TubeNet

just got this on the Jug Band Yahoo Group list - may be of interest to many of you...
some really big names in this style!

For anybody in NorCal, this looks like a great little festival - lots of free performances and more!
I know a lot of these performers, worked with some of them - they really get into it!

Jug Bands are not just a West Coast thing, by the way - there are bands all over the world playing the "Poor Man's Tuba" - many other festivals, Youtube clips and group websites are around. Some bands prefer the Washtub (or GutBucket) String Bass - some use both.

Dave Richoux
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The 2009 San Francisco Jug Band Festival (August 15-17)
is shaping up to be one of the most memorable musical events of the year
that's guaranteed to please jug band aficionados, potential jug band
lovers, and even those who know little or nothing about jug band music.
It will be impossible for anyone to attend any part of this festival
without tapping their feet and laughing out loud (LOL)!

Just consider this program:

====> August 15: 10 am-6 pm at the Bandshell in Golden Gate
Park - a free day of some of the best jug band music on the planet
including:

* Eden and John's East River String Band: from New York City - they try
to keep alive the rural music tradition that existed before 1935 when
radio became the central medium by which people heard music

* The Barking Spiders: featuring Keith Cary and Bob Armstrong with a
guest appearance by Meredith Axelrod - musical virtuosos playing classic
and original goodtime music on traditional and non-traditional instruments

* Devine's Jug Band: the hardest working jug band in Northern California

* The Boweavils: down home blues and novelty songs done in an old time
jug band style

* The Tarantulas Jug Band: the official jug band of the California State
Park system

* The Goat Family: raucous devotees of jug band, roots music, stompathon

* Five Cent Coffee: neo skiffle junkyard blues is how they describe
their music

* The Amazing Dr. Zarcon's Breathing Machine: a reunion of the group
once described by legendary SF Chronicle music critic Phil Elwood as
possessing hints of blackcherry, oak, and 5 cent cigar

* Blind Boy Paxton (just added!): from Los Angeles and described as a
musician and singer who plays the guitar, banjo and piano and is a
walking encyclopedia of early blues and jazz

* The Jugtown Pirates: formerly the Jugtown Pirates of Lake Champlain,
but they've made the Bay Area their new home

====> August 16: 1 pm-4 pm at the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco
Public Library

* A multimedia presentation and panel discussion by jug band music
experts including Arlo Leach and Wayne Hagen

* A live performance of jug band music by Amazing Grapes

====> August 16: 8 pm-midnight at Club Amnesia - performances by

* Eden and John's East River String Band with special guest Ralph Carney

* Miss Emily Anne's Hot Nuts

* Lavay Smith and her Red Hot Jug Band Trio (Lavay Smith, Chris Siebert,
and Pete Devine)

====> August 17: 8 pm-midnight at Club Amnesia (JUST ADDED!) -
performances by

* Lech's Jug Band Project - featuring Lech Wierzynski of Jug Free
America, The Blue Roots, and The California Honeydrops

* Devine's Jug Band

* Meredith Axelrod

* MARIA MULDAUR

See complete details about the festival and links for additional artist
information at http://www.jugfest.org.

The San Francisco Jug Band Festival is a labor of love by the California
Jug Band Association (CJBA) - a California 501(c)(3) educational
non-profit. The CJBA operates on a shoestring budget and cannot afford a
massive publicity campaign. PLEASE pass this information on to any
person, group, mailing list, newspaper, media outlet, etc. that you
think might be interested.

The outstanding festival poster, designed by "Misisipi Mike" Wolf, can
be downloaded from http://www.jugfest.org

That is definitely an awesome poster. I'm rearranging my saturday to come check that out, sounds like a fantastic way to spend a day. Amnesia is a great venue, even though it reaches capacity fairly easily. From a players perspective thats awesome though, because you get to play for a packed house!

Thanks for posting this!

The show was quite good - a bit of audio feedback problems, but generally well presented. I got to talk with Robert Armstrong for a while after his set - what a great musician! Among other things, we talked about the difference between tuba embouchure and jug blowing/buzzing - while one might think a good tuba player should have no problem with a jug, they really are enough different to make it an issue!

Jug takes a very loose lip "phippppbbbbb" sort of buzz with some tone control by lip tension, but it is a very hard thing to describe in text. Different from playing Didge, as well...