A few years ago, here in Lafayette, we had a band in town that was notorious for the parties they threw. Mind you, these parties were not thrown in their homes for fear of domestic duties kicking in the following morning. We remember the trombones, trumpets, ukeleles, banjos, steel guitars, kazoos, b-benders, harmonicas, accordians… Let’s stop there. These guys didn’t know when to stop adding instrumentation.
Formed in the back alley of an abandoned bar on the southern tip of the county, this band of miscreants were all meant to meet on this fateful evening. Having been failed door-to-door salesmen, the group decided to try their hand in the age old tradition of music making. Before they had even had one band practice, they were already scheduled to play three shows. The first official show for the Honeywagon was at Downtown Records in Lafayette, IN. The second show was a benefit for small furry creatures and the third at a bar called the “Clubhouse” w/ the *Half Rats. Not bad for a band that didn’t have any songs ready for the stage.
The group regularly met for the first 2 weeks of its existence, often trading stories of good times and days of yore over BBQ and Beer and Cigarettes. Big Joe, who was the best storyteller of the group never once showed his face on stage in the just-0ver-a-year career of his band. To get you more familiar with the concept Big Joe had in preparing his band for live performances we will have to take you on a brief trip into the history of the man, the legend, that is Big Joe Honeywagon.
Big Joe was born around LaFollette, Tenn. where at a young age he was introduced to music by his mother Big Mama Honeywagon. She played the piano in their church and would often entertain her friends at home with tea and gospel hymns. After Big Joe learned on his mother’s piano for a few years, he saved up enough money to buy a guitar from the local hardware store. He began practicing immediately in hopes that one day he could be a famous performer. When he turned 18 he moved north to go to school at the prestigous Purdue University. After 2 months of that he realized he wanted to pursue music full time and not a 9-5 desk job that over time would eat his very soul alive.
So, in order to keep a roof over his head at the time he took a job as a door-to-door salesman with the famous Wallace Beaver Cap Co.
This is where he would meet his fearless soldiers and form his band. Let’s go ahead and meet the members of note.
left to right: James Morrow-steel guitar, Greggie Depew- skins, Ryan Smith- thunder strings, Billy Bob Brand III- fiddle, trombone, sax, Dru Alkire- B-Bender, banjo, tenor guitar, and Matt Scherger- Guitar, ukelele, kazoo. Big Joe not available at time of photo.
In just close to one year Big Joe Honeywagon created a monster that was one hell of a time to witness. The shows were always unpredictable since the guys would have to wing it due to Big Joe never showing up and being able to perform the songs they would work on in practice. Covering songs by Bob Wills, the Flying Burrito Brothers, the Byrds, Blind Willie Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins and countless others, the Honeywagon always gave us a show that would leave everyone wanting more.
Lately, in our community there has been a buzz that the Honeywagon has been in the talks of recreating those days gone by. We certainly would like to see this happen. So, for the next couple of months, if you happen to see one of the fellas walking around downtown or drinking in a bar, make sure you ask them about Big Joe and if they have seen him or heard that he is spreading rumors of reuniting his fearless troops. And, if we hear anything here at Oldtime Crossroads we will be sure to keep you informed. So for now, let’s take a look at some of the forgotten footage of this legendary band and hope that one day we may see their return.
Here is the band performing a few songs from their past. Thanks to Col. Ted Stevenson for the archival footage and thank you to the members of Big Joe for allowing us to publish a brief snippet of their history.
To find old music by Big Joe Honeywagon look for them on Google Search by typing in (RIP) Joseph’s Wagon of Honey.
Until next time…
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