 ,    REKKERDS:
check at band
websites, too
(click on pics ffi.) 
featuring:The
Blue Lights
Whiskey
For Breakfast Records is a brand new label for jug band, skiffle, and
good-time music, started by Banjo Kellie of Escape the Floodwater Jug
Band.Carolina Chocolate Drops Fritz Richmond's Barbecue Orchestra Bill Carney's Jug Addicts The Jim Kweskin Band Escape the Floodwater Jug Band Devine's Jug Band Juggernaut Jug Band Wahoo Skiffle Crazies The Watermelon Mountain Jug Band Banjorama! Ramblin Jug Stompers The Federal Cigar Jug Band The Jugadelics Quake City Jug Band Jugtown Pirates of Lake Champlain Dirdy Birdies Jug Band Blue Ribbon Jug Band Andalusia Jug Band The Hump Night Thumpers  featuring: Gamala
Beat
Ammon Hennessy Sloppy Joe Girls on Top Jook Savages The Bok Choy Mountain Boys Nationalz The Amish Power Company The Blue Wafflers Gung Hosers Sorrels Untied Hokum Yoakim & the Eggwhites Ghetto Rangers Walleye Luck Slop Bucket String's Momma's Home Cookin Racorded live at the
2000 Battle for Pulse
of the Twin
Cities newspaper's "Minnesota Homegrown Series"
|
NEW NEW NEW! SATURDAY NIGHT BEFORE THE BATTLE The Saturday Night
Pancake League Thanks
to some great work by Josh of the People's Jug Band, an alternate
pre-battle battle has been set up for bands unlucky enough to have
missed out in the lottery. The event will be 7pm, Saturday February 13th at the Corner Bar, 1501 Washington Ave, Minneapolis (on Seven Corners - kittycorner from the Town Hall Brewery). Map here. The whole story unfolds below in the Pancake League letters section, where your band can also find contact information for Josh. So far the following bands are on for Saturday: Courtney McClean and the Dirty Curls The Sliced Bread Jug Band Barehand Jug Band Pre-Apocalyptic Junkyard Orchestra The Fat-Chance Jug Band The Flesh and Blood Jug Band The Crotaline Shakers The Waindogs The Peoples Jug Band
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DRAWING RESULTS from the Lottery below: BOJB
committee
members randomly drawing band entrants for the 2008 Battle  All bands have confirmed 1. 1:00-1:15 Como Avenue Jug Band - Minneapolis 2. 1:20-1:35 Malcom Tent and the Heptic Discharge - Apple Valley, MN 3. 1:40-1:55 Mississippi Undertow- Minneapolis 4. 2:00-2:15 Sasquatch Wristwatch- Minneapolis 5. 2:20-2:35 New Improved Jook Savages - Angora, MN 6. 2:40-2:55 Bernie King and the Guilty Pleasures - Plymouth, MN 7. 3:00-3:15 3 Good Samaritans - Minneapolis 8. 3:20-3:35 Goat Hearts -St. Paul 9. 3:40-3:55 Fisher Coulee Ramblers - River Falls, WI 10. 4:00-4:15 The Hump Night Thumpers - Chicago 11. 4:20-4:35 Mad City Jug Band - Madison, WI 12. 4:40-4:55 Boo Bradley - Columbus, WI 13. 5:00-5:15 Feral Dogs - Columbia Heights, MN 14. 5:20-5:35 Lee "Colorblind" Johnson - Duluth 15. 5:40-5:55 Don't Try This At Home Jug Band -St. Paul 16. 6:00-6:15 Woodshop -Brooklyn Park, MN 17. 6:00-6:15 Strictly Jug Nuts - Chicago 18. 6:40-6:55 Mommy and the Bollocky Boys - Iowa City 19. 7:00-7:15 West Bank Temperance League - Columbia Heights, MN 20. 7:20-7:35 Roe Family Singers - Plymouth, MN updated on Sunday, January 10 There are 14 alternates ready to step in if a band needs to drop out.
