Dancing Machine
What do you get when you cross a tap dancing hillbilly from the hills of West Virginia with a schizophrenic Elvis fan who rigged a microphone in his room so he could sing The King's songs with a documentary about the whole thing?
You get 45 minutes of entertainment that should be required viewing for anyone and everyone on this planet seeking to feel better about themselves. As luck would have it, such a documentary exists in the form of Dancing Outlaw.
The story is about Jesco White (though he asks that you call him Jessie,
it's easier to say.) He is the son of the legendary (and I use that term loosely) tap dancer Donald Ray "D-Ray" White and feels its his legacy to carry on the tradition of tap dancing that his father perfected. And he'll practice anywhere. In the film, we see him (carrying a hand held radio, no less) tapping across a bridge, down by the river (next to Matt Foley's van) and even on top of the dog house in his hard. (One website described this as the "famous doghouse scene," which has to be the first time in history those words have ever been so close together in a coherent phrase.)
Truth be told, Jesco isn't nearly as good as his father (who passed away before the documentary was made.) However, I get the feeling Jesco is twice as entertaining, even if he doesn't intend to be. In fact, I'd wager to say Jesco White is a perfect 10 on the Unintentional Comedy Scale.
In addition to his tap dancing, White has one of the rooms in the trailer in which he lives dedicated to Elvis. Pictures, rugs, miniature statues adorn the room, which is covered from floor to ceiling with Elvis paraphernalia. At one point, Jesco said "If it wasn't for my Elvis room, I'd have killed myself by now." He's also got a sound system set up in the room that allows him to sing along with The King, though he amazingly doesn't know all the words. (Since watching the documentary, I've since learned Jesco's trailer burned down, and presumably all his Elvis stuff was lost in the fire.)
To say Jesco is mentally unstable would be an insult to mentally unstable people everywhere. During one interview, with his wife sitting next to him, Jesco tells of the time he held a knife up to his wife's throat and threatened to kill her if his eggs were runny again. It's funnier than it looks in print, I promise.
Speaking of his wife, Jesco's own mother doesn't know what he sees in her. "He loves her, for some reason," she said.
None of this seems to phase our hero and Jesco continues tap dancing whenever he gets the opportunity. In fact, his fame spread so far that he even mad an appearance on Roseanne. (That is the sequel, "Dancing Outlaw II: Jesco goes to Hollywood" I haven't seen that one yet.)
In trying to find the appropriate way to approach this blog, I ran across the following paragraph (believe it or not, I actually do research every now and again for this thing. This probably sums up the Dancing Outlaw experience better than anything I could write.)
"Jesco's wife, Norma Jean, tells us that Jesco is three people: "He is Jesse, he is Jesco, and he is Elvis." When he is Jesse, he is a sweet, strangely handsome, even-tempered man who "just wants good, honest dancing and for people to enjotheir selflf." When he is Elvis, he is Elvis. But when he grows out his beard and becomes Jesco, he is, as Norma Jean puts it, "the Devil in his self." We meet each of these men as the film goes along, and we spend enough time with Jesco's brothers and sisters not to have to wonder what might have caused his personality to split. Particularly incredible is a scene in which the Whites and their friends (sans Jesco and his wife, who have decided to keep a distance from the rest of the family) are shown "mud-balling," a sport that involves drinking beer out of cans and tearing the front yard to hell with their cars and trucks, often blowing their engines in the process, which delights them. "This is just a little something we do every now and then," Jesco's sister Mamie explains, "two, three times a week." (From here.)
Luke, how in the world did you come across such a bizarre thing? Official Brother's friends new a guy who knew someone who was taking a Southern Culture class at Furman University (All price of an Ivy League education, none of the prestige) who, after watching it for class, felt the need to spread the word of film fim. After seeing it myself, I feel it's my duty as a person who likes to laugh at other people to urge you to watch this movie. You won't be disappointed.
World Series Update: When I predicted the Astros would win in six games, what I meant to say was the White Sox would sweep.
Weekend plans: No big plans. Yes Dear's going tHalloweenween party tonight while I'm at work, but other than that, nothing big planned.
