It was sweet to hear you again Jim! Great videos of your combo.

But I have to agree with one of the above posts. I found my eye wishing that the camera would have strayed downward to view your very unique instrument in these videos. We've all seen guitars and mandolins but the real visual eye candy for a video would have been to capture some more intimate shots of you playing the gut bucket or some of the other novelty instruments you offer.

I understand that you weren't trying to be the focus of the song or the main focus of this video. It appears that you were trying to capture a simple presentation of your combo in action and a record of the material you play. To that end, this video was a success.

However, as you well know, the musical strength of playing jug band instrumentation is its novelty. Folks are genuinely amazed at the ability of someone who can play jugs, washtubs, washboards, spoons, saws, or any non-instrument and actually get music out of them. It's visually appealing and compelling to view someone with those abilities.

That great visual treasure was not captured so eloquently in these videos. I know that the rest of your band mates might feel a little left out, but focusing the camera on your combo's greatest visual strengths, your visual novelty, in a video is a good thing. Think about all of that treasured footage of early jug bands. What a treat to have that film record. A few closeups of your instrument as you play would be just as much of a treat to see.

Your brother in jugbandalry