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Hi All You Beautiful People! Alright, here's the skinny: We're starting at 7pm on the 13th. The line-up is thus: Courtney McClean and the Dirty Curls The Sliced Bread Jug Band Barehand Jug Band Pre-Apocalyptic Junkyard Orchestra The Fat-Chance Jug Band The Flesh and Blood Jug Band The Crotaline Shakers The Waindogs The Peoples Jug Band Thanks to Dr. Dog and Wayne for all their help in
securing the Corner Bar! Good people they are. So that's it. Tell your
friends, family, enemies and people you are indifferent to! Pancake
League Battle preparations start...now!!!! That's 9 Bands...whoa good showing! Half an Hour is what you'll get to set up play and take down. Alright? Alright! Start practicing and remember... just purse your lips and blow! Peace, Josh Peoples Jug Band Hi All, Dr. Dog tells me that the Corner Bar is providing a PA. I've got all my info through him. If I remember right, parking is a challenge, but I'm going to get in contact with the bar soon to work out the details. I'll let you know as soon as I know what the details are. I suppose I ought to get on this soon. Peace Josh W-W Al
wrote Josh a long rambling letter with some thoughts about names. the selection process, etc that he replied to
below: Hi Al, Thanks for your thoughts! I like the Saturday Night Pancake League Battle for a name. I'll go buy get a skillet for the trophy. Would you care to be a judge? Perhaps in future years the Pancake league champion can battle the Waffle League for the Jug Band World Series or something. My plan is to assign bands a slot, just so things run smoother. I've only been in contact with the alternates, so everyone has been screened by you already, but I'm open to being open if I get contacted by other bands. I think you've built up enough jug band culture that there's little worry for singer-songwriters to gum it up with sus chords and unrhyming lyrics. I think I'd be happy to get on the committee next year if you'll have me. It seems like there is definitely enough interest to make two days out of this and I certainly would like all the Jug Band Goodness I can get! Fellow Jug Banders, The
Corner Bar is at 1501 Washington Ave, Minneapolis - at 7 Corners kitty
corner from the Town Hall Brewery. It's a great venue! Yours Truly,Courtney McLean The Dirty Curls Wonderful! Where is the corner bar anyway? And, sadly, take the Geezers off the list. We won't be able to make it. of the Geezers We
are on for the Corner Bar on Sat 2/13. Please confirm you'll be there
and let me know if you have a time preference. Also, if you've got a
creative name for our "counter battle" pass it on and I'll work on
getting a flyer come up with. Al, is it possible to have the Saturday
night event on the Battle flyer? I'll be in contact soon I'm sure.
Looking forward to all the merry-making! Peace,Josh W-W I think a counter-battle
is a great idea! Maybe it could be an annual event since the Battle
has become so popular. In past years there were just a few bands that
didn't get in. This year it is almost half of those who registered. I
haven't heard from all the Geezers yet, so don't know if we can
participate..., but keep me informed of the details. Cindy of the Geezers Ya, fer shur, count me in. Keep me posted. Wayne of The Bailiwicks (not Ballwicks, even though the the latter works) Hi All You Jug Banders! Having
received enough positive response to the "Counter-Battle" or maybe
"Peace Summit of the Jug Bands," I'm going to start looking for a venue
for the night of February 13th. If you haven't weighed in yet, please
do! Also, if you've got a lead on a venue, please follow it heartily!!!
