Ghosts of Mississippi

www.raisingtheblues.org
http://www.myspace.com/jonshort
http://www.myspace.com/vincentsbar

Vincent's - leave your animal rights sensibilities at the door.

Featuring a dimly lit, creepy decor that includes giant spiders and taxidermied animals, Vincent's is not a venue for the meek.

Where:Vincents 49 Suffolk Street
Worcester,MA
Who:Jon Short , Mississippi Delta Blues
GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI

The signature drink at Vincent's is the $5.00 Sangria - advertised alongside a quote from W.C. Fields, 'the liver is evil and must be punished.'
Born in the Mississippi Delta myself, I understand the blues. It is the sound of a spirit begging for redemption from a god-loving, man-fearing soulful culture. Jon said it best when he said, "I'm a fast runner."

You don't know what pain is until you're in a relationship...or until you're in Mississippi.

Jon covers both genres equally well with songs that echo the lows and highs of the culture.
From "The Woman I hate....I see her every day...the Woman I love...she lives so far away.", to the call in reprise of "When the Saints Go Marchin' In".
Songs:
"Turn your Money Green"
"Saints Go Marchin' In"
"A man of Constant Sorrow"
"Knoxville Blues"
"Delta Blues"
"Asian Longhorned Beetle"

Jon's style is definitively Southern - both approachable and entertaining.He introduced each song with a conversational background that lended colloquial authentication.

"I learned this song from Furry Lewis - they called him THE SLIDE MAN. He had a peg leg and worked as a street sweeper for 40 years. If he didn't have the blues, I don't know who did."

Jon utilized every section of his body to play music, just like they do in the old Hill Country,that is , the northern part of Mississippi that is close to Tennessee.He is not a one-man band; he's a one-man juke joint.
When the fickle New England weather allows it, Jon plays on the front porch of the dilapidated shack in the backyard of Vincent's in Worcester, and just released a CD called 'Songs from the Shack." One of the songs featured on the CD is "Turn Your Money Green" written by Furry Lewis, the Mississippi Delta's own Slide Man, and speaks of a whiskey river, Willie Nelson style.
I instantly liked Jon Short, and may have developed my own hillbully crush on him.
Tools of the Trade:
Steel Dobro (before the invention of electric guitars, they used steel dobros. The whole purpose of the design was to make it LOUD.)
LOBO
Floor Tom - 18 x 24 kick drum turned upside down
Cigar Box guitar - two pool cues and a cigarbox. Circa 2008; no frets; a slide is essential.
Spurs on his shoes(just call him 'Mr. Bojangles)