The Slice - a publication of the Gazette
HARMONICA BLOWS THROUGH TOWN
By RyAnne Scott
Dave Therault's music career started because of - what else? - a girl.
When he asked her out, she said, "Well, I just kissed Jim Morrison and I'm not going out with anybody who's not a musician." So he grabbed a harmonica, thinking it would be easy. Little did he know.
"The harmonica is the easiest instrument to make a noise out of, but I think it's one of the hardest to get music out of - very difficult," said "Magic Dave" Therault, of Rockrimmon.
When he graduated from high school, Therault asked his dad to support him for a year while he learned to play the harmonica. He promised it would be his professional trade and he would never ask his dad for college money. After practicing 12 hours a day for a year, he was an ace player - and he forgot about that girl.
His crush kicked off Therault's more than 25-year career as a harmonica player.
Magic Dave and the New Mules, and Smokin' Joe and the Mighty Burners play at 8:30 p.m. Saturday at Jr.'s Bar and Grill, 3535 N. Carefree Circle in Village Seven. Gary Primich, one of the top harmonica players on the national circuit, headlines the event.
This is a chance for the audience to see three great blues ensemble acts, Therault said. Audiences might have a chance to see Primich's more traditional style paired with Therault's more modern take if the two play together at the night's end.
Therault's ready to show off the new techniques. Harmonica players traditionally create the instrument's two chords by moving the tongue, blocking pipes with it or moving it on and off to create rhythm.
One of the techniques Therault has experimented with is bending one or more of the notes while he moves his tongue, which implies more chords.
"So, using that, along with some hand and mouth shapes, moving the tongue and vibrato, I can imitate an organ or saxophone," Therault said.
Therault likes to experiment - this comes from the year he spent teaching himself the harmonica. He decided the best way to learn was to intensely study one piece, "Whammer Jammer," an instrumental, harmonica rave-up by Magic Dick and the J. Geils Band.
"That particular song - it's a little over two minutes long - but in it is every trick a harmonica player needs to know," Therault said. "Technically, it's a masterpiece, probably the best example of what a harmonica can do in music."
After studying those two minutes 12 hours a day for year, Therault had the song down cold.
A blues band hired him - for $25 a night and free drinks - to play that one song. He got the moniker "Magic Dave" from playing Magic Dick's song so well.
When he started in the 1970s it was a great time to be a musician. There was no ESPN, no MTV, no Internet - and no reason for people to stay home.
"You could go out and see all kinds of bands," Therault said. "I think it's going to have an effect of the legacy of the culture of this generation because people aren't being encouraged to be artists and musicians."
Over the years, Therault played with many talented musicians. He had a band with harmonica player Hash Brown, which he calls the best time he ever had as a musician. The first Springs band he played with was Blues Alert, with John Wise of Johnny and the Jukes. He also played for years with singer Joanne Taylor.
"I really owe everyting I have as a blues player to her, because playing with her is like being close to the sun. She could sing nursery rhymes and I would just go crazy," Therault said.
After that, he formed Magic Dave and the New Mules with guitarist Dan Todd, bass player Santi Guarnera, and drummer Dennis McCarthy. The band plays all originals, with plenty of improvisation.
"I can just go up to the mic and sing or say whatever I want. I've never been censored and I don't do kids' shows," Therault said, laughing.
Therault's wife inspires many of his songs, like "If I can't have all of you, I've had enough of you," and one about being a "people pleaser."
Some of his favorites are about Safeway, like where he tells the bakery woman to "leave some sugar on the sheets" or another where he sings "My baby sent me out for groceries about three hours ago, because when I'm let out, I stay out, like a dog that likes to roam."
"I don't really think like this, but I know men do and I've got the mic. So I raise a bunch of male issues with women," said Therault, who plans to record a compact disc with the New Mules next year. "When the women get upset about it I say, 'Get your own band and tell the other side of the story.' Occasionally, I get a female singer come in and rip me a new one."
IF YOU GO...
What: Gary Primich, Magic Dave and the New Mules, and Smokin' Joe and the Mighty Burners
When: 8:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Jr.'s Bar and Grill, 3535 North Carefree Circle
Tickets: $5
Call: 597-9400