Jugbands battle for waffle iron
Wednesday 29 January @ 10:40:46 |
 by Burt Berlowe
Over the past two decades, much has changed on the West Bank of the University of Minnesota campus. What was once a neighborhood of mostly white singles with a radical bent, now is home for the city’s largest and most diverse immigrant population, a growing number of families, and a business community that reflects these changes.
In the process, many of the symbols of what was once a counterculture have disappeared. Number among them two once prominent folk music venues—the New Riverside Cafe—replaced by an ongoing turnover of restaurants, and the Coffeehouse Extempore, now an international entertainment venue known as the Cedar Cultural Center.
One music tradition stubbornly hangs on, however—or rather returns each year as a reunion of a classic folk art. It is the annual Battle of the Jug Bands, a free event taking place on February 2nd from 1 to 8 p.m. at the Caboose Bar, 917 Cedar Avenue.
On that day, some 20 jug bands from around the country will compete for the most unusual prize—the Traveling Waffle Iron trophy.
Competitors bring an odd assortment of names. Last year’s winner Outdoor John and the Sears Catalogue, will be defending its title. Other groups include the timely-named Weapons of Mass Destruction, Hippies on Jugs, Saggy Bottom Girls, the Jug Thugs, the Fat Chance Jug Band, the Cow Town Country Jug Band Orchestra, Whiskey Girls and their Wild Wicki Zoo, Fat Drunka and Stupid, Sip a Mickey and the Moody Tune Queens, among others. To qualify for the competition, musical groups must contain a minimum of three common jug band instruments ranging from acoustic guitars, mandolins and violins to jugs, washtub basses, combs, wax paper, washboards, saws and kazoos.
The Battle of the Jug Bands officially began in 1982 when a group of local folkies jammed together in a living room based on a tradition rooted in southern U.S. river towns during the Civil-War era. Jug players couldn’t read music but many came up with tunes that included social commentaries that still ring true. Legend has it that the prized waffle iron was excavated from the basement of local musician Jeff Cahill’s house. It has become a symbol of something pure and wholesome, much like the contest itself. In keeping with the evolving nature of Cedar-Riverside, the competition has recently grown into a full-fledged family event, with parents, children and other relatives joining together on stage. Once closed to a small core of supporters, it now has a mailing list of several hundred and invites the public to attend, while retaining its traditional funky spirit.
Well-known West Bank performers Judy Larson and Bill Hinkley have participated in the jug band contest every year. Larson recalls that the first such event was held at The Scholar, a former West Bank coffeehouse (now a holistic health clinic), where Bob Dylan began his career. Since then, the event has been held at various venues, including Palmers Bar, a local VFW hall, and, most recently, The Caboose. “In the beginning we had just three or four bands competing,” says Larson. “Now it’s up to 20 or so. There are many new musicians but many of the same people still come back. Some of us have known each other for 40 years.”
Larson and Ninkley will enter this year’s contest as part of a jug band called The Cheeptons, formerly The Golden Calves. It also includes one-time West Bank activist/businessman Ralph Wircoff on banjo, Milton (Soupy) Schindler on harmonica, Cal Hand on dobro and Bob Stelnick, washtub bass. Larson and Hinkley play guitar and jug. While they will do their best to win the coveted waffle iron, the competition is not as important as the atmosphere. “It’s not really a contest,” Larson says. “It’s an uplifting gathering of people who make their own music. It’s a grand reunion of fun.”
21st Annual “Battle of the Jugbands.” Doors 12:00 Noon, Music 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Cabooze, 917 Cedar Ave, Minneapolis.
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