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Stompin' down at the laundromat for Chronogram Magazine!

RJS NEWS BULLETINS

5/4/08
NEWS FLASH***
Ramblin Jug Stompers will be sitting in with Jug Band legend Geoff Muldaur at Caffe Lena on Friday, May 9th! Geoff Muldaur was, of course, the soul of the legendary Jim Kweskin Jug Band and is a legend in his own right.

So... if April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims. Get it? Mayflowers?

And as for Ramblin Jug Stompers (RJS), May also brings a month deep in the recording studio, so if ya wanna see us in concert this month –and, of course, we know you do -you’d better mark your calendars right now for Monday, May 19. Yes, our monthly 'third Monday of the Month' jamboree at Tess’ Lark Tavern in Albany is one of the 'official' RJS gigs on the May calendar. As usual, things get underway at 7:00PM, admission is free, and there will surely be several special guests sitting in with us.

Our 'unofficial' alter-egos, the "Stompin Jug Ramblers" –that’s the Ramblin Jug Stompers minus one -will be making a return to the stage, too, for a couple of birthday celebrations. You can catch us at the Albany International Airport Gallery’s grand opening reception for 'Locally Grown', the new exhibit marking the gallery’s 10th anniversary. Admission is free, and you’ll also get to see the work of 22 of the Capital Region’s finest artists, including RJS fan Michael Oatman. The date is Friday, May 16, and we’ll probably begin playing at about 7:00PM.

In addition, the "Stompin Jug Ramblers" will be playing some of our fave Bob Dylan songs at the 10th Annual Bob Dylan Birthday Festival at Union College’s Old Chapel in Schenectady on Thursday, May 22, along with a big batch of our favorite Capital Region musicians like The McKrells, Jim Gaudet and The Railroad Boys, Bryan Thomas, Sgt. Dunbar and the Hobo Banned, and MotherJudge, just to name a few. The official showtime is 7:00PM, although the outdoor barbecue with music by The McKrells starts at 4 p.m. There will, of course, be much inter-band interactivity (ie, jamming), and of course the whole shebang will be co-hosted by Mr. Eck and RJS Jughead Dale Metzger. Suggested donation at the door is $5, which goes to the Chris Ryan Scholarship Fund.

A new CD!?! Well, actually, it’s not our new CD, but we’re pleased as punch to be part of Terri Roben’s excellent new album, "The Path We Make". We back her up on three songs: Terri’s original tunes "Shiny Brand New" and "Teaching Recovery", and Terri’s jaunty little cover of Holly Near’s "Santa Monica Pier". We had a great time recording with her over at Bender Studio last year, but we had even more fun playing the tunes with her in concert at her CD release party at Caffe Lena.

Meanwhile, things are going quite splendidly with our own recording sessions over at Bender Studio -we’ll be back in the studio for at least five days in May, so we hope to make some serious progress. (Well, OK, not exactly 'serious' progress -we are a jug band, after all -but progress nonetheless).

On a somewhat tangential note, both Wild Bill and Mr. Eck re-united with RJS alum Ryder Cooley for an exhibit of their artwork at the BRIK Gallery (473 Main St., Catskill, NY) from May 3-19. The "Recent Works" exhibit also features some fabulous art by our pals Dennis Herbert, G.G. Roberts, and Dana Rudolph. The gallery is open from noon-5 p.m. on weekends.

And Mr. Eck also has a whole bunch of roots and country music portraits on exhibit in the lobby of the Capital Repertory Theater during the run of "Hank Williams: Lost Highway", which continues through May 17. Come on down and check out the production, which features RJS pal David Malachowski as guitarist, musical director and -gasp -actor, too. And if you happen to attend a Friday night show, be prepared to stick around after the show for a little musical jam session with the cast and special guests. Ramblin Jug Stompers joined in on the first one and had a blast pickin’ with the band, the cast, and special guest accordionist Professor Louie of Professor Louie and the Crowmatix (the Professor also produced several albums for The Band!).

*
4/4/08
HEY, WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?!?
The Stompin Jug Ramblers will be playing at "Songs of 1969", a special benefit concert for
Caffe Lena, at the Skidmore College Dance Theater in Saratoga Springs, NY at 7PM Sunday, April 13.
The Stompin Jug Ramblers? Yeah, it's a bit confusing, but that's just the way it goes when you're playing jug band music in a Britney Spears world. The Stompin Jug Ramblers is the pseudonym that Ramblin Jug Stompers use whenever we perform without our full complement -we decided to go ahead and perform as a jug band trio since Caffe Lena is such a special place to us, and we wanted to help out. After all, it's where we recorded our debut live CD, "Crooked Songs".
The "Songs of 1969" benefit concert will feature a bunch of fine Capital Region musicians performing some of their favorite songs from that landmark musical year. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to hear Bowtie sing his breathtaking rendition of Donovan's "Atlantis". The Stompin Jug Ramblers will be joined by such local favorites as:
Sirsy , 28N , Mallory O'Donnell and Friends , Simple Theory, Addie & Olin Unleashed!, and
Rick Bolton and the Dwyer Sisters with Arlin Greene and Tim Wechgelaer.

