DEEP BLUES: Cathead

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26 June 2012

WE JUKE UP iN HERE! A New DVD+CD Documentary On The State of the Clarksdale-area's Juke Joint Culture

All photos stolen from Lou Bopp

"If you don't want to die, don't be born.
The game's for life" - Red Paden

We Juke Up In Here is a visually sexy film that documents an un-sexy subject: The demise of the live music-fueled southern American juke joint, and the struggles of juke owners and musicians to keep the remaining institutions alive.

Now, I could go into a long history of juke joints and the sociological and cultural importance of their history dating back to emancipation, and how the juke is being replaced by soul-crushing casinos, DJs, and gaudy corporate flourescent-lit Juquejoint facsimiles. But you probably know or can imagine that.

"I'm backed by the river, and I'm fronted by the grave. That's for damn sure." -Red Paden, owner of Red's Lounge, Clarksdale, MS

Gearshifter Youngblood.

We Juke Up In Here was created by Jeff Konkel of Broke And Hungry Records and Roger Stolle of Clarksdale's Cathead Delta Blues & Folk Art store, and thoughtfully shot by cinematographers Damien Blaylock and Lou Bopp. This is the same team that worked on the award-winning M For Mississippi. It's a visually striking film that confidently dips to either side of the line between art-film and straight-up documentary. With We Juke Up In Here they achieve a smart balance of serious blues doc, sharp rural-moderne arthouse, and dudes-on-a-blues-roadtrip film.

Red Paden

The story centers primarily on Red Paden, owner of Red's Lounge, as well as William "Po Monkey" Seaberry of Po' Monkey's Lounge, and juke owner/recording artist Jimmy "Duck" Holmes of The Blue Front Cafe and their challenge to stay alive as the music changes (all three joints are strictly blues- No Rap), and as their audience ages. Casinos offering free food, free drink, and cheap entertainment, have done the most damage. Juke owners just can't supply those amenities. But what they can give you is a hot dose of reality with a raw music soundtrack with out the artifice and faux flaw-free sheen of the casino trap house.

Big George Brock

The dvd package of We Juke Up In Here is also accompanied by a CD soundtrack (recorded by Bill Abel out of his trusty ol' station wagon mobile recording unit) of tough, slanky present-day blues. The kind of rough-hewn blues you expect and trust to hear from Broke & Hungry Records. B & H has added three new (to me) artists to the soundtrack, and each of them is a knock-out. Louis "Gearshifter" Youngblood, Anthony "Big A" Sherrod (whoa), and the seriously deadly Robert Lee "Lil' Poochie" Watson. These guys ain't kids. Where have they been?

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes

We Juke Up In Here shows beautifully that while juke joint blues might be beaten up by time, culture, technology, and the law...she ain't dead yet and rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated, even though to most radars it's at best a party popper. The blues and it's surrounding culture has a living, progressing history. There are still artists giving strong, vital performances and this documentary showcases that well. You might gotta dig a little to find blues like this, but isn't that what you miss about music? The discovery?

From where I sit, it's an exciting time for this genre. There are more and more permutations of blues happening every day. From gutter punks and travelers playing punk-shaded olde timey to technoheads reimagining the blues into the future. That's growth and change. I'm thankful we have these four guys not only still finding a few quality players to help hype, but also spreading the sound of those artists around the globe.

Will small-town and rural jukes eventually disappear? Probably. Google Juke Joint. They're already being replaced by faux jukes- shiny Disney funqified Made In China soulless and safe nostalgia kiosks that have as much in common with Po Monkey's as House Of Blues does.

We Juke Up In Here is a keen sixty-three minute document of the blues culture and a history of what's left of the Delta region's once-thriving juke joint culture, the root source and incubator of boogie, soul and blues. Konkel, Stolle, Blaylock, and Bopp have made important works in We Juke Up In Here and M For Mississippi. They are documenting the true ground zero for what remains of the great olde weird American blues.

CD Set List:
Big A & The All Stars - We Juke Up In Here

Louis
“Gearshifter” Youngblood- Rabbit In A Log 

Lil
Poochie & Hezekiah Early - You Know I’ve Tried  

Dialogue: “I Don’t Have To Pretend” – Red Paden 

Terry “Harmonica” Bean - Baby (Do Anything For Me) 

Jimmy “Duck” Holmes -  Could’ve Been Married 

Dialogue: “I’m Moving At
My Own Pace” – Red Paden 

Elmo
Williams & Hezekiah Early - Jug Of Wine 

Louis “Gearshifter” Youngblood - Get Rich And Marry You  

Big A & The All Stars - Call Me A Lover 

Dialogue: “The Game Is For Life” - Red Paden

Lil Poochie & Hezekiah Early- Bring Your Fine Self Home  

Big George
Brock - Down South  

Holmes, Bean & Vick - Someday (Get Over You)  

+Bonus hidden track:  Louis "Gearshifter" Youngblood - "The Juke Joint Where I'm A Goin' "

24 July 2011

WE JUKE UP iN HERE! - Jeff and Roger's Excellent Adventure in Mississippi Continues...

