Doc Stevens

Tondeleo: Doc has always enjoyed traveling - or rambling and roving. Sometimes he refers to it as being a hobo.  He says when the travel bug bites, he has to take off. When Marilyn was dropped off for him to raise, he had to cut back on his traveling to just a bit here and there, and for shirt little trips and time off.

Doc: "Yeah, I had to cut way back on my hobo ways when my brother's wife dropped her off here on her way to Tennessee with that piece of trash what she met at the carnival. Marilyn was about 10 or 11 and couldn't be left on her own, so it was up to me to be there for her and look out for her. Plus them socialist services was on my case all the time tryin' to catch me messin' up. I had to watch my p's and q's, which included not takin' off so much."

That seems to be a pretty common phenomenon among him and his friends. They can talk for hours about the various times they just "took off," to wander around the country for a spell. Some of them have spent years at a time hopping trains, and just going wherever the trains took them. To support themselves, they'd steal food or anything they thought they could get by with taking and then sell very cheaply. Doc won't talk much about what he calls the days of his darkness. Especially not with Marilyn around.

But he does talk about the urge to wander and roam. He talks about some of the good times, anyway. From what I could tell, the travel bug would bite whenever there was financial pressure, work pressure, family pressure or any other kind of pressure. When the pressure builds up too much for alcohol to wash it away, they would take off. They might just start walking. Just walk out the door with nothing but the clothes on their back, and keep on going.

Doc: You gotta go when you gotta go. It gets too much to be stayin' in one place and then that open road starts callin' and you gotta answer. I've hopped trains, hitch hiked, walked, took buses when I could do some work for a few dollars, and then one day you wake up an' you're ready to go back home an' see your friends an' family. Dependin' on where you are, it might take a couple weeks to make it back. Home seems better when you're far away and been gone awhile.

Once you been gone a while, you can remember all that's good about it and how the folks back home ain't that bad, and they mean well and how deep down in your heart you really do love them. Well, most of 'em.

I always take a guitar along. Usually my oldest Tele. That guitar's been a friend of mine for years an' years an' been on many 'ventures with me. I can count on being able to make a few dollars singing on the streets with that Tele and my battery powered amp, or play indoors with other people and pick up a few bucks.

Once people here you singin' and playin' and find out you're not a crazy person, you can get invited to their place to play at a party or barbecue or whatever. Mostly it's about playin' and  singin' the kind of stuff they want to hear, an' also about bein' friendly and not scary. A lot of homeless people scare people away as a way of protectin' themselves. I can take care of myself, and for me, bein' funny works most of the time.

I like going to churches and missions to play for 'em and share my testimony. Sometimes they give you a love offerin' and put you up for the night.The preacher might meet you for breakfast in the mornin' if you told your testimony well an' if the folks got touched or someone got saved. Oh yeah, I also take a Bible with me when I go ramblin'.

So I ask, "Doc, what is it that makes a man want to ramble, as you put it? How do you know when it's time to take off? What about the people in your life, like your family or boss or your friends?"

Doc: "Well, Tondy, it ain't somethin' you choose. A restless feelin' comes on you and won't leave. You start dreamin' about places far away an' wantin' to be there. Even if you don't leave, you're no good where you are. You're heart's not in it and your mind's not in it. You're better off just takin' off an' gettin' it outta your system."

Me: "But what about the people you leave behind? What about your boss?"

Doc: Well, when that bug hits you hard enough that you gotta roam, they all know it, and they are pretty ready for you to go. If you're poor, your job ain't much anyway. You get a little hard to deal with, and usually the boss man is about ready to let you go from the job. You ain't really hurtin' no one. I know, they cry a bit an' fuss, but they know that a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, and that you'll be back when you can. And then everybody's happy when you get back. Plus, you got new stories for them from faraway places."

You know what else, Tondy? If a man's gonna be poor, he ought to at least see some sights Y'all forget that poor folks can't go on vacations an' cruises an' all that. We work, we find some way to chill out, like drinkin' or smokin' weed for some, or playin' music - for some, it's drinkin', smokin' weed an' playin' music all at the same time - or goin' to church and gettin' on fire for the Lord.

That's one reason why a lot of our churches are more excitin' than the churches where richer people goes.
Church is all the excitement we got, if we ain't drinkin', druggin' or ramblin'. When I cut back on my ramblin', Marilyn and the people at her church got me goin' to church an' castin' my cares on the Lord. That's kept me calm and gave me a peace that passes understandin'.

People like you got money enough for vacations, travel and what not and you got money for them therapists and all that. We ain't got none of that. But like I said, I ain't done much ramblin' and wild cattin' since Marilyn came here. I had to stick around no matter how bad the itch got to take off. But nowadays, I can come and go as I please an' it keeps the pressure from buildin' up makin' me want to leave. Bein' with the Lord and His people has made all the difference in the world for me.

