My guest today is Mickey Rapahel. Although perhaps best known as Willie Nelson's touring harmonica player since 1973, he's not synonymous with any one thing he's done in his career. As a session musician or side person, Mickey has collaborated with the likes of: Jason Isbell, Townes Van Zandt, Chris Stapleton, Jerry Jeff Walker, Tom Morello, Paul Simon, Snoop Dogg, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Emmylou Harris, Leon Russell, Elton John, M\xf6tley Cr\xfce, Zac Brown Band, Dave Matthews... the list goes on. \n\nIn the episode, we chat about how he first got into the harmonica, how lyrics inform his playing, home recording, and the art of being a session musician.\n\nJoining me as a co-host for this episode is MCRS alum and dear friend, Nic Clark. He's the best harmonica player I know, so along with my questions, Nic engages Mickey in some nerdy harp talk.\n\nIf you enjoy the podcast, please let others know, subscribe or write a review. 5 star ratings and reviews on Apple Music as well as subscribing to our YouTube Channel help us out the most!!\n\nIF YOU'D LIKE TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST IN A MONETARY WAY, I'M NOW ON PATREON! https://www.patreon.com/andysydow\n \nYou can support my artist career and this podcast for as little as $3 per month. The price of one cup of coffee helps keep this podcast on its feet. Any and every contribution is greatly appreciated!\n\nGuest Links:\nMickey Raphael Website: http://www.mickeyraphael.com/pages/about.html\n\nEpisode Music:\nTheme 2: "Theme 2" by Andy Sydow\nSponsor Music: "Wicked Dreams" by Andy Sydow\nInterview Outro Music: Harmonica Improv by Nic Clark\nEpisode Outro Music: "Who I Want To Be" by Andy Sydow\n\nSponsors:\nA huge thanks to our sponsors, PQ Mastering and Narrator RF.\nFor any sponsorship inquiries, shoot me an email at middleclassrockstar@gmail.com\n\nhttp://pqmastering.com\nhttps://narratorrf.com