Photo: Mary Francis Andrews

http://timesleader.com
by: Joseph Hudak

In the early ’70s, Willie Nelson paid tribute to his partner-in-crime and drummer since 1966 Paul English with the now infamous song “Me and Paul.” But it might be high time for ol’ Willie to write one about Mickey Raphael too: The loyal harmonica player has been performing alongside Nelson since 1973.

The soul of Nelson’s band, Raphael has backed up his boss in beer-soaked dancehalls throughout their native Texas, in packed amphitheaters during the annual Farm Aid charity shows, and in countless theaters and event centers around the world. In June, Raphael and Nelson will perform with the Nashville Symphony in that city’s orchestra hall. And on Friday, he’ll be by the country-music legend’s side when Nelson takes the stage at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.

“I’ve been with Willie for 39 years,” says Raphael, who with Stevie Wonder and Blues Traveler’s John Popper possesses one of music’s most identifiable harp tones. His rich, emotive style of playing has helped define the earthy sound of Nelson’s Family Band, with his well-placed notes as integral to the group’s musical palette as Nelson’s unconventional guitar picking.

“Every harp player has their own special way of sounding. A lot of the tone and the sound has to do with the structure of your body. It resonates through your head, chest, throat and diaphragm,” he says. “I’ve been fortunate that I have a tone that I like.”

Still, he quickly waves off any talk of his harp as essential to Nelson’s freewheeling concerts. “The only person you need up there is Willie,” Raphael says. “We’re all pretty much dispensable.”

He chuckles when he says this, but the truth of his words is reflected in the makeup of the Family Band today, which had to fill the void left by longtime bassist Bee Spears, who died in December. Kevin Smith now holds down the low end.

“It’s sad, and everyone misses Bee, but it’s a new era, you may say. And Kevin brings his own style to the mix,” says Raphael, who, when not touring with Nelson, lends his own unmistakable style to other artists’ projects as an in-demand studio musician.

“I live in Nashville, so it keeps me busy when I’m home. And I love playing with different people. The challenge is to fit in to different types of music and with different players,” he says, going on to explain his appeal to producers.

“I think I get hired because of my sound. I’m not a fast player — there are a lot better players out there — but I know how to complement the song in my own way,” he says. “I think I know what to play that serves the song. I’m not just out there playing some hot licks.”

Though he is collaborating with some hot names. Raphael has recorded with everyone from the Beach Boys and Ringo Starr to Kenny Chesney and, somewhat surprising, Snoop Dogg.

“We were hanging out with him in Amsterdam, and we cut a track. It was fun,” Raphael recalls of playing with the backward-talking rapper, who appears on Nelson’s new album “Heroes.” “Snoop’s a very sweet guy. I really enjoyed working with him.”

Despite his long tenure with Nelson, performing the same hits — such as “On the Road Again,” “Night Life” and “Always on My Mind” — show after show, Raphael says his job never gets stale.

“I was talking to the guy who customizes my harmonicas yesterday, and I said the thing that is good about this gig is that I can play it differently every night,” he explains. “It’s not what I play that is set in stone but when I play. So I can really experiment and try a different harmonica or a different key. And if I screw up, it’s OK. A wrong note (on stage) is gone a second later.”

Maybe so, but his legacy with Nelson will resonate forever. True to form, when a bronze statue of the Red Headed Stranger was dedicated in Austin last month, Raphael was right there with Nelson, blowing along to “On the Road Again” for an enthusiastic crowd.

“It’s great,” Raphael says, “but I’m not worried about a statue. They should name the whole town after him.”

Willie, Mickey, and Bobbie, stopped by Coach Darrell and Edity Royal’s home, before the concert at the Back Yard in Austin.

Willie, Mickey, and Bobbie, at Coach Darrell Royal’s picking party, before the concert at the Back Yard in Austin.

See more photos at www.WillieNelson.com

Kevin our new bassist and I got a great bike ride in today in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The weather was perfect and we rode across this beautiful bridge into Illinois.

Great day on my bike. Got chased by a freight train. I let him win

“I’ve been playing harmonica almost as long as I’ve been cracking whips, so I thought I’d finally start working on combing the two. It’s hard to wail on the whips and the harp at the same time, so I’m focusing on using the harp just for chords to add some musicality to the whip cracking.

I’m also using a different camera, so I hope this video comes up as better quality than my previous videos.

In this video I’m using 3 1/2 ft stock whips from Simon Martin. For multiple cracking I find I can do more with a stock whip than a bullwhip. I prefer a bullwhip when the whips get longer than 7 or 8 ft.”

– Adam Winrich

For anyone looking for a beginner’s whip, check out www.whipsandwhatknots.com.