[Dixielandjazz] One for Brother Gunter

[pat ladd]

 I really couldn't tell what the guy was doing until I saw that he had a 
small cymbal set on the end of the board..  >>

Hi Ron,  Bills (Gunter and Haesler) etc.

The vertical washboard on the youtube clips seemed to me to be merely an 
extension of the `lagerphone`.  This was introduced to me more than 40 years 
ago by a mate from Auckland NZ.
It consisted of a pole ,about like a Boy Scouts Staff (or stave). with 6 or 
8 nails driven into it. Each nail piercd about 6 beer bottle tops so that it 
rattled when thumped on the ground. There was also a notched stick which was 
used like a bow to rattle the bottle tops some more.
There was usually a rubber walking stick ferrule on the bottom end to 
protect the floor and to produce a solid thump.

The whole thing was often decorated wiith ribbons and maybe a small cymbal. 
Itmade a damn good rythm section for impromptu pub gigs. Rolf Harris 
introduced it on British TV about 20 years later.

To add a washboard and lose the notched stick seems a simple evolutionary 
step.

Cheers

Pat