After a brief snafu with our appointed interview date, I finally reached Kim Wilson, co-founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and one of the most accomplished harmonica players in the United States, as he was dragging his bags down the hall to his hotel room. While the Tbirds are in their 'off-season', Wilson doesn't stop, and is off again, on another club tour with his Blues All Stars: Guitarists Billy Flynn and Little Frank, bassist Randy Bermudes and drummer Richard Innes, plus piano player Barrelhouse Chuck.  They also did a string of performances in Sweden and have recently arrived back from the Stockholm Blues Festival. One of the things I have liked about Wilson is his open way of

The harmonica is "the accordion of the soul," said Bud Gardner, founder of the Sun City Harmonicoots. Last year Gardner and the Harmonicoots, made up of 60 people from the Sun City retirement community, wrote a letter convincing the Society for the Advancement and Preservation of Harmonicas (SPAH) to hold the Harmonica Convention in Sacramento. The convention, now in its 46th year, began Tuesday and continues every day through Saturday at the Radisson Hotel. It features harmonica concerts, lectures and sales as well as impromptu (and scheduled) jam sessions. The convention will be continued next year in Milwaukee. "All four of the major harmonica manufacturers are here: Hoener, Sydel, H