History: 
Fritz Richmond's Story pt. II

Fritz kept in touch, but never made it back.



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<––––continued from page 1

One of the main sparkplugs in the Minneapolis jug band scene is Bill Hinkley.  I got his number as someone who could provide more details. Not only details, he got us rides to and from the airport, suggested a hotel, and arranged for us to play at the nearby Viking Bar the night before the Battle.The Viking was your basic bar gig.  The stage was small and cluttered with a drum set, guitar amps, big-screen TV gear and a sound system that was new the last time the local football team went to the Super Bowl. Being a jug band, we know about these things. Fiddlin' Stew, being a sound reinforcement engineer by trade, applied his skill and a little duct tape, and had us sounding great in only a few minutes.
It was a cold night outside (for us Portlanders) but the fans kept coming in. We were delighted and so was the management. It began to be standing room only. The pool table had to shut down for lack of elbow room. The smoke was so think you could cut it into chunks. I heard it took ten minutes to get to the ladies room. After two hours the place was totally jammed and so were we. As we packed up, lots of folks came over to the stage to look at the washtub bass and to assure us that they'd be at the Battle.

The Battle took place in the largest of several function rooms in American Legion Post #l, a blockish one-story building form the 60's that had somehow been plunked down into an old residential neighborhood. Tables and chairs for 300 people were set up, and food tables in the rear were already loaded with steaming delights as we arrived.

While we were in a back room getting ready, I had the opportunity to chat with a couple of washtub bass players. One man used the end section of an oak wine barrel with a large piece of leather for a top. The stick was rather short, but was cleverly made for sitting down to play. He is a member of the Neuroleptic Maniacs, who all sit down to play. The other washtub bass player I spoke to was Bob Stelnicki, a veteran of several Battles, and who plays a very old instrument. He uses gloves on both hands. And to enable smoother playing and faster sliding, Bob used a lot of Vaseline on the glove of his stick hand. He said that there is 25-year old Vaseline on his pole. Bob is one of severai people I saw wearing an official-looking sheriff's badge reading, "Jug Band Purity Control."

The coveted waffle iron had been duly returned all the way from San Francisco by former Minnesotan washtub bass player Ray Chippault, winner of the 1994 Battle. It was prominently displayed next to the list of eleven jug bands who were to perform. Since we had an early plane to catch, we were to be the fourth band to play, and play we did. I thought

In the time left before we had to leave, I talked with a couple more washtub bass players.     

Never in my life have I seen so many in one place; there must have been eight of them! I remain amazed at the size of the jug band community in the Minnesota area.

We all had to be at our day jobs on Monday, so we were on Delta's last flight out Sunday. Consequently, we departed having missed a lot of music and without knowing who had won the waffle iron. I called up the next day and was told it had gone to Bob Stelnicki, the guy with the Vaseline. Shucks. Maybe next year.

If you go to the Battle next year, I can promise you a good time. There are friendly folks to meet, lots of food, music, drink, interesting instruments...

 

Special thanks to Bill Thomas
for granting permission
to reprint this copyrighted material
Bill Hinkley
This second report is in the form of a letter
from Minnesotan Bill Hinkley to Fritz Richmond.
 -Bill Thomas
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dear Fritz, Doc, Stew,
Turtle and significant others,

You have the heartfelt thanks of the whole Twin Cities' jug band loving community for making the trip here from Portland for this year's Battle of the Jug Bands.... The Professional Quartet from the Coast delighted even the most casual observers.

Although everyone who stayed to the end of the proceedings felt relieved that Bob Stelnicki would be taking the coveted iron no farther away than the Windy City (for cleaning and maintenance, one wag remarked). Whether the members of Bob's regular band, the Laketown Buskers, will brunch on waffles is somewhat doubtful, for they could hardly be said to have won in absentia.
The bands which participated in the 1995 Battle were
1) Walleye Luck;
2) The Neuroleptic Maniacs;
3) The Elliott Brothers;
4) Fritz Richmond's Barbecue Orchestra;
5) The Jook Savages, aka the Voodoo Pigs;
6) Contract On America;
7) The Tortilla Flats Jug Band;
8) Opie Goes Bad;
9) The Ray Chippault Jug Band (winners of the waffle iron in 1994);
10) Just Add Beer.

Past winners of the waffle iron include the Jook Savages and Mama's Home Cookin' (three times each); The Golden Calf Jug Band (twice consecutively); Stinkhorn; The Sorelles; The Velvet Underjugs; and the Shameless Jugsuckers, featuring the Moist Towelettes....

Judy Larson is responsible for the concept of offering a waffle iron as a winners' trophy, but it was not until 1987 that a suitable waffle iron was found and awarded. The first waffle iron was unfortunately thrown out with the trash some time between the second and third Battles, in 1980 or 1981. Fortunately, Jeff Cahill found the present iron, a Holllwood [sic] Waffler, in the basement of an apartment building he was vacating. Thanks to Dave Ray's ingenious rewiring, the iron makes six excellent three-inch square waffles at a time without blowing fuses, shocking the handler or starting an electrical fire.

The handsome bronze stars worn as badges by the Battle's several functionaries were made from spare badge blanks at Wendell's, a Minneapolis engraver's shop. The concept of the badge came from Bob Stelnicki, who wore a cardboard badge identifying himself as the Jug Band Sheriff at the ninth Battle, held on February 3, 1991.

A brief history of the rediscovery of jug band music in Minnesota was prepared by David Morton for this year's event. Plans to expand it are in the works, as it may be of interest to readers of the Jug Band Rag. [The JBR is indeed interested! Send us a copy!--Bill] A similar publication originating in Minneapolis may take shape as the year progresses. All of us here would certainly like to see more jug bands participating in upcoming Battles...

[©copyright, 1997, Bill Thomas, Jug Band Rag ]
========================= January, 1997  used with permission



Fritz Richmond lost a year-long battle with  cancer on
   November 20th, 2005
Fritz Richmond Memorial Page
Click  for a little more about the
Barbecue Orchestra


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[Text ©copyright, 1997, Bill Thomas, Jug Band Rag ]
used with permission