#ImWithHer #VoteClintonCaine Tim Kaine Playing Harmonica
I don't know much about Tim Kaine. I know I always want to write Herman Cain. I know he is a smiling white man. I know he fucking loves playing harmonica.
Since there are only three things I know about Tim Kaine, I believe it's important that I really understand the most interesting quality about Tim Kaine: his harmonica playing. He loves it. I know more about that than his family or his stances on important issues.
But is he good at it?
Let's take a listen. Last night, Kaine jammed with Jon Batiste and Stay Human on the Late Show.
That he kept up with Batiste, a Juilliard-trained jazz musician, is a pretty impressive feat. The bandleader isn't taking all the spotlight; he's giving Kaine space to add in his own licks and run the show. Kaine, for his part, hardly explores outside of a basic blues scale, but within that he does a pretty good job. His tone is solid, and his technique is dynamic—the guy shows off some pretty dope bends. As for Kaine's style, he sounds more Blues Traveler than he does Bob Dylan, which only Tim Kaine would take as a compliment.
I actually prefer this performance, where Kaine has some real soul. That's some heartbreaking mouth organ!
FollowThat night @TimKaine visited a brewery in Asheville, joined the band, and serenaded crowd & press w/ "Wagon Wheel"
Listen to this Beatles cover he plays at this high school.
Pretty spot on, Tim! The guy knows what the kids want. And that's another important component to being a professional musician: Know your audience.
The best one is this classic bluegrass solo he rips in this video (he also sings!).
Here's the thing about harmonica: Each individual instrument is designed to play in a single key, so, as long as your mouth organ is the correct instrument for what key the band is playing in, you can't really screw it up too much. The important thing in a setting like this is his rhythm. And Tim's got it! Check that solo breakdown at the 45 second mark. Tim kills it!
Unfortunately, though, he totally falls apart at the end, landing on the wrong note, and overcorrecting to another after the band had already finished. He kind of pulls it together by switching to a sustained note with the band.
Analysis: The harmonica isn't a very difficult instrument to play—Neil Young could do it with no hands while he played the guitar. Just like Tim Kaine is a safe pick for Vice President, the harmonica is a very safe choice of instrument. And even though it's an instrument with a low learning curve—this isn't saxophone folks!—at least he seems to be enjoying himself. And that's all that matters right?
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