Harmonica Hobby Not Just A Stage

If you’re ever stuck in traffic on the East Coast, and hear a guy in the car next to you playing the harmonica, meet Allen Palmer.

Allen is a sales rep for Dynasty Chemical Corp., a distributor and manufacturer in Albany, N.Y. “My old sales territory in metro Boston inspired me. I’m from the sticks, so because I wasn’t used to the Boston traffic, somebody suggested that I keep a harmonica in the car.”

Allen plays along with the car radio. “It keeps me sane and safe,” he said. Other people enjoy Allen’s car performances too. “Once in awhile, if I have the windows open, people applaud when they hear me.”

When he was 12, Allen got his first harmonica. His first song was “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” Twenty-some years later, Allen has an impressive collection of songs and harmonicas.

“Carmonicas” are for the car, and “barmonicas” are — you guessed it — the ones Allen plays in bars.

Allen sits in with a group of old studio musicians who get together on Friday nights at the Glad Rag bar in Greenfield Center, N.Y. They play vintage country music and blues. The lead singer is 80, so the group only plays until midnight so they don’t stay out too late. (Allen says his wife doesn’t mind the Friday-night gigs because most of the ladies at the Glad Rag are over 70.)

The harmonica gets Allen into all kinds of fun situations. “I always have my harmonica in my pocket. You can walk into a bar where you know the band, and they’ll run their hands in front of their mouth, which is the universal signal for ‘Do you have your harmonica?’ so I’ll jump right in and play.”

Recently, Allen performed in the Corinth, N.Y., Theatre Guild’s production of “Tony and Tina’s Wedding,” an interactive musical that opened off-Broadway in 1988.

Audience members attend the show as Tony and Tina’s wedding guests and participate just like they would at a real wedding. The cast includes all of the usual characters from a wedding, including the bridal party, minister, photographer and the band. The show includes the ceremony, dinner, champagne toast, dance, and even a wedding cake.

Allen played the role of Dominic Fabrizzi, a friend of the groom, usher in the wedding, and a very drunk Italian guy. The cast always stayed completely in character, whether they were in the bathroom, buffet line, or smoking a cigarette on the street.

“One of the funniest things was when somebody would start to throw the wedding cake,” according to Allen. “At the end of the evening I’d go home to my wife, eight months pregnant at the time, with wedding cake absolutely embedded in my shoes and tuxedo”.

A lot of the acting was ad-libbed, and the cast did some crazy things. “We’d grab food from the buffet as we went by. Meatballs, cherry tomatoes, whatever. Or, I would be in a conga line with the guests and would snatch a piece of garlic bread from a guest’s plates as we danced by.”

Allen’s harmonica came into the show when the band would play “Mean Women Blues.” It was Allen’s cue to drop what he was doing — except, probably, the whisky bottle he carried around the whole night — and get on stage to play with the band.

Allen said that he has never been pinched and groped by so many little old ladies. “But, we had to be careful,” he said. One night a group from an old folks’ home attended the show. They wouldn’t dance with us because they were afraid they’d break a hip.”

The old folks weren’t the only ones worried about breaking something. Allen said his chiropractor did a lot of work on him after that show, fixing him up from all the jumping on (and under) the tables, spinning around, and pratfalls.

Allen’s eight-week run as Dominic is over. What’s next? He just landed the part of Cornelius in “Hello Dolly.” “It’s supposed to be a pretty big part,” Allen said. “Lots of dancing and singing solos.”

I have a feeling that Allen will be playing the harmonica in “Hello Dolly,” too. But this time around, his harmonica won’t be clogged with wedding cake.

Gretchen Roufs, a 15-year janitorial supply industry veteran, owns Auxiliary Marketing Services of San Antonio. To suggest someone you think should be featured in “freetime,” contact her at (210) 601-4572.