Judy Muldawer knows that some musicians are shy about playing with others.
This is the reason she started the Duke City Jug Band Jam. The first jam will take place from 4-6 p.m. Sunday, May 29, at B2B Brewery in the Northeast Heights.
“Some musicians don’t feel they know the music,” she says. “Or they’ve never played with other musicians. We thought this kind of music would be open to everybody.”
Muldawer says a jug band consists of a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments.
The homemade instruments are modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepipe, jaw harp, and comb and tissue paper.
Muldawer plans on the series to be monthly, though she is working with B2B Brewery on the schedule.
She says there will be a variety of acoustic instruments including ukuleles, kazoos, harmonicas, tambourines, spoons, washboards, fiddles, guitars, jugs, banjos, mandolins, tubas and saxophones.
Musicians will join in playing relatively simple structured songs – mostly 3-4 chords – with steady rhythms.
Muldawer says anyone bringing a ukulele will receive a free copy of a recent Ukulele Magazine and a chord chart (while supplies last).
Songs will include mostly music from the ’20s and ’30s – popular and blues. Examples of this type of music with chords can be found at banjojudy.com/jug-band-music.
“I’ve always enjoyed listing to jug band music,” she says. “I was a fan of Jim Kweskin and the Jug Band in the 1960s. The band brought the genre to the forefront.”
Muldawer wanted to find a family-friendly space for the series and B2B Brewery was perfect.
“They have a covered patio and it’s really cool,” she says. “There’s also a lot of space for the musicians to spread out and perform. We’re hoping that the series becomes one that will grow.”
