Great name for a venue. Doqaholic. Lookmo would feel right at home here.
Anna is a cat-aholic, but she comes along to jam with me anyway.
No seriously, she is. Anna has three official felines as well as countless strays and randoms she pets every night when we are walking around Chiang Mai. Her official cat’s names are: Grumpy Elephant; Pile of Shit; and Richard Parker.
If Anna goes more than a few hours without patting a cat, she starts to get strung out and twitchy.
(Below: Anna getting a cat fix with Grumpy Elephant.)
Saturday night, Curtis (guitar), Nathan (bass) and Steiny (drummer) are at Doqaholic setting up when we arrive. We kick off with a few fun covers. Anna sings ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ with us.
Fun, fun jam. The boy’s original songs are clever and catchy. They have one in particular that kinks my upper lip. It’s a swinging little ballad. The chorus goes something like: ‘an-your-mama-gives-the-best-head-in-town-oh-yeah…’ Definitey an ear worm.
(Below: Curtis and Nathan rockin’ ‘Yo Mama’.)
Playing blues harp is becoming an addiction for me. I just love it. If you are thinking of getting music into your life, blues harp (harmonica) is really an easy instrument to play. Also, if you are a traveler, it’s the ultimate pocket-rocket. So light and compact.
I have been playing like, eighteen months, and I only started jamming about a year ago, but I’m hooked.
There are great Youtube how-to videos out there. I learned a lot from Youtube when I started playing. Just search for ‘learn blues harp’ or something like that.
Another quick tip: buy a good harmonica! Cheap harmonicas are like cheap beds, they break easily, and rattle when you play hard on them. Buy a Hohner Blues Harp, or a special 20 or something like that in the US$50 – US$70 range. The difference in quality between a Hohner Harp and a cheap Japanese or Chinese harmonica is like cheese and chalk.
By the time we wrap up our set, at nine, there is a big crowd at Dogaholic. Punters are hanging around on the footpath outside, giving us their ears, too. Applause feels good when you love what you are doing.
After the gig, we have a couple of drinks, then Anna and I head over to old city and get some street-barrow pork leg.
Chiang Mai rocks.
(Below: left to right, Steiny, me, Nathan and Curtis.)
>> More posts about Chiang Mai.
>> More stories about Thailand.
>> Want to stop spending money on backpacker hostels? Try urban camping.