Have a good weekend all and, as always, I appreciate you taking the time to let me be a part of your day.
You get 45 minutes of entertainment that should be required viewing for anyone and everyone on this planet seeking to feel better about themselves. As luck would have it, such a documentary exists in the form of Dancing Outlaw.
The story is about Jesco White (though he asks that you call him Jessie,
it's easier to say.) He is the son of the legendary (and I use that term loosely) tap dancer Donald Ray "D-Ray" White and feels its his legacy to carry on the tradition of tap dancing that his father perfected. And he'll practice anywhere. In the film, we see him (carrying a hand held radio, no less) tapping across a bridge, down by the river (next to Matt Foley's van) and even on top of the dog house in his hard. (One website described this as the "famous doghouse scene," which has to be the first time in history those words have ever been so close together in a coherent phrase.)Truth be told, Jesco isn't nearly as good as his father (who passed away before the documentary was made.) However, I get the feeling Jesco is twice as entertaining, even if he doesn't intend to be. In fact, I'd wager to say Jesco White is a perfect 10 on the Unintentional Comedy Scale.
In addition to his tap dancing, White has one of the rooms in the trailer in which he lives dedicated to Elvis. Pictures, rugs, miniature statues adorn the room, which is covered from floor to ceiling with Elvis paraphernalia. At one point, Jesco said "If it wasn't for my Elvis room, I'd have killed myself by now." He's also got a sound system set up in the room that allows him to sing along with The King, though he amazingly doesn't know all the words. (Since watching the documentary, I've since learned Jesco's trailer burned down, and presumably all his Elvis stuff was lost in the fire.)
To say Jesco is mentally unstable would be an insult to mentally unstable people everywhere. During one interview, with his wife sitting next to him, Jesco tells of the time he held a knife up to his wife's throat and threatened to kill her if his eggs were runny again. It's funnier than it looks in print, I promise.
Speaking of his wife, Jesco's own mother doesn't know what he sees in her. "He loves her, for some reason," she said.
None of this seems to phase our hero and Jesco continues tap dancing whenever he gets the opportunity. In fact, his fame spread so far that he even mad an appearance on Roseanne. (That is the sequel, "Dancing Outlaw II: Jesco goes to Hollywood" I haven't seen that one yet.)
In trying to find the appropriate way to approach this blog, I ran across the following paragraph (believe it or not, I actually do research every now and again for this thing. This probably sums up the Dancing Outlaw experience better than anything I could write.)
"Jesco's wife, Norma Jean, tells us that Jesco is three people: "He is Jesse, he is Jesco, and he is Elvis." When he is Jesse, he is a sweet, strangely handsome, even-tempered man who "just wants good, honest dancing and for people to enjotheir selflf." When he is Elvis, he is Elvis. But when he grows out his beard and becomes Jesco, he is, as Norma Jean puts it, "the Devil in his self." We meet each of these men as the film goes along, and we spend enough time with Jesco's brothers and sisters not to have to wonder what might have caused his personality to split. Particularly incredible is a scene in which the Whites and their friends (sans Jesco and his wife, who have decided to keep a distance from the rest of the family) are shown "mud-balling," a sport that involves drinking beer out of cans and tearing the front yard to hell with their cars and trucks, often blowing their engines in the process, which delights them. "This is just a little something we do every now and then," Jesco's sister Mamie explains, "two, three times a week." (From here.)
Luke, how in the world did you come across such a bizarre thing? Official Brother's friends new a guy who knew someone who was taking a Southern Culture class at Furman University (All price of an Ivy League education, none of the prestige) who, after watching it for class, felt the need to spread the word of film fim. After seeing it myself, I feel it's my duty as a person who likes to laugh at other people to urge you to watch this movie. You won't be disappointed.
World Series Update: When I predicted the Astros would win in six games, what I meant to say was the White Sox would sweep.
Weekend plans: No big plans. Yes Dear's going tHalloweenween party tonight while I'm at work, but other than that, nothing big planned.
Have a good weekend all and, as always, I appreciate you taking the time to let me be a part of your day.
posted by Luke at 1:25 PM
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