Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz

The J. Geils Band Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz joined me to talk about his first musical hero, Louis Armstrong; practicing his instruments; playing the cornet; getting his first harmonica at the ae of3 when he had the flu; wearing harmonicas; how long a harmonica can last; "Whammer Jammer" breaks harmonicas; meeting J. Geils and Danny Klein in 1966; bootlegs; first record deal; having the Allman Brothers as fans; "Musta Got Lost"; 70's radio airplay and DJ autonomy; opening for the Rolling Stones; performing during an earthquake in Japan; doing SNL with Rodney Dangerfield in 1980; reaction videos to "Love Stinks"; "Centerfold"; "Land of 10,000 Dances"; punk rock; Dennis Miller uses him as a cultural reference in a joke; being introduced to Shun Ng; Shun Ng's childhood; how acoustic guitar and harmonica blend perfectly; Shun being a semi-self-taught musician; Shun's genius; being self-taught on harmonica; his attack playing of the harp; how martial arts and music relate; James Caan's martial arts career; my daughter's martial arts and music lessons; greatest rock 'n' roll front man; rhythm 'n' blues help form the sound of the J. Geils Band; 70's R & B; what he's listening to now; the two types of harmonicas and how people who play woodwind instruments shouldn't smoke.