I was caught by surprise one night at Chocolate and Love by the band Spoon De Chop, which put on an awesomely fun and folksy show. It's one of the best homegrown acts I've seen in my past 14 years in Taiwan, I kid you not.

Spoon De Chop is Joe Banjo (yes, it's a pseudonym) on vocals, banjo, guitar, and piano, hooked up with band-leader Ray Katagara (Lei) on guitar, vocals, and "san xien" (a three-string Okinawan banjo); Miles Chen (a.k.a. Paco) on drums and acoustic bass; the maestro Larry Wang (Wang Ben Qi) on flute; and Japanese melodeon player Ai. Difficult to categorize, the music is an eclectic mix of Japanese, Taiwanese, and American folk and bluegrass.

It is certainly music you don't get on ICRT. Joe Banjo uncorked a Monroe County, Indiana Blue Ribbon winning tune titled "Hop into your bathing suit momma (Jump into your daddy's pool)", that immediately put the audience in a great mood. Another song, titled "Salvation Cocktail," a Banjo Joe original, is a somewhat spiritual melody composed of a remix of four or five snake handling songs. It was moving and inspirational with the lyrics, "They say we're going crazy and that's alright", defining the tune.

The Dylanesque Japanese import Lei pumped out "Kate Mate" or, roughly translated, "Tomorrow will be a better day", in Japanese, English and Taiwanese. Is it possible to revel in a song with lyrics you cannot always understand? You bet it is, and Lei took us there many times. This was piano, guitar, harmonica and folksy lyrics together in sweet, soulful melody.

Midway through the act Joe Banjo's cornball Indiana humor lightened the mood with a song called "Sweet Potatoes". I can still hear him singing, "If you suffer from allergies, you should try a couple of these sweet potato leaves." The fun continued later with his original Taiwanese foot-stomping tune called "Wo Chi Kong Qing Cai".The night got mystical, in a spacey jazzy kind of way, when Larry Wong arrived with his flute. Smooth, awesome and awe-inspiring, the man is a pure genius with his instrument.
To quote Leonard Cohen in his great tune titled "Losing Time"-the band was really rocking. No Johnnie Walker wisdom needed. Catch them at Chocolate and Love and every Saturday playing in the Yong Kang Street Park, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Note of advice: bring along a six-pack of beer for the band as a price of admission.