Tickets are $19.69 in advance ($20 at the door) and are available online,
or by phone toll-free at (800) 838-3006.

The complete cast of Ramblin Jug Stompers will be back from any of their hobo rambles in time for our monthly musical merriment at Tess' Lark Tavern in Albany at 7 p.m. Monday, April 21. Special thanks to all of you who braved the even-more-crowded-than-usual festivities (if that's possible) last month on St. Patrick's Day. If you missed it, we were joined by several special guests, including Miss Music Mobile Ruth Pelham (offering an all too rare non-children's music performance) and the lovely Lonesome Val Haynes, who has become a regular with us at Tess' this year (her duet with Cousin Clyde on George Jones and Tammy Wynette's "Golden Ring" was especially purty, we thought). Admission at Tess' is, of course, free. (And... we'll be celebrating Mr. Eck's birthday, too, so feel free to buy him a drink. We'll make sure he gets home safely.)

Ramblin Jug Stompers will also be playing a handful of tunes with our singer-songwriter pal Terri Roben at Caffe Lena, 7PM Sunday, April 27, as she celebrates the release of her brand new CD, "The Path We Make". Terri was one of the very first recipients of the RJS Jugtopia Medal of Valor sitting in with us at the Moon & River Café many moons ago. And she was kind enough (and foolhardy enough) to invite RJS into the studio last year to record with her on some tunes for the album -including a cover of Holly Near's "Santa Monica Pier" -and we can't wait to get together with her again to play 'em live in front of an audience to see what you think.

You may have noticed that RJS haven't been playing quite as many gigs lately, but that's only because we've been busy in the studio. Yes, boys and girls, we've been hard at work recording a batch of tunes at Bender Studio for our upcoming sophomore CD. We can't reveal any of the closely guarded secrets just yet, but rest assured that the disc will feature some of your fave RJS tunes, as well as a few special surprises. Stay tuned, and we'll fill you in as we ramble along through the recording process.

And finally, if you happen to be in the vicinity of the Upstate Artists Guild Gallery in Albany during the next month, stop in and take a peak at the artwork of RJS jug player extraordinaire Mr. Eck, who is the featured artist in "WTF?: What the Folk", the third annual national exhibition of contemporary folk art, which is on display at the gallery from April 4th-25th. There will be an opening reception at the gallery from 5:30-9:00PM Friday April 4th. One of those paintings sure would look good hanging on your living room wall, wouldn't it?

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1/06/08
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Ramblin Jug Stompers (RJS) are kicking off 2008 in high gear as we celebrate the second anniversary of the band (as well as our monthly residency at Tess') with what is sure to be an all-star, no-holds-barred, kick-out-the-jugs gathering at Tess’ Lark Tavern at 7pm Monday, Jan. 21.

We're hoping that maybe we can coax Jug Stompers alum Moanin Ed Atkeson and Ryder Cooley up to bang out a few of the old classics that we played two years ago at our very first gig.

And hopefully, a few other fine folks -fab fiddler Mat Kane (of the Doc Marshalls, who just released their excellent new CD), mad saxman Luke McNamee (of Blue Hand Luke, who sadly will be leaving us next month for the sunnier climate of California) and maybe even Lonesome Val Haynes (of the Units/Fear of Strangers, who has been promising to make a RJS appearance) - will be joining in the festivities, too. Maybe we can even coax lovely waitress Nicole up for a Janis Joplin blues. As always, we'll get started promptly at 7PM, and admission is free, thanks to Tess Collins and the rest of the fine folks at the Lark.

Ramblin Jug Stompers have plenty more excitement planned for 2008, including a performance at the Old Songs Sampler Concert, at 8PM Saturday, Jan. 26 -and our first-ever performance at the Dance Flurry Festival, at 5PM Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Saratoga Hotel in Saratoga Springs. And we're pleased as punch to be invited to perform for the 30th anniversary gala reception for Ruth Pelham and the Music Mobile, at the First Unitarian-Universalist Society of Albany on Thursday, Feb. 7.

RJS are also planning to head into the recording studio in the very near future to record the follow-up to our debut CD, "Crooked Songs". And we could use your help deciding just which of our many, many magnificent tunes we should include on the album.
So shoot us a note and tell us what your fave Jug Stompin songs are. (livemusic@jugstompers.com)
Have a great '08!

*

11/02/07
CHRONOGRAM INTERVIEWS THE STOMPERS!
News Flash!! Check out the hot new article in Chronogram magazine on the Jug Stompers, entitled "Washboard Charisma": Chronogram Magazine November issue,
written by David Malachowski with photography by Avalon Peacock. *

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