Something to tell the grandchildren

Every now and then, a show at The Cedar affects an audience member to such a degree that they are moved to put their thoughts down on paper (or keyboard) and share it with the world. Here's one such outpouring from guest writer and Joe Pug fan Joanna Backman:

Chicago native, singer-songwriter Joe Pug took to the Cedar Cultural Center stage Monday October 18 and gave his fans five hundred dollars worth of music for their ten dollar tickets.  Playing almost nonstop for well over an hour, Pug gifted those of us on the edges of our seats with his own particular style of music that is often hard to peg.

Besides his incredible voice, Pug also masters the acoustic guitar, banjo and harmonica.   Opening his set with “Dodging the Wind,” he went on to offer many other favorites like “Bury Me Far From My Uniform,”  and “The Door Is Always Open,” and hardly seemed to take a breath along the way.   

Pug and his One Hundred Mile Band is on tour through November when they will appear at an Austin, Texas, club.   Called the “$10 Tour,” Pug said he wanted to give his fans a chance to get out and share the music.  With so many artists, new and well established, alienating themselves from their fans with outrageous ticket prices, Pug seems to remember the people who have been with him from the start.   

“Hey, we got a van!,” he said with obvious delight.   “The first thing that happened was it broke down,” he continued.   “I called my Dad and told him, “The van has broken down,” and he reminded me that it was an old van with over 170,000 miles on it and I'd bought it for $3,000.00 in an alley from a guy on Craig's List!”  “But, it's running now and things are good,” he finished, a huge smile on his always expressive face.   

There was no doubt, during his show, how much his fans love his music...and how much he loves offering it to them.   He has made a lot of headway since his 2007 appearance on the horizon of professional music. He was in his senior year at the University of North Carolina when he said he had the clearest thought of his life, “I am profoundly unhappy here.”

He took the road of hundreds of others before him, quit school, got a day job as a carpenter and started writing his music.    His schooling as a playwright student served him well and his first EP Nation of Heat was born.  The rest is history in the making.

Pug's show at the Cedar was one of good, hard energy, guitar, harmonica and a lovely accordion and beautiful bass lovingly handled by his two band mates.

Joe Pug has basically been around the music scene since only 2007, but by a ingenious way of distributing free 2-song CDs at no charge to anyone who requested them, he has made great inroads into popularity....and is stocking up fans all over the country.

The “$10 Tour” runs from now until its last date in November in Austin, Texas.  Joe and his band, and sturdy van, will travel through Colorado, Utah, Vancouver, Washington, Oregon, California and other places South until the tour's end.  

If you get the chance, get to a show.    You will be happy you did, not only for some breathtaking music, but for the fact you can tell your grandchildren, “I saw that feller when he was just starting out.”     That's what I am planning to do.

Keep the light going, Joe.

[Joanna Backman, Bloomington, MN]

Which Cedar artist will you be telling YOUR grandchildren about? No need to wait for grandchildren--leave a comment below, and help others discover great music!