Victoria Folk Music Society presents: The Jug Bandits

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Sunday, August 23rd, 2015
7:30 PM

It’s like Vaudeville. It sounds like your neighbors’ kids are playing with the kitchenware. But they have older voices, singing sounds like the Deep South. There might even be a harmony in there somewhere. I see a lot of ukuleles, a few kinds of guitars, a washtub bass, a string bass, kazoos, harmonicas… they’re all going at it like the place is juiced up on happy food.  It’s joyous, you might say.  Graeme Card, who shares what might be called lead vocals with Colleen, Vic…tor and John, comes from that historic artifact of sound Humphrey and the Dumptrucks, a legendary prairie jugband of the seventies that virtually began the string band movement in Canada’s West.  Colleen Switzer-Talson, originally from Horsefly BC, has sung since the first time she fell off a horse, plays washboard, kazoo, guitar, ukulele and feet, and sings in a voice that might melt the chocolate off your sundae.  Victor Talson, the resident genius, who can fix anything, and play anything, and do anything, and has done just about everything, brings his string bass and a repertoire to knock your wellies off.  Over there is John Taylor, the “professor”, who looks like he stepped out of ”The Bishop’s Wife” movie, and who is in the process of mastering just about every four-stringed instrument in the world and can croon out trad songs and Rolling Stones songs with equal gusto.

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Our feature act will be preceded by what is arguably Victoria’s best weekly acoustic Open Stage session where musicians from fledglings to professionals can perform a 10 minute set for one of the most welcoming, attentive and participative audiences in town. Aspiring Open Stage performers can sign-up with the VFMS Host between 7:00 and 7:30pm to do a set but should get there early to improve their chances of getting on the evening’s line-up.