Aug 24, 2007

A Spoonful and a jug

Sebastian appears in jug band music documentary

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

Singer/songwriter John Sebastian is eager to join old pals such as Geoff Muldaur, Jim Kweskin and David Grisman at Great American Music Hall for "Chasin' Gus' Ghost Jug Band Extravaganza." "The combination of people is really something special for an old Greenwich Village/Cambridge kiddie," Sebastian said.

The event celebrates the West Coast premiere of writer-director-producer Todd Kwait's wonderfully engaging documentary "Chasin' Gus' Ghost." Paying tribute to Gus Cannon and other jug band notables, the film plays at the Roxie New College Film Center on Saturday at 7 p.m., as part of the San Francisco Jug Band Festival. Mayor Gavin Newsom officially proclaimed Aug. 25 and 26 as San Francisco Jug Band Weekend.

Sebastian is among the many luminaries interviewed in the film. Chatting by phone to the Daily News, he explained his initial attraction to the jug band sound. "It has tremendous magic. It has swing and humor. Maybe the humor is the part that is most alluring."

From childhood, Sebastian was exposed to the multifaceted magic of music. His father, a classical harmonica player, enjoyed a wide spectrum of sounds. Touring the country in a station wagon, his father would return home with obscure blues and folk songs he had heard along the way.

"He was not a classical snob by any means. In fact, it was my father who introduced me to Sonny Terry, who is largely responsible for my journey. Being able to play the harmonica by the time I was 16 in Sonny's style permitted me to work in New York City, making $50 a day. That was very big money at that time."

The teenaged Sebastian sat under a camera at an educational television show, which featured his father playing Bach, a Shakespearean actor, an unknown folk singer named Joan Baez and blues great Lightnin' Hopkins.

Within six months, Sebastian was toting Hopkins' guitar and playing with Mississippi John Hurt. Soon the young musician discovered the joys of jug band.
In the '60s, he founded the Lovin' Spoonful, which took the jaunty jug band sound and gave it a new, electrified charm.

"The Spoonful's first album had five or six tunes that were jug band-related or we'd heard Jim Kweskin do and wanted to do a rockier version. That includes 'Wild About My Lovin' and 'Blues in the Bottle.' Jug band music was infectious. It was blues-based. It was a lot of things that rock 'n' roll already was. So it wasn't such a bitter pill for listeners.

"We had to rewrite a number of these tunes, which at the time were too rough for '60s radio. Words that are commonly used in rap now were off the menu for jug band music in 1965," Sebastian laughed.

The Lovin' Spoonful served up numerous timeless hits, such as "Do You Believe in Magic," "Summer in the City," "Nashville Cats," "Daydream," "Darlin' Be Home Soon," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind" and "Younger Girl."

Sebastian's extraordinary songwriting abilities helped the Spoonful earn a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He segued into a successful solo career that included an impromptu Woodstock Festival performance and a No. 1 hit with the theme song to "Welcome Back Kotter."

He never lost track of his original inspirations. In 1996, Sebastian and his J-Band released a jubilant jug band record called "I Want My Roots," followed in '99 by the "Chasin' Gus' Ghost" album. "It was very fulfilling for us, because it was a form that hadn't been touched for 20 or 30 years."

When Kwait called to ask him to participate in the documentary, Sebastian leapt at the opportunity. Preserving the jug band tradition remains important to him. "If you find people who are interested, it's a great thing to be able to pass it along."