The Christmas season is almost upon us, and that means I finally have an excuse to re-watch the greatest Christmas film ever made: Jim Henson’s Emmet Otter’s Jug Band Christmas. In the future, I might devote an entire post to the soundtrack, which was composed by Paul Williams (who also wrote popular songs performed by artists like Three Dog Night, David Bowie, and the Carpenters). However, right now I’m just thinking about the song Barbeque (Jug Band.)

Emmet Otter rehearses the song with his friends while preparing for a talent show. It’s an upbeat number which celebrates the joys of jug band music, pretty girls, and finger lickin’ barbeque sauce. There seems to be some sort of intrinsic connection between barbecue and old time music, something about tender meats, heaping helpings of baked beans, corn on the cob, and slaw that just calls for a washtub bass or a banjo. It isn’t just Emmet Otter. The Dallas Banjo Band rehearses at Back Country Bar-B-Q on Greenville Avenue every Saturday morning and provides a free show on the first Saturday of every month. Shows begin at 11 a.m., so you can grab some smoked ham, pork rib, chopped smoke beef on a bun, fried okra, and a whole lot more, before sitting down to some good old fashioned banjo pickin’.

The group was started in 1989 by Bobby Montgomery and Marvin “Smokey” Montgomery, a member of the Banjo Hall of Fame. Montgomery was a longtime member of the Light Crust Doughboys, a western swing group organized by the Burrus Mill and Elevator Company of Saginaw, Texas. Over the course of his career, Montgomery performed with Texas legends like Bob Wills, was part of the Big D Jamboree radio program on KRLD-AM, was a member of the Country Gentleman, and recorded with Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers. According to the Dallas Banjo Band’s webpage, Montgomery only planned to stay with the group for a couple months to help them get started, but he ended up staying with them until his death in 2001.

The group has an ever evolving cast of players, all of whom perform on the four string banjo. There are men and women in the band, which consists of experienced players and novices. Most players are in their 70s and 80s, though anyone can join. They play all sorts of music, with songs ranging from the classic Carter Family tune Wildwood Flower to the theme from the movie Rocky. Other songs the group has performed include the Beer Barrel Polka, Alexander’s Ragtime Band, 76 Trombones (from The Music Man), Mister Sandman, El Cumbanchero, and the Ghost Busters song. Occasionally, a member will grab a microphone and croon along with the bright, twangy sounds of the banjos.

In addition to their free shows at Back Country Bar-B-Q, the group tours. They have performed at locations like the State Fair of Texas, All Frets in Nashville, Tennessee, and the All Banjo Bash in Arizona. They even appeared on the television show America’s Got Talent, making it past the first round of the competition. The group can also be seen performing around the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex, bringing their talents to churches and even at BYOB parties (where the last “B” stands for banjo).

I first saw the group perform at the annual Christmas Pops concert held at First United Methodist Church of Coppell. Bill Cude, a member of FUMC Coppell’s Chancel Choir, also plays banjo in the Dallas Banjo Band. He and the group delighted members of the community with banjo style Christmas carols. As a side note, on one lucky occasion, I got to perform with Cude, when the FUMC Coppell Choir needed a banjo player and a mountain dulcimer player for a performance of the song Down By the River to Pray.

The band’s web page pays tribute to past members who have died or become less active in the group. It gives them a true family feel. You get the sense that this isn’t just a hobby for members, it’s a way of life and a brotherhood.

Harold Poole serves as the group’s director, and he is always on the lookout for new talent. He doesn’t even care if you play the bluegrass style, five string banjo. In an article written for the Dallas Morning News in 2010, Poole noted, “We all have scissors. We can take care of that extra string.”

A few years ago, the group made an unlikely appearance in a video filmed for the Tokyo Disney resort. Though I don’t speak a word of Japanese, the video seems to be discussing American culture as it relates to the classic Country Bear Jamboree Attraction (a western variety type show, which includes giant Audio Animatronic bears singing and playing string and jug band instruments). The video included a few brief clips of the Dallas Banjo Band performing, as well as interviews with members.

The banjo is unquestionably a happy instrument. Sure, you can play sad songs on the banjo, but for the most part it just makes you want to smile and tap your feet. This is doubly true when you are listening to the Dallas Banjo Band. The sheer love that the members have for the instrument shines through in every song. It’s infectious. Listen to them a few times and you’ll be itching to grab a banjo and pick along.

Banjos and Barbeque. These are the things that make life worth living.