Celebrating A Quarter Century Of Jug Band Music: All Worn Out Jug Band Anniversary Concert June 15

A quarter century after playing their first gig, the All Worn Out Jug Band is now set to bring their special mix of jug band songs, old time gospel, folk, country and "whatever we can agree on," to a celebratory 25th anniversary concert on Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Chatham, the place it all began. 

 Kevin Howard, the last remaining member of the original six founders, is quick to point out that the milestone would have taken them all by surprise a quarter of a century ago. 

"If anyone said to any of the six of us that there would be a form of the band playing 25 years later, we'd have said 'you're crazy!'" he said.

 The idea for the band came from Rev. Denis Meacham, then an assistant minister at First Parish Brewster UU, Howard said. 

"Denis was a solo folk musician in the ‘60s, part of the music scene in New York City that included Dave Van Ronk and other jug band musicians. He was actually making a living in Greenwich Village, and he was often being asked to play at church events" after Meacham and his wife Janet had moved to Cape Cod, Howard said. 

When he decided to step back from all the solo gigs, Meacham wanted to get others involved in the music-making. Their first gig would be at a fundraiser for the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House in Chatham. He called a group of fellow musicians together, Howard recalled, thinking they would "try out some songs and see how it goes." 

 Howard recalled being the youngest member of the group and turning up for the first Thursday night rehearsal in drummer John Randall's basement. In addition to Randall, Howard and Meacham, there was "Bud" Brown, playing trumpazoo and washboard and singing; Fred Jensen, playing washtub bass and kazoo and telling bad jokes; and Phill Thompson singing, whistling and strumming on the banjo-uke.

 Meacham got them all playing jug band tunes, like "Mama Don't Allow" and "Blues in the Bottle," along with the classic, "All Worn Out." The name of that last tune struck a chord with Meacham, and the group became the "All Worn Out Jug Band."

 Their first gig at the UU Meeting House in Chatham was in April 2000. Performing songs like "Ring of Fire" and "Ramblin' Boy," "Jug Band Blues" and "Your Cheating Heart" with assorted guitars and homemade instruments including, of course, a jug, and adding a good dose of humor in the form of groan-inducing jokes, the band was on its way. 

 "After that, people started to ask about booking us and we started to act like a real band," Howard recalled. "We bought equipment and expanded our repertoire with gospel classics like ‘I'll Fly Away’ along with country tunes." 

The band's unique style has been described as part of the "post-modern" movement of jug band classics interwoven with American roots music from traditional folk to Cajun, country and gospel.

 Over the last quarter century there have been 22 members of the band. 

"All of a sudden, people started showing up," Howard recalled. Edna Wayson, a member of the UU Meeting House, showed up at a Thursday night rehearsal with a harmonica and a straw hat with a price tag dangling off the side, after the fashion of country star Minnie Pearl, and performed for a while with the group to the audience's delight.

 Andrew Davol, then a student at Chatham High School, played the tuba with the group for a while, and Howard's daughter Kristen sang with the band in 2011 when she was nine. Kristen went on to have a career in music.

 When Rev. Edmund Robinson was called to become the minister of the UU Meeting House in 2009, Howard recalled jokingly that Robinson said, "I'm happy to take the minister job as long as I can join the jug band!"

 Howard is grateful to have been part of the band from the start. 

"I feel like I was handed a gift by Denis calling to invite me into this circle. I could go into a Thursday rehearsal feeling so tired and come out with a big smile. It's a real gift...I am so blessed to play with these people."

 The band has cut two CDs and over the years has performed at festivals, strolls and gigs from Falmouth to Provincetown to Nantucket. They rode in the Chatham Fourth of July parade for years and are still a staple at Chatham First Night festivities.

 The band now includes Howard and Robinson, as well as musicians Gregory Baird, who also writes songs for the group, and bassist Mary Loebig. Recently they welcomed guitarist Mark Van Bork as an official member of the group. Their repertoire still includes classic jug band songs and instruments like guitar, mandolin, concertina, fiddle, banjo, ukulele, stand-up bass, harmonica and slide whistle. 

 "The concert will be fun," Howard said, adding, "We want to showcase the history of the band." The concert playlist of more than two dozen classics will run the gamut from "Mama Don't Allow" to "Let the Mystery Be," "In the Jailhouse Now" and more.

 The 25th anniversary concert will be held at the UU Meeting House in Chatham on Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m. A donation of $20 is suggested. For more information visit allwornout.com. Anyone who attends the concert will also receive a CD at no additional charge, Howard said.