What can I say; summer is the season for novelty tunes. Probably the weirdest outfit ever to take The National Barn Dance stage (a precursor to the Grand Ole Opry), the Hoosier Hot Shots’ mission was simple: brighten the hearts of their down trodden Depression era audience and make some bucks on the side. Paul “Hezzie” Trietch hits spooky near-overtones on slide whistle, twining with Otto Ward’s rootsy clarinet & saxophone trills. Brother Ken Trietch contributes chugging guitar and banjo and Frank Kettering supplies the anchor on slap-happy string bass. But the most bizarre ‘instrument’ in the band was Hezzie’s home-made Goldbergian contraption of washboard, bicycle horns, woodblocks, cymbals & various & sundry sound accoutrements. The song topics are just as winsomely wacky with “From the Indies to Andes in His Undies” and “Connies Got Connections in Connecticut” providing particularly corny fodder for these musically clucking chickens.
Posted by derek on June 30, 2003 1:53 PM.................................................. © 2003 - 2006 bagatellen ..................................................