POOR DUDLOW, the SYNCOPATED MONKEY, Oh! That Guy Again; however you say it, the Blues is his aim and Thingin' is his game. Poor Dud's early years are still a mystery; possibly born sometime in the late 1930’s, near Cle Elum. He is known to have been on the go during his teens and seems to have been on a seasonal commute from Roslyn, WA to Covington, LA for most of those years. It is uncertain how he acquired his piano skills or if he solely supported himself all that time as an entertainer but Dud was eventually recorded by Stick Horse (pronounced Schtick House) Spawldeen after many years of badgering by the Kernel (former carnie & battery cable distributor), who had already subsidizing his own income by pinching a good percentage off all D's gigs from Snoqualmie to Vantage. His only known 78 recording on the long defunct Stick Horse label out of Ellensburg appeared as Poor Dudlow at his piano performing "The Old Original Poor Dudlow Blues" & "Dud's Thing". Poor D's Blues never caught on seeming to have too much similarity to the already popular recordings of Myrtle Jenkins, Easton's blues queen. The flip, Dud's Thing, couldn't stay off local turntables and jukeboxes. Folks were ordering 'em by the box (25 copies). "Back in the 70's unopened boxes of Stick Horse 313 were still turning up from Blaine, WA to Highwood, MT" says the Mule (collector, researcher, juggist & Poor Dud scholar). Why D never really hit the bigtime and why the Kernel never marketed him as another Ken Griffin the world may never know. But what we do know is that by the early 60's Poor Dudlow was back in Louisiana with a very regional hit on 45. It was titled That Thing under his new pseudonym, The Syncopated Monkey for Stick Horse (pronounced Steek Whores) records in Ponchatoula. The Monkey continued with hit after hit; This Thing, That Thing, Those Things, Monkey Thing and upper Lake Ponchartrain was rockin'. It was like a dream to good to be true when from what seemed to be another lifetime came Poor D's long lost friend and confidant, the Kernel. He had Dud's music contract for life signed with an identifiably misspelled Pour Dudlo scribble and wanted his back rent. All D's thingin' around once again came to a halt and visibility once again faded for a very Poor Dudlow. Mr. D is thought to have contributed to soundtracks including Jumpin' with D. B. Cooper & Madam Atom's Private Jam Sessions and to be on countless NW bar band demos. His recent appearance on cylinders has brought about much discussion as there is never an address, phone or fax # in the advertisements.

JUGS DISRUPT SUCK OFF

The Sultan Suck Off was cut short by aggressive jug intervention, the ninth such incident since last year's Fandango Festival. This year's harmonica extravaganza featured its usual favorites: Harmonica Crabby, Jr. Mint, Middle Walter & Wedgwood Whitey all backed by the swaggering grooves of Queen Anne & Her Sloths of Rhythm. As in years past over a thousand, mostly yuppie bikers, come from as far as Index to be part of the event. It is estimated that some 900 are closet suckers themselves and over 375 are former students of Glacier Boy Dermody. Harmonica Crabby opened with a brilliant set but appeared a little pissed off. Jr. Mint was really suckin' until he was blown off stage by a confused Knobs Levell who thought he was at Woodstock '97. Harmonica Plaything's no show has become as much a part of the fest as the not so rare reappearance of Goldbar's own Middle Walter. A moody NW afternoon was starting to show it's effect and a field full of soaked suckers were beginning to show signs of unrest. Then it happened! Wedgwood Whitey was about to hit and no band. Not only no band, no equipment! Whitey was restrained, seven juggists took the stage & Cry Baby Marshall was forced to play an entire set in first position. Suckers went wild throwing dysfunctional diatonics & Canadian chromatics at the stage. The Babe's ability to sing Earl King tunes over abstract accompaniment and incorporate Big Chief into every solo kept the crowd under a blues hypnosis and prevented total disassembly of the stage. All seven juggists piled into a green '50 Hudson Commodore and drove off. Wedgwood Whitey held remaining suckers' interest with variations on Cat Hop until authorities arrived and broke up the event.

Raymond Barrow
Sultan, WA