Willie makes working fun
Posted: Friday, September 21, 2007
Mickey Raphael wouldn't say he is a double threat.
Sure, he's a skilled harmonica player who has been in Willie Nelson's band for more than 30 years and recorded with a handful of big music names, but he doesn't reflect too fondly on his work as an actor.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," Raphael said of his brief film career acting in "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Songwriter." "It was fun at the time, but I wouldn't want to pursue that again. I'll stick to what I'm good at."
The right place was at the side of his bandleader, Willie Nelson, who also appeared in those films.
"There's no bandleader that's as loyal as Willie is. We'll go off tour and he'll let me record and play with whoever I want. He doesn't tell me what I can do, other than from 8 to 11 at night."
If any lesson can be taken from Raphael's career it is this: Stick with Willie and everything is gonna be all right.
In fact, it's a lesson more than a few musicians have learned.
When Nelson comes to Sioux City for a Tuesday night show at the Orpheum, he'll bring with him a backing band of musicians that is more like a big family. The band is called in many circles "Willie and the Family." It's a collection of six musicians, including Nelson's sister and a set of brothers. The newest edition to the lineup can say he has been with the band for more than five years.
"We're unhireable," Raphael said with a laugh, explaining the lack of turnover in the band. "I mean, if you have this great gig with this great musician, why would you look anywhere else? He's great to play with."
Raphael first crossed paths with Nelson back in 1973. The young harmonica player was invited to a University of Texas football post-game party. To his surprise, Nelson and Charley Pride were there participating in an informal jam session. The meeting resulted in an invitation to play with Nelson in the future. That show resulted in Raphael leaving Dallas to join Nelson in Austin, Texas, marking the official birth of a lasting musical relationship.
"Willie took a chance on me in '73 when he hired me as a solo instrument. Most country has fiddle and steel as the solo instruments. It was unusual. Might have been a bad idea, I don't know," he said from a tour stop in Baltimore.
Trained in the blues world, the harmonica player had no other harmonica players to turn to for guidance on how to make the harp work in the world of country music. He did find a bit of a mentor in Charlie McCoy, a great blues harpist who had recorded a few country records before hooking up with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ween and the cast of "Hee Haw."
As McCoy found out, a good county harp player can stay very busy, especially one who has nearly mastered smooth note transitions and melodic riffs.
Raphael has recorded with so many artists that listing them takes too long. There was Elton John, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Emma Lou Harris, Neil Young, U2 and Motley Crue -- that's Raphael soloing on "Smokin' in the Boys Room."
"It was something you could carry with you everywhere," Raphael said of his initial attraction to the harmonica. "Funny thing is I wanted to be a guitar player."{M3
Sure, he's a skilled harmonica player who has been in Willie Nelson's band for more than 30 years and recorded with a handful of big music names, but he doesn't reflect too fondly on his work as an actor.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," Raphael said of his brief film career acting in "Honeysuckle Rose" and "Songwriter." "It was fun at the time, but I wouldn't want to pursue that again. I'll stick to what I'm good at."
The right place was at the side of his bandleader, Willie Nelson, who also appeared in those films.
"There's no bandleader that's as loyal as Willie is. We'll go off tour and he'll let me record and play with whoever I want. He doesn't tell me what I can do, other than from 8 to 11 at night."
If any lesson can be taken from Raphael's career it is this: Stick with Willie and everything is gonna be all right.
In fact, it's a lesson more than a few musicians have learned.
When Nelson comes to Sioux City for a Tuesday night show at the Orpheum, he'll bring with him a backing band of musicians that is more like a big family. The band is called in many circles "Willie and the Family." It's a collection of six musicians, including Nelson's sister and a set of brothers. The newest edition to the lineup can say he has been with the band for more than five years.
"We're unhireable," Raphael said with a laugh, explaining the lack of turnover in the band. "I mean, if you have this great gig with this great musician, why would you look anywhere else? He's great to play with."
Raphael first crossed paths with Nelson back in 1973. The young harmonica player was invited to a University of Texas football post-game party. To his surprise, Nelson and Charley Pride were there participating in an informal jam session. The meeting resulted in an invitation to play with Nelson in the future. That show resulted in Raphael leaving Dallas to join Nelson in Austin, Texas, marking the official birth of a lasting musical relationship.
"Willie took a chance on me in '73 when he hired me as a solo instrument. Most country has fiddle and steel as the solo instruments. It was unusual. Might have been a bad idea, I don't know," he said from a tour stop in Baltimore.
Trained in the blues world, the harmonica player had no other harmonica players to turn to for guidance on how to make the harp work in the world of country music. He did find a bit of a mentor in Charlie McCoy, a great blues harpist who had recorded a few country records before hooking up with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Ween and the cast of "Hee Haw."
As McCoy found out, a good county harp player can stay very busy, especially one who has nearly mastered smooth note transitions and melodic riffs.
Raphael has recorded with so many artists that listing them takes too long. There was Elton John, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Emma Lou Harris, Neil Young, U2 and Motley Crue -- that's Raphael soloing on "Smokin' in the Boys Room."
"It was something you could carry with you everywhere," Raphael said of his initial attraction to the harmonica. "Funny thing is I wanted to be a guitar player."{M3
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Olivia Monk wrote on Oct 5, 2007 8:24 AM: