About eight years ago I started going to Clarksdale to hear as much music as possible. On my first trip north I found Roger Stolle’s fine store Cat Head. Cat Head is my favorite store in Mississippi. It is funky in a 100% blues way and Roger shares his knowledge freely which makes a visit to Cat Head a 100 percent blues learning experience. Roger’s inventory is about blues books, blues music, blues arts with live blues inside or outside. This institution is about 10 years old. I caught Roger’s attention because I became a good customer and avid spokesman on his behalf of his work. If you haven’t been to Roger’s store, treat yourself. Go and support his efforts with your purchases.
Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, Inc.
I also found Red’s Lounge run by Red Peden. Big Jack Johnson was playing his marvelous blues in this blues mecca and I was baptized into Red’s style of Jukin’.
Language of the Blues by Debra DeSalvo explains the origins of the word juke:
“A juke or juke joint is a funky little bar (and sometimes brothel) that provides dance music whether from a piano player, a band, or a juke box. The word juke has been traced to the Gullah (Georgia Sea Islands) word joog, meaning disorderly. Joog has been traced in turn to the Bambara tribe’s word dzugu, which means ‘wicked.’ There’s also the Wolof word dzug which means to misbehave or lead a wild life, and the Bantu juka, which means to rise up and do your own thing. In From Juba to Jive: A Dictionary of African-American Slang, Clarence Major wrote that ‘jook’ is an ‘African word meaning to jab or poke–as in sexual intercourse, and was also used in the Caribbean.”
For me, a white guy, jook means good music and lots of fun.
As my friendship with Clarksdale and Roger developed I met Jeff Konkel and began stocking Jeff’s fine broke and hungry recordings. Roger and Jeff’s new collaboration is We Juke Up in Here! The DVD is the story of Red, his lounge and the shape of the Delta Jukin’ in the present. Viewing this fine work is a Delta Blues fan’s must.
As my son Austin and his pal Richard became fans of Clarksdale, they also realized the specialness of Roger’s Cat Head Store and its efforts. Austin and Richard were driven to launch their dreams of creating the first legal distillery in Mississippi. They believe in live music and wanted to donate part of their proceeds in support of musician causes. They were tumbling around name brands and took their business proposal to Roger to get his take. Roger was taken back but gave the idea a chance. After a while, Roger graced their project by voicing no objection and Cathead Vodka was born.
Lemuria is very happy to be a part of the Jackson area “We Juke Up in Here” release party.
Jackson’s screening will be held at Cathead Vodka Distillery.
Everyone is welcome!
Join filmmakers Damien Blaylock, Jeff Konkel and Roger Stolle for a screening of their latest film “We Juke Up in Here” at the Cathead Vodka Distillery in Gluckstadt, Mississippi.
Friday, October 26
Food & Drink at 7:00
Screening of “We Juke Up in Here” at 8:00
644 Church Rd Suite 1, Madison, Mississippi 39110
Click here for a map on the Facebook Event Page.
“We Juke Up in Here” is available in a deluxe two-disc collection (DVD with CD soundtrack) at Lemuria. You can purchase in store or order on our website for $29.99 + shipping.
Roger Stolle will also be at Lemuria to sign his book Hidden History of the Mississippi Blues at 5:00. Click here for more info.
Comments are closed.