When it come to Harmonicas, no one can really do it better than Kelvin Carlsson. Based in Sydney, Kelvin, better known as Mr Harmony, spreads his love of the blues all over Australia with the help of this tiny, yet mighty instrument.
“I travel around Australia running workshops, I teach prison inmates, I work with disabled people, but most of the time I run beginners workshops for people who’ve never played before or people who’ve dabbled a little bit but not got it together,” Kelvin says.
“So I teach the very basics of harmonica playing, how to hold it, how to make sounds, how to bend notes, within two hours I will be teaching them how to play along to a 12 bar blues backing track.”
Mr Harmony has been in the blues business for over 25 years, currently playing harmonica and sax in jump blues outfit, Matt Black and The Phat Cats, regulars on the Sydney blues scene. His passion for blues and the harmonica is something he is eager to share with all walks of life.
“Interestingly enough the age group is quite diverse, I’ve had kids that are eight or nine years old and then I’ve had people in their early 70’s, you can’t really define it demographically, it’s for everybody.”
Mr Harmony will be bringing his nationally famed workshop to West Geelong, at the Virginia Todd Hallon Saturday 21th February. The tutorial will consist of a 3 hour workshop at a cost of just $110.00, included in that price is your very own harmonica that you can take home after the event as well as course notes and emails containing the backing tracks. Kelvin encourages everyone to get along and learn this wonderful new skill.
“I think there should be enough interest down in Geelong there is a big following of blues, you’ve got the Blues Train down in Queenscliff, so it should be a good one.”
When & Where: Saturday 21st February- Virginia Todd Hall, Geelong West
