DesertRatDan Videos

This one is something a little different for me. I've always liked this song and I loved the movie and the TV show but this song has added meaning for me. You see, I lost two of my own brothers to suicide, one in the year 1997 and the other one in 2000. I've been practicing harmonica for about 10 months now and I know I'm still not that good but I really enjoy it anyway. It is a difficult instrument to master, especially when one is just doing it on the side as a hobby more or less. Because ...

Tags: Suicide Painless MASH harmonica singing

A music video featuring the "Jimi Hendrix of the Harp," Jason Ricci and his band New Blood performing live at Mexicali Blues, Teaneck NJ on August 10, 2007. For more information and to purchase any one of their 3 cds, click on the following link: www.jasonricci.com I took the audio file from the original youtube video, that was uploaded by snarkus. Here is the link to his youtube channel which feature numerous live performances of Jason. http The video clips are original footage from the ...

Tags: HD 1080p high definition video musicmentary Jason Ricci New Blood snarkus Amazing Grace harmonica Jiimi Hendrix Shawn Starsky

This is video from the annual Halloween Parade in Sierra Madre, CA. Since I am a music lover and a big fan of the blues, I thought why not just do a "Blues Review" at the same time? All the samples from this video are from the album titled Chicago Sessions by Jeremy Vasquez and Ronnie Shellist: The Shuffletones, also featuring Nick Moss and The Flip Tops. I used snippets of 6 different songs form the album but I think the entire album is terrific! Ronnie Shellist is a fantastic harmonica ...

Tags: Ronnie Shellist Jeremy Vasquez The Shuffletones Nick Moss Flip Tops Blues Music Halloween Parade Mayberry Sierra Madre

This was my first attempt at the Christmas classic. I thought I was just warming up with this one and that I could do a couple of takes to make it better, but my second, third and fourth attempts were even worse. Either my mouth was getting tired or I wasn't concentrating enough on technique because I was getting a whole lot of "air leak" on the other takes. One of these days it'll all come together and it will probably surprise me when it does, but until then I'll just keep plugging along ...

Tags: Rudolph Red-Nosed Reindeer Harmonica Seydel Christmas Music

My attempt at the classic made famous by Louis Armstrong. I know this song has been covered a lot and since I'm still a relative novice on harmonica I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring. Oops, maybe I should have held onto it instead, eh? Come on, don't be mean now ;-) Just a little self-deprecating humor there. I know it's probably not the world's worst cover but maybe the title will get me a few more views. You know, from those type of people that like to see car accidents, etc ...

Tags: Harmonica Hohner Golden Melody Louis Armstrong Satchmo What Wonderful World

Okay, it's not REALLY Mayberry, it's Sierra Madre, California. But my brother who lives there refers to it as Mayberry. Anyway, there is one block of Alegria Street that is cordoned off on Halloween night and the resident's really put on a display of pumpkins, ghouls & goblins. I took a little bit of video and some still shots and put them together with some royalty-free background music from Music 2 Hues.

Tags: Halloween Mayberry Sierra Madre Trick or Treat Witches Ghouls Goblins

I never realized until recently that Taps actually had lyrics. I served in the US Air Force from 1977-1981 and heard this played every single night. It is definitely a somber tune as it is also traditionally played at military funerals. I played this in two different keys (A & Bb) on a Seydel 1847 Classic & a Hohner Golden Melody. Whether you believe in war or not please always remember to honor the brave men and women who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Tags: Taps Diatonic Harmonica Seydel Hohner Music Military Scouts

The Beatles' Yesterday performed on a Suzuki Chromatix 12 hole chromatic harmonica. I've been mostly practicing on diatonic harmonicas for the last 10 months and just started concentrating more on the chromatic over the last couple of months. As you can see I still run out of breath a lot, meaning I'm not using proper breathing techniques, but I'll just continue practicing. I got the tabs from harmonicalessons.com, which has a lot of tabs for both diatonic and chromatic versions of many ...

Tags: Yesterday The Beatles Chromatic Harmonica Suzuki Chromatix

Since I grew up in Southern California and have lived in Phoenix Arizona for the past 30 years, a "White Christmas" is something I've never experienced. I love the song, especially Bing Crosby's version, so here is my attempt at it with a Suzuki Chromatic harmonica, played in the key of A. I've been practicing harmonica mostly on diatonic harmonicas but enjoy playing the chromatic too. You don't have to "bend" notes on a chromatic and it is a larger instrument, but everything else is pretty ...

Tags: White Christmas Bing Crosby Chromatic Harmonica Suzuki Chromatix

A welcome home video for my brother Mike, who suffered a stroke back in August. He was just discharged from the hospital yesterday and is back home now. He had brain surgery to remove a blood clot and to repair two aneurysms. He still has a lot of memory loss but hopefully will improve with ongoing outpatient therapy. My brother doesn't use computers much and I don't think he really even understands what the internet is so I thought it would be a neat thing if I could get a bunch of nice ...

Tags: Michael McKernan Harmonica Music Stroke Brain Surgery Welcome Home