Jeff Konkel of Broke and Hungry Records and Roger Stolle of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art are joining forces again to film another documentary on the Mississippi blues scene, this one titled We Juke Up In Here. After the great job they did on M For Mississippi 2008's documentary and soundtrack I can't wait to see it.
For more information, contact:

Jeff Konkel at jeff@brokeandhungryrecords.com
Roger Stolle at roger@cathead.biz

(CLARKSDALE, MS) – The creative team behind the award-winning 2008 blues movie M For Mississippi have reunited for a new film celebrating the Delta’s down-home blues tradition. The new film, We Juke Up In Here: Mississippi’s Juke Joint Culture at the Crossroads, is slated for an April 2012 release but is now available for pre-order at the film’s official web site: www.wejukeupinhere.com.

We Juke Up In Here follows producers Jeff Konkel of Broke & Hungry Records and Roger Stolle of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art as they explore what remains of Mississippi’s once-thriving juke joint culture. The film is told largely from the vantage point of Red Paden, proprietor of the legendary Red’s Lounge in historic Clarksdale, Mississippi. Paden, a true Delta character and jack-of-all-trades, has been running his blues and beer joint for more than 30 years – providing one of the region’s most reliable live blues venues and an authentic stage for a cavalcade of veteran blues performers, both legendary and obscure.

Told through live music performances, character-driven interviews and rare on-camera blues experiences, viewers will be taken below the surface of the quasi-legal world of real Delta jukes while it’s still living and breathing.

The project reunites Konkel and Stolle with cinematographer Damien Blaylock and sound engineer Bill Abel who were instrumental in the success of the earlier film, M For Mississippi. Rounding out the production team is Lou Bopp who is providing both video and still photography.

We Juke Up In Here will be released as a deluxe box set featuring a DVD, a CD soundtrack and a glossy pullout booklet with multiple essays, notes and color photos. The DVD will include the feature-length documentary along with a treasure trove of bonus features including unreleased scenes, production stills, a promotional trailer, closed captioning, French and Italian subtitles and more. The DVD will be region-free and playable on DVD players worldwide. The box set will retail for $25 (US).

Customers who pre-order the film will receive the product weeks before its official release and will pay no shipping fee.

Pre-orders also provide the filmmakers with access to additional cash resources during the movie’s crucial production phase. “The early support of blues fans and documentary lovers allows us to make an even better film,” Konkel said. “Pre-order dollars enable us to involve even more blues artists in the movie and to incorporate additional shoots into our production schedule.”

The filmmakers also are benefiting from the invaluable financial support of several marketing sponsors.

The filmmakers’ principal sponsor and European partner is the Rootsway Roots & Blues Association (www.rootsandblues.org), a nonprofit organization from Parma, Italy. Founded in 2004, the group is dedicated to promoting rural and indigenous American and African-American musical art forms throughout northern Italy. Rootsway has brought several Mississippi blues performers to Italy in recent years.

Other sponsors include:

- Cat Head Vodka, Mississippi’s first legal distillery and a committed supporter of live music in general and blues music in particular.

- Lemuria Books, a Jackson, Mississippi-based institution and one of the finest independent bookstores in America. Lemuria houses thousands of literary titles and an impressive selection of Mississippi blues CDs .

- Nayati Dreams, a French company promoting American roots, folk and blues music in France and throughout Europe. Nayati Dreams partners with blues labels and also works to organize concerts and promote roots music through print and radio outreach.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that we simply couldn’t make this movie without the generous contribution of our sponsors,” Stolle said. “We’re incredibly grateful to the many individuals and organizations around the world who recognize the importance of Mississippi’s amazing blues heritage through their support of projects like this.”

Additional sponsorship opportunities remain for We Juke Up In Here. The film’s producers have developed numerous sponsorship levels, each with a corresponding marketing and product premiums. To inquire about sponsorships, e-mail the filmmakers at info@wejukeupinhere.com.

We Juke Up In Here is a joint production of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art and Broke & Hungry Records.