Harmonica Q&A

Cliff Wilkie a.k.a. "The Kingfish" writes:

My wife and I heard both of you last weekend at The Outpost in Albuquerque. You rocked the joint !!! I had never heard the two of your before and had only heard Annie on a few cuts on random CD's. I could go on, but really I have a harmonica question.
Annie, during one of your last numbers you did a 3-4 draw trill forever. You just hung on it until I thought you would drop. Do you do some sort of circular breathing or have some kind of special trick to keep your breathe going that long? Would you mind explaining.

That 4-5 draw trill on Lookin' Good is just a long, steady, quiet inhale with my nose closed to keep from taking on excess air. It's not hard to sustain if you breathe in and out a couple of times beforehand to oxygenate your brain, and stay relaxed so the notes don't get pinched or leak air from your lips. I classify it with "party tricks."
There's a version on Youtube now called "Annie Raines blows you away" with our band that came out pretty well. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjQJetx593o