Jake Leg Stompers

Rank #8 Murfreesboro, TN Blues / Jug Band / Roots Music

About

Members: Hambone Willie Nevil, Jersey Slim Hawkins, Lela Mae Smith, Horatio Algernon Whiplash, Ramshackle Jake Dunshee, Junior Socrates Cottenberry

Sounds Like: Asylum Street Spankers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Memphis Jug Band, Squirrel Nut Zippers, North Mississippi Allstars

Label: HooDoo Records

Bio: The Jake Leg Stompers: A History of the Banned

“Treat Her Right” by Roy Head was the hottest song on radio on the chilly November day when Bill Steber (aka “Hambone Willie Nevil”) came into this world, humming along.

The middle school years found Hambone hiding under the covers past bedtime ev... See Full Bio

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Press

"Maybe jug-band music is coming back. Works for me—what the world needs now is not love, as The Supremes once sang, but more kazoo players. The best thing that I've heard lately is Hill Country HooDoo. If you can listen to "Keep It Clean" without a smile breaking out across your face—there's no hope for you. You should just rush out and buy a Kenny Chesney record."

— William Gay, Oxford American Magazine

“The Jake Leg Stompers latest release, Hill Country Hoodoo, is plain good. It is an outlandish ruckus-raising love letter to the chicken-fried music of the North Mississippi hill country. Chasing the ghosts of everyone from Junior Kimbrough and Otha Turner to Sid Hemphill and Robert Wilkins, Hill Country Hoodoo is the product of a north Mississippi super group. The singing is all top notch and the songs are as diverse as the musicians. Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band’s version of the old railroad work song Linin’ Track has to be heard to be believed. It’s easy to get mushy when romanticizing the bygone past, but the Jake Leg Stompers and their hill country gypsies do so in a way that the lost decades retain their dignity as well as their mystery, demonstrating that the spirit in many of those old George Mitchell field recordings and dusty 78 r.p.m.’s is still very much alive and well. Hill Country Hoodoo is essential. ”

— Mark Coltrain, Living Blues

“ Jake Leg Stompers, with their mix of Mississippi Delta Blues and Jug Band music, played amongst a mess of Vaudeville entertainment this April Fools Day. If you love pre-war music, this was the concert for you. The Eggplant Faerie Players were a recurring act in the show. The duo juggled bowling pins, machettes, rubber chickens and practically anything they could find. They juggled in pairs, in the dark, along with on a nine foot unicycle of death. At one point in the show, they juggled nine pins on either side of a slightly frightened volunteer. The beautiful and talented Leela Sophina, Queen of the Air also made multiple appearances throughout the show as she defied gravity on her trapeze. The concert was perfect. The acts were perfect. The crowd was perfect. The venue was perfect. In short the whole show was PERFECT! If you get a chance to see this show I would highly recommend it. ”

— Andrew Steele, Cookeville Times

“The Jake Leg Stompers are the beacon of light that the music world needs to prove that musicianship is not dead. On their new album, Hill Country HooDoo, the Stompers resurrect the Pre-War sounds of the Mississippi Delta. With help from friends such as 2011 Grammy nominees Jimbo Mathus and Luther Dickinson, and a plethora of descendants of blues legends that have gone on to the great juke joint in the sky, the Stompers have created an album that is raw, fun, and above all authentic. Hill Country HooDoo’s opening track Beale Street Holiday makes you want to jump up and do the jitterbug, while tracks such as I Shall Not Be Moved tug at your heart strings like few modern songs can. The Stompers have truly created an Americana masterpiece with Hill Country HooDoo. Jake Leg Stompers: Hill Country HooDoo Tony’s Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars Recommended for fans of: Americana, Pre-war blues, and swing Not Recommended for fans of: screamo, metal, or rap ”

— T. Neely, Cookeville Times

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Songs

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Fourth Street Mess …

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The Dirty Dozens

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My Handy Man

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Stop Breakin' Down

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Mackie Messer

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Videos

The Jake Leg Stompers - Beale Street Holiday

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Shows

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Fri
Apr 5

3 Brothers Deli
Murfreesboro, TN, US | 9:00pm
3 Brothers Deli
Murfreesboro, TN, US
Fri Apr 05 9:00pm
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The Jake Leg Stompers had a great March! Between launching our new record, “Up to No Good” at a sold-out Station Inn show, to playing a great festival in Marietta OH to packing the house in Woodbury for our Vaudeville Circus, we’ve really been riding high! But what we’ve REALLY been looking forward to is letting our garters down and getting our ya-ya’s out at our favorite hometown bar-3 Brothers Deli and Brewhouse at their NEW location on the square in downtown Murfreesboro (114 N Church St, Murfreesboro, TN 37130) at 9 pm this coming Friday, April 5th! Admission is free and the beer and food is great! We’ll have copies of the new CD and as always, we’ve got new songs and a few surprises in store, so come out and help us celebrate the Stompers inaugural show at the new 3 Brothers!
Fri
Mar 29