I'll be in touch with details as the develop! Here are the bands that
would play so far... The People's Jug Band The Flesh and Blood Jug Band The Dirty Curls Pre-Apocalyptic Junkyard Orchestra The Baliwicks The Geezers (Possibly) Who knows? We might even play longer sets than 15 minutes, so come with your A jugs! Peace, I
have not heard back yet from everyone in our band (Sliced Bread Jug
Band), but put us down as a definite maybe for the "Battle of the Beta
Bands."Josh Whitney-Wise We could start our own rival jug band league. With a
pancake griddle for first prize. Then the Waffle League winner can
battle the Pancake League winner in the Ultimate Jug-Off! Bryce Black Maybe this is something that can be implemented next
year – a jug off. I had the same idea in my head. But this year is
too late to coordinate the logistics. Great thought though! note: That's
not the first time this play-off idea was suggested. See the imaginative letters
below from Peter Stampfel and Dennis O'Neil from back in February, 2007Sarita I am just delighted to read all these great ideas and to see such enthusiasm! I work on the Battle committee and it has been so hard over the years to turn people away. The lottery has pluses and minuses, of course, and by nature can't accommodate everyone. This is great! Keep it up! Cindy of the Geezers Hi all, the Barehand Jugband would love to, but we have to check some scheduling first. It's a big trip from Chicago! Cheers Jonas Whoops, brain fart on my end. My band The Wayniacs (50's and 60's rock and roll w/ sax and no lead guitar) has a Valentines gig at Walker Church (16th Av and 31st St) on Feb 13. Being second on the alternate list, what are the odds of two dropping out? So, I guess that removes The Bailiwicks from the beta mix. Keep me on this list anyway and let me know what's up. Hopefully two bands will drop out/be unable to make it on Feb 14 and we'll get to play in the alpha (is that right?) mix. Brrrrrrrrrrrr Wayne of The Bailiwicks note: If you go to the "home" page, you'll notice the Pre-Jug Jam and Social
about 3/4 of the way down. We decided not to do it this year because
of such a measley turnout the past, really only about 12 people in the
small room at the Eagles. Club. This "small" room has a stage and probably could hold about 150-200 people or more. Your
Pal AlIt might be a good idea to try them. We ran the event from about 4 to 7:30pm in the afternoon so people could get up early enough to get ready for the battle the next day. Fat Chance Jug Band Nice!
The Waffle League versus The Pancake League in the Jugband World
Series! Yes! Somebody call the Whiskey, and let’s do it
right next door on the same day! Nate Dungan The Flesh & Blood Jugband We will welcome you with open arms and if you'd like us to reject you for something so you feel like you fit, we'll do that too! Josh Whitney-Wise People's Jug Band We're
not officially rejects, as we never put our name in to the lottery, but
Fat Chance is on for the Sat. PM festivities. Kris & the rest of Fat Chance We're in, for whatever there might be. Kris Garwick Fat Chance Jug Band Dear fellow Jug Band Battle Rejects, So there's 14 of us bands that didn't get into the battle, and looking through the list, I see a bunch of us that have played before, and if I do say so myself, done justice to the Jug and it would be a shame for us not to get together and share some of that old-timey goodness. So I talked with my band, and we agreed that if there are other bands out there who also want to play, we'll organize a "counter-battle," or "Battle, day 1" or whatever, the night before at a different venue for all those folks who weren't lucky enough to be drawn for the official battle. I figure we need at least five bands to make it work, so let me know if y'alls band is in. Hopefully, we can make this a tradition and just have a jug band weekend, as the number of bands just keeps going up, and a lot of good music will go unheard otherwise. Anyway, let me know ASAP so we can work on the venue The term "rejects" seems a little harsh...
