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Washboard John's sad story should serve as a cautionary tale to all music lovers.
What began in high school when a friend mentioned that John ought to check out a group from the 1960s called The Beatles soon became a record collection that took over much of his room, virtually all of his wallet, and eventually his sanity.
Sure, it starts with The Beatles. They seem harmless enough. But that just whets the appetite for the harder stuff. Next it's The Rolling Stones, and soon it's The Who, The Kinks, and God help us, The Yardbirds. Then John found out there were even more obscure groups -- groups whose music didn't even get near a major label. And not just in England, but all over the world!
Admittedly, most of these obscure rock records are mediocre -- like most "normal" records. But a few are incredible -- just enough of them, in Washboard John's mind, to justify the endless search for more. Since many of these discs never made it beyond the musicians' immediate families and friends, logic suggests starting with the band. And to find musicians, it helps to think like one -- and to think like one, it helps to BE one. That's how John first picked up a washboard.
Much as John Fahey had gone down South in search of rare blues 78s, John was in a backwoods roadhouse trying to scare up a lead on a Romin' Togas 45 or a Blazers LP. Mistaking someone with musical knowledge for someone with musical talent, the house band pulled John up onstage for a solo and before you know it, he was tapping out "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" on a ribbed wooden panel. It was the ideal instrument for someone lacking any sense of rhythm or melody, though it chaffed his skin something awful.
Now caught up in an endless succession of one-nighters, Washboard John continues to haunt local record emporiums, thrift stores, and the Internet seeking obscure plastic discs by day and rattling his way through obscure folk and country numbers after dark. Find one of the records he seeks and you might get a great price from him -- but don't get too close or you too might find yourself ensnared by his Washboard of Want!
::doc rhino
::washboard john
::riverboat sayles
::Velvet Underground
cool band
::Bomp Records
cool mail order company
::Bruce Hershenson's Movie Posters
cool film posters
::San Francisco Rock Posters
cool concert posters
(and yes, it WAS him competing against you for that garage/psych record on eBay...)