Jook Joint Band

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. As do the plans of the Jook Joint Band members. JJB had hoped to have had at least a gig once a month since the scourge of covid lifted from the lives of (most) West Australians. But life gets in the way of best laid plans as does closing down of one of our favoured venues the Swallow Bar and The National in Freo going Irish on a Sunday arvo.

Holidays were planned and rearranged e.g. Peter’s trip to NZ got flooded out and exchanged for a couple of weeks in balmy Bali. They are introducing new laws in Bali to combat the ugly Australian and others. Whilst this coincided with Peter’s trip his wife Anne assures us the Peter’s behaviour was exemplary (this time around!). Perhaps the reaction was in response to Sean’s Bali trip of a few weeks earlier as there are reports of the island’s wine stocks being drained dramatically in the corresponding period.

Larry has been off exploring the white sands of Esperance’s beaches. Bill has been trapezing between the mid-west, south-west and Rotto. He is like a vagabond with an itch. Paul, JJB’s erstwhile keyboardist and his wife, Lisa, graced the shores of Vietnam for a visit enjoying the culinary delights and congested traffic. Paul has also been seen in various mining towns in the northwest. We can’t work out how he finds the time for all the travel, music and work responsibilities whilst being committed to writing “Post Apocalypse:..” aka: The Dead Letter volumes. He is up to four instalments and there is no end in sight.

The band has had a few gigs since the last newsletter with one of the highlights being playing at the Bridgetown Blues Festival. We all thank Kaye for her warm and generous hospitality in having the band stay at her place over the festival weekend. We hope she has now fully recovered from our excesses.

A more recent highlight was a Sunday evening gig at the Pirate Bar in Mt Hawthorn. It was great to play before an enthusiastic crowd who were up dancing for each and every song. Thanks to Cheryl and her friends for their incredibly active support of the local music scene.

Pirate Bar

We have a few gigs lined up. We kick off with a footpath performance at La Chiquita Cafe Friday 14th April, Point Street Fremantle. On the 7th May we will be at the High Voltage 2023 (AC-DC tribute festival).

We then hit Fire In Your Belly for a rollicking night of music and frivolity on the 14th June. So we are hoping to see you all at one or all of these upcoming gigs. We will advise as full details are confirmed on our other upcoming gigs.

In the meantime get out there and enjoy. There is a whole world out there -make it your own.

We’re Back. Yes the Jook Joint Band has regrouped. We have got over the trauma of being bass-less. Having had the good fortune of replacing our errant bass player Nick Glorie with keyboard impressiono Paul Alexander. Paul brings with him a colourful and diverse experience in music and the allied arts. He has somewhat of a Ska(ed) background having played in varying iterations of that well known ska group Special Brew.

So we have been down at the Freo Men’s Shed practicing and getting Paul familiar with our style of country blues/jug band music. He has taken to it like a duck to water and has expanded our music in (previously) unconsidered directions. He also comes with plenty of verve and energy and has already put together a gallery of photos for the band and posted them throughout the metaverse. We look forward to Paul’s continued support and involvement.

The band has scored a gig at the upcoming Blues at Bridgetown, festival of blues & roots music Festival. This premier blues festival is coming up in the second weekend in November and will once again take over the town’s streets, pubs and parks. We are looking forward to playing there again and catching up with friends and supporters such as Di and Kay.

Prior to the gigs at Bridgetown we will be playing at Fire In Your Belly on the 9 October, a new Live Music venue in Fremantle with great food, drinks & service.

A few weeks later we return to the Perth Folk and Roots Club at the Inglewood Bowls and Sports Club on the 23 October, so all you Perthites put that date in your calendars. This month on 25 September the Folk Club is featuring local and international blues legend Steve Tallis and the Catherine Wheels trio.

We follow up on the Perth Folk & Roots Club gig with a private party in Freo on the 6 November so we will be primed and ready for the gigs in Bridgetown the following week.

So looking to see you all soon – dance shoes on and party attitude in your pocket.

You would have received the recent emails and the texts from your car service company, your optometrist, your local member and all those others you brushed past in the year just gone. They wished you season’s greetings with the smothering sincerity of their advertisers and marketers. Well the one you have really been waiting for is here:-

The boys from the Jook Joint Band wish you and yours a very merry Xmas and all the best wishes for the New Year. Get out and enjoy it!

So with that out of the way we can review the year, tease you with upcoming shows and give other news of import.

You will recall that in our last newsletter we mentioned doing a gig at the WA Men’s Shed Association state dinner. Well as it turned out the dinner was all about presenting Bill with his nomination as the Vice Patron of the WA Men’s Sheds. The Queen’s main man in WA, the Governor, is the Patron so Bill couldn’t fill that spot (just yet). They reeled off the details of Bill’s contribution and efforts over the many years of his involvement and the award was certainly well deserved. Congratulations Bill from all of us for you appointment as Vice Patron of Men’s Sheds of WA.

