One Man Band

Subject: one man band
From:
Date: 16 Mar 04 - 06:55 PM

greetings , I have been collecting material for a book on one man bands. anyone intersted e me also go to my web page and links below


For bookings and information on
The Amazing Washboard Wizards Novelty Orchestra,
my "One Man Band" and other shows.visit my:

WEB PAGE
http://www.paulmooremusic.com
Interested in One Man Bands or Novelty Music? why not join
noveltymusicgroup or onemanbandmusic at yahoogroups.com

Subject: RE: one man band
From: Rasener
Date: 17 Mar 04 - 02:06 AM

Ther you go Paul, I have created a link for you.

http://www.paulmooremusic.com

Subject: RE: one man band
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 17 Mar 04 - 03:47 AM

Great site, Paul. Glad to see washboard and jug in there! I have seen Skyport Ade, but probably since your day.
More power to your thimbles.

RtS
(the one man banned... from all music venues, aka the Washboard of Mass Destruction)

Subject: RE: one man band
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 20 Mar 04 - 11:18 PM

What do YOU suggest to combine in a One-Man-Band????

Accordian....cymbols on the knees.....bass drum hammer on the left foot, harmonica with neck mount, squeeze-horn for brass accent?<[p>

This has potential to become a powerful historical record....

If you DO......or if you have seen......what is the compostion?

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: one man band
From: Kaleea
Date: 21 Mar 04 - 01:25 AM

What of a one WOman band?

Subject: RE: one man band
From: GUEST,David
Date: 21 Mar 04 - 01:11 PM

We have a guy in N. Illinois comes to an open mic night who plays guitar (or autoharp) shakes a tamborine with his strumming hand, sings (or plays harmonica) and plays a double bass with his feet.
The bass lays on its side clamped in a homemade rack which includes a chair so that the bass rig is captive, he takes off his shoes and stops the string with his left foot and plucks it with his right big toe.

Subject: RE: one man band
From: Rasener
Date: 22 Mar 04 - 02:18 AM

If he is ever coming to England tell him to e-mail me so that I can have him appear at my folk club. Sounds good, I love the idea of the bass.

Subject: One Man Band
From: smuggler
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 01:36 PM

Does anybody know where one man band equipment can be bought or instructions of how to build the equipment found? Are there any one man band players out there with stories to tell or advice to give. Has anyone seen exceptional players? Let's try to get some understanding of this neglected topic.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: John Robinson (aka Cittern)
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 01:40 PM

He isn't a "traditional" one man band but Ray Stubbs, a one man blues band from Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK, is the guy who always springs to mind when a one man band is mentioned. He is superb!

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Raggytash
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 01:59 PM

Something that has always puzzled me, if someone plays a guitar we say theu are talented, if they play a mouth organ at the same time we say they are very talented, stick a pair of cymbals on their elbows and a drum on their back connected by a piece of string to their foot and what's the frequent response ......... What a pillock !
Never understood why this should be so

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Steve Benbows protege
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:17 PM

best one man band is an old friend Don Partridge.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: TheBigPinkLad
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:20 PM

You can take a look at Ray Stubb's rig (and hear him perform) here: http://www.raystubbs.co.uk/

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: alanabit
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:21 PM

I answered this question before here . Model one man bands to listen to, because they were very musical, are Jesse Fuller and, in the UK, Don Partridge. Don says he got the idea of a one man band from Jesse Fuller. However, Don used to have the drum on his back. I gather he no longer does this.
I can bore you for hours on this subject, so if you have any questions, which you htink I may be able to answer, PM me by all means. I have also occasionally thrown in my tuppence worth on the numerous busking threads here.
There is a brilliant bluesman/busker/one man band in the Seattle area, who is also a Mudcatter. his name escapes me for the moment, but you may get lucky if he turns up on this thread.
Good luck.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Roger in Baltimore
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:25 PM

Smuggler,

You might want to consult some Jesse Fuller CD's. Jesse was never billed as a one man band, but he was one. Jesse played a twelve string guitar. He had a harp rack with a harmonica and a kazoo. With his left foot, he operated a top-hat cymbal. With his left, he played the Fotdella. This was a contraption he made. It was a box with piano strings strung across it. The strings were played by bass drum pedals, one for each string. He kept a mostly monotonic bass going with it. At one time, he had a rig that allowed him to play a washboard with his foot. If you do a search here on the Forum, you will find more information about this rig.

Jesse was a serious entertainer. His was not a novelty act.


Roger in Baltimore

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: DonMeixner
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:33 PM

Mudcatter Lonesome Gillette is a one man band of the finest quality. He has a site that shows him building his equipment.

