Have you ever thought about how gross a harmonica can get? Tyler Halverson doesn’t have to think about it… he knows all about it from experience. The singer-songwriter hailing from South Dakota (and proudly gatekeeping his state) recently joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to discuss how he didn’t feel pressure putting together his sophomore album, In Defense of Drinking, revisited his dream blunt rotation, talked about his goal to sing at the NFR opening ceremony, and revealed why he wanted to keep his most recent album “less polished.” Halverson then gave his take on modern country music albums being 25 songs long, how he never passes up a thrifting opportunity, and said that one of his favorite genres of music to listen to is… big band music from the 1940s. Like I said earlier, there’s really no stone left unturned in the conversation with the “Beer Garden Baby” singer. For the uninitiated, Tyler Halverson is one of the few artists out there utilizing the harmonica as one of his live show staples. Listen to either of his albums and you’ll hear a healthy dose of the handheld wind instrument. Why did he adopt it? Well, he told us that it came down an innate desire to multitask: “I played guitar for a couple of years, and then I bought some harmonicas and just listened to a sh*t ton of Tom Petty and Neil Young. Then I kind of found out that, if I only have one thing to do, I’ll f**k it up. So why not give me three things to do? Maybe I’ll get them all done? If I just sing, I’ll forget every word. If I’m not playing guitar, I feel anxious as hell up there. I have to have a whole bunch of things going on.” In turn, that makes Halverson one of the only modern artists to embrace the instrument (Evan Felker, Zach Bryan and Charley Crockett might like a word though). When it comes to learning how to play the instrument, the country singer said there’s a whole lot of trial and error. But once you get it right, you know it. There’s no middle ground for harmonica playing… you’ve either got it or you don’t, as Halverson explained: “I don’t even know how to tell you. I think you just listen to music and lock yourself in your room. It’s gonna sound horrible for a really long time, and then someday it’ll start making sense… It’s such an obnoxious thing. If it’s not right, it sticks out like a sore thumb.” Halverson’s best point about the harmonica? That’d be how gross it actually is to play it. No one ever really thinks about that, right? But artists like Halverson know from their many years of playing the harmonica that the wind instrument is one of those that’s more and more disgusting as the show goes on: “It’s a little pad for a whole lot of people, and in the red dirt scene especially. And the folk stuff. But yeah, it’s a nasty instrument. It’s gross… That thing is full of spit. It’s always fun when you are playing and you’ve got to take it out and beat it up against your leg to get the spit out of there, then throw it back in by the time the turn comes around so you can hopefully play it.” @whiskeyriff @Tyler Halverson @rockthecountry a#whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff Shoutout to all of the harmonica players out there like Halverson. You are all fighting a saliva battle that not many mortals want a part of. To listen to the full interview, check it out on YouTube or make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post “Thing Is Full Of Spit”: Tyler Halverson Is A Steward Of The Harmonica… But Even He’ll Tell You It’s A Nasty Instrument first appeared on Whiskey Riff.