G'WAY an' quit dat noise, Miss Lucy, put dat music book away. What's de use to keep on tryin' ef you practise twell you're gray? - Paul Lawrence Dunbar's poem When Malindy Sings
Way to go, guys, and kudos to John C. and Miller for being willing to drop everything, and put in the time and travel to do the gig. Sometimes it is great to put the daily routine on hold, but it is not easy to do! I hope the trip up and back to the Bay Area went off smoothly, and I look forward to hearing more about the experience and seeing the film at Port Townsend. All best, Johnm
Heck, I'm hoping we can perform our whole set at Weenie dinner one evening.
What a blast! Great home cooked food (home baked sour dough bread, even). Myriad microbrews and bourbons to choose from. Coffee roasted, ground and pressed for each pot to get us rehearsing again each day. Getting to know Chezz and Taizz at home, beyond their PT personnas. Getting a feel for Portland and meeting a lot of people in the music scene there. And having a project really gel and come together in a good performance for an appreciative audience. What a great week.
Since you guys usually want to read set lists:
On The Road Again (MJB) Chezz - lead vocal, harp; Buzz - vocal, mando, kazoo; Wax - vocal, guitar, jug I Whipped My Woman With A Single Tree (MJB) Chezz - lead vocal, guitar; Buzz - vocal, mando, kazoo; Wax - washboard, jug Meat Shakin' Woman (BBF) Wax - lead vocal, guitar, jug; Chezz - spoken, washboard; Buzz - mando, kazoo KC Moan (MJB) Wax - lead vocal, slide guitar, jug; Chezz - vocal, harp; Buzz - vocal, mando, kazoo Bill Wilson (BirminghamJB) Chezz - lead vocal, harp, washboard; Buzz - vocal, mando; Wax - guitar, jug Ducks Yas Yas (Tampa Red & the Hokum Boys) Buzz - lead vocal, mando; Chezz - vocal, slide guitar; Wax - washboard, jug Stealin', Stealin' (MJB) Buzz - lead vocal, mando, kazoo; Wax - vocal, guitar, jug; Chezz - harp Mississippi Blues (WB) Wax - lead vocal, guitar, jug; Buzz - mando, kazoo; Chezz - harp Viola Lee Blues (CJS) Chezz - lead vocal, harp; Buzz - mando, kazoo; Wax - guitar, jug Mama Don't Allow No Easy Riders Here (TR&THB) Wax - vocal, washboard, jug; Buzz - vocal, mando, kazoo; Chezz - vocal, slide guitar
Actually, we had to drop Viola Lee, as, apparently from the 39 minute video, the stage manager cut us short. We would have timed out perfectly at 45 minutes. Oh well.
Thanks for the good words, folks.
All for now. John C.
Logged
"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." George Bernard Shaw
“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Joseph Heller, Catch-22
Actually, we'll go one better. Maybe a screening, but certainly a CONCERT by the Hohoppas at Weenie House one night during blues week. Cheers, Chezz, Wax and Miller.
Mama Don't Allow No Easy Riders Here (TR&THB) Wax - vocal, washboard, jug; Buzz - vocal, mando, kazoo; Chezz - vocal, slide guitar
So which one of you was doing the Frankie Jaxon impersonation? Were there dance steps involved?
Thanks for the setlist, Wax. I wasn't familiar with Bill Wilson by the Birmingham Jug Band and requested it on the Juke. It turns out it is a smokin' cool version of John Henry. A bit of a jug workout on that one, it sounds like. I also notice there seems to be mandolin or banjo-mandolin in all three of the songs that came up on the Juke (Three for Thursdays). Will have to check the Mandolin Blues thread to see if I have them listed, because I don't think I do. Who is their mandolin player?
A fellow by the name of Unknown. All the performers on the Birmingham Jug Band Sessions are unknown. The harmonica player may or may not be Jay Bird Coleman.
UB - We changed Mama Don't Allow around a bit, using the format as played by the Hokum Boys, but doing solo breaks between each verse, with whoever did the solo singing the next verse to intro the next player, who would sing the "I don't care what Mama don't 'low" line and we would all sing the final line. So I sang the "Easy Ridin'" verse (a la Frankie) and then Chezz did some "easy ridin'" on the slide guitar, and sang the "jug knocking" verse. After my jug solo I sang "Mama don't 'low no kazoo tootin'" and Buzz did a solo then sang "no washboard rubbin'". After my washboard solo we all cut loose for a verse to which we all sang the last line and I capped it with Frankie's "I said no ridin' 'round here".
So, to answer your question: I pretty much sang Frankie's higher version of the melody throughout, which was harmonized by Chezz and Buzz singing the standard melody. My vocal range just keeps getting higher.-G-
dj - It seems less than likely that Coleman was the harp player for the BJB. I recall Chezz reading a cd cover (not the Document cd) that had another possibility, first name Otis, I think. My memory is kinda fuzzy. I don't know who wrote the notes, either. Maybe Chezz will post it?
All for now. John C.
Logged
"People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it." George Bernard Shaw
“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Joseph Heller, Catch-22