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What others are saying . . ..
Gigging with Wayne Reed
I’ve had the pleasure of gigging with Wayne Reed off and on for nearly 10 years with Forever Blues. For a guy like me, a reed man who never quit his day job, this is a rare treat. Wayne’s a killer guitar and
harp player, and he can sing, too. The dude is flat good, and all he has
to do is pick up his ax to prove it. The coolest thing, though, is that
he takes the time to teach folks and then he can’t wait to share the mic
and the spotlight with them.
George Cee
Tenor Sax and other reeds
Listen to George Cee & Wayne Reed, Live at the Enclave.
Nothing like it!
You know, I'm not the least bit surprised that Wayne is offering
his teaching style to anybody who would like to learn. He loves
music, he loves to perform, but even more he gets absolutely high
on teaching.
That may be the very thing he is best at.
About ten years ago. I was looking to take harmonica lessons or
join a harmonica club. I could play harmonica a bit, but could never
get the sounds I was hearing in Blues and County music.
A local music store suggested I get in touch with Wayne Reed. I did,
and a whole new musical world opened up to me. With a short audition
Wayne was able to know my needs.
After only a few lessons he was able to move me from a timid melody
only harp player to a more aggressive cross harp player doing fill-ins and
even solos to country, rock and 12-bar blues. Admittedly my repertoire
was small compared to more experience players and professionals, but I
was having loads of fun.
The Jam Trax portion of the training was new then. Wayne recorded
guitar progressions on my tape player so I could practice counting, and
experiment with fill-in and solos.
I took seven lessons from Wayne and then with the Jam Trax practice
was able to go to jam sessions to improve my skills.
Wayne put me in touch with a couple local bands who also invited me
to sit in for a couple of numbers.
Finally Wayne put full back-up music (Backing Trax) together for his own
performances. He was then able to schedule gigs with only himself and
Paulette, his wife doing some of the vocals. The music was fantastic!
With drums, bass, keyboards and horns as back-up, Wayne would lead
with his guitar, do vocals and harp. He created beautiful sounds with
impeccable timing, and even with my limited experience I was able to
sit in on a few songs with him.
What a wonderful tool these Jam Trax are for people to learn, practice,
and have a whole lot of fun. I cant wait to get the full set for myself so
I can continue having a good time playing and developing.
I may never sound as good as Wayne and Paulette and I probably wont
"Get Discovered" at age 69, but with the Jam Trax I can be The Dean
Machine doing my harp because; I Just Wanna Play the Darn Thing".
From the heart,
Dean (The Machine) McIntire
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