Monahanssong caught up with "Little Mike" Markowitz in Jacksonville, where he was playing a two night gig with his Tornadoes at Ragtime. Mike and his band were (and still are), a consummate workhorse blues bar band that earned a major league east cost reputation for high energy "Chicago Style" blues. The band, who plays more local dates now describes themselves as a "working class band" that always played the blues with a rock n' roll edge to it. No argument there... Little Mike and the Tornadoes latest release "Forgive me" will be critiqued in our next post. The also have a must attend event coming up in Jacksonville on February 23rd!
Monahanssong: You write a lot more than you get credit
for. Most of the songs on your latest CD
“Forgive Me” have original lyrics. What is your writing process? Lyrics firs,t
then the music, or otherwise?
Little Mike: It varies. Usually a melody
or bass lines will come to me and then I find words to it. Sometimes everything
comes at once. There is no deliberate process; I never try to write a song.
They either come or they don’t.
Monahanssong: My impression over the years of seeing and
listening to you play harp is that you are all about wood Hohner harmonicas. A
lot of people are playing resin (plastic) harps today. Give me your thoughts on that…
Little Mike: I’ll be honest: I don’t
know what a resin harp is! I only use the Hohner Marine Bands.
Monahanssong: You know some of the Delta and Chicago guys
soaked their wood harps overnight in the old days. They had to shave off the
swelled wood to play, and the harps were ruined when they dried again, but they
got great sound. Modern harp players
have had pedal or amp reverb for a long time and that replaced the need, but
did you ever try it? Regardless, how do you get your unique sound?
Little Mike: I tried a petal for a
tour or two trying to be modern,but for the last 25 plus years I use a
harp, astatic mic, and a Fender Bassman which has no reverb, but 4 ten inch
speakers. It sounds just the way I like it. I don’t soak the harps or anything
else. I try to get my tone from using my diaphragm rather than my throat. I
also tongue block to get that big fat sound that I like.
Monahanssong: Your amp rang a bell the other night when I
saw the band. I think you have had it a long time. Am I correct that the one you are using now
doesn’t owe you a dime?
Little Mike: I owe it! My Fender Bassman has been
with me longer than my wife. At least 30 years and it is the best sounding amp
I ever had. It has more than 1,000,000 miles on it!
Monahanssong: You have a new CD, “Forgive Me” being released this month, and a rather
special event coming up in Jacksonville on February 23rd. Tell us
about it.
Little Mike: We will be having our
official CD Release Party for Jacksonville at European Street (5500 Beach Blvd.) with special guest
harmonica wizard Willie Green. You can find info about Willie at: http://williegreenblues.com/
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/328895597209901/
Our release, “Forgive Me”, is our 9th
nationally distributed recording dating back to 1988. It has a very traditional
sound and is all original. People who like real blues will love it. Our website
is: http://littlemikeandthetornadoes.com/fr_home.cfm
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