DON'T EMAIL PHOTOS TO ME!
I delete emails with attachments of any kind!

1. Hey, Dude, like, wow, man, you got a really kewel web site. Me and some friends are coming down to the Delta, and it would reallllly be kewel if you could show us some juke joints. No. 2. Hi, Junior. This is Julia Roberts. If I come to the Delta, will you show me some juke joints? Yes! 3. My buddy and I just graduated from film school. We don't have any money, but would you help us with a documentary on the Delta? No. 4. I represent a film company. We have a screenplay set in a Delta juke joint. Would you help us with location scouting in the Delta and edit our screenplay for verisimilitude? We will, of course, negotiate your fee. Yes. 5. Why do rednecks marry their cousins? They don't, usually. However, many cultures allow marriage between crosscousins. If your culture is matrilineal, i.e., traces its lineage through the mother's side of the family, your cousins on your father's side of the family are your crosscousins. If your culture is patrilineal, your cousins on your mother's side of the family are your crosscousins. 6. We're driving down for a week in New Orleans with a stop in Memphis for a couple of days of sight-seeing there. Instead of taking I-55 from Memphis to New Orleans, we're thinking of taking Highway 61 through the Delta. Can you recommend some stops along Highway 61? Everybody and his brother has seen the sights in Memphis and spent a week in New Orleans. At cocktail parties, they tell and re-tell the same old tired stories about Beale Street and Bourbon Street. Therefore, I recommend that you take a week to travel Highway 61 from Memphis to New Orleans and stop in every little and not-so-little town along the way. At your next cocktail party, you can tell some tales that haven't been told—except on this web site, of course. 7. Junior, I'm thinking about spending a few days bumming around the Delta like you do. What's your best advice? Don't ask white people anything but the time of day. 8. I have a blues web site, and I'd like to swap links with you. No. If I swapped links with everybody who wanted me to swap links, my links page would be bigger that the rest of my web site. However, you can link to this site if you want. There's a small graphic and html code on my links page: http://deltablues.net/links.html 9. Hey, man, love ya site! I play harp with the ass-kickingest blues band in California or Texas or Pennsylvania, etc., etc. Me and the guys wanna come down and do a gig in a real juke joint. Can ya hep with the logistics? No. You'll find the address and phone # for most of the juke joints on my site on their pages. Write them a letter or call. Realize that you'll probably play for the door or for tips. 10. Hello, this is Eric Clapton. I'm thinking of recording my next album in a genuine Delta juke joint. Can you help with the logistics? Yes. 11. I'm a middle-aged white woman, and one of my dreams is to visit a real Delta juke joint and listen to a band or the jukebox. Nothing sexual or anything like that, just sit there and soak up the music and the atmosphere. Do you think that's possible? Any advice? My advice is to do it before you're an elderly white woman who sits around a nursing home complaining about a life spent doing things other people wanted her to do. You've nothing to fear in almost any juke joint. If you do feel fear, tell the owner. If you're afraid to walk alone to your car, ask the owner to escort you. Guess what? You won't feel fear. Here's some general advice for visiting strange juke joints (and honky tonks): Don't wear expensive jewelry or clothing to a bar in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. Don't drive a flashy car to a bar in a poverty-stricken neighborhood. Don't carry an expensive-looking camera. Don't take pictures without permission. Introduce yourself to the owner as soon as possible. Remember his or her name. Act like he or she is a long lost friend. If a bum asks, buy him a beer. One beer. If someone asks for money for the jukebox, give it if you've got it. Offer to help play it. If you're female and attractive, dance only with the older men. If you're male and attractive, dance only with the older women. Politely agree or seem to agree with every political and religious statement made. Don't get drunk. 12. What's your favorite juke joint? Roque's in Natchitoches, Louisiana. 13. I've noticed that over the last year or so you haven't spent as much time bumming around the Delta as you once did. Why? My health and the Bluesmobile's health has deteriorated, and the price of gasoline has increased. 14. You've probably heard some awesome and undiscovered blues musicians during your travels. Who were the best? 12-string guitar: Leon Vines of Longview, Texas. Slide guitar: Farmer John Horton of Greenville, Mississippi. Guitar: (tie) Benny White of Monroe, Louisiana, and Eric Johanson of Alexandria, Louisiana. Bass guitar: Katrice Lacour of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Harp: Willie Foster of Greenville, Mississippi. Drums: (tie) Harbo Harbison of Hamburg, Arkansas, and Pop Hyams of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Saxophone: Hardrick Rivers of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Male vocalist: (tie) John Horton of Greenville, Mississippi, and B.B. Major and Hardrick Rivers, both of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Female vocalist: Tammy Gibson of Greenville, Mississippi. Best all-around: John Horton of Greenville, Mississippi. 15. Any recommendations for juke joints near Clarksdale, Mississippi? There's several real juke joints in and around downtown Clarksdale. On any given weekend at least one of them will have live music. And unlike almost every other Delta city, the Clarksdale city fathers seem to encourage their juke joints rather than try to shut them down. For much more about the juke joint scene in Clarksdale, click here: Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art. 16. Do you believe that Robert Johnson went to a crossroad and called the devil? Yes. 17. Do you know the location of Robert Johnson's actual crossroad? Isn't it Highway 49 and 61 in Clarksdale? Yes, I know the location of the actual crossroad. No, it isn't 49 and 61. And, no, I'm not telling. At least not until after I go there at midnight and call the devil. 18. We're headed up Highway 61 in a week or two. Any advice on where we might find some blues on a weeknight, Monday through Wednesday? No. 19. Any recommendations for juke joints or zydeco joints in south Louisiana? Click here and go to the Baton Rouge Blues Society web page. Join the list. Those guys and gals know all the cool places in south Louisiana and south Mississippi. 20. May I quote you? I'd also like to use one of those cool juke joint photos. You don't need my permission to quote me. Just quote me exactly and quote me in context. I ask that you email me and let me know you have quoted me. Nonprofit organizations and people such as classroom teachers may use any photo on this site free of charge. I ask that you email me and ask permission to use a photo. For-profit use of any photo on this site is at a rate of $5 to $50,000 per photo per use. Email me and we will negotiate. 21. Are you serious when you say that gumbo isn't gumbo without okra in it? Yes. Without okra in it, it's a stew. 22. Where is the best jukebox in the Delta? ZZ's in Ferriday, Louisiana. It's a 100-CD jukebox with about 1/2 soul blues and 1/2 old blues. And it's 5 songs for a dollar.

More FAQ's coming as I get them. . . .

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