For me, Juke Joint Fever is the inability to sleep soundly due to a racing mind, irrational risk taking, obscene favor asking and endless worry about rain storms. It’s kind of like spring fever, but instead of wanting to go outside and roll in the early budding tulips on a sunny Seattle day, I am compelled to put all else in my life on hold and head to the Delta.
This time of year always finds me feverish and slightly crazed as I make my annual April trek to Clarksdale for the festival. I find myself singularly and completely self absorbed by the New Roxy and getting it open for the weekend. I show my hapless shipmates photos and get their feedback on flyer design and pickled egg tasting. I get bouts of insomnia as my mind works on booking bands and updating social network pages that I don’t understand how to use. I beg far-flung friends for favors ranging from marketing advice, t-shirt designs to construction help and faxing my beer permit to the distributor. Most of this done from the middle of some ocean while I work at my job as a merchant mariner or like now, from my car as I drive cross country in my trusty Chevy Tracker with a load of various treasures that I can’t get in the Delta.
One has to sometimes wonder why? Why do I do it and why do all the many people I know help me, most often for free or trade, and make the journey to the Delta too?
To me the thing that brings people together first and foremost is the love of music. Once the music brings you to Clarksdale, it becomes the people that also brings you back or convinces you to move there.
As I was getting ready for this April road trip I started making a play list of music that I wanted to share with my friends to help them get in the spirit while they made their pilgrimages from around the country. The play list and my accompanying ‘liner notes’ started to grow as I wanted to share everything all at once, travel tips for my new friends, local gossip for the returning veterans and new artists to I thought they’d like.
I decided what a great blog entry this might be – so here it is. In several installments over the next couple days. Without the fancy hyper links added in because my life just doesn’t allow me time to be anywhere with internet access long enough to really do it up right. If you’ve made it to my blog, you’ll be able to google what interests you all on your own.
From a coffee shop in somewhere Arizona – Here’s my Juke Joint Fever Playlist
Fever by Precious Bryant – For my case of Juke Joint Fever, Precious is one of my favorites and she make this sultry classic something all her own style.
Clarksdale by Daddy Rich – Local artist Daddy Rich has been playing the Issaquena Juke Joint stage since it’s first year. A local that went through the Delta Blues Museum training program, he’s now a teacher and this song has become a local ‘hit’. Look for him again this year on the newly named Mr. Tater memorial Stage during the festival on Saturday.
One Mint Julep by The Clovers – I first heard this classic song on an Oxford American CD. If you swing thru Memphis the Peabody Hotel lobby has the best Mint Juleps and trained ducks to boot.
Big Red’s Place by Big Jack Johnson – Sadly Big Jack recently died but there are sure to be plenty of musicians playing in tribute at Red’s Juke Joint. I call it Blue’s Mecca. If you’ve been to Red’s before you’ll likely recognize who Jack sings about.
Cigarettes and Gin by Uncle Lucious – UL is a young band out of Austin and their two CD’s have become favorites of mine. I met them in Ground Zero one night as they were passing thru as tourists and playing the open mic there. Always on the look out for a band needing a stage I talked them into coming back to the New Roxy after I heard them play. I some friends of mine had asked to set up on stage and play basically for themselves. UL got up and did a couple songs, It was the first time I’d really had an actual band set up to play inside at night and I really didn’t have lights except for a couple strings of X-mas lights across the stage and lanterns on stage. I ended up with a small handful of other folks crazy enough to hang out in a dark roofless movie theater and listen to some awesome music. It was fantastic – hearing for the first time how live music sounded and felt inside the building made a lot of that hard work feel worth while.
Liquor Store by Uncle Lucious – This one’s for Goon’s Grocery store. You can see Goon’s from the front door of the New Roxy. It is an active neighborhood corner grocery with a small deli in the back, beverages and cheap candies on the counter. The liquor is next door, so just ask and they come unlock it for you. Great place to get a something to jazz up your New Roxy Lemonade. The father & son team run the place and are part of the small Chinese community that has long been a part of Clarksdale. The elder Mr Goon is in his 80’s but will spryly stand on a milk carton and boost himself over the counter when he goes to get your pint of gin.
Grass Growing thru Concrete by Porter Davis another Austin group – of adorable young guys that I got turned onto at last year’s Portland Waterfront Blues festival. Their CD has grown on me and this track in particular brings to mind the sidewalks in the New World District. Lots of cracks and lots of grass, the city usually comes thru right before the festival and weed whacks the sidewalks. On the bright side though my friend Dixie Street has been working on a grant that will create a cultural heritage trail thru the neighborhood and honors well know civil rights leader Aaron Henry who’s drug store was located right around the corner on 4th Ave. Check out Dixie and Stan’s Hambone Gallery while you’re in town for great art and live music.
Clarksdale by OB Buchana – A Clarksdale native that is a successful southern soul blues artist. On this track he sing about his hometown and mention going to see the movies at New Roxy. He is mentioned on the Mississippi Blues Trail Marker out front honoring Sam Cooke and was recently mentioned in an article in the Village Voice about the genre of Southern Soul Blues. (google it!)
Hope you enjoy.
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