The story of the Hobo Nickel:
A man tells his wife, “I’ll ride the rails and write when I find work.”
No word. Nothing for so long. She asks the wandering men by the train yard if they’ve seen him.
One says, “I’ll carve his face on this nickel and pass it along. Trust a hobo nickel to find its way.” Wrapped in a note with her only wish “Come home”, he left with it that night.
It passed around. In pockets. In hat brims. In tobacco tins. Seeking its reflection. Tarnishing in its despair. Finally dropped and left behind...
Nobody. Cold, walking nowhere. He enters a shed and lies down.
A scrap of paper. Opening, he finds the words, he finds the coin.
Now walking, coin in breast pocket warming him. Somebody going somewhere.
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Pick a little banjo... Blow a little jug... Strum a little six-string... Scratch that 'board... Put it all together, and what do you get?
That's right, boys and girls, moms and dads - Ramblin Jug Stompers have whooped up a brand spankin' new album called “Hobo Nickel”.
Firing up their trademark blend of back-porch picking and junk-yard jazz, the well-traveled acoustic quartet announces the long-awaited release of "Hobo Nickel".
The album's ten rollicking tunes stretch across myriad musical genres, from the twelve-bar moan of "Mornin Blues" to the hot bluegrass of "Freight Train Boogie;” from the raggy changes of "San Francisco Bay Blues” to the unrequited parlor ballad of "My Eggs Don't Taste the Same Without You;" and from the mournful workers' lament of “Blue Diamond Mines” to the vintage jug band classic “Wild About My Lovin." The Jug Stompers even roll out a few sparkling original instrumentals with "Frypan Jack Enters into Heaven" and the funky, cakewalkin title track.
There's nothing hip or trendy about these guys. Bowtie (banjo), Cousin Clyde (guitar, kazoo), Mister Eck (mandolin, jug) and Wild Bill (washboard, harmonica) have each done their time chasing that golden ring of music industry success . They’ve been on MTV. They've strummed onstage alongside Pete Seeger and Patti Smith. They've toured with Richie Havens and Commander Cody. Heck, they've shared stages with everyone from Muddy Waters and Bill Monroe to the Ramones. In short, they’ve got nothing left to prove.
Now, as Ramblin Jug Stompers, they're back to their roots, making honest music - for themselves and their audiences. They're not the Next Big Thing. Heck, they may not even be the Next Little Thing. But they take their fun seriously, and they love the music they make. That's something that you just can't fake, and you can hear it in the band’s songs, whether it's the frailing, high-mountain hoedown of "Fix Me a Pallet" or the poor-side-o'-town ballad "Down in the Boondocks" (done up in RJS' patented "Appalypso" style).
Ramblin Jug Stompers made their recording debut in 2006 with the acclaimed "Crooked Songs: Live at Caffe Lena." Since, they've worked on Jim Gaudet's "Recalling It Quits," backed up Terri Roben on "The Path We Make" and contributed tracks to a pair of fine compilation discs, "Jugs Across America" and "Live From CRUMBS Cafe, Vol. I."
Now they've made their first studio album. It's called "Hobo Nickel." Hope you enjoy it.
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