Loading details…
Artist
Harmonica Fats & Bernie Pearl
12+ albums
harmonicabluesharmonica bluesacoustic blues
about
Harmonica Fats, Bernie Pearl Cast a Unique Shade of Blues By ZAN STEWART SPECIAL TO THE TIMES December 27, 1995 - Huntington Beach One is a rotund, 68-year-old harmonica player who wears a suit and tie on stage, the other a slender, 56-year-old guitarist whose clothes are California casual. Clearly they don't share fashion notes. But Harvey Blackston, better known as Harmonica Fats, and Bernie Pearl do have something notable in common: They both love the blues and play it with urgency, persuasion and feeling. They will display their passion Friday at the Hyatt Regency Irvine and New Year's Eve as part of Fullerton's First Night celebration. The power of the twosome's enthusiasm was evident earlier this month when they performed in Huntington Beach at the Ale House Rock and Brewery, a brick-floored, hacienda-style establishment that seems better suited to highly amplified music. Abetted by only a few microphones, the pair employed Fats' gravelly voice and Pearl's empathetic, highly rhythmic guitar to deliver an engaging program of mostly original country-style blues. These numbers, which had the warmth and drive of tunes played by the pair's major influences--guitarist Brownie McGhee and harmonica player Sonny Terry--made solid listeners out of a fairly boisterous crowd of 75. The tunes, most drawn from the duo's latest CD, "Two Heads Are Better," included "You Drive Me Crazy," "Just Like Richard Nixon," "I Know She Crazy 'Bout Me Too" and "It's So Hard to Get Along." T
