Monday, March 14, 1933
Daily Nebraskan
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Arts St
Entertainment
Juice Jumpers play pure and
simple red-hot jump music
By Patty Pryor
Jump music, that's what it is - pure,
simple and red hot - and the Juke Jumpers
are masters of the craft.
The six-man band from Fort Worth,
Texas, will appear tonight and Tuesday
at the Zoo Bar, where they played to
full houses just two weeks ago.
The lucky buggers in attendance
that weekend can attest to the good time
the Jumpers provide, as they were treated
to a frenzied, danceable mix of boogaloo
blues, rockabilly, swing jazz and good ol'
roots rock 'n roll.
"Texas rhythm and blues - that's
basically what our foundation is," lead
vocalist and guitarist Jim Colegrove said.
Led b the Texas twang of Colegrove 's
Stratocaster. the band rocked the place
on its ear with numbers including the
rockabilly rave "l.'bangi Stomp," the
gritty blues of "Why Don't You tat
Where You Slept Last Night," Robert
Parker's "Barefootin " and their own
rollicking, chicken-loving ditty, "Necks
and Feet."
In addition to the dueling guitars of
Colegrove and Sumter Biuton, who was
absent from the Lincoln gig because of
a bout with hepatitis, the Jumpers' sound
features a big-leg beat from drummer
Mike Bartula and bassist Jim Milan, the
clinking keys of pianist Craig Simecheck
and the high-spirited honking of sax man
Johnny Reno.
A particulai standout on stage, Reno
possess both a look and style (not to
mention a name) that perfectly reflects
the stereotypical finger-snapping swing of
Southern R&B the man looks like he
was born to blow the sax.
In a romping, show-stopping display
two weekends ago, Reno capped the
second set with a foray into the elbow-to-elbow
crowd, all the while never missing
a beat. Bobbing and blowing all the way,
he hopscotched from chair to chair as he
made his way to the top of the bar, where
he strutted and wailed to the delight of
the screaming crowd.
Obviously, the Juke Jumpers are every
bit as much crowd pleasers as they are
experienced accomplished musicians.
All the band members boast an
impressive musical history as well as quite
a wealth of recording experience.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio,
Colegrove, 41, did session work through
the '60s and '70s for such artists as 1'aui
Butterfield and Todd Rundgren. He
played briefly with John Hall's group
Orleans in 1971 and was also part of Ian
and Sylvia's band. Great Speckled Bird.
Three years after moving to Fort Worth
in 1974, he formed the Juke Jumpers with
Brut on.
Reno, 31 from Hungry, Ark., started
in the mid-'70s with Robert Ealey's band,
the Drifting Heartbreaks. From there,
he spent time with the Dallas-based
Rockets and worked in 1978 with Stevie
Vaughan's band Double Trouble in Austin,
Texas, before joining the Juke Jumpers in
1979.
Milan, 30, who has been playing profes
sionally since 1965, when he was lead
vocalist and guitarist for the Outriders,
worked for awhile in the rock band Argue
on guitar, organ and bass.
Besides playing with the Juke Jumpers,
which he's done since 1978, Milan also
works as house bassist at JD&D studios
in Dallas, where he's played with Paul
McCartney and Wings. Buddy Rich and
Blood. Sweat and Tears.
Bartula, 27, has been playing drums
since he was 12, in styles ranging from
- - j
'ry1, y-.
Limber sax man Johnny Reno wails on the Zoo bar top.
7
Ml
bvbov Contest
1S83
March 14-16
Nebraska City
Union
10:00-3:00
All proceeds go to
cystic fibrosis
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Photos by Pat Kovanda
Tlie Juke Junipers, bottom row from left: Craig Simecheck, Jim Colegrove, Jim
Milan; top row from left: Johnny Reno, Mike Bartula.
country, progressive country and rock
V roll to jazz and blues. He's been drum
ming for the Jumpers since 1977.
Simecheck, 35, was a member of the
Five Careless Lovers with Bruton. He
also played with Little Junior One Hand
Clap and the Headhuntcrs and the Robert
Ealey Blues Band before joining the Juke
Jumpers in 19S0.
With three albums to their credit (some
of which have been written up in Andy
Warhol's "Interview," Munich's "Rocking
Regards," Norway's "R-O-C-K" and
Austria's "Blues Life Magazine") and a
fourth one "in the can" at home,
Colegrove said the band is turning more
to traveling the road these days.
"It's changing," he said. "Two years
ago, we didn't go out on the road much
at all. Last year, we did probably a third
of the time, and it's about 50-50 right
now."
"We're also evolving toward more and
more originals, especially on the last
album," he added. Otherwise, their repert
oire "is pretty much a mixture of every
body's tastes."
Colegrove talked about the inevitable
comparisons between his band and the
Blasters or Stray Cats.
"We compare in a lot of ways, but we
certainly don't try to (imitate any style),"
he said.
Their roots music has also been likened
to that of Joe "King" Carrasco, Colegrove
said, but he explained that "What Joe
'King' does, from San Antonio, is more
out of a Mexican ghetto. What we play
comes out ot a black ghetto - it's more
American, more soul."
The Juke Jumpers' music is "Texas
R&B redefined in current terms," Coleman
said.
"The term was first coined in the
1940s." he said. "In -the '60s, it became
soul music; in the 70s, it was disco.
What we're striving to do is take traditional
R&B and put in in a contemporary context."
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America's Greatest Hero
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