Monthly review of all things harmonica. CD’s, Vinyl, Gigs, harps and other stuff.
An early advertisement in the Colony for a Mundharmonika at R Clisby’s Musical Repository in Rundle Street Adelaide. It appears in the South Australian newspaper the Sud Australishe Zeiting in 1862. South Australia had a large intake of German settlers in the 19th Century, so much so that they represented 10% of all South Australians … Continue reading Schokolade & Adelaide
Photo courtesy of Pittwater Online News In 1898 Johs Richter trademarked both the Coo-ee and Kookaburra name for mouth organs. Seydel took over the name of Kookaburra and produced them and in 1910 they trademarked the name Coo-ee for mundharmonikas. We know one exists (just beyond coo-ee) as the owner, the editor of the Pittwater … Continue reading Within Coo-ee
I’m a Crackajack man (nobody knows or understands). Have to be, being born in Melbourne. Boomerangs were Sydney - sold by J Albert & Son. Crackajacks were vended in Melbourne by Allan & Co. This affinity originated with the find of an early Crackajack Concert Grand on a family holiday in Rye and it sent … Continue reading Kilburn Queen
The elusive Hohner Auto Valve Vamper! One in the flesh - picture courtesy of Riff Raffer Mark Hand, all the way from Okriftel. If your interested in detail about this oxymoron there's information here - Hohner’s Hollandia (Nova) Harp. Ray Grieve has published his revised edition of Boomerangs & Crackajacks with newly researched material on … Continue reading Via et Veritas
New music Riff Raffers. Benoit has his debut album Blue Bird pressed and ready for release. This local singer songwriter from The Basin is establishing himself as a new force in the folk scene here in the Dandenongs and beyond. His lyrical imagery encapsulates the brokenness of humankind, but also the beauty of creation. The … Continue reading Musical Fractals