Don

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: alanabit
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:37 PM

Roger: Point taken about Jesse Fuller. He was indeed a very serious musician. However, I would say that most of the one man bands I saw were quite serious. The problem is, many people perceive one man bands as being primarily a funny novelty act. Indeed, many quite forget their manners and stand behind you, staring at your back the whole time. I think playing up of the "novelty" angle is only used by the poorest of one man bands. I never knew one of them to make a living over a longer períod of time.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: smuggler
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 02:38 PM

Great start. I have already followed up on the suggestions.I have also found the following article on joe barrick and others if you are interested. http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/barrick.htm Thanks for the great response. I'll post how my research develops. About to search out Lonsome Gillette.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: greg stephens
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 03:16 PM

In Morecambe, England, they have (or used to have) a one-man band festival. (Or one-woman band, Carolyn Francis is one of those, up in Kendal). If you google on "Pete Moser" plus Morecambe, you may well fimd some very useful info.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Kaleea
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 03:39 PM

I knew a feller who played guitar with an egg shaker in his strumming hand, blew into a set of a bunch of harmonicas built like a corncob on a neck brace, used one foot on a drum with cymbal & tambourine attached, and with the other foot, played a set of bass pedals he scrounged somewhere.    I've only seen a couple of those unusual harmonica things, which left folks scratching their heads & asking "whut th' heck wuzzat?"

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 09:49 PM

The Fooles Troupe was always pretty much a one man band, if you'll pardon the expression...

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,Dave
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 11:05 PM

Here in Chicago, we have "Chester, the one man band". He has a big old doghouse bass in a rig on the floor which he plays with his feet (He actually stops the string with his big toe on his left foot and plucks it with his right big toe). He plays guitar/harpsichord, sings/plays harmonica and has a tamborine in his right (strumming) hand for the rhythm. No Cymbals tho!
I have a Roland PK-5 Bass pedal (1 octave) that I midi into a bass synth unit and a casio keyboard set on chords and percussion (Casio chords suck! can anyone recommend a better keyboard?) that I play along with my guitar and sing along to. Haven't taken it out on the road yet. But it was easier to learn to do than playing electric bass and singing high harmonies in bands.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 22 Nov 05 - 11:51 PM

There is a whole community of One Man Band folks. A good friend of mine, Paul Moore from Israel is a great one man band. Check out his site here:
http://www.paulmooremusic.com

He also hosts the Yahoo one mand band group here:
[e-mail]

I'm pretty sure the Mudcatter that you are thinking of in the Seattle area is Reggie Miles.
http://www.geocities.com/nobro2/

Another great one man band is Robert "One-Man" Johnson:
http://www.housedogmusic.com/
Then there's Richard Johnston:
http://www.richardjohnston.com/

And the king of punk and outlaw blues one man bands is currently John Lowe, "Johnny Lowebow", from Memphis:
http://geocities.com/lowebow/
The thing about one man bands and their rigs is that there is no "thing". Each person builds and sets them up in their own unique way.

Gutbucketeer

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 23 Nov 05 - 12:04 AM

Smuggler and Alanabit.

Thanks for the great leads! The Joe barrick and Ray Stubbs pages are really neat!

Gut

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,paul moore re Book on One Man bands
Date: 23 Nov 05 - 02:35 AM

hi all up to my neck right now, but breifly i am writing a book on one man bands so contact me if interested or if you have something to contribute etc i am in between shows and traveling and recently had the computer stolen so its all upside down right now. Jim bunch sent my links so there is no need for me to repeat .. Aloha Paul. paulmooremusic.com

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: M.Ted
Date: 23 Nov 05 - 10:04 AM

Don't forget Dr. Ross--

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GEST
Date: 23 Nov 05 - 10:30 AM

Here in Canada, A.Frank Willis is the barefoot one-man band who comes instantly to mind. Here's a song about him written by Bob Porter and sung by A.Frank on his latest album, Great Big Moose In The Middle Of The Road....

My Name Is

Well, my name is A. Frank Willis,
and I do a one-man show,
I played for full and empty seats,
always on the go;
Sometimes got more than I was worth,
sometimes I not got paid,
Did a show for Joey Smallwood,
met Tobin in Twillingate.

I played for teens and I played for queens,
played for weddings, too,
In concert halls and country stalls,
more than just a few;
I wrote about my travels
and I put 'em down in song,
I raised a lot o' hoot and hell
but I ain't done no wrong.

My mama she stills tells me,
that I don't act my age,
Feel at home down in the crowd
or up here on the stage;
I've traveled all across this country,
seen the highs and blues,
I'm a one man band from Newfoundland
and I don't wear no shoes.

But I walked the straight and narrow,
and I don't mess with sin,
Climbed the hill of country charts,
been in the discount bins;
I headlined at some sold-out shows,
flirted once with fame,
It may not be the way it was,
but I'm still in the game.

I play nearly every night,
somewhere in this land,
I'll grace the stages of this country
long as I got fans;
Smiling faces in the crowd,
sure is nice to see,
Here tonight in Hearts Delight
is where I chose to be.

Well, my name is A. Frank Willis
and I do a one man show.

