We have just added two new historical video clips to the library here on CigarBoxGuitar.com, both from the late 1920’s in New Orleans. The first shows a “spasm band” in action, complete with homemade drum sets and dancing kids. The second shows more dancing and another homemade drum kit, with the player being possibly identified as “Cocomo” Joe Barthelemy, a long-time New Orleans jazz musician and street performer.
Click here to check out the Historic Video section of our knowledgebase library, or click the image to the left (a screen capture from the video, thought to show Cocomo Joe Barthelemy playing his homemade drum kit in 1928).
These early spasm band performers were some of the forerunners of the modern Jazz genre, and it’s really cool that so many of them utilized homemade instruments.