Issue #43
Last Update December 24, 2005
Arts Washboard Slim by David Katz Blues is a paradoxical form. It is a sadness that brings great joy. There are many forms of the blues, including “dirty blues”, where the song lyrics, innocent if taken literally, describe or are an invitation to sexual activity; an up-tempo kind of blues, where the blues scale is used in a jumping, cheerful song; and lowdown blues, where misery and music fuse. Washboard Slim and the Blue Lights, practitioners of jug band blues, can handle all of these blues styles expertly. Their CD, “Washboard Slim and the Blue Lights, a Jug Band for the 21st Century”, demonstrates this.
A jug band mixes regular instruments with three that are its signature: the kazoo, the washboard and the washtub bass. These almost beg you not to take this music seriously, but that would be a mistake. Just as Haydn was able to orchestrate a symphony using a hefty admixture of toy instruments (his “Toy Symphony”, used, ironically, as a ring tone sound for many cell phones today), the jug band uses these three folk instruments to make great jazz and blues.
The band consists of Washboard Slim (Peter Menta) on washboard, percussion, harmonica, kazoo and vocals; Brooks Barnett on accordian, banjo, mandolin, drums, sitar and vocals; Howard Horn on washtub bass, jug, banjo and vocals; Matt Kastner on guitar and vocals; and Miss Dee (Dierdre Menchaca) on vocals and “tastefull kazoo”. Two bonus tracks on the CD feature Cynthia Fabian on vocals and Tom Hagymasi on Mandolin and fiddle. Ms. Fabian has a terrific blues voice, and, at a recent Washboard Slim concert, a really cute wiggle. She is a permanent member of the group, replacing Miss Dee.
Several of the tunes on the CD were composed by members of the band (Raggin' the Blues Away, Two Kazoo Polka, Firehouse Blues, and No More Bada Boom Bada Bing). The rest are traditional blues, or composed by others. The best of these are three “dirty blues” numbers, You Gotta Know How, I let My Daddy Do That, and You Gotta See Your Mama.
Based in Connecticut, the group tours and appears at folk and jazz festivals, and has an upcoming concert in Bethany, CT, on November 20th. A new CD is in preparation. They are fun to listen to.
Washboard Slim and the Blue Lights have a website at www.washboardslim.com , where you can hear tracks from the CD. They are not set up for on-line ordering, but mail order information is given on the website.
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