Percussion for Blues Duo??

[TBman]

Originally Posted by BluesCam

Hey gang, I play in a blues duo with guitar & bass. I feel like we could use some percussion sounds to help fill up the sound. When I play a solo it sounds mighty sparse. I don't want to use a drum machine, so, I have been looking at some foot operated devices. I have run across Farmer Foot Drums and also some digital stomp boxes. This looks interesting: http://footdrumplus.com/index.html Any suggestions? Thanks.

Have you tried keeping alternating bass going with your thumb while playing lead? Check out Toby Walker's style.

[BluesCam]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! It's great to hear them all.

[Brent Hahn]

First post here -- what a great forum! And I'm not a live performer, really, just a fan.

I mix a live internet radio show that features "small" music, so I've seen a few people go at the DIY percussion issue in different ways. One guy sang and played Weissenborn and used a foot-drum type thing for kick, and it sounded great. Another artist used her right foot on a Samsonite suitcase "kick drum" while the left played a hi-hat with mini tambourine and maracas attached. Also very effective. And there was a brother-sister duo, she sang lead while he played acoustic and sang backup while sitting on a cajon which he played with a backwards kick pedal.

I can post links to all of these if any of y'all are interested.

[henryp]

John Hartford (of "Gentle on my Mind" fame) used to stomp on a sheet of plywood. Simple, effective.