JJB at Perth Folk & Roots Club

The other big news is that our bass player Nick has decided to take an extended break from his band commitments as our bass player and alto bass singer. As from March he has decided to commit his every available waking moment to getting his Albany house renovated and back to its former glory. This is a long term project and will need all the effort he and Biddy can throw at it.

So what are we going to do? Well we are putting out a call for a replacement bass player to fill in for the medium to long term. We would be pipped if they came with a stand-up bass but this is not by any means a requirement. What is a requirement is a sense of humour, great tolerance (they have to put up with Sean and Peter after all) and an interest in the music we play. So if you are interested or know someone who knows someone please put out the word and have them contact us.

We have a slow start to the New Year in that we don’t have any gigs until 13^th February when we return to The National in Fremantle for a Sunday arvo session. We haven’t played at The National for a while so are all looking forward to getting back there. We do a follow up show there on 13^th March.

We also have a number of irons in the fire for a couple of music festivals in the new year so look forward to confirming commitments and dates for those soon. So check out our social media pages in the coming weeks!

So go forth and enjoy your festive season. Eat too much, drink too much and just have too much fun!

All the best from Bill, Larry, Peter, Nick and Sean. Thanks for all your support throughout the year. See in the new year.

April 2021

Hi all! It has been a little while since the last Jook Joint Band Newsletter however we have been reasonably busy. In the interim we have  played a number of times at both the Swallow Bar and at the National  Hotel.

In February we had the pleasure of attending the studios of KCR102.5 for an interview/chat and  live recording of three songs. There were a few nerves going in but they were soon allayed by the gracious and professional attention from Pat and Greg. We had some positive feedback from family and friends  who listened to the broadcast so it was a good experience all round.

Also we got in a gig at the South Beach Sunset Markets. The night was balmy, the air filled with aromas of a dozen or more food trucks. The crowd was relaxed and appreciative of the event, the setting , the food and the music. Plenty of little (and big) kids up dancing. It was a good gig. But next time we will be taking the full PA system so all those fire twirlers and youngsters hanging out at the back can hear us properly.

We were then off to play at Rotto …it was to be a swim through. Larry and Nick were to start out from South Beach. Peter and Sean booked a couple of seats at the Gov’s Sports Bar for a heavy morning session. Bill was swanning around the island somewhere trying to get a selfie with a quokka.

But NIck and Larry abandoned the swim over and settled for a leisurely couple of laps of the main beach at South Beach before jumping on the ferry. Sean and Peter ended up missing the morning imbibe altogether. However Bill was successful in getting his selfies – albeit minus any quokkas. Bill said he couldn’t understand why all the quokkas would scamper off on his approach ( we can relate to that).

The band was fortunate to have Josh Johnstone on hand to assist with setting up the PA. Thanks for your assistance Josh, by all reports the sound was great out front.   There was a good crowd at the Gov’s and all were intent on having a good time.  As the night progressed the crowd got collectively drunker, the dance floor was crowded out and we even had some in the crowd joining in on our choruses. It was loud, it was raucous, it was fun. And thanks to those generous persons who were buying the boys beers during the evening.

We had a week or two to recover before fronting up at the National Hotel for a Sunday arvo session. Once again we enjoyed the company, the food and the great range of beers.

This Friday we are playing at Rodney’s Bait ‘n Tackle. We kick off at 8:00pm but invariably we get there before 7pm to make sure we get our tickets in the biggest and best fish raffle in WA- Australia- the world! This bar goes off on a Friday night so get on down there and join us for some fun.

Check out our web site www.jookjointband.com for full details of all our upcoming shows.

October 2020

With a community aroused and coupled with an economic stimulus the year continues quickly to its somewhat satisfying climax. “We are so lucky” will echo about the burbs as we look aside from our felicitous position to the less fortunate world. And we have been lucky, as for most of us life has returned to normal after such a bad start to the year with the virus disrupting so many aspects of our lives.

Jook Joint Band was quick to take advantage of the relative freedom allowed in the West and lined up some great gigs. Since the last newsletter we played at the Perth Folk and Roots Club. Keith and John organise a show the fourth Sunday of each month at the Inglewood Bowling Club as well as other gigs so have a look at their website www.perthfolk.org and see what is on offer.

In August The boys followed up with a great gig at Rodney’s Bait ‘n Tackle. Those western suburbs guys and girls know how to have fun of a Friday night. There would have been more than half of the (restricted) crowd of about 100 up and dancing by the end of the evening. It’s understandable why this bar has maintained its position as one of the top bars in Perth as the bodacious atmosphere prevails and the choice of ales, wines and food is constantly top shelf.