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MORE E-MAILS 1/14/10 Sliced Bread Jug Band got together tonight, and we are definitely on for the Pancake League on 2/13. So please move us from maybe to yes. A few emails back I made a totally tongue in cheek suggestion that the winners of the Pancake League and the Waffle League should meet in the ultimate Jug-Off. I am assuming this further level of competition is not being planned, since there has not been anything about it in the email conversation. If so, this is good, since nobody in my band from the Wisconsin boonies wants to do a two day trip to Minneapolis. Saturday or Sunday, but not both. Peace, Bryce Black Sliced Bread Jug Band 1/13/10 So, what about "real" battle being bands from the twin cities and other battles being bands from the rest of the world. And not just 'cause our band hasn't made it in for like the last 3 years. Something should be figgered out. But I'm glad everyone is so excited about the night before battle. Hope they have fun. Craig Kent Andersonville Patriots 1/11/10 What's the deal with the link for Sliced Bread Jug Band? It links to www.environmentalgraffiti.com with a story about school kids trying to prevent wildfires in California. I mean, it's a worthy cause and all, but not particularly relevant to either our band or the Battle... Bummer about Cam Waters. I didn't know him well, but our washboard wizard Gib, and Kari and Lisa, who played with us at the Battle in 2008, were good friends of his. Peace, For
sure that's wrong. There was another link that went there too, I think
it may be a default from our service provider, which while better than
some ad isn't where it should be going. I'll see what's wrong and
fix it. Bryce Black Sliced Bread Jug Band I booked Cam's first gig in the Cities (at the Riverside) and played with him the year he won the Battle. Al The Webastard 1/4/10 Hi All, Chicago now has a monthly Jug Band Jam every third Monday of the month at 9pm. If you are in Chicago (or like to travel) come join the members of the Barehand Jugband at the Grafton Pub (4530 North Lincoln Avenue) next to the Old Town School of Folk Music. Cheers - - - - -Jonas Friddle Kari, Were you part of the Standard size Family Band that won in 2001? If so, we could use a picture of some sort. Al (from BOTJB Committee) Yep, I was one of them. I think there might be a few pictures around here. I'll do some digging today. Kari Larson - - - - - 12/7/09 Once again, I wish that I had the means to attend this wonderful event. However, I just picked up a dinner show gig on the Saturday evening before the this year's scheduled Jug Off event, on February 13th. This upcoming show will be my second at that venue. My first show there, the week before Thanksgiving, had sold out two weeks prior to the show. So, I'm looking forward to this next one. Know that, as always, my spirit is with all who sputter into various crockery jugs, scrub on ancient washing machines, thump on rope strings pierced through washtubs, clack, click and slap assorted silverware, coax handsaws to vibrate and otherwise offer their musical talents and entertainment via all manner of novelty, homemade or unconventional instrumentation. Our fascination with taking commonplace items and discovering the means to use them to create music are all part of the jug band way. It is this approach that binds us all as one and that sets us all apart from every other genre of musical expression. I will carry on this proud tradition as long as I have the means to do so where ever I roam, just as I am certain that you will do likewise where ever you are across the planet. Sputter on, scrub on, thump on, clack on my brothers and sisters until we meet in that big Jug Off in the sky! Sawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwyalater, Reg vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv http://www.myspace.com/reggiemiles - - - - - 12/7/09 thanks,
claudia note: We're let them know. Honest. As soon as we know who's judging we'll publish it. - - - - - 12/6/09 Craig Kent - - - - - 8/27/09 I am interested in playing with a band. I have been out of touch for a long time. I live in Northfield, so I'd be most interested in a group that rehearses on the South side. If you know anyone who needs an old comb player, give them my email address, will you ? Don
Forsberg donforsberg@charter.net
note: Don's story can be found on the "Battle History"
pages. Good read...
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From way back in February 2007 I
finally tracked down this long exchange between the Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders and
fans (via their yahoo group) and Al (from the BOJB Committee) that you
may find interesting. Or not:Peter Stampfel wrote: Pardon a pushy New Yorker, but if the Battle is getting more popular, why not a longer event? How many more than 20 bands do you expect? When did the event start? What was the first year there were too many bands? Why not a longer event, or a 2 day event, with play-offs? Is there just 1 song per band? With play-offs (top 5?) the finalists could do 3/5 songs, the better to be judged by. Why don't we have one of these in NYC? Why isn't there one in your town? & yrs & yrs, etc??? Finalists could go the the Regionals, Regional finalists to the Nationals to determine the USA champ Jug Band! How long will it take to get this up & running? How many citys could support this? SF, Berkeley, Portland, Austin, NYC, Cambridge, Seattle...Crisake people, lets DO it!!! - - - - - Peter Stampfel wrote:Started in 1981, dummy. - - - - - Al wrote:Com'on you're a pushy Wisconsinite at heart... Anyway that idea has been bandied about, but the consensus seems to be that what started as a frieindly neighborhood gathering (and only accidentally ended up becoming an annual event in the first place) would come