Rune Myhren's "HARMONICA TRIBUTE"
Vocalist and harp-player Rune Myhren started his musical carreer in 1990. Myhren is inspired by great harp-players like Rice “Sonny Boy 2” Miller, Big Walter Horton and George "Harmonica" Smith. With a mix of these genres Myhren has the last 15 years tried to adapt his own style - www.myhrensdam.com.   Rune Myhren is also founder of the harp concept - "Harmonica Tribute" - frequently gathering different harp-players to honour great harp legends like Sonny Terry, Little Walter, Rice "Sonny Boy 2" Miller, Junior Welles, "Big" Walter Horton and George "Harmonica" Smith.   For festivals in 2006 the Harmonica Tribute contributors will basicly be: Lazy Lester (US), RJ Mischo (US), Jenny Bohman (Swe), Jostein Forsberg (Nor) and Rune Myhren (Nor) - optional: Gary Primich (US), Egidio "Juke" Ingala (Ita) and Peder Nande (Den).
	Rice "Sonny Boy 2"  Miller - 1897 - 1965 Sonny Boy Williamson was born in Glendora, Tallahatchie County in Mississippi, southeast from Clarksdale, at the 5th of December 1897. This was to become the centra for many legendary bluesartists, during the twenties and thirties. It would take several years, after a fight with his stephfather, before he could begin his life as a travelling bluesmusician. This was 1929. Then he went, angry, disappointed and bitter, up north, towards Missouri, to perform in the streets. He had a small drum, a kazoo and a harmonica, singing in a trembling voice. Soon he developed a harpstyle of his own: sparse and impeccably timed, using tremolo to great effect. Calling himself Rice Miller, he performed during the mid of the thirties, together with Howling Wolf and Robert Johnson.  Together with Elmore James and Robert Jnr Lockwood, he got the opportunity to perform in a 15 minutes comersialbreak in the radioshow "King Biscuit Flour" at KFFA station in Helena, Arkansas.
	Sonny Terry - 1911 - 1986 Sonny Terry, one of the greatest blues harmonica players ever, was born Saunders Terrell in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1911. As a youth, his eyes were injured in seperate accidents, the second at the age of sixteen. He could only see through one eye and that was ``like looking through a spider web.'' So at a time when he'd planned on farming on his own, Terry was forced to rely on his music to make his living. He could still see well enough to work a little bit on his father's farm, but even before the second accident, he'd begun to play harmonica for money around Shelby, NC. (His family moved there some time between 1915 and 1922.) Terry even worked with a white group when he was fourteen; they would pick him up and take him to fish fries. He first heard blues in Shelby around this time and began to pick up blues songs from other musicians.
	Little Walter - 1930 - 1968 Little Walter, born Walter Marion Jacobs on May 1, 1930 in Marksville, Louisiana, taught himself harmonica age at the age of 8. He ran away from home, formed a group and worked the streets and small clubs of New Orleans in 1942. He worked in the Helena, Arkansas area from 1943-1946, performing on 'King Biscuit Time' and with Houston Stackhouse. Jacobs moved to Chicago around 1946 and played on Maxwell Street and in clubs with Tampa Red, Bill Broonzy, and Memphis Slim. Walter toured with the Muddy Water's band during the years 1948-1952.
	"Big" Walter Horton - 1917-1981                                                                                                      Born in Horn Lake, Mississippi on April 6, 1917. He began playing harmonica at the age of 6, teaching himself. In his early teens he moved with his family to J.D Peebles´ Plantation in Mound City, Arkansas. He was playing for tips in Handy Park, alongside fellow bluesmen Johnny Shines, Furry Lewis and others. He also played at local dances, picnics and affairs around Memphis. In the late 20´s, Horton recorded with the Memphis Jug Band and into the 30´s he was a sideman in numerous blues bands touring the South. Around the same time Horton worked juke joint parties and the streets with Homesick James, Buddy Doyle and Honey Boy Edwards, leaving Memphis for a brief time to play the streets again for tips. This time the streets of Chicago. Soon he dropped  out of music entirely for nearly a decade until 1949, when he joined the Eddie Taylor band.
	"Junior Wells - 1924-1998                                                                                                           Junior Wells was - along with James Cotton - the last of a generation that grew out of Chicago in the late 40's and early 50's, when the blues scene featured such notables as John Lee Williamson and Rice Miller, Little Walter and Walter Horton. Junior was 19 years old when he replaced Little Walter in Muddy Waters' band in 1952. Wells was already a veteran at that point, having begun performing at age 14 with Tampa Red, Big Maceo and Johnnie Jones in Southside Chicago clubs. Prior to his debut in the Waters band, he was a member of the famous Four Aces, an innovative, hard driving blues ensemble consisting of Louis and Dave Myers and former jazz drummer Fred Below. In his late teens and early 20's , he recorded for States Records, backed by such names as Elmore James, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Johnnie Jones and Muddy Waters. Wells worked in the Waters band well into the late 50's before going out on his own and developing his own sound. In 1970 he teamed with Buddy Guy.
	George "Harmonica" Smith - 1924-1983                                                                                          Born in Helena, Arkansas, raised in Cairo, Illinois. He was taught the harmonica by his mother when he four. As a teenager, he began traveling in the South, and eventually wound up playing fish fries and picnics in the Mississippi Delta with Earley Woods’ country band. In 1949 Smith moved to Chicago to pursue his music, and began working with Otis Rush and the Myers Bothers. He had become close with Little Walter, and after Henry Strong, Walter’s replacement in the Muddy Waters band, was stabbed to death by a jealous girlfriend, Smith got the harmonica chair in the world’s greatest blues band. In 1955 he toured with pianist Champion Jack Dupree and Little Willie John, and after some recording for Bihari, eventually settled in Los Angeles. He was to stay there for the rest of his life. Established in the city, he recorded again for the Modern label, this time with a horn section.
	CustomBlaster Harp microphone                                                                                         Astatic has stopped the production of the MC127 and MC151 elements for Astatic and Hohner harp microphones. MusicDeal can an own product called – CustomBlaster – with the following specifications:   •  * Original Astatic “shell” from 50's - 60's and 70's •  * The original element is modified and sounds real Vintage  •  * Original Switchcraft screw-on plugs on microphone and cable •  * Correctly dimensioned cables from shell to element properly hand-soldered   •  * Hand-soldered,  quality cable from Klotz w/solid metal jack plugs •    Order at:   www.musicdeal.no
	T-amp Harp Sr.                                                                                                                                        Mark Hummel got the 100% hand-made ”T-Amp” on his first gig-day during the september 2005 Nordic Tour. He plugged in a ”CustomBlaster” from www.musicdeal.no, didn't touch a knot and had to admit that this was one of the best gear set-up he had played on in Europe  Mark used the combination ”T-Amp” and ”CustomBlaster” during most of the 2 week Tour and he gave the following quote at the end of the Tour:  ”T-Amp is the best harmonica-amp I have ever played during my visits in Europe. Much better than any Band-Masters I’ve ever played and as close to an original -59 Bassman as possible. The closest to the T-Amp in my opinion would be the Bassman version of the Sonny Jr.”   ROOTS Booking - Rune Myhren - Phone: +47 900 33057 – e-mail: rmyhren@rootsbooking.com