In this episode of Vinyl Vibes, Jack is joined by John Hood, founding member of Sid Rumpo. John has been fascinated with the blues since 1964. This interest was sparked by the Rolling Stones, most notably their classic "The Little Red Rooster". At age 15 John got his first guitar and over the next three years would learn to play. In 1967 John would join his first band My Grandfather's Blues. This group, now called The Jellyroll Bakers, would come to an end in 1969. John spent the majority of 1971 working at 78 Records before Sid Rumpo was formed in November 1971 in Perth. Over the course of 1972 the band would become quite popular in Perth. They would win the 1972 state final of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds and as a result make their way to Melbourne. Sid Rumpo would perform at the iconic 1973 Sunbury Pop Festival and are featured on the triple LP set brought out by Mushroom records featuring live recordings from the festival. In August 1973 John would leave the group. Eight months later Sid Rumpo would record their first album "First Offence" without John. The album would reach 33 on the albums chart in Australia. 

John has remained in music and more recently has released over dozen solo albums. He has written two books, his first "For The Love Of Music: The Life and Times of a West Australian Bluesman": is about his own musical journey. His second book "Immersed In Blues: A Musical Journey": is about his journey in blues and his thoughts on the blues. 

Jack talked to John via phone about his early musical beginnings, the impact The Rolling Stones had on him, his journey in discovering the origins of the blues in the pre-internet days, his journey learning guitar and harmonica, his time in The Jellyroll Bakers, the formation of Sid Rumpo, how the name Sid Rumpo came to be, the writing of the band's early songs, the bands time playing in Perth, the bands winning of Hoadley's Battle of the Sounds, the band's time in Melbourne, the band's performance at the 1973 Sunbury Pop Festival, why he left Sid Rumpo, his two books and his more recent music work. 

"I hate to be frivolous but I was hardly there. We played on the Saturday afternoon and when we finished I listened to Matt Taylor and then I went back to Rob Sunbury's farm that his parents owned...I just didn't like Sunbury. It was all dirty filthy people boozed out of their minds so I just didn't enjoy it- I liked playing- but I didn't like the festival." - John Hood on this episode of Vinyl Vibes talking about the 1973 Sunbury Pop Festival

Episode Hosted and Produced by Jack Hodgins