Honky Tonk

[telekineticturtle]

Does anyone play this? And/or knows where to find information about playing in this style?

It's a saloon-music style that is essentially a fast ragtime in the same way rock piano is essentially a wildly sped-up blues rhythm. Looks fun as hell to play. I'm moving to the Deep South soon and need something a little more country than Chopin and Rach.

I'm coming from a classical base but I never got very far. Great understanding of theory, but lacking on the technical side of things, and my sight reading is exceptional.

[indianajo]

I've been trying to learn some of this style since I already play some Scott Joplin pieces.  Honky Tonk players can take any pop tune like "American Patrol" or something, and jazz it up. The other printed source material that comes to mind is Fats Waller, that I've heard played on pipe organ, oddly.  
As this is a declining art, I've been collecting used LP records from Frankie Carle, Joanne Castle, and occasionally those forgotten nobodies on the 88 cent records from the back bins of K-Mart.  
The most recent player doing this sort of thing on U-tube is JoJo Hermann of Widespread Panic.  He has some solo tracks on U-tube that are more honky than the Panic hits,  and he had a great solo leading over the band on their appearance on Bluegrass Underground television show recently which is how I discovered him.  He says he learned from Dr. John, a New Orleans player somewhat famous who I have never heard.  
There was a guy with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Austin City Limits a couple of years ago that did a good background to the band with the honky style on a real upright.  
And Kid Rock did a gig at Graceland on PBS a couple of years ago that included some player whose name I forget that was really pounding it out on a real tall prewar upright.  
As far as playing it, it took me years of desultory practice (I had a real job) to get up to Magnetic and Paragon rags, then after that Maple Leaf was easy.  I've got the skills but not the body, I try to do those three every night to keep up my strength but am starting to get pain from tendonitis in my right thumb, oddly.  Oh, to have those big slabs of beef hands Mr. Hermann has - I'm having too much fun to quit at age 64.