Gerorge Miklas with JERRY MURAD'S HARMONICATS

I was 12 years old, attending my first SPAH convention when I stood and said to Jerry Murad, "Someday I will play on stage with you." Jerry watched and observed me develop as a young harmonica player. He heard me play some of the very songs that he recorded years before. Then at 19 years old I had a fateful meeting with Jerry. We were at Kinnick Funeral Home in Youngstown Ohio to pay respects to the family of Mike Smith, former vice president of the Steel Valley Harmonica Club. It was that day that Jerry asked me, "Which harmonica do you play the best George, the chord or the bass?" I paused a moment, thought about the ages of Dick and Al, and then replied, "The chord." It was only about three months later, in July 1984, that Jerry contacted me for an audition. I met Jerry at the home of Tony Sherock in Girard Ohio. We played songs, and he listened closely to my techniques. Jerry left me with a folder of sheet music for two complete shows, cassette tapes to rehearse with, and instruction that he wanted to hear me play the shows in two weeks. I worked and I worked hard. I memorized the parts. I listened to the tapes to make a note of every nuance, so that I could ask Jerry about my stage blocking. When Jerry returned, we played all of the music. We discussed stage blocking. Jerry took me to a Lord Chesterfield Mens Store for a tuxedo fitting -- I was hired -- I WAS A HARMONICAT at 19 years old !

After graduating from the Dana School of Music / Youngstown State University with a Bachelor of Music in Education degree, I had a second opportunity to join Jerry. This time Jerry was living in Liberty Township, Ohio, and he called me to come to his house. It was March, 1993 and he asked me to bring my bass harmonica to do some recording with him. Unbeknownst to me, he was auditioning me on the bass harmonica because Dick Gardner had resigned from the trio. After playing for Jerry, he leveled with me telling that both Dick and Bob Bauer had resigned. He told me that he wanted me back in the group, either to play the chord or to play the bass. We collaborated on other available chord and bass players to figure out who would compliment me rejoining the group. We agreed that if Al Data would come on board to play the chord, then I would play the bass. We called Al Data, set up a meeting time, and proposed the arrangement to him. Al agreed. It was the end of March, 1993 when the final line up of Jerry Murad's Harmonicats was settled. The first weekend of April, 1993 was the Buckeye State Harmonica Festival where the announcement of the new personnel was made. A new photo was taken, and press packets were sent to all of the agents nationwide.

March 1996 was the last tour for Jerry Murad's Harmonicats before he died of a sudden, fatal heart attack. That tour was 15 days long, and we played at 18 different venues in central Florida. Al Data was unable to be with us because he was still bound under a school teacher contract. In Al's place, Jerry and I got Bud Boblink to join us. Bud is a fantastic chord harmonica player from the Chicago area. Bud and I got to spend a lot of time together in the car, along with the Phyllis Diller impersonator who opened our shows.