Hank Shreve interview
59 minutes Posted Dec 6, 2025 at 7:00 am.
Hank is from Springfield, Oregon, where Matt Groening is from, which is why The Simpsons is set in Springfield
Started playing harmonica age 8
Both parents were musicians and a family friend brought some harmonicas to the house and Hank instantly knew he wanted to play the instrument
Felt he could play the harmonica from the first time he picked one up
Some of Hank’s harmonica heroes were William Clarke, Norton Buffalo, Paul DeLay and Little Walter
Hank sort of stole a harmonica from the family friend and the same person gave Hank his first bona fide harmonica in the key of G#
Although they didn’t play harmonica, his parents knew enough about harmonica to get him started
Hank plays several instruments, including keyboards and lap steel guitar, but drums are his second instrument
First public performance playing harmonica was at high school
Drums and piano are the two most common instruments that harmonica players often mention as playing on the podcast
How playing drums has informed Hank’s harmonica playing
Plays drum rhythm patterns in his harmonica licks, part of which he picked up from listening to the rhymical playing of Norton Buffalo (and Sonny Terry)
Howard Levy has released two tuition books on playing drums rhythms on harmonica, called Rhythms of Breathe
Drum lessons where Hank’s first formal music lessons, as well as a few piano lessons
Learnt a valuable lesson from his drum teacher to always make people dance, and that is something Hank strives for in all the music he plays
Has attempted playing harmonica on a rack while playing drums, but it didn’t work out too well
Zack Pomerleau combines playing drums and harmonica very well
Plays slide guitar and sees it having a lot of similarities to harmonica
Blues music is what got Hank started and opened the door to other genres
Opened for Paul DeLay on five occasions and Hank’s Paul DeLay story about the harmonica being ‘a waste’
Also saw Curtis Salgado perform several times and they became friends and worked together
Is the band leader in The Hank Shreve band and the journey to form that
Hank’s father, Bill, plays bass in the band, and they also do some duo gigs together
There is also a big band version of The Hank Shreve band
2015 Loosen Up album from The Hank Shreve band is more straight ahead blues
Picked up the chromatic from around age eleven, listening to Norton Buffalo and Paul DeLay for inspiration
Received first chromatic (ten hole) from parent’s drummer, who taught Hank a lot about music
2018 album: Trouble, has a wider set of genres, including some funk
That Way is most recent album from 2023
The Thing is the only song Hank has recorded an overblow on (5 blow)
Probably doesn’t play overblows because plays chromatic harmonica
Sometimes uses alternate tunings, including Paddy Richter on The Thing
Includes two jazz songs on the That Way album, and is delving into full-on jazz on the chromatic
Started learning drums because didn’t want to have to learn to read music, but has slowly read more and more music
Has been working on jazz standards, with Satin Doll and Fly Me To The Moon both good ones to start with
Uses the piano to help with the chord structures of jazz songs
Won the 2021 Rooster Blues Award for Best Male Vocalist although wasn’t a confident singer until more recently
Has taught at harmonica festivals recently, which he’s really enjoyed
How the harmonica compliments your singing
Hank does a lot of teaching, both at harmonica camps, online and in-person, and teaches other instruments too but not singing
The Hank Shreve band mainly play in the north west of the US, but looking to expand that
Has won three awards for best harmonica player
People often respond well to the harmonica when they haven’t heard much of it before
Attended The World Harmonica Championship in Trossingen in 2025 as a judge, workshop leader and played in the concert
Ten minute question
The decision process on which songs to use harmonica on is sometimes based on how Hank performs it live
When playing live will sometimes switch between another instrument to harmonica
Uses effects pedals quite extensively and is a Lone Wolf endorser
Uses pedals is a good way to switch-up your sound
Effects used include, delay, chorus, phaser and would like to use an envelope filter but hasn’t found the right one yet
Is a Hohner endorser, playing a pink CX12 chromatic (for breast cancer awareness), and sometimes a 14 hole
Times when uses a 14 hole and is able to switch between the 12 and 14 hole
Diatonic of choice is Hohner Marine Band Deluxe, also likes the Crossover and the Rocket which he recommends for beginners
Embouchre: plays pucker and tongue block and plays upside down
Other upside down players include Sonny Terry, Paul Butterfield and William Clarke
Doesn’t see any advantage or disadvantage of playing upside down and how Annie Raines has small hands but a big tone
Uses a solid state Roland Cube, because it reacts similarly to a tube amp, is loud and has good built-in effects
Sometimes chains the Roland Cube with a tube amp
Uses a Bulletini mic and also has several other mics, including a new one called the SPK, a dynamic mic
Future plans
0:00
59:46
Show notes
Hank Shreve joins me on episode 148. Hank started playing harmonica at age eight, and that has remained his true love despite learning various other instruments. He explains how his drumming background shapes the rhythmic feel of his harmonica playing, and how blues opened the door to everything from Latin influences to funk. Hank reflects on opening for Paul DeLay, working with Curtis Salgado, leading The Hank Shreve Band with his father Bill on bass, and broadening his musical output across...
This podcast uses Buzzsprout for stats. Learn more on this podcast's About tab.