to no good end by going national. Would ruin the spirit. We'd end up with sponsorships and all kinds of other crap. And besides, the waffle iron could end up getting lost thousands of miles away. Better that other places just have their own jug battles... And there actually are 4 other Annual Battles that I know about, one in Yokohama Japan (altho I'm not sure if it is really every year or not) and the rest in Minnesota. Effie in September, with a fish skinner as the trophy; Duluth in May, with a Krümkake iron as a trophy; and Victoria in July with a Battered GI mess kit as a trophy. I tried to talk the West Coast guys into doing a battle out there but they decided it was too competitive or something, so are now doing what they call a "Jug Band Jubilee". It only started getting overcrowded with acts in the past 5 or so years. At one time we just showed up at whatever place the Battle was going to be at and played...never more than 10 bands, sometimes created on the spot. I'd say that an actual weeding-out process only started about 3 years ago. (Although the nescessity for one was the first time Bluegrass Bands entered with no repect to the genre - but that's another story) The two-day idea might work out, but I doubt if we could ever get judges to sit thru another day of it...It's hard enough to find them as it is. To say nothing of cleaning up from the potluck. Best thing is, if your band doesn't get in at Minneapolis there are 3 others in Minnesota to go to. Come on East Coast, get one going...just remember to keep it freaky... - - - - - Peter Stampfel wrote:When I was a Wisconsonite I barely started to push. Yeah, I got carried away. But it would be neat to have one here. That's really one tradition that needs to be spread, like peanut butter, or manure. - - - - - Michael Hoffmann wrote:where and when? Let's set one up in NY. Well you may be poor with a wolf at your door, but money isn't everything we still have the sun and a river full of fun and we'll always ahve a song to sing So take the frown off your face we're gonna replace it with a smile and a dream come true and a pretty girl dancing to jug band music and a mess of mom's barbecue Barbecue, bless my spirit I swear it never fails, and the sauce momma makes just stays there forever if you ever get it under your nails so take the frown off your face we're gonna replace it with a smile and a dream come true and a pretty girl dancing to jug band music and a mess of mom's barbecue - - - - - Peter Stampfel wrote:First coming to mind is the Bowery Poetry Club. I'm talking to Bob there this week & will run it by him. I'm out of the folk loop, but I could get back in quick. Wanna call me & talk about it? - - - - - Dennis O'Neil wrote:To say nothing of the subsequent World Serious, with impeccably rehearsed and period-outfitted Japanese groups performing phonetic renditions of Kweskin's version of "Mobile Line.. I can hardly wait... Dennis - - - - - Continued next column >>> |
How to Enter
Registration
Registration for the 28th Annual Battle of the Jugbands (Sunday,
February 14th at the Cabooze Bar in Minneapolis) ran from December 1 to December 31, 2009. This means If
your registration is received after that, you will
not be
in the band lottery this year. No exceptions. A confirmation was returned within 72 hours to verify that the registration was received. In the event that any band fails to verify on or before Sunday, January 10th or have to drop out, alternates will move up the list in the order they were drawn. Raffle? Why is that?
Due to the overwhelming popularity of this event, there have been more
bands that register than there are time slots. Therefore, a lottery
will be used to select the bands in the battle. If over 19 register
(which has been the case for the past several years), not all bands will
get
in. Please understand that there is a limited time frame, and that the
lottery is a completely unbiased and totally random process. Bands will perform in the order they are drawn. There
are 20 slots, including the one reserved for last years champions. The lottery was held on January 1, 2010. The Usual Fine Print / How to know if you're
Battle-Worthy
Bands must contain 3 traditional jug band instruments. If you're not
sure what a traditional jug band instrument is, then you're probably
not a jug band. Hint: one of them just might be a jug. See the Jug band entry
on
Wikipedia
for more information (assuming that it hasn't been modified by someone
that doesn't know what they're talking about or has posted an entry to
promote their non-jug band - like a rap group from Italy did a
few
years back). Imagination with instrumentation is highly encouraged. (It may look like a coffee grinder but one Sunday in February it could be a highly sophisticated jug band instrument) And If you have to plug it in to hear it, it's probably not one, either - Mics and a sound system are provided to pick up your sounds. Jug bands do not have to be "professional" to enter; however, bands do need to have an appreciation of That Jug Band Sound. If you only play another genre of music and not Jug Band, do not register for the battle. It is not appreciated by the other bands or the audience, and shows a lack of respect to them. There are a lot of rock, bluegrass, singer-songwriter, etc. events held everywhere year around. Despite the genre's growing popularity there are still only a handful of jug band events held each year (for a long time this was the only one on the planet, and it's still one of a very few that's open to any jug band). We'll get back to you if we see a problem. Selected bands, if there are any issues, write to us at jugbandbattle@gmail.com.Registration for the 2010 Battle has CLOSED Submissions of this form will be ignored! When you click the "Submit" button, you should be sent to a Thank you page if everything worked out OK.