Arts Center of Cannon C…
Woodbury, TN, US | 7:00pm
Arts Center of Cannon County
Woodbury, TN, US
Fri Mar 29 7:00pm
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The people demanded to be heard! The Governor decreed a proclamation! But despite their efforts, The Village Idiot Society of Middle TN nonetheless is proud to announce the RETURN of the Vaudeville Circus and Jugband Review on March 29th, at 7:30 pm at the Arts Center of Cannon Co in Woodbury, TN! The show will be anchored by Murfreesboro’s inimitable minstrel’s of musical mayhem, The Jake Leg Stompers, including vaudeville blues diva Lela Mae Smith! The Stompers are fresh from their “Don't Follow Us” Scared-Straight tour of the Correctional Facilities of TN in support of their brand new CD Up to No Good. Expect heavy doses of Chicken-Fried, Pre-War, Hokum-Billy Jugband music of the variety that makes you want to get up and shake your TDOC-issued baggy orange pajamas! In keeping with the fine traditions of a true Vaudeville Circus, the Stompers will be joined onstage by Cannon Co.’s own Tom Foolery and his Eggplant Faerie Players, who bring years of professional experience in the fine arts of juggling, unicycle, stilt-walking, general hilarity, major mirth and corporal punishment (by appointment only). Rounding out the Vaudeville Circus will be the incomparable Leela Sophina, Queen of the Air, on her burlesque trapeze! Last, but not least, we feel obligated to warn the general public that, appearing onstage for the first time ever in Middle TN, will be the most terrifying creature you have ever seen at a show of this kind! A genuine, 6 ft. tall, 220 pound MAN EATING CHICKEN! The management of the theater is NOT responsible for any physical or emotional trauma caused by a close encounter with this horrifying creature! Come see it IF YOU DARE! Ticket prices are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and students. The Arts Center is located on 1424 John Bragg Highway, just west of the town of Woodbury, approximately 20 minutes from Murfreesboro, Manchester, and McMinnville and one hour southeast of Nashville. Office hours are 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m., Monday through Saturday. For reservations or more information call 615-563-(ARTS) 2787 or 1-800-235-9073. The theater has a maximum capacity of 225 and many seats will be filled with season ticket holders, so call and make your reservation early to guarantee you won't miss it! So what is a Vaudeville Circus and Jugband Review all about anyway you ask? Well, here's a small taste from a performance in Cookeville, TN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjZW0_Hk538
Sat
Mar 9

Station Inn
Nashville, TN, US | 7:00pm
Station Inn
Nashville, TN, US
Sat Mar 09 7:00pm
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The Jake Leg Stompers invite you to the Station Inn this coming Saturday, March 9th at 9 pm as we launch our latest (and best!) record, Up to No Good. The doors open at Nashville's world-famous home of traditional music at 7 pm and it's on a first come basis. The new album has everything from low-down Delta blues to bawdy Vaudeville to Memphis Jug Band music to Gullah ring shouts and Hollywood gospel. In other words, it encompasses the entirety of the Chicken-Fried, Pre-War, Hokum-Billy Jug music genre. And in keeping with our previous 3 releases, the album artwork is second-to-none! Up to No Good was recorded on vintage microphones to analog tape at Fry Pharmacy Studios and consists of songs that your grandparents were forbidden to listen to, so needless-to-say, both the Stompers and their parole officers are pretty proud of it! This is our first album release since the incomparable Lela Mae Smith joined the Stomper Family and it marks her recording debut. She brings forth the sound and spirit of the 20's/30's era divas like Bessie Smith and Ella Fitzgerald as no one else singing today! If you've not had the opportunity to hear Lela Mae live, this is your big chance. Stompers' founding member Junior Socrates Cottenberry is also flying in from the West Coast to bring tuba, trombone and accordion and a version of "Mackie Messer" that has to be heard to be believed. It's been awhile since the Jake Leg Stompers have played the Station Inn, so we're primed for a party! Stompers shows at the Station Inn are always marked by high-energy music and unpredictable surprises. While we might not necessarily be on our best behavior, we guarantee you that it'll be the show you don’t want to miss in 2013!
Sat
Jan 5

Kimbro's Pickin' Parlor
Franklin, TN, US | 9:00pm
Kimbro's Pickin' Parlor
Franklin, TN, US
Sat Jan 05 9:00pm
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Come celebrate the start of 2013 with a great night of music in downtown Franklin as the Mando Blues Show of Radio Free Nashville presents the Jake Leg Stompers and the Cotton Blossom Band this Saturday, Jan. 5th at 9pm. It was almost 2 yrs. ago that the Stompers last played Kimbro's and it was on that fateful night that they first met Lela Mae Smith-who now fronts the band with her incomparable vocals and unforgettable style. This show marks the first time the band has returned to this Franklin musical institution since that happy occasion. AND joining the Stompers will be their very own founding member Junior Socrates Cottonberry in town for the holidays from his international musical globe-trotting to add brass, class and sass to the lineup. The Cotton Blossum Band is the latest musical project of Nashville's own Tony Gerber, internationally-known ambient and experimental music artist. Gerber combines his many musical influences from electronic music to Native American flute with traditional Southern blues and gospel to create something completely original. It's going to be an unpredictable night of musical surprises! You don't want to miss this one!
2012
Feb 24

The Family Wash
Nashville, TN, US | 8:00pm
The Family Wash
Nashville, TN, US
Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:00pm
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BluesAngels
Just gotta take JL Stompers home. Too good.
The Liberaetors
Love my Jake Leg Stompers! This music just makes my world a whole lot better!