Music lovers in Watson are in for a rootin’ tootin’ hillbilly hoedown on Thursday, August 14 when Washboard Hank and the Wringers hit the stage at the New Horizons Centre.
Watson has become the centre of down-home roots music and this entertaining crew are among the best purveyors of that brand, along with a healthy dose of hilarity. It goes right down to the musical mélange that they bring on stage with them, explains maestro of the orchestra, Washboard Hank.
“We play everything including the kitchen sink,” quips Hank. “I have a Stradivarius washboard that I’ve been developing for over 50 years. I started playing in the street with my partner Reverend Ken at the time. We went all over North American playing on the street. We finally started getting indoor gigs, and we’ve been doing that ever since.”
Washboard Hank comes by the name honestly when you set eyes on the tricked out scrubbing utensil and its arsenal of rhythmic and sonic wonders. Just listen to his hit “Washboard Boogie” and you’ll get a sense of what the performance is all about.
Hank is a fan of what he calls hillbilly boogie, a combination of bluegrass, country and rockabilly. He’s got a catalog of original songs 300 deep, 200 of which are good, he jokes.
“People don’t realize that I’ve written these songs,” he laughs. “They just think they’re old covers. I consider that a song writing accomplishment if I can sound like something that came out of the ‘30s, ‘40s, or ‘50s.”
Always at his side is Sweet Muriel, another in the cast of musical characters.
“We were sitting around one night and Hank said, ‘Sing - just repeat after me.’ And out cam this cartoon voice,” she laughs.
He’s a one-man washing crew of rockabilly sounds, but he brings with him an accomplished set of musicians.
“We have Sleepy Jim on bass and Hot Pickin’ Nicholas on guitar,” Hanks says by way of introduction.”
Nicholas joins the Wringers fresh off gigging with Jake Vaadeland and the Sturgeon River Boys, playing pedal steel and stand out bass for the rising roots outfit. Along with the musicianship, it’s also about having a lot of fun.
“One of the main complaints about our show is that people leave with sore faces because they’ve been laughing so hard,” Hank chuckles.
“We’re really looking forward to the show, so tell yer maw, tell yer paw – just don’t tell ‘em what you saw.”
Catch Washboard Hank and the Wringers, one night only, Thursday, August 14 at 7:30 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm) at the Watson New Horizons Centre. For tickets, call Jim at (306) 287-7130.