A
POTLUCK COMMENT:
"It is uncool to show up, eat everything and bring nothing" - - - - - Older E-MAILS galore - - - - -
8/7/09
Hi folks, The brass note for Will Shade and the Memphis Jug Band was installed last week and dedicated over the weekend. Out of approximately 80 brass notes on Beale Street, this is the first to honor a jug band! (Gus Cannon will be getting one later this year.) Thanks to [jug band] list members David Evans and Andy Cohen for meeting me there. Also, thanks to those who contributed to help pay for the brass note ... I held a drawing and will be sending my last benefit concert poster to Jacob Fishman of Chicago. The day after the ceremony, I drove up to the Ripley/Henning area and found some of the Menglewood box factory relics buried among the poison oak. I've mapped the location, along with other blues sites I've visited, here: Cheers, -Arlo - - - - - 5/5/09 Thanks for all your work, saw the picture of morton and an old post of mine to a defunct jugband site all of which is truer and true i seem to be the de facto archivist now (ie managed not to lose EVERYTHING) though bet morton has a stash of stuff buried under piles of other stuff somewhere hung out with rick a lot lived a few doors away (he self-servingly taught me how to clean rapidograph pens) so know this drawing well - it's horizontally flipped on the JBB page (though i don't mind being out front for a change) 3 mpls lads there and griffin playing the (soon to be electric) monostring - a sort of trailerpark primitive dobro koto the cartoon was published as stated but i don't think rick's estate will give you crap about using it bass-ically yours Mark Robertson note: The Rick Griffin cartoon and Mark's old post are on the Morton's History of MN Jugbands page - - - - - Hey
Folks, Thanks to everyone for making the Battle a big success. Be sure to go to the "Links" page to find out about the our little siblings, the other Battles of the Jug Bands held right here in Minnesota: Duluth, MN, Memorial weekend Sunday Effie, MN (aka Edge of the Wilderness), the weekend after Labor Day. Held outdoors under a big top. A N D Chicago, IL, in the Fall sometime. All of them are a real good time. (the Victoria, MN Battle appears to have gone away...) Your
Pal Al
Fat Chance Jug Band - - - - - ...It was you Minnesotans that inspired use to create our own festival which led to other festivals and the formation of the CJBA. So we owe a debt of gratitude to you and your buddies. We do hope to be a help to all Jug Band activities. "Think globally, act locally" you know. - - - - -
1/4/09 ...It would be great to work up some collaboration between the Minneapolis Battle and the California Jug Band Association...any ideas? It would also be great to find some funding so that some of the Minnesota bands could participate in our festivals. Bebo White - - - - -12/6/08
the Roe Family Singers will NOT be able to apply this year. The reason? Kim and I are expecting our first baby, and the baby is due two days after the battle. Given the unpredictable schedule these babies these days keep, who knows when she'll actually be born? Please send us the form again next year, for the 28th Battle. We want to fight again! Sincerely,
2/11/08Quillan Roe - - - - -
Thank you gang for the effort put in for another great battle. Would you please email me the name of the proud winning band, Thank
you, Tom
Haugh
Don't Try This At Home Jug Band
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2/13/08Hey everybody, First off, congratulations to Grandma's Saggy Jugs! Fantastic set! Y'all had my vote! Second, thanks to everyone who we shared the stage with. That was so much fun, and all the bands were great. I hope we can do it again next year! Third, thank you to "the committee" for organizing everything and making it happen. We were so excited to be a part of the Battle this year, and it completely lived up to our expectations. We had a wonderful day and enjoyed ourselves tons!
