When was the last time you saw somebody play, or attempt to play, the spoons?
Seriously. Probably a very long time ago, if ever. They are, after all, the sort of instrument (if you can use that word) an elderly eccentric relative might claim to have a proficiency for at a family gathering. Or maybe it was your drunken mate one time, boasting that he had the skills to coax a tune from them as he eyed up your cutlery drawer.
Well, one fellow is on a mission to revive the instrument. He dubs himself Hunter The Spoon Man and (inevitably) he’s found a kind of viral fame uploading videos of himself playing all sorts of tunes on this primitive piece of percussion. Check out his take on Billy Strings’ Hide and Seek:
As you can see Hunter is using a carved wooden one piece pair, rather than the teaspoons you might commonly find in your kitchen. They make a satisfying clacking sound and with them Hunter is able to replicate the complex arrangement of the original.
Hunter is obviously keen on Billy Strings – he’s uploaded covers of several of the young bluegrass musician’s songs, including Slow Train, Living Like An Animal, Long Journey Home and Secrets.
Beyond Strings, he also has songs by Primus, Tool and Tom Misch in his repertoire. And he’s something of a multi-instrumentalist – he’s also proficient on the banjo, guitar and washboard.
But it’s clear the spoons are where his heart is. He’s keen to spread the word about them, writing on his Instagram page: “If you enjoy watching me play these spoons, you can get your own pair!!!”, encouraging his followers to click a link on his page where they can purchase a pair.
Meanwhile in another part of the US is Abby the Spoon Lady, a born drifter who along the way acquired the skills on the spoons. She became a busker, ending up for a while in Nashville before tourism decimated the city’s street performance scene. After that she moved to Asheville, North Carolina where she formed the Asheville Buskers Collective.
Latterly she’s taken to YouTube, uploaded a succession of videos and like Hunter, found a very modern kind of fame. Here she tells her story and how she came to play the spoons:
So could Hunter and Abby be the vanguard of a full-blown spoons revival? Well, stranger things have happened. After all, the banjo and ukulele have both enjoyed a resurgence of interest in the 21st Century, so why not the humble spoons?
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