Wow! This is the stuff! Brit Nicholas D. Ball, who runs the fascinating “Drums in the Twenties” site, lays it down in a trio called Horniblow’s Hot Three. In this video, they’re playing “Skoodlum Blues,” originally recorded by Jimmy O’Bryant’s Famous Original Washboard Band. Mr. Ball is playing a replica of Jasper Taylor’s wooden washboard, which he shows under construction here.
I could listen to these guys all day long.
Here’s another video of the supremely-skilled Deborah Tropez, whom we have previously featured in this space. As usual, she nails it down like a boss. I love her rig, which is a cross between à la française and à l’américaine.
That’s what Seasick Steve promises, anyway, and I believe him. In this video, he’s playing a one-string washboard guitar, and he’s playing the hell out of it.
A musician named Franck Cesarini has put together a rig based on a long, thin wooden washboard. He’s playing it à l’américaine and has it decked out with a small cowbell, a round something-or-other, and a bicycle bell. This thing has a pretty nice sound. I imagine the thimbles are going to tear the wood apart before very long, however.
Mr. Cesarini also appears to be a guitarist.
Here’s Dizzy Incirlioglu tearing it up on “Washboard Wiggles” with the Shake ‘Em Up Jazz Band. I wish I could solo on the board!
Bobbie Leecan’s Need-More Band appears to be, musically speaking, a cut above your standard string band of the 1920s. “Washboard Cut-Out” is a perky piece featuring some solid washboard stylings by Eddie Edinborough (about whom there is little to be found on the Internet).
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