Being a big fan of home made music and one man band ideas (including, of course, jug bands) I'd like to draw peoples attention to some of the stuff I've found interesting (not necessarily jug bands) on the off chance that someone else may enjoy them too.

Henry Thomas - he played quills (panpipes) in a neck harness while playing guitar (imagine what a great band he and Gus Cannon would have been:quills on top, banjo and guitar in the middle and jug at the bottom, two voices, just two guys! Pity it never happened!

You can find his stuff here: http://onmuddysavariverbank.blogspot.com...y%20Thomas

Kalyi Jag - Hungarian gypsy band. I don't know what they're singing (come to that I can't really follow most of the lyrics on old jug band records either!) but they sound good and sound like they're having a good time. Guitar, tambura/mandolin, water can and oral bass plus vocals(and interjections!) It's the water can I find especially interesting - they use it as a percussion instrument slapping the sides and the opening at the top. It sounds sort of like an udu. And the oral bass sounds a lot like jug playing without a jug.

If you want to hear them you can download some albums here:
http://bluesmen-worldmusic.blogspot.com/...alyi%20Jag

I googled their website and found some photos to see what the water can looks like and how it's held, and noticed that the guy who plays the water can also does the oral bass and has a mike - that's probably why he doesn't need a jug to amplify it. They also have some sound clips of the oral bass sounds.
They're not really a jug band, but certainly kindred spirits.

I mentioned The Famous Jug Band on another post, and they are worth checking out - they're not a hokum band but they are a very interesting jug band.
Here's their link again:

http://intotherhythm.blogspot.com/2008/0...ities.html

The Spirits of Rhythm - my favourite jug band that never had a jug. Guitar, two tiples, whisk brooms on a suitcase, great vocals and scat singing - sort of a jazz inclined string band. Some of their songs (eg My Old Man) would perfectly suit a jug band.

You can download their works here:
http://regalameestanoche.blogspot.com/20...gical.html

You may also like to visit the website of The Purple Gang - they were a jug band who, weird as it may seem, were part of the swinging London psychedelic scene of the late sixties, and mates with Pink Floyd and the like. When the BBC heard that their about to be released debut single was called "Granny takes a Trip" they thought it was about drugs (it's not), plus the fact that their lead singer claimed to be into witchcraft, they were banned.

You can read their whole story (they're still going) here: http://www.thepurplegang.co.uk/

Incidentally, in one of the pictures on the front page, there seems to be a smiling face on a stand. I'm not sure, but I think we could be looking at the bottom end of a jug, cunningly mounted for use at any time by someone whose hands are busy playing an instrument. Ingenious!

You can download their 1968 album here: http://phrockblog.blogspot.com/2009/02/p...delic.html

Sorry for such a long post. I hope someone finds it useful. None of it is new (Henry Thomas and the Spirits of Rhythm were contemporaries of the original jug band heyday) but all of it is good stuff.

Cheers,

Bill

I thought "Granny..." was about acid! You kind of assume that sometimes, with 60s songs.
Gus Cannon & Henry Thomas? That's what I'd call a supergroup, especially if you add Will Shade.