Sincerely,
Quillan Roe for the Roe Family Singers - - - - -
12/1/08
Any chance of having the Battle of the Jug Bands lottery a bit earlier this year? As you know from the Chicago Battle, we're breeding jug bands by the....well, 2's and 3's, anyway. Given the distance, drive time, airline ticket cost, recession, general angst, etc. for those of us who live here in the southland, it would be helpful to know before the beginning of the first week of 2009. There's an advantage knowing and (for those of us flying) booking flights more than a month in advance. It would be great if we could know by the weekend of January 3rd-4th. Skip
Landt
Strictly Jug Nuts note: With an earlier
deadline this year, drawing results can be sent out in time for that
weekend.
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11/10/08
Photos from Chicago's First Annual Battle of the Jug Bands
I've posted some photos and some videos at: http://jrjenks.blogspot.com/2008/11/chicagos-first-annual- J.R. Jenks
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From way back in February 2007 > Continued < Christopher Gray wrote: You could make it like college football playoffs: never-ending, purposely insipid, "on" every waking moment. There could be awards for best band with a tuba, best for a band that plays the same song in the most original way, best band that plays the same song the longest without getting booed off stage, best band that can play the top ten Billboard shlock without the associated pain of listening to it, etc. It could have a "round-robin" so that even losing bands have a playoff. It could take on new bands that form from members of those bands that get "defeated" along the way... a sort of self-regeneration process like dead skin forming a baby. Remember that America only loves winners and the hideous battle that mutates them into being. So why not every one a winner?! And, every one never quite the champ - a sort of "edge-of-the-seat" thing like telling a news program audience that really big news about impending death is coming up "after this story". America also loves contestation. Make it extreme like a football game where four teams play two games across two fields that meet at mid-field. Two bands actually play at once. Why stop at two? It could broadcast the private lives of the musicians, putting their soiled lives to musical notation as an entry requirement. If a band's members cannot preform their lives due to suicide or collapsed personal life, there's sure to be a happy audience and lots of soap sold. Anyway. Fooling aside, your idea is fun, so have some fun with it. Good luck. I for one would visit and support it in Berkeley, if it gets advertised so that I hear about it without having to peer through the postgoth-headslam papers to find it.... ;-) Michael Hoffmann wrote: - - - - -Even if there are three jug battles in America and one in Japan, why not one in New York also? This music should be lauded. Just think, in 80 years will young white suburbanite kids be recreating hardcore rap from today? How ridiculous does it sound? Compare Walter Coleman's "smack that thang" 1936 to Akon's "Smack that" (2006) -Two great songs about smackin some ass till it gets sore, but nobody's grabbing their mom's washboard off the wall and tuning up the old banjo and playing these future classics. The hobby of playing music way out of social, cultural, and historical context is not popular enough and there are certainly not enough competitions for this art. Peter Stampfel wrote: Dave said he heard a Japanese jug band with 3 jugs that he said was amazing. Could you tell us more about them Dave? I forget the details. - - - - - Dave Reisch wrote: When we played the Portland Blues Festival last summer, Jim Kweskin and Geoff Muldaur had recently been to Japan where they played a Jug Festival--One of the Japanese Jug band had maybe 12 members, all dressed in matching chef's uniforms, doing choreographed steps- A 3 jug section that would twirl, etc in unison- It burned an image in Geoff's brain that will never heal - - - - - DAVE [the other Dave] wrote: Jug Bands dressed in Chefs outfits....hmmmmm. Ever hear of the Ballard Chefs Jug band? Undoubtably an homage to them. I think. I dunno. Jug Music has been VERY big in Japan the last few years, and a lot of this including portions of Jim and Geoffs show is caught in the documentary.Im looking forward to it. Also looking forward to maybe seeing the two of them in Berkeley at the Freight and Salvage next month. Dave - - - - - Al wrote: The winning band last year (2006) wore chef's outfits, as have others in the past. Our poster for the second Battle had a shot of the Ballard Chefs on it. Al - - - - - |
