The Inkwell Rhythm Makers are a band out of
Eugene, Oregon. Kit and Joe (the founding members of I.R.M.) have been playing music togther for years. It wasn't until the
summer of
2004 that they met a mysterious
hobo fiddler that introduced us to two other characters named
Apple and Kate. They decided to recruit us into the Sourmash
Hug Band and we spent the next year or so hitchhiking and riding trains up and down the west coast. Willis used to play with Bloody Castles Ragtime Band. Eventually there was some dispute between the members and the band broke up. One
day the saw player from Bloody Castle's, Inga, started playing with Sourmash. Through her they started jamming with Willis. Eventually, after recording an album in the basement of our old house, the Alamo, we did some more playing and then decided to split the band up. Mike (the aforementioned mysterious fiddler) wanted to play more
gypsy oriented stuff. Joe, Kit and Willis wanted to play more crusty, ragtime, jug band stuff.... so Sourmash went their way and we crawled into the inkwell. There are no hard feelings, everyone is still friends and happy to play the music we love. Sourmash still plays all over the place and sometimes changes some members around to form the Hobogoblins, (
check them both out if you get the chance). The Inkwell Rhythm Makers live in
Eugene, Oregon and travel in a really
nasty red van appropriately dubbed "The
Nard Mobile." Spend the night in it some time if you get the chance. P.S. they are not a jug band as much as ya'll might want it. they just can't subscribe to the title because, they
don't have a jug. Simply put. But they do play "jug band" music on top of
20's & 30's jazz, Ragtime, novelty, String Band music, (country) blues, tunes. Along with some originals in the same vein.
