It stands to reason that, after thirty-eight years at the helm of
J.Roberts Menswear in Elkhorn,
that Jim Schoberg would know a little bit about a perfect fit. And Schoberg’s all about fitting in.
When it comes to his own gigs, sitting in at a musical jam or ten
or just adding that little
something extra at friends’ shows, Jim is like “Have Harmonica, Will
Travel.”
Jim would be the first to admit that he’s a bit of a late
bloomer. And he took his sweet time to
get to where he is today. Nonetheless, Schoberg has turned the sit-in into an art form.
When it comes to his own gigs, sitting in at a musical jam or ten
or just adding that little
something extra at friends’ shows, Jim is like “Have Harmonica, Will
Travel.”
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“It’s a neat story and a bit of a fluke,” Jim said when talking about he lit
upon the mouth organ as his instrument of choice.
“I had no musical background whatsoever,” Schoberg explained.
“One day, my son came over with a harmonica and left it with me
‘to
fool around with it a little.’”
 |
And fool around, he did. “I wasn’t very good
as first
and I
never played around (wife) Marilyn,” Jim
explained. “I played
in the car for two years. I played
on the lawn
tractor. I played
in the house. I played
in the basement.”
He took his newly honed skill on the road and
started
the
journey that led him here today. And when I say
road,
I
mean T-H-E R-O-A-D!
Jim played his first time in front of people
at a castle in
Ireland.
|
And, just about every winter, the Schobergs make their way to
sunny Mexico, where he has been playing with some of the same
musicians for twenty years. “This works out to hundreds of people
over the years,” Jim said. “I’ve played on many of their recordings
and countless gigs,” he added.
The harp is the best choice for Schoberg because “I just love to
play with different people and in different genres. And his influences
are just as varied. From the Rock & Rollers like Neil Young and
Bruce Springsteen to the west coast Chicago Blues style of William
Clarke to Madison’s West Side Andy and “one of the best harmonica
players of all time: Sonny Terry.”
A couple of other pieces to this musical pastiche are definitely
the Country touch of Mickey
Raphael, who played alongside Willie Nelson for a bunch of
years, wailing away on his Hohner
Echo Harp and last (but certainly in no way
least): Stevie Wonder.
Schoberg remembers being mesmerized when seeing Stevie on the Ed
Sullivan Show when they
were
both
young teenagers.
In addition to Mexico, Ireland, Scotland and England, Jim has
played all over Asia as his two sons
have lived and worked in Thailand for a few years. A recent trip
for a son’s wedding had him
harping in the former Siam (natch), Cambodia
and Vietnam among others.
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He finally got around to playing in The States in 2005, starting
at the venerable Caroline’s. “I was going there twice a week,” Jim said.
“I played with The Big O, Harvey Westmoreland and the cool cat
behind the kit, Paul Spencer, who has held forth on the weekends
since there was a Caroline’s.
“He taught me so much,” Schoberg said of Spencer. “I have to give
him credit. It was unreal.” At one point, Spencer told him to “play
some jazz…and so, I did.”
I strongly urge everyone to go to the jams and the various gigs to see Jim and
hear him play. Better yet, start your own group, book a
gig and then look to
your right. You might just see (and hear) Jim Schoberg ‘sitting-in.
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CP
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