THE WASHTUB BASS & CULTURE A WTB in Iraq Fritz Richmond Colorfast Quotes WTB Recordings Archives |
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The Duet Photo © Kate J. Hudson |
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A WTB IN IRAQ |
Historicist, poet and tubologist Dale "Sourdough" Myres recently spent two years in Iraq, and sent us this interesting account: I didn't take any musical instruments with me to the Big Sandy as you don't know what to expect. I arrived in Baghdad as a civilian contractor in late November of '04, in the middle of the wet cold season. I soon had some harmonicas and my G# native American flute sent over from the states. I bought a nice guitar from a soldier (which I still have) and started looking for the raw materials to make my rhythm section, a WTB. My first attempt at building a WTB in Tikrit, Iraq in January of '05 was from a discarded metal galvanized American-built commercial grade mop bucket, a seasoned olive limb and an Iraqi-made 100% 1/2 cotton rope. I waxed the rope with some candles I found in a dumpster (it was all about scrounging over there, another story for another time.) It didn't sound very good but those that saw me play were amazed that I could get any sound out of an old mop bucket. About a month later, I built a tub from a #1 galvanized American-manufactured wash tub that the First Division band had given me and the same olive limb and rope from the mop bucket bass. It produced a little better results but with such a small tub, it didn't produce much on the low end of the scale. I started playing with a group of soldiers and they caught on with the tub, so soon I could play my guitar and someone else thumped on the tub. We had some good times and forgot about where we were for a little while playing in our little impromptu groups. I was transferred to another base near Samarra in July of '05 and that little washtub went with me, although the flight crew of the Blackhawk didn't like me having the tub on their bird (it took up valuable space) I held it between my legs for the 25 minute flight. Once back on the ground, I met up with a young medic that was a bluegrass mandolin player from Florida so again we started playing when we could. Sometimes in the middle of a song, wounded soldiers would come in and I had to rush out of the makeshift ER so our medical teams could do what they do best (another story). When I left country for good in February of '06, I gave the tub to the medics hoping it would be used. As I always do, I used a permanent marker to inscribe the "built" date on the inside wall of the tub along with a little history of who I was and so forth. Sometimes I still wonder if the little bass that I made is still in use out there in the desert country. I have many stories about my experiences in the desert. Some are very funny and some not so good. I was just doin' what any ol' country boy wouldover in the Big Sandy-- I was makin' do with the resources at hand. Ithink it was good to bring the soldiers some relief (and myself.) I wentthere to make some good money but came back with so much more than agreenback could ever buy me. And believe me , I always plunk in peace..... Your humble fellow tubist, Dale ---------------------------------------------- Visit Sourdough Myres' Website and hear cuts from his CD. |
6 Degrees From Fritz Richmond | ||
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![]() The Young Fritz | ![]() Cover of the JKJB's 1st album | ![]() Giving WTB to Smithsonian |
If you started playing washtub bass sometime after 1966, chances are there's a faint little chain of cosmic connection between you and the late Fritz Richmond. Maybe you never heard of Jim Kweskin's Jug Band, but unless you drew your inspiration directly from Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers, the Memphis Jug Band or another of the black string bands of the 1930's, then the guy you first saw playing the washtub bass probably got the idea from someone who heard someone who'd heard Kweskin's band, with Fritz Richmond on the tub. There were other jug bands and washtub bass players involved in the revival of jug band music in the late 60s (as well as on-going wtb traditions in some regions of the country), but it was undoubtedly Kweskin's group that introduced it to a mass audience (one largely white and middle-class.) And Fritz Richmond, who went on to the Big Jam in November of 2005, became the model for plunkers all across the country. Not everyone would agree with the frequently expressed view that Richmond was the greatest of all washtub bass players, but he was absolutely a master of the three bass essentials: delivering the beat, playing in tune, and supporting the style of the music. Examples of Richmond's art are currently available on Ry Cooder's album Into the Purple Valley (Reprise CD 2052), Tom Rush's album Blues Songs and Ballads (Fantasy 24709) , and John Sebastian's I Want my Roots (MusicMasters 65137-2), as well as Acoustic Swing and Jug (Vanguard 79521-2), a reissue of some of the Kweskin band's most popular tunes. Plunk in Peace, Fritz. We'll remember you in our music. |
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Jaako & Box of The Werner Brothers Band |
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COLORFAST QUOTES | |
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These miscellaneous comments on the topic of tubs have been gleaned largely from the internet newsgroups, the Cyberpluckers Autoharp list, and the archives of The Bottom Line-- a now-defunct online symposium on basses and bassists) | |
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RECORDINGS WITH THE WTB | ||
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Entries in this section will largely be LPs, cassettes, private issues or albums with national distribution. If a band has CDs and/or MP3s available through their own website, it will be listed in the WTB on the WEB section, not this one (NOTE: DELETE the "REMOVECAPSTOSEND" to activate e-mail addresses.) | ||
Title | Artist | Other Info |
Boxcar's Ballyhoo | Boxcar's Poor But Honest Jug Band | Contact Boxcar Whitey, 1530 E 1300 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84105 |
Into the Purple Valley | Ry Cooder | (Reprise CD 2052) Fritz Richmond's WTB on "Hey, Porter" and "FDR in Trinidad". |
Blow My Blues Away | incl. 2 cuts with Dewey Corley on wtb | Arhoolie CD 401 |
Goodtime Washboard Three | Goodtime Washboard Three | Fantasy Records #3361. Dixieland/20's music |
Old Tyme Favorite Tunes | Grand Coolee Old Tyme Jug Band | Custom Soundaround Productions CS-76H22 (1976). |
No Problem | Happy Hits String Band | $16 to A. Richardson, P.O. Box 618, The Valley, Anguilla, BWI. |
Acoustic Swing and Jug | Jim Kweskin And The Jug Band | Vanguard Records CD: 79521-2. Other Kweskin Jug Band albums are also available. |
Good Morning Judge | Furry Lewis | Fat Possum 80374-2 (2003) Recorded 1962-67. Dewey Corley on WTB, some cuts. |
Panama Limited Jug Band | PLJB | Harvest/EMI SKAO-387 LP (Rare- Out Of Print) |
Dulcimer Strings & Other Things | The Riverpickers | Contact Marilynn Reder or Ron Wilde |
Blues Songs and Ballads | Tom Rush, w. Fritz Richmond on WTB | (Fantasy 24709) 2-fer reissue of two albums cut for Prestige in 1962 |
Chasin' Gus' Ghost | John Sebastian and the J-Band: Jugband Blues | Hollywood Records #162227 |
I Want My Roots | John Sebastian and the J-Band | MusicMasters CD: 65137-2 |
Beat It, Blow It, Strum It, Hum It | The Sunshine Skiffle Band | Flying Fish CD: FF 70589 |
Sonny Terry's Washboard Band | Folk Blues | Folkways #52006 |
Peter and The Wolf | Dave Van Ronk & Jugband | Alacazam Productions, PO Box 429, Waterbury, VT 05676 |
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The Barre-L-Tone from Tubotonia R&D Laboratory |
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WTB ARCHIVES |
Those of you who visit the Page regularly have probably seen these things many a time, but if you're a new visitor you might enjoy checking out the following items from the archive of previous editions (the WTB Page is going into its eighth year!)
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WTB In Iraq Fritz Richmond Colorfast Quotes WTB Recordings Archives WASHTUB BASS CULTURE |
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