It was 1990 I think. I was playing at the Big Dipper on the corner of 2nd and Washington in Spokane Washington. This harp player was coming around every now and then with a golden voice by the name of Chip Busch. I was putting together gigs for a band and seeing him at those jams I had to say something. Within a week we were hangin' out at my girlfriend's house down in the basement. Bless her heart for puttin' up with me. We got Vern Petry involved in all this mayhem and I believe a cat by the name of Steve Goodman played bass. We were off to the races and bit by bit started getting some gigs in the local circuit. I had been playing with Yo and DeCats for a couple years and paid attention to how things worked and who to talk to. So hashing out tunes and tightening up our sound on and off stage we became quite busy. I remember us making promo packs and videos with this old analog equipment and hangin' out at the print shop cuttin' and pastin' posters by hand. Now we got these nifty PC's. I think it was more fun then but not nearly as fast. So the band had not been set. Steve went his way and in came Romeo. Ramiro Vijaro was the next addition to this hay ride. He was very enthusiastic and very much wanted to learn how the blues works. We didn't know either so we were all in for a schoolin'. I'm proud to say we passed.

Another funny thing I remember about the Jellyman is when we met he was sophisticated and like to drink cognac and stuff like that. Before too long he is swillin' Jack Daniels right along with myself, Fly and Snap and Dave from Loose Endz (a night club rock band that played the fancy places). I am proud to say I ruined him! He was turning into a rock star havin' a blast! We terrorized the whole region. When a club saw us on the roster for the upcoming weekend if they were smart they would order extra JD because we were there to make a mess. They ran out a few times. HAAA!!!!

Why do they call him the Jellyman? Good question with a great answer. We started doin "Gonna Build a Playhouse" by T-Bone Walker and in the song he is telling the young ladies about his playhouse. When Chip went into the story, that lasted 4 or 5 chorus', toward the end of the wrap he explained the hot tub and the contents within. 750 gallons of LOVE JELLY BABY!!!! The girlies went nuts and soon enough they were all over him. We called him the Silver Fox! The ladies were hooked and all wanted a piece of the action. Did he give it up? I ain't sayin' shit you ask him! So the man became the legend. I think he had one on each arm showin' up to a gig a few times. Both at the same time? I just smiled and winked. The Jellyman didn't kiss and tell.

As far as the horn section goes that just kinda happened. They would come and sit in and then showed up for rehearsals. A complete accident that worked. Most of the good bands are formed that way. We were raw. No gimmicks and flash, just a groove and 7 guys hammerin' away at it. Screamin' Joe Hanson on the tenor sax, The Reverand Mike Lenke on trumpet and Nimrod the Swingin' Viking Bjorkland on the trombone. We called Mike the Reverand becuse he could imitate Father Guido Sarducci perfectly. It was a riot! We decide to call them The Horndogs. For a while we were the coolest kids on the block I think. We would play every Tuesday night at W-4 Main and it would be packed. All the musicians would come to see us in town and we opened for some great national acts. It felt like playing after hours at Minton's Jazz Club. Then on the weekends we played all over the Inland NW. That was the greatest band to this day that was mine. For economic reasons that whole thing didn't work so well. There was not enough money to go around and the horn players went on. Too bad really.

Soon after that Chip had an injury that put him in a chair for a while and our schedule was too much and we parted ways. Not one of my better days. So this chapter has come to a close and in rolled DC Black.

JR Boogie (The Jellyman Period)

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