We followed up that gig with a road trip to Albany with the excuse that we were going down to assist Nick doing a bit of work on he and Biddy’s place down there. We didn’t do much work as the weather wasn’t permitting but we did enjoy the hospitality of Nick and Biddy. Jook Joint Band played at the Albany Blues Club @ 6 Degrees. We were preceded to the stage by The Wayward Earls. They were a hard act to follow as they are a well-known and very talented local band. We thank the club members and the bar staff and management for their warm welcome. Those guys are lucky to be located in such a hot spot of musical talent and creativity. If we get another chance to play there in the future we will jump at it.

Last week we played at The National Hotel in Freo. It was like coming home. Daniel Low, our number one fan, had been salivating in anticipation of enjoying his regular chicken parma – and he was not disappointed. Thanks to all the crew who came along. It was good to get the support.  The National Hotel continues to be one of the prime supporters of local Western Australian music and presents a range of musical styles from cover bands, rock and roll, blues, original artists, duos, ska bands and of course jug bands (JJB). Larry, our lead guitarist, plays with Special Brew one of Perth’s pre-eminent ska bands, so he gets to play additional regular gigs at The National.

Our next gig will be at the Swallow Bar this Sunday. If you find yourself at a loose end come along. We will be playing from 4:00-6:00 pm. This is one of our favourite places to play…it’s intimate atmosphere is conducive to working oneself into an intoxicating frenzy which results in one indulging in fine wine and great food.

At this point we have a couple of more gigs booked to finish off the year at The National Hotel on the 8^th November and the 13^th December. Get down there and whilst you check out the band make sure you take the time to get up and see the spectacular Rooftop Bar.

We look forward to seeing you soon. Especially those of you have found it hard to shake the hermit like existence imposed/excused by covid.

Check out our web site www.jookjointband.com for full details of all our upcoming shows.

Are we there yet? In our last newsletter the comment was made that time was speeding up and the years passing faster and faster. Then we get to annus horribilis,  2020, and does it flash past? No. But the good news is the pace is picking up.

In the meantime the lads in the band have been whiling away their lockdown time doing constructive activities, or so they say. If you push them to give an example of those activities of the past five months or so- they’ll tell you truths and lies. You’ll be regaled with stories of instrument skills increased by earnest lessons and bleeding fingers, of reaching suburban nirvana by the practice of esoteric yoga postures (misguided forms of lessons past), gardens planted and houses painted (funny how it exactly matches in with the old paint job), and so on.

The pubs and bars have reopened for business, musicians are back playing and it’s time to get out and support those bringers of fun, leisure and pleasure. The lads in the Jook Joint Band have been practicing and they are about to get out and about playing gigs.

Click on the image to view our Quarantine video

Our next gig is the Perth Folk and Roots Club at the Inglewood Bowling Club at 5:00pm 26th July. So draw back the curtains, throw open the doors, dust off your dancing shoes and come on down and enjoy yourselves. Catch up with friends, meet someone new, sit in the corner and clap loudly or with one hand if you want to show off – we don’t care- just be there.

In early August Bill is seeking the warmth and is heading up to Broome.

Back in time for Rodney’s Bait ‘n Tackle gig on Friday 21 August…be there for the fish raffle, every Friday at 7. Next one is yours!

Nick is heading south to Albany for a few weeks at the end of August to continue renovating the grand old house (future tense) that he and Biddy purchased with the view of retiring to in the fullness of time. The rest of the guys are heading down there to give him a hand putting up a verandah. And we have been fortunate to be offered a gig at the Albany Blues Club (5 Sept) at the Six Degrees which is literally just up the road from Nick’s place. So take a road trip and come join us. ‘The Wayward Earls’ will playing on the same night so that is real bonus as they comprise of some very talented and experienced blues musos.

Then we are looking forward to playing back at The National Hotel in Fremantle on Sunday 11 October. And are booked for follow up gigs there in November and December.

Hoping you are all keeping well and look forward to seeing you soon.

Check out our web site www.jookjointband.com for full details of all our upcoming shows.

It’s a bit of a heavy heart moment but Jook Joint Band won’t be able to play our next few gigs at Rottnest Gov’s Sports Bar, South Beach Markets and Rodney’s Bait ‘n Tackle in March.

Our drummer and vocalist Pete, has just returned from New Zealand yesterday and as such he is now subject to the Federal Governments mandatory self-isolation decree due to COVID-19 Corona Virus.

We are really disappointed of course but more so sorry for the inconvenience its caused for you and the venues that support live music.

We will be in touch in April and hopefully they will be able to slot us back in the near future.

Stay Safe

For updates on Jook Joint Band, visit jookjointband.com or follow via Facebook, or Instagram (@jookjointband).