What is The Harmonica Pocket?
The Harmonica Pocket begins simply as the swinging songs of composer Keeth Monta Apgar. Keeth delivers storytelling lyrics accompanied by thick jazz chord progressions wrapped up into thoughtful, mature songs.
Keeth's songs are brought to life by a rotating musical pop-gang of friends. Harmonica Pocket songs are as diverse as the players who play on them. Along with numerous other musicians, instruments, and sounds, Harmonica Pocket regulars include:
As both a recording and live performance project, The Harmonica Pocket is known for its outside-the-box, headphone-pop, and highly improvised live shows laced with unusual cover songs. The Harmonica Pocket also has a touring children's show which has performed in sold out theaters, clubs, classrooms and libraries, and festivals nationally and internationally.
The Harmonica Pocket's 2008 release Ladybug One, a Parent's Choice Award winner, is a truly all-ages album made for kids and adults to listen to together. The album was recorded off the grid using solar electricity and is full of genre-crossing originals and twists on traditional folk songs. Renown kid's music blogger Warren Truitt of Kids Music That Rocks said "You won't hear arrangements like this on any other album for children."
From the opening soundscape The Light of a Firefly featuring a science lesson presented by an 8 year old, straight into the 60s inspired pop-jazzy Firefly; or from the supercatchy horn-laden reggae counting song Ladybug 123 to the darkest version of The Alphabet Song you've ever heard (complete with wah-wah guitar and electronic beats), The Harmonica Pocket consistently takes musical risks and colors outside the lines of what everyone else is doing.
Ladybug One also includes a version of the traditional O Susanna in 5/4 time with sitar and tabla accompaniment and then chills out listeners with six tracks of "bedtime music" for the napping crowd. The colorful cd release contains illustrated liner notes, lyrics, and a letter to listeners.
The Harmonica Pocket has charted on core college and non-commercial CMJ radio stations around the country, is being played on satellite radio, MTV and other cable stations, and is currently being downloaded all over the planet.
Pull up a tea cup and put on a Harmonica Pocket record. Your ears will smile.
In his twenty two prolific years of songwriting, The Harmonica Pocket’s Keeth Monta Apgar has created an enormous catalog of music.
With over 500 songs and compositions, Keeth has developed an untraditional style of weaving acoustic wah-wah guitar, lush jazz chords, and image-evoking lyrics into intelligent, refreshing pop. His soulful songs effortlessly span the genres, navigating folk, blues, reggae, and childrens music. Keeth holds a degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Mary Washington, spent half a year studying the didgeridoo in Australia, and plays the mbira – a “thumb piano” from Zimbabwe. He composes music for dance companies and writes musicals, among them a rock opera called The Jigsaw Dog.
Keeth loves to write and perform children’s music. He teaches and performs at schools, festivals, and libraries up and down the west coast. His "Harmonica Pocket Children's Show" is a mix of original tunes and twists on classic American folk songs, which entertains kids and delights parents by blending music with movement.
ASCAP has honored Keeth with several songwriting awards, and has booked him to perform at invitational songwriter workshops and showcase events in New York, Nashville, and Hollywood. His 2008 release Ladybug One won a coveted Parents' Choice Award.
Keeth has a growing collection of strange canned foods, and is not embarrassed to cite Eddie Van Halen as a major musical influence. He can be regularly found strumming up a tune in Seattle, wearing an unusual hat, or getting his fingers dirty in his garden on an island in the Puget Sound.
Don’t arrest that man! The beautiful bald fella playing the horn is Jon Ryser.
Though Jon majored in voice at Dick Grove's School of Music (you should hear him sing Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come"), the alto saxophone is his preferred musical choice. Jon is a true listener, and his melodic ideas often reference the vocal melodies of the tunes he plays.
Regarding his approach to playing a solo on the horn, Jon says: "I try to begin with a strong statement and then elaborate on it, much like one would in a conversation. A solo is one's time to really 'speak' to the listener. I try to say something worthwhile and coherent."
Jon, also known as "Big Talk," gets around. In addition to The Harmonica Pocket, the list of bands he plays with is longer than the line at the pancake breakfast on strawberry syrup day. Here is a much abridged, short stack sampling:
If you're looking for Jon he can be found sipping a warm drink with a wheat free cookie, creating electronic sounds for video games with names like "grutter flut air streaks” and "medium warble zop," or taking a stroll with his daughter Willow.
Born in Queens, Nala Walla grew up sneaking out of her bedroom window to dance it up at New York City clubs. After seeing some of her first big trees in college, the city kid fell in love with nature. She made the move to Seattle and then spent two years sailing to Alaska and back on a catamaran.
Nala brings her transdisciplinary background to The Harmonica Pocket as a vocalist, improvisational dancer, and hula hoop artist.
Nala's movement style draws on contact improv, action theater, aerial dance, and clown. Off-stage, she is a community building activist, writer, and permaculture teacher who integrates principles of ecology with interactive, body-based arts through her collaborative group Bcollective.org.
If you want to make a good impression on Nala, bring her a bouquet of organic vegetables, something chocolate, or some 10 penny nails to hit with her hammer.
Paul "PK" Kemmish has been making noise in the Seattle music scene for 20 years.
PK helped found Rockin' Teenage Combo, PK & What Army?, and Dasrut. He spent 2 years touring internationally with Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam and is currently performing with The Harmonica Pocket, Eric Barber's MetriLodic, Beth Fleenor's Figeater, and various side projects.
PK grew up watching Bugs Bunny and when he sees a playground still runs to the swing set because, as a bass player, he likes to swing! He's a fan of Mingus, Miles, and Marley but is also inspired by musicians whose names don't begin with the letter M.
PK eats artichokes, loves turquoise jewelry (but doesn't own any), and rides his bicycle everywhere.
Lorne Watson was banging on stuff before he had teeth. After moving on to solid foods, he got his first drum at 2 years old and has put some serious time into studying music.
After high school, Lorne continued his percussion studies playing and recording with the Robert Hohner Percussion Ensemble at Central Michigan University where he graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Music Education and percussion performance. Around this time, Lorne was locally famous for getting air in his tan 1982 Chevette, once landing it in a ditch.
Tired of scraping ice and snow from his beat up car, Lorne headed west to Seattle where he taught percussion at the Seattle Drum School and Music Northwest, and also joined The Harmonica Pocket.
With a strong focus on western classical music and a deep interest in folk music from around the world, Lorne has developed a unique style combining congas with the modern drum set played with mallets, brushes, and his bare hands.
Lorne now calls Brooklyn, NY home and is involved in a handful of musical projects including New York City chamber group LOOP 2.4.3. Lorne is author of the 2005 publication Three Dimensions: Hands, Reading, Drumset -- a drum method book for all levels.
These days, Lorne can be found accepting applications for roadies, eating mashed potatoes, and tapping out a melody on his snare drum.
