Ronnie Shellist has been putting out YouTube videos of his harmonica playing and teachings since 2006 but began his musical journey in 1995 when he picked up his first harmonica. Diving in head first, Ronnie began working as a musician in Austin, Tx where he was inspired by the late great Gary Primich and other well known harmonica players and singers such as Guy Forsyth. His music has brought him all over the US and he spent 9 months in New Orleans, LA soaking up the music and culture. Since moving to Colorado in the late 90's, Ronnie has worked with such greats as BB King, Robert Cray and the Neville Brothers. His 2006 CD "Chicago Sessions" was warmly reviewed in Blues Revue Magazine. It features some great players from Nick Moss and The Flip Tops out of Chicago, IL. Ronnie was also featured on The Today Show in 2006 for his YouTube harmonica videos.
Ronnie continues to work locally in Denver CO as a musician and teacher. He is the founder of www.Harmonica123.com. His newest CD "'til Then" will be released in early 2012 where he plans on featuring many of his original songs. Ronnie's love is traditional blues with a bit of west coast swing from inspirations like the late William Clarke.
As a blues harmonica player and teacher, Adam Gussow has carved his own path. Currently an Associate Professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi with a specialty in blues literature and culture, Gussow has for many years performed and recorded with Mississippi-born guitarist and one-man-band Sterling "Mr. Satan" Magee as the duo Satan and Adam. After working the streets of Harlem from 1986 to 1991, Gussow and Magee duo toured internationally between 1991 and 1998. They played all the major blues and folk festivals, along with hundreds of club gigs. Their album releases include the W. C. Handy-nominated Harlem Blues (1991), Mother Mojo (1993), Living on the RiverWord on the Street: Harlem Recordings, 1989 (2008) and Back In The Game (2011).
In 1996 Satan and Adam were the cover story in Living Blues magazine; Gussow was, according to editor David Nelson, "the first white blues musician to be so prominently spotlighted in the magazine's 26-year history." Gussow was one of the first amplified blues harp players, in the late 1980s to make overblows a key element of his stylistic approach, adapting Howard Levy's innovations in a way that helped usher in a new generation of overblow masters such as Jason Ricci and Chris Michalek. According to a reviewer for American Harmonica Newsletter, Gussow's playing is characterized by "technical mastery and innovative brilliance that comes along once in a generation." In his recent solo debut, Kick and Stomp (2010), Gussow takes a cue from his Harlem mentor and does it all as a one-man band—singing, blowing amplified harp, and stomping out some thump-and-metal grooves.
Gussow is widely known among harmonica students for his "dirty-South blues harp channel" at YouTube and his pioneering offerings in the field of digital-download video tutorials at his website, Modern Blues Harmonica (1996),
In 1996 Satan and Adam were the cover story in Living Blues magazine; Gussow was, according to editor David Nelson, "the first white blues musician to be so prominently spotlighted in the magazine's 26-year history." Gussow was one of the first amplified blues harp players, in the late 1980s to make overblows a key element of his stylistic approach, adapting Howard Levy's innovations in a way that helped usher in a new generation of overblow masters such as Jason Ricci and Chris Michalek. According to a reviewer for American Harmonica Newsletter, Gussow's playing is characterized by "technical mastery and innovative brilliance that comes along once in a generation." In his recent solo debut, Kick and Stomp (2010), Gussow takes a cue from his Harlem mentor and does it all as a one-man band—singing, blowing amplified harp, and stomping out some thump-and-metal grooves.
Gussow is widely known among harmonica students for his "dirty-South blues harp channel" at YouTube and his pioneering offerings in the field of digital-download video tutorials at his website, Modern Blues Harmonica (1996),
