Sometimes the spirit is playing you. I call it following the will of the music, and when that feeling shows up, you just go with it. It's almost like I'm a bystander. I'm watching this happening, and it's not a mental process. It's just spontaneous.

It is secular spiritual music, the gospel blues. It's music from the heart instead of the head.

Sometimes the spirit is playing you. I call it following the will of the music, and when that feeling shows up, you just go with it. It's almost like I'm a bystander. I'm watching this happening, and it's not a mental process. It's just spontaneous.

When (Big) Walter was in the right mood, he could be the most ferocious, the most inventive, the most dangerous harp player I ever heard.

To me, the harmonica is like a voice.

Some players, they have all their licks memorized. They think about what they're going to play, but I try to think about what not to play. Tone and phrasing, that's what's important - less is more. The feeling, that's the thing.

The harmonica is the most voice-like instrument, you can make it wail, feel happy, or cry. It's like singing the blues without words.