ years, 3 CDs and 1 DVD with Big Al and The Heavyweights.
To get his unique and extraordinary sound, Red stacks his Lee Oskar Harmonicas on top of one another, "two or three at a time, sliding between them [to get] notes you can't make on a single diatonic [harmonica]..." (Wavelength Magazine). Perhaps that is why Bill Levine of the Nashville Scene said of his performance on the new Big Al CD "Nothin' But Good Lovin'" "...Harmonica Red (George Heard), who plays the mouth organ as if he's either reaching for the vault of a funky cathederal or luring the damned out of a deep circle of hell." Thomas J. Cullen of The Baltimore Blues Society Newsletter says, "...his scintillating harp work is often the center of musical attention. Not only can he sound like an accordian (a requirement for this band), he can wail like Sonny Boy II and soar like Little Walter. He's also a dynamic live performer who's been known to walk the bar on a few occasions." Of a recent performance at the Boulder Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Jason Bracelin of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote "If it sounds like three harmonica players wailing away at the same time when Harmonica Red performs, it's for good reason: the firey mouhharp specialist stacks up several instruments, playing two or three at a time. The result is a wild, unbounded sound that redefines the parameters of the blues. As a blues harmonicist, Harmonica Red has many contemporaries but few peers.
Summing it up, Shawn Ryan of The Birmingham News says, "...blows a big head of steam from his harmonica, but aso has a good voice and a wonderful stage persona to match."
Harmonica Red and The New Heard- not only are they exceptional musicians; they are WORLD CLASS entertainers who know how to make an EVENT that will be talked about for months, out of a gig. PREPARE FOR HARP-DRIVE! To Book Harmonica Red and The New Heard, contact: Blues Boys and Divas Talent Harty Wiedemann, TA733 P.O.Box 38519 Tallahassee, Fl. 32315 Phone: 850.875.2587 Fax: 850.627.8127 or [email protected]
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
Vote Now by clicking Here: SouthbayMusicAwards !Due partly to the success of “I Was Born In Louisiana” as well as the band’s top 10 finish in the International Blues Foundation's “Best Self Produced CD” competition, worldwide airplay, and the hard touring schedule in 2007 and 2008, Harmonica Red and The New Heard have been nominated for the 5th annual South Bay Music Awards in Los Angles, Ca. in the “Best Blues Band” category. This is a fan voted awards program and anyone can vote ONCE! Please help support our favorite Harmonica Pal and his hard working band by using this link and voting! Please visit: www.southbaymusicawards/nominees.php (or click here: SouthbayMusicAwards !to cast your vote!
Blues Foundation Announcement! "I Was Born In Louisiana" Among 10 Semi-Finalists for "Best Self Produced CD!"
All Photos below: ©2006-07 frankvigil.com
For more reviews, see my blog!img src=http://a367.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/40/l_bdacc 1efe81712b46bf8acd1bca6ed7e.jpg

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 08/08/2007
Band Website: http://www.harmonicared.com
Band Members: George "Harmonica Red" Heard- Harmonicas, Lead and Background Vocals; Erik Shields- Drums/Background and lead Vocals;Lindsay Olive- Guitars; Micheal McKenney- Bass and Vocals
Influences: Harmonica Red- "I was always drawn to great musicians. In my early years, before I started playing music, it was The Beatles and The Beach Boys. When I actually started playing harmonica, I was already listening to The J. Geils Band, Yes, War, Deep Purple, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Miles Davis... Older guys that I was playing with then told me to listen to Little Walter, "Toots" Theilmand, Larry Adler, Charlie McCoy- all the Greats! After them, I couldn't find any harmonica players that "did it" for me, so I listened to pedal steel guitar players, horn players, pianists, guitar players, bassists- any musicians that "spoke" to me. I tried to emulate and incorporate them into my playing. To read more, read my “My Influences” Blog!
Sounds Like: "Cosmic Swamp Rock": The Meters meet Muddy Waters meets Tony Joe White meets Little Feat meets Mile Davis meets Leon Russell meets The J. Giles Band...
Record Label: Paid Records
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

More Praise for "I Was Born In Louisiana!"

It feels so good to hear such great compliments resulting from hard work.  Many thanks to all the fans and listeners and I look forward to 2008! I Was Born In Louisiana Harmonica Red and the Ne...
Posted by on Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:33:00 GMT

Harmonica Red Complete Discography

George "Slim" Heard/Harmonica Red DiscographySolo Projects:George "Slim" Heard "Orange Bashin'" B/W "Just A Little Too Long"(GSH Records)Harmonica Red "Harmonica Red- Volume 1"(Sound of New Orleans 10...
Posted by on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 21:21:00 GMT

What The Critics are Saying.....

What the critics are saying:"....flared with the stylings of Louisiana"  "....fun and illustrious [of Louisiana music]...."  ".....extraordinarily successful...."    "For the perfe...
Posted by on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:07:00 GMT

More on my "Influences"

More on my "Influences"I've been asked many times to talk more about my influences. There's too much to post on the home page, so here is a bit more info for those that are interested (and I thank yo...
Posted by on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:53:00 GMT

On the Road...

Hello to All Harp Heads!      We're out on the west coast and I'm writting this blog from my room at The Caspar Inn in Caspar, Ca. It was a long trip out- 40 hrs., but we finally m...
Posted by on Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:24:00 GMT

Upcoming Tour -Fall 07

Hello all HarpHeads!      Welcome to The Red Room... Well, we're getting ready to go west to promote our new CD, "I Was Born In Louisiana." We've been getting great reviews, which ...
Posted by on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:16:00 GMT

Greetings from The Red Room...

Hello all you HarpHeads...      Harmonica Red and The New Heard are officially on My Space! It has been a complecated procedure, but here we are! As of today, Erik Sheilds is on dr...
Posted by on Wed, 08 Aug 2007 11:59:00 GMT