Jack Norton and the Mullet River Boys were birthed from a bluegrass, vaudevillian, ragtime, slapstick, classic country, preachin' and circus clown background.
With all these forces colliding, it is difficult to imagine the show this group puts on. Luckily, Northlanders will have their chance to witness the spectacle at the band's "Holiday Hoedown" on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Beaner's Central, 324 N. Central Ave.
"We consider ourselves modern day gypsies and circus performers," said Norton. "And whenever the circus rolls into town, it's worth seeing."
The group will be showcasing some more obscure holiday songs from the '20s, '30s and '40s, like "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," and more traditional tunes like, "Santa Claus is Coming To Town." They will also mix it up with some old-time tunes and comedy. "Comedy and practical jokes are part of the fabric of my being," Norton said.
The band proudly thinks the show is one of its best ever. "The band," is called the "Mullet River Boys," after a city in Wisconsin, and strangely includes one guy and one girl.
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Liz Draper plays the string bass and Jed "Butterball" Germond plays anything with strings -- fiddle, mandolin, banjo, pedal steel and even the duck call.
Norton, who heads up the group, is from Georgia, where a strong tradition of bluegrass and "good-old-boys" music shape the sound. "Growing up, I never knew electric guitar was an option. It was always acoustic," Norton said.
But the idea of a guy in a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans curled around a guitar never appealed to Norton. Norton has a theatrical background, and he is always out to put on a show where the performers are actually entertaining. "There is nothing like the intensity between an entertainer and the audience," he said.
The "Holiday Hoedown" is for the whole family. Santa will invite the kids on stage for a sing-a-long which promises to be a "couple of clicks off the mainstream," Norton said.
For more information on the show call Beaner's at 624-5957 or visit the band's Web site at www.jacknorton.net .