It's quite interesting how things can change in a matter of days, let alone over two years.One thing that has impressed me is that now Doc and Marilyn have classic looking posters that are used to promote the events that they are playing at. This is a long way from when I first met them and they were playing on street corners and Marilyn would pass the hat. Me: Doc, these posters that you guys have are fantastic! How'd that come into being?  

Doc: "Well, it aint all that much to it. That guy what gives us things from time to time, Billy, from down south, got hold of a artist who makes 'em for us. Marilyn gets the info, an' then she calls it in or texts or somethin' an' he makes 'em up. Then she takes them somewheres an' gets 'em printed at her friend's job. She also sends them in a eletter to different people what likes us an' they pass 'em to they's friends or somethin'. They DO look pretty good, I gotta admit.

"That guy does a real good job an' Marilyn frames 'em an' decorates the walls with 'em. It brightens up the room a bit. Plus it reminds us places where we played an' gives us good memories.I like 'em and other people say they like 'em. That guy what makes 'em made up a bunch of different ones an' then just fills in the name an' date or something like that. Marilyn knows more about it than I do.  

Me: They look really good, Doc. Kind of old school. They remind me of something from out of an old movie or something. I don't quite know, but I like them very much, and they're definitely eye-catching. They also suit the kind of music that you and Marilyn and the band play. If I see the poster, it makes me expect something that is different, old school and interesting. They would make me want to go hear you!
Doc: "I heard other people say things like that, too, Tondy. I guess it's a good thing. Marilyn gets 'em, then emails 'em and prints some, and other people what gets 'em emails 'em and twitters them or whatever that thing is called an' sends 'em to they friends on they phone. I don't know all the ways they do it, but it works an' they ain't usin' paper for most of them and Marilyn says it saves trees.

"I say it don't really matter 'cause all the trees they make paper out of is planted by the paper companies what intended from day one to make paper outta them, an' they's always plantin' more, so they can make more paper. They don't just go out into the woods with chainsaws an' cut down everything they see. They grow 'em special for that. But usin' phones and computers to send them posters out is a good idea what Marilyn had and is faster and cheaper, too. You can count me in on that idea, Tondy."

Doc showed me a couple of dozen or more posters from various venues that they have played. The posters look good, the venues are better than they were a few years ago, and it is interesting how someone can go from playing on the streets and passing the hat for a few pennies to having a band and playing regular venues on a regular basis. He said that there's more he needs to tell me, but it can wait until later. I do think that he has an inborn sense of timing and pacing. I thought that the first time I heard him playing out on the streets, working the crowd, building his presentation to a pitch and then passing the hat. 

When I first heard him with Marilyn, and saw that she had that same sense of presentation and timing, as well as being better looking than him, I figured something good might come of it all. I can see that it clearly is working well for them.  

It has been a little more than two years since I did any writing for Doc Stevens. I have been studying at uni, and have difficulty with some of my exams. I have had to take extended breaks in order to pay my expenses. A lot has happened in my life and in Doc's life, Marilyn's life and their music. I have finally been able to come back to the States, and it was so god to be able to meet up with Doc and Marilyn and their friends again. It has been too long!
Over the last two years, Doc and Marilyn have solidified their music, and have added some consistent band members. For years, they have relied on whomever could get a day off work, or whoever was available to play at any particular event. They have a lot of friends who are good musicians, but it has always been a sore point, when discovering who had a change of plans at the last minute, and who would actually show up. They finally have a name for the band, and have pretty well with it. They play at festivals, family reunions, community and civic events, church concerts, reunions and other events, as well as pig pickin's and fish fries. They settled on the name, "The Doc Stevens and Marilyn Holy Ghost Band and Show." I asked Doc how they came up with that name, and he had on of his typical answers where you cannot be sure whether he is joking with you or being serious.

Here is what he said: "Well, Tondy, the Doc Stevens part was pretty easy. That's my name. The Marilyn part was also easy because that's Marilyn's name. The Holy Ghost part was pretty easy 'cause we're all filled with the Holy Ghost. The band part was easy because we all sing and play music together, so we added the word, 'band.' We show our high energy and our zeal, and aren't afraid to let it show, and that is where we got the word, 'show."

Somehow I feel like I shouldn't have asked, but Doc looks genuinely open and like he is telling me exactly how they came up with that name so I am not going to question him anymore about it or press him for any more details. They have collected a very talented group of musicians over the last two years. 

Jerry "Buttermilk" Wade plays lead guitar for them, and adds just the right chemistry musically and socially in the group. He is from North Carolina and has traveled extensively in his quest to keep food on the table and a roof over his head. 

