Monday, May 19, 2008

The Bourbon Street Refugees in a Chicago El station

I met a string band in a Chicago El station today. They're working their way from New Orleans to Oregon.

2008-05-19 Bourbon Street Refugees 002

They told me they've been together for just a short while. When I asked their name, the woman with the fiddle and washboard told me they were called The Bourbon Street Refugees in New Orleans.

That sign says, "TRAVELIN' BAND. HELP US OUT." I gave them a few bucks. Their banjo player is a mandolin player who's been working on his banjo since November. He's a frailer, but said he'd like to give picking another try the next time he gets his hands on some picks. I happened to be carrying some picks (of course) so I donated them to the cause.

They told me I could post a couple of videos, so here they are in all their cell-phone-camera glory.

Good luck on the tour, folks!

3 comments:

Mavis said...

The banjo player is a dear friend of mine. I made a piece of artwork about him.

Connor is one of the truly good people on this earth. I really admire his spirit

danirat said...

I'm close friends of the fiddle player, myself. I also went to high school with that crazy banjo-playing individual. It's good to see them doing well.

You can always go faster, but you can never stop. said...

Hey there, this is the band. We've since upgraded a little bit. Check out our myspace and watch our new videos there.

myspace.com/bestbefore1884