Big Fun over at the 9th All Japan Jug Band Festival, Yokohama, Japan

[Rambling Steve Gardner]

. I think that this year’s festival was all around better than last year’s!

This year’s 9th All Japan Jug Festival, held at Thumbs Up, Movil, Stoves and Vivre Plaza, out the south gate of Yokohama station, had indoor and out door stages where the more than 50 bands from all over Japan performed. Some of the more unusual players to take the stage were the jug magician, with a giant swan hat sitting on his head, who played guitar, and about 56 other items designed to amaze and thrill; the jug band dressed in white French mime clown costumes who blew jugs, banged banjos, Ukes and washboards; other band members dressed in overalls or as school boys; a group of about 20 banjo players played ensemble parts; one performers sang and painted images of unwilling crowd volunteers; some members tap danced; there were blue grass jug bands; soul jug bands and just plain Gus Cannon tub bass style jug bands. Some sang in English, others Japanese. But they were all having great fun doing whatever it was that they were doing. Let us Never Underestimate the POWER of music!

The five stages offered a virtual Easter Parade of costumes. Costumes of pretence; Hortense; the past tense; and only a little of the present tense. How ever there was a small seminar on Jug bands of today, kazoo making workshop, blue grass guitar workshop and our National Reso-phonic Guitar demonstration workshop featuring Mr. Don Young, President and CEO of National Reso-phonic Guitars.

Don Young showed up with wife Hillary, each toting two heavy National guitars and Don with a banjo slung over his back. They joined right in with me and all of the boyz to make a place among the more than 50 jug bands spread out doin' their "thang" on stage and off. Quite a few folks came out to Yokohama to see Don and say “hello” after having met him when he visited Japan last year.

The National Reso-phonic Guitar workshop was held at a small club called Stoves, after our performance on the Vivre outdoor stage. Stoves was a packed house of music fans and guitar players. We kicked off total acoustic versions of the old standbys, “Can’t Be Satisfied” and “What’s the Matter With The Mill” . I played my Style-O, Bill Benfield played his Reso-Madolin, Hisa Nakase was on his Reso- Bass, Shinjiro Mori played his Style-O which is outfitted with a Hot Plate and Don Played the new National Wood Body Tricone.

Don then made a short introduction on his history and that of National Reso-phonic guitars, which was interpreted by Hisa Nakase. Then the questionnaires and the new National reso-phonic demonstration models were passed around and the fun really began as it was the first time that many of the players there had ever seen or played a National Guitar!

After the workshop finished and the guitars were packed away we headed on over to Club Thumbs Up where we played our final set of the day to a very enthusiastic crowd.

All and all another great jug festival thanks to the hard work of one and all but especially- Mr. Moony and Mr. Safu, the organisers and energy behind the whole event.

However it should be noted that among the 50 bands that we shared the stages with this year, the cross dressing jug band, the notorious "Memphis Mini's," were absent due to a previous engagement as the star attraction for one of Japan's numerous penis festivals....

Some days you got the tiger by the tail and other days it has you!

On Sunday after Jug Fest we all gathered up over in Ebisu at What The Dickens and continued the fun!

photo-(L-R) Shinjiro Mori,Kevin McHugh,Hisa Nakase,Yu Ojima,Don Young,Bill Benfield,Steve Gardner