Harvey Mandel’s participation at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was accidental. Playing at the Fillmore West, Canned Heat’s guitarist Henry Vestine suddenly left the group. Canned Heat asked Mandel to sit in for one half and Mike Bloomfield the other half (not bad replacements!). Afterwards, the Heat offered Mandel the guitar spot. He accepted and […]
I heard it through the…
“I heard the guitar the way you hear it today. I knew where guitar was going twenty years before it got there.” This quote comes from Gary James of ClassicBnds.com when he interviewed Harvey Mandel. “I just knew in my head that guitar players were trying back then to play more like horns or like […]
Harvey’s Parker Guitar
Legendary guitar virtuoso Harvey Mandel, aka “The Snake,” truly one of the most distinctive and innovative musicians, continues to perform throughout the world, captivating audiences with his inventive style of electric guitar playing. When playing live, Harvey employs modern stompboxes and a VG-99 to reproduce effects he created decades ago in the studio. His Parker […]
Harvey Mandel’s Canned Heat History
Canned Heat, an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965, launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and Bob Hite, who took the name from Tommy Johnson’s 1928 “Canned Heat Blues.” After appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock festivals at the end of the 1960s, the band acquired worldwide fame with […]
UPDATE: September 20
Good report from the hand specialist Harvey is happy about his Monday appointment with the hand specialist doctor. After new x-rays and an exam, the doctor said that the bones in his pinky finger were healing, and was optimistic after Harvey was able to slightly move his finger. He said that Harvey might be able […]
Harvey’s Funny Rolling Stones Story
At one point, guitarist Harvey Mandel appeared to be in line to join the Rolling Stones during the immediate post-Mick Taylor era. They ended up going another way, but Mandel didn’t leave empty handed. For one thing, Mandel is featured on two tracks, “Hot Stuff” and “Memory Motel,” from 1976’s Black and Blue. “At home […]
Harvey on his music
“There is a distinct difference between being a good musician and playing a good song… It takes years to get to the point where there is nothing physical left to learn, where everything is purely in the mind. There’s always the physical part. Usually that’s the technique and that’s the fine point between a lot […]
UPDATE: August 30
In a word, Harvey says he is “miserable.” In our last August 8/17 I reported that while walking downstairs, Harvey fell off the last step and broke bones in his foot and left-hand pinky finger. Harvey blames his continually blurry eyes on the loss of his tear ducts in his last cancer surgery. He says […]
Harvey & Chicago Blues Reunion
Harvey comments: “Chicago Blues Reunion (CBR) is myself, a vocalist and guitarist, Nick Gravenites (Paul Butterfield,) and on keys, Barry Goldberg (The Rides, Bob Dylan) – we’re the founders of CBR. We hooked up at the Chicago Blues Fest. We added Gary Mallaber on drums (Steve Miller, Van Morrison,) Rick Reed on bass (Paul Butterfield) and […]
UPDATE: August 17
Harvey is still very weak His eyes are constantly blurry, and of course his nose, or lack thereof, continually give him trouble. So much so, that while walking downstairs yesterday evening, he fell (crashed) off the last step. Harvey knew he was hurt bad and headed to the ER. After x-rays and exam, the doctor […]