####.... Bob Porter (Great Big Moose In The Middle Of The Road, A. Frank Willis, ©2004 SOCAN. All rights reserved) ....####

Archived at GEST Songs Of Newfoundland And Labrador.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,reggie miles
Date: 23 Nov 05 - 11:49 AM

GutBucketeer, you beat me to the punch this time. I was going to mention OneMan Johnson. I don't actually consider myself a one man band. I play 'pre'cussion with a very crazy looking washboard/sound effects gizmo but I haven't even been doing much of that lately. Though, when I do drag it out, I still get comments from listeners that refer to it as a one man band. I've enjoyed building it and adding to it. It becomes a fun challenge to find items to add and then an interesting design puzzler to add them to the mix where they can be functional among all the rest. I've never tried to take it in the direction of becoming a one man band only pre-cussion and soundeffects fun. My friend OneMan has been very influential on many aspects of my performance style. I have even collected a number of items thinking that perhaps I'd try my hand at creating some kind of one man band for myself but have not yet ventured there.

Kaleea, that corncob item was produce by Hohner. It's whacky looking to be sure. I almost bought a used one once because it looked so very odd. I tried to find a picture of it online but I was not successful.

This thread has produced some nice results so far.

Saw ya later

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Hamish
Date: 25 Nov 05 - 05:31 AM

That Ray Stubbs has been well worth listening to. ~8^)

Dave: Turnkey in London has the Roland PK-5 at £350!!! Ouch!!!

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From:
Date: 29 Nov 05 - 10:24 AM

Interesting subject. check link below for a 30 year one man band veteran. http://www.afrankwillis.com

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: DHonemanband
Date: 20 Nov 10 - 11:19 PM

Don't know if this will reactivate this old thread. Just happened on it in my search for OMBs. I just checked out A Frank Willis but he seems to use backing tracks/drum machine always. Can anyone confirm his playing everything live with no backing? Other new names for me here too - Lonesome Gillette, Chester The OMB and Reggie Miles (admits he's not total OMB).

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,jeff
Date: 21 Nov 10 - 01:11 AM

There was a guy, years ago who used to tour constantly. His name was Robert 'One Man' Johnson. Don't know if he's still around. He was REAL good. Played alot of swing, NO jazz, show ballads, etc. Played a bass pedal thing that was strung w/piano wire. Opened for him in Chicago a couple of times. He was pretty reserved as I recall.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: DHonemanband
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 07:38 PM

Turns out Lonesome Gillette is Eric Royer, who I have in my book, really great OMB. I'm in contact with OneMan, been helpful, nice remembrance about Jesse Fuller. Trying to find out about Chester the OMB from Chicago. Sent message to Reggie Miles. Check my thread about the book too. List of names there.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,jeff
Date: 22 Nov 10 - 07:49 PM

Regarding Chester the OMB you may want to contact The Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago as they have an extensive collection of information about all things re Chicago music. Saw your other thread. Goodd luck w/your book. It looks like it'll be very thorough about an overlooked subject.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: DHonemanband
Date: 02 Dec 10 - 07:51 PM

Thanks. Unfortunately it led nowhere. No lead there, I'm afraid

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Bobert
Date: 02 Dec 10 - 08:23 PM

Check out my post on the other thread...

B~

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,Chris B.
Date: 03 Dec 10 - 06:30 AM

Wasn't there a one man band competition at Sidmouth Festival in the 1980s. I think it was between Eddie Upton and Packie Byrne? Not sure who won!!

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: DHonemanband
Date: 03 Dec 10 - 05:19 PM

Wow, does anyone know about this Sidmouth Festival OMB Competition? Eddie Upton and Packie Byrne - both totally new to me. If anyone's heard of them please chime in and share what you can! Thanks.

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: maeve
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 05:52 PM

Just for the joy of it: One Man Band YouTube

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Bobert
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 07:19 PM

Cool...

Loved it...

BTW, fir the real deal, Google up Ben Prestage... Best OMB in the US... IMHO...

B~

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: maeve
Date: 05 Feb 11 - 07:27 PM

Memphis
The Giver
Lost Highway
5 Letter 4 Word Blues

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST
Date: 06 Feb 11 - 07:50 AM

Check out Chucklefoot on youtube

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: DHonemanband
Date: 21 Mar 12 - 06:40 PM

The book is now available! One Man Band Book


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I've started a separate thread for it but thought I'd add it here too. All of the names mentioned in this thread are included in it. Thanks for the help!

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 22 Mar 12 - 06:54 AM

Dave, I saw you perform in Victoria when I was touring Canada last year. If I'd known DHonemanband was you I'd have said hello (& maybe joined in on kazoo!).
Best of luck with the book.
RtS

Subject: RE: One Man Band
From: GUEST,Jim Rumbolt
Date: 28 Mar 14 - 11:28 AM

http://www.ganderbeacon.ca/News/2011-02-28/article-2286506/Newfoundland-entertainer-A-Frank-Willis-dies/1

In the Pic you will see the instruments he plays at any given time