On bass guitar is Jay "I Didn't Do It" Jordan. Jay is a diesel mechanic and also owns his own dump truck. He has a 6 string bass that he is all over. He adds a definite rumble and rhythm to the sound. 

On the drums is Brian Garner, and no one is real sure where he came from. He is quiet and doesn't talk about his personal life too much. He lives in Western Charles County now, and plays drums well. That's about all Doc knows about him. 

Rick "Lump" Tolley plays the bones and the blues harp. Rick is a longtime resident of Western Charles County, and is the brains of the group, according to Doc - well, Doc says that Rick and Marilyn both have been blessed with more brains then he has, which he allows isn't much anyway. 

Marilyn has moved to Eastern Shore, MD, and still comes to play with the band as often as possible. Doc said he was afraid she was going to split up the act when she moved there, since it's a two and a half hour drive, but she still makes it to all the main events. He's real proud of her, and how she has grown up and launched off on her own. But he misses her. 

I've been taking a lot of notes this Summer when talking with them, hundreds of pictures and a few good vids of them when they have played this Summer. I've gotten to record several hours of talks as well with them, and am looking forward to updating the blog, and catching up on the changes that have taken place over the last two years since we have been together. 

I'm guessing that the first several posts will be just trying to update what has happened in Doc and Marilyn's lives, and in the lives of their friends. That will keep me quite busy for a while. I just hope I can juggle my new intense schedule and work and class and also be able to keep the blog updated over the next few months. We shall see what we shall see.

Tondeleo: One factor in the sound of many of the deeply rural musicians in America is that they are not in areas where they can get a clean radio signal, internet access is spotty at best, and they just don’t listen to new music.

For Doc and his friends and neighbors, hi speed internet is not even available. The more affluent ones have dial up, which means that YouTube and other media are basically non accessible.

What this means is that the musicians and singers who live in these outlying areas are playing only the songs they remember from their childhoods or ones they learned by hearing other musicians play them live. It keeps them from even knowing how the original recordings sounded.

Another factor is that they could not take real music lessons, so they just picked up the instruments and figured out how to play. Their instruments tend to be old and cheap, or home made. While the musicians from the middle class have nice instruments and equipment, the rural ones have the cheapest and the most improvised of equipment, and it gives them a unique sound. That is again, a disadvantage on one hand, and an advantage on the other.

Doc: Yeah, Tondy, you’re right about that. We cain’t generally pick up the radio out here. And when we do, we ain’t like what they’s playin.’ 

We don’t sound like any other bands and don’t play what any of ‘em is playin’ most of the time. That’s good for them and also good for us.

Then, we got cheap equipment and home made equipment which is more what the original players and singer used. What we play is poor people music, which is what all the originals was: poor.

We mostly play what we grew up with. Music we heard our daddies and mama’s playin’ and singin’. It’s old songs, but good ones, and for us they have all the memories of when mama and daddy was young. We like that music better.

And, no, we ain’t able to go into town to take music lessons for a half day’s wages for a half hour lesson. That is for office boys and their spoilt teenage kids. It takes us 45 minutes to just get to La Plata. That’s a lot of gas. Then a half hour lesson and then 45 minutes back. Plus they want to stand around and talk a little bit, which is ok, but it adds to the time away. 

And then they want you to learn how to read charts and notes while you’re playin’! We aint up to that! It is all I can do to play that dang thing, let alone be lookin’ a a book while doin’ it, and then tryin’ to sing. That ain’t happenin’.

We just stick to what we know. But that ain’t a bad thing. When we go out and play and there is other bands, we ain’t doin’ the songs that they do, so that makes them like us more.
A lot of places get us to play for that reason. Ain’t too many people playin’ and singin’ what we do. We ain’t do NOTHIN’ newer than maybe 1958. And we ain’t doin’ any of the rock and roll hits from back then. 

A lot of people like what we play, but can’t find nobody to play it. Another thing is we ain’t human jukeboxes. We ain’t heard the original records probally in 20 years, and Marilyn ain’t never heard ‘em. So we ain’t hittin’ anything like a note for note copy of the original. Some people like what they call our arrangements. We ain’t got arrangements – that’s just how we remember them, and sometimes we get it wrong.

We all are church folks – and we go to churches where the people really get into it. We jump around in church, Tondy! You been there. Well, when we do it on stage, people think it is good showmanship, but it is just how we do. 

Playin’ out on the streets is somethin’ a lot of musicians ain’t done, and that gives us a different kind of edge. SO I guess bein’ poor can help you if you’re into playin’ music.

But it all works out, and it makes us sound like we got an original sound, and we ain’t copyin’ nobody. Hey, even if we did, we couldn’t sound like nobody else! It’s hard enough for us to sound like us!