New Label, New Life for Harman’s Acclaimed ‘Extra Napkins’

Blues fans are about to get a fresh helping of “Extra Napkins,” the James Harman Band album from 1988 that is one of the most acclaimed roots-music releases ever to come out of Orange County.

The album--a romping and varied traditional-blues delight that sounds like a vital, long-lost session from the ‘40s or ‘50s--originally was released only on vinyl and cassette. It finally will emerge on compact disc in July under a deal that Harman, who lives in Huntington Beach, has struck with Cannonball Records, a new blues label based in Minnesota.

“Extra Napkins” features Harman’s down-home singing and harmonica playing supported by three ace guitarists--David “Kid” Ramos, Junior Watson and Michael “Hollywood Fats” Mann--and an array of fine keyboards and horns. It received three nominations for W.C. Handy Awards, the blues world’s equivalent of the Grammys, and pop critics for the Times Orange County Edition ranked it first, second and 10th on their respective best-of-the-’80s lists of top local releases.

Harman says his deal with Cannonball calls for the gradual unearthing of a large trove of his material from the 1980s: two studio sequels to “Extra Napkins” featuring never-released material from the same period, and two live albums documenting his superb mid-’80s lineup of Ramos, Fats, drummer Stephen Hodges and bassist Willie J. Campbell. One will be a reissue of “Strictly Live . . . In ‘85!,” originally released in 1990; the second will be previously unreleased performances from the same two-night stand at the Belly Up Tavern in Solana Beach that yielded “Strictly Live.”

“I’m excited to get it out,” Harman said this week, noting that the archival material figures to get better distribution this time around. “Extra Napkins” and “Strictly Live” originally were released as a partnership between Harman’s own Ice Pick label and Rivera Records, run by Bob Rivera, a blues aficionado in O.C.

The albums remain in print--copies are available at Harman’s gigs, and from Rivera at (714) 639-0400--but Harman hopes for a bigger sales push on re-release. Cannonball is a start-up company co-founded by Ron Levy, a veteran blues pianist, record producer and label boss who previously headed Rounder Records’ Bullseye Blues offshoot.

Harman said Cannonball will issue the five planned archival releases gradually over the next few years. “You put out a record and you work it, ‘cause I tour all the time. When the sales level out, we start tooling up the next record. Rather than go by the clock, which is phony, you go by what the market decides.”

He emphasized that concurrent with this ongoing retrospective slant, he remains a forward-looking blues band leader who intends to keep issuing albums of fresh material. Having released three albums since 1991 on Black Top, a blues label based in New Orleans, Harman is shopping for a new record company for “Takin’ Chances,” an album-in-progress he wants to release next year.

The current edition of Harman’s oft-changing band features guitarist Henry Carvajal, bassist Joe Leaon and drummer Paul Fasulo. Harman said he recently parted reluctantly with guitarist Robby Eason, who joined his band four years ago as a 17-year-old wonder from San Diego.

“He’s a beautiful man, and developed all the skills I needed,” Harman said. “He’s a genius, but he found the right girl and tired of the road at 21.”

Harman, who shows no signs of tiring of the road as he approaches his 51st birthday, returned recently from a European tour and is off to the Midwest after this weekend’s local gigs.