Joshua Howell started playing harmonica when he was 14, and by 17, he was sitting in and cutting heads with blues bands in Oakland, CA. He quickly became the desired house harmonica player in clubs such as Eli's Mile High and Your Place Too, though his under-age status limited his exposure to only those clubs that could circumvent the age restrictions. During this period, he took up guitar, intently focused on learning the slide guitar styles of the Mississippi greats such as Fred McDowell, Bukka White, Robert Johnson and RL Burnside.