Blog: Old Blue Bus

T his past week school boards and voters in several areas around the U.S. have made decisions about teaching creationism Intelligent Design in school science class. The Kansas School Board has voted to include the new creationism in it's classrooms as an alternative to evolution. I suppose they will be offering magic as an alternative to physics also. The Onion did an excellent parody about the Gravity / Intelligent Falling controversy. In other news, Kansas may ban all births in the case of a bird flu outbreak. You [...]

Sideman extrordinaire, David Bromberg, from his 1975 lp "Midnight on the Water" David Bromberg - (What a) Wonderfull World

Those readers that know me well, know that I have been a fan of Chris Smither for many years. Originally from New Orleans, Smither joined the vibrant Boston folk scene in the 1960's. After a long period of drinking, he settled in California and started recording again. Chris Smither is, in this humble writers opinion, one of the finest finger-picked acoustic blues guitarists there is. He is gaining a strong new following once again with the popularity of Americana worldwide. Here's a small taste to whet your appetite. Can't Shake [...]

Jug band music was the 'Rock-n-Roll' of the 1920's! Comprised of a collection of simple, homemade instruments and playing a new style of music that was a blend of Memphis blues, Hillbilly, Hokum, and Ragtime, Jug bands were the cat's meow during the 1920's and into the early 30's. Most Jug bands included washboard, washtub bass, kazoo, and perhaps a rhythm guitar or mandolin, but they had to have a jug or it just wasn't a jug band. One of the most popular Jug bands was Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers. The Jug Stompers "Walk Right [...]

A few weeks back I posted some truck drivin' songs and I got a lot of positive responses (okay, two to be exact, but that's just about 100% of the readership, so it's significent). So, I was thinking I should post some more. Well, I sort of want to shy away from the standard Dave Dudley and Moore & Napier, everybody's heard those. I thought we'd take a look at the shadier side of truckin'. Gary Stewart was an aircraft assembly line worker in Florida in the 1970's. He and his [...]