Hey ya'll I'm Harmonica Slim and I'd love to share the ride with you! Born and raised just outside of Philadelphia I grew up in a blue collar neighborhood where things are simple, the Eagles were a way life, and a good day meant playing hockey without getting in a fist fight with your buddy. I love it all, and its molded me into the passionate blues man I am today. The harp is my life, the blues is my savior, and the fans are why I exist to play it!
I began my journey with the blues at the the age of 24. By this point I had been playing harp for 2 years, but I really didn't know what I was doing. I wasn't raised with the blues on my radio and I had no sense of what harp players were supposed to sound like. Through trial and error I spent the first two years learning how to bend notes, play scales, and imitate the guitar riffs of players like Jimmy Page and Duane Allman. It wasn't until I walked into one of the best blues joints in my home city of Philadelphia that I heard a master of the instrument play it right. Mikey Junior who runs the famous Twisted Tail Blues Jam on Sundays was on stage with the house band giving me a true lesson of what the blues is all about. I heard tunes by Little Walter, Sonny Boy Williamson, Junior Wells, and original stuff by Mikey himself. Later I had the privilege of witnessing more mastery of the instrument from one of the east coast's kings of harp Steve Guyger and I knew the blues was my calling in life. Steve was as close to those old masters as I had ever heard and he still wows me to this day. Those moments were the inspiration for my journey, which has led me to become one of the finest harp players in the Philly area. Along the way I met The Perkolator at a Little Red Rooster Band Show where they graciously let me sit in with them. From there it didn't take us long to realize we were gonna be ripping up on some blues together. Now I play with Tim "The Perkolator" Perks both in a duo and in a full band known as Slim and The Perkolators!
Since I began playing the blues live and became a professional, I've been lucky enough to share the stage with many local greats. I've been on stage with harp giants Mikey Junior (PA Blues Hall of Famer), Steve Guyger (Jimmy Rodgers harp player for 17 years and PA Blues Hall Of Famer), "Big Daddy" Albert Lamberson, Doctor Harmonica (Delaware Blues Hall of Famer), guitar greats Filthy Rich McPherson (New York Hall of Famer), Roger Girke (Former Foghat guitarist and Delaware Blues Hall of Famer), "Gypsy" Joe Alves, Joey Fulkerson, Georgie "The Blacksmith" Bonds (PA Blues Hall of Famer) Kevin McCann (Little Red Rooster Band and PA Blues Hall of Famer), bass virtuoso's like Jimmy Pritchard, Tony "TNT" Jones (Bass player for both Sister Sledge and Nina Simone throughout their careers and the only local one to tour with Buddy Guy and Big Mama Thornton), Bj Muntz (Lower Case Blues Band and Delaware Blues Hall of Famer), and drummers like Russ Joel (Delaware Hall of Famer), Howard Burton (toured with the Delphonics), Larry Hinkel, and Dave Marabella( former Robert Hazard drummer). One of my fondest moments was playing the Phoenixville Blues Festival with up and coming future guitar star Radka Kasparcova and her band Time Gap. I also had the honor of being invited to play with my old friend Logan Carpenter at the 1st annual Trenton Porkroll Festival.
https://slimandtheperkolators.com