Right On John's Page

The Cigar Box Guitar Fest, held in Walla Walla yesterday, was a fantastic success. The plan was a moving cigar box party which moved from one winery tasting room to the next in downtown Walla Walla, and it worked perfectly.

The first party was hosted by Morrison Lane Vineyard, and hosts Dean and Verdi Morrison had a comfortable arrangement of overstuffed couches, chairs, bar tables and stools, all centered around the fireplace-like performance area. Jerry Zybach of Eugene, oregon started things off for the Fest by playing several Skip James songs on his two 4-string CBG's, one fretless, the other with frets. Jerry used multiple tunings in his performance, and his vocals were clear, deep, and soulful. The veteran blues performer also performed songs of his own writing. Afterword, Jerry talked to the packed crowd of about 50 people about his cigar box guitars, why he plays them versus his "normal" guitars, and a bit about CBG history. After a brief intermission to change equipment, next up was cigar box favorite Gerry Thompson, of Moorestown, New Jersey. Gerry played his electric tenor CBG with a fretted mahogany neck, which is itself a veteran from the first CBG Fest in 2005 - his trusty and irreplaceable steed. Gerry wove the air thick with a tapestry of song, immediately quelling the crowds banter while singing a song about the homeless called "Worn Out Jenny" - you could have heard a pin drop, everything was crystal clear. Gerry's set list was completely songs of his own pen, and the crowd laughed and winced, cocked their heads in thought and exchanged knowing smiles with their tablemates. During the performance, Dean Morrison, the proprietor, leaned over the bar and said - "Good job, this guy is great!" Just shy of one hour of performing, Gerry closed the set with his sing along favorite "Hoo Dee Doo." The crowd gave hearty applause, and then quickly gathered their things to walk to the next venue.

Our second hosts were the Clark Family at the Walla Walla Village Winery on 3rd Street. Local musician Timothy Russell sang his homespun ballads to the sound of his 6-string CBG. His vocals were crystal clear and his arrangements were fresh and innovative, often times ending with a hanging chord or incomplete phrase for a haunting sound. The crowd filled in every nook and cranny during the change over, up to about 65 people, and then Right On John from Oregon City, Oregon came crashing on down with his Lowebowe CBG. John was assisted by his drummer, Rusty Zipper from pendleton, Oregon, whose phrasing was a perfect and powerful match to John's incessant driving forceful beat. John's self-penned lyrics had the crowd laughing as they bobbed up and down to the huge wall of sound, now coming from his deep baritone fretless Subverso Fiddle cigar box guitar. The Subverso sound was made even fuller by John's use of a frequency splitter, which sent the low frequencies off to a separate bass amplifier. After 45 minutes of play, they were done, and crowd screamed out "Right On, Right On." The crowd finished their drinks, shopped for CBG Fest t-shirts and Right On John CD's, and then began the two block treck over to the final venue.

The third party at the CBG Fest was hosted by the Schwerin Family at their Sapolil Cellars tasting room. The largest of the three venues, the crowd soon increased to about 75 people seated at high bar tables or around the old grand piano in the large brick room's center. Soon local guitar player Phil Lynch, a music professor at the Whitman College, took the center stage on his 4 string acoustic fretted CBG. First solo, and then accompanied by harmonica player Larry Leer, Phil played incredibly articulate and complex jazz and blues-jazz single-note phrasings. His singing was rich and resonant, and a perfect counterpoint to Leer's country-style hand cupped harp triplets. The crowd leaned forward on their chairs and quieted down as the veteran guitarists took his guitar through its paces. Phil then gave way to Gerry Thompson, back up on stage for an encore performance. Gerry performed 4 more songs, marked by an aggressively sung "If I Had a Handgun."

The evening was capped off with the final act, cigar box guitar veteran Rollie Tussing of Portland, Oregon. Rollie played his fretless Subverso Fiddle with one single coil electric pickup, simultaneously fingering individual notes and playing slide on his small finger. His vocals were deep and resonant, his diction slurred yet incredible quick on the tongue. Rollie switched to a 4 string acoustic CBG and played glimmering arpeggios, brash boom-chuck-boom ragtime and sweeping slide songs. Then, switching back to his electric Subverso Fiddle CBG, Rollie finished his set up with a roaring "Who Do You Love", with drumbeat kept by Rusty Zipper from Right On John's band. After a roaring round of applause, Rollie took an encore request of "Beulah Land", performed on his acoustic with a capo at the 5th fret. It was an incredible run of songs that had the crowd smiling, shaking their heads in bewilderment, and nodding approval the whole time as this one man wall of sound, accompanied by his antique Slingerland bass drum and a low-boy cymbol, took them places no CBG had gone before.

In a sudden surprise, Right On John took the stage again before the crowd had a chance to filter out. The sudden onslaught of sound coming from the Lowebowe CBG was too much, forcing people back into their seats, or making their bodies convulse in psychotic rhythmic pulses. Drummer Rusty zipper again drove home the constant guitar beats with perfectly times counterpoint. After three songs, John and Rusty's instruments fell silent to a shower of applause and shouts. Cigar Box Guitar Fest 2 was over for Walla Walla.

The people all left with broad grins and thanks to all the performers. All the proprietor-hosts were very happy with the music and their quick business during the evening. All in all, it was a great festival, and people evfen made mention "next time" and "next year". Cigar Box Guitar Fest 3 ? Hmmmm...