Jason Ricci Bringing His Blues Harmonica Magic to K.C.

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Jason Ricci Bringing His Blues Harmonica Magic to K.C.
April 30, 2009
by J. W. Arnold
Camp

You won’t find Jason Ricci, 35, singing show tunes behind the piano in a gay bar. In fact, Ricci openly and proudly defies most of the gay stereotypes.

The Portland, Maine, native is at home in honky-tonk roadhouses and smoky blues bars, spinning out complex melodies on a harmonica. But Ricci is no redneck. His hit albums include the fusion-minded Rocket Number 9 and the occult-inspired Done With the Devil.

Ricci brings his unique sound to Kansas City’s Record Bar, 1020 Westport Rd., on May 29. Camp caught up with the musician for a chat about his music, his inspiration and the challenges of being gay in the mostly macho world of the blues circuit.

How did you get started playing the harmonica?

JR: It was an accident. I was in a punk rock band in high school. I was writing songs and singing, but then the other guys started singing and writing songs and since I didn’t play an instrument, I was getting benched. A harmonica was kind of cheap. If I had tried playing a guitar, I could have done some real damage to the songs.

The harmonica isn’t typically thought of as a punk instrument, is it?

JR: All the great [harmonica"> players were blues players, which led me to jazz, which led me to blues music and classical. I also had some interest in ’60s music.

Are there many professional musicians out there specializing in the harmonica?

JR: There are actually a lot more than you would imagine. But when it comes to playing the music on the page, that’s different. It’s a diatonic instrument, so you have to really be creative. We play with a technique called “overblowing” — an embouchure switch to provide the missing chromatic notes. There are a lot of people who can do the overblowing technique, but there are only three or four in the world that can really make music with it. When I learned it, I was one of three that were doing it live, touring the country.

You certainly have had a successful career.

JR: I’ve played almost 300 days a year for the last 10 years. That’s 3,000 shows. We took a lot of time off to record my [recently released"> record, so I’m glad to be touring again. It’s the sorcery of live music. Right now, I love it. I can’t wait to play. That doesn’t say that I don’t enjoy home too. … I have a very exciting life outside of music, too. There’s so much I want to read, and animals and people I want to hang out with, but [music is"> my chosen profession.

You are one of the few openly gay artists playing on the jazz and blues circuit. Does that present any challenges?

JR: It can be pretty harsh out there. There’s a lot of homophobia. Even if I was playing all gay clubs, I would still feel as lonely as I am now. Gay men just don’t seem to care for music with guitars and drums in it. They’re a shallow group of individuals. Until they prove me wrong, I’m going to continue to scold them. We’ve played Gay Prides and done those gigs… it’s who I am. I have a boyfriend. … It’s not a political movement or a statement. It sucks that we don’t have more gay fans. It sucks that some of our straight audience aren’t fans because of that, too. But it’s all so silly, it’s just not worth my time to worry about it. The whole adopted stereotype of the gay guy who will do your hair and redecorate your house is continuously rammed down our throats. We do it to ourselves. It’s a waste of individuality and a waste of power that we could tap in to. I don’t own any Barbra Streisand movies and I don’t listen to Madonna. So many people are gay as a profession. There’s so much more to me than that.

What has been your musical inspiration lately?

JR: I’m on a real heavy one right now. A lot of the songwriting I did on the record has some occult overtones…. Astronomy, numerology and music all go hand in hand. Musician as magician is an archetype as old as time. Music is a very powerful form of sorcery. Some of the songs [on the album"> represent the fusion of good and evil or light and dark through music. That’s where the real alchemy of both takes place. I’m on a kick, devouring every occult book that I can find. It’s bad enough I’m gay, but I’m on this occult thing. What is left to alienate me from mainstream culture?