Tondeleo: One thing I admire in people is confidence and boldness. I tend to be rather timid so I guess that is why I find myself captivated with people who are confident and don't worry about much of anything. That is part of my fascination with the rural Americans that I have gotten to know over the years.
Most of them have grown up from the beginning with no advantages, poverty, having to make do with whatever they could. In school, they talk about being picked on because of being poor, but how they learnt to fight or to have skills that kept people from picking on them - or both - being able to fight and also developing skills.
A lot of them have done jail or prison time not so much because they are criminals but because when they have an infraction of the law, they can't afford a solicitor, or attorney. They don't expect to be treated fairly and even going to jail seems to be something they take in stride. They have this attitude that nothing is easy anyway, but that also means that nothing is hard.
I have gone with Doc and Marilyn, Doc and Rick or just Doc when there is a chance to play music, and the rest of the band can't come. Sometimes it is at the last minute that the rest of the band or part of the band can't come. I have never known them to cancel. They just grab their instruments, get into the truck and head for the gig.
I ask, "Aren't you a bit worried? People are expecting a band and it is just you?" It NEVER seems to worry them! Not at all! Doc says that it won't be any problem because there will be other bands there, and musicians like to play, and he'll just ask some of them that play well to back him or them up.
I ask if it doesn't worry him, and he says it doesn't. Marilyn tells me that I have to have more faith.
Doc: Well, Tondy, it's like this. People want to hear you play. If you wait until all the situations are right, you'll never play. We grewed up playin garbage instruments and makin' do with whatever we could and playin' with whoever was around. You learn to play with anybody and they learn to play with you. It's no big deal.
Matter of fact, Chuck Berry ain't never had a band! He just would take his guitar and get on a bus or a plane and fly to where he was goin' and the people what booked him would have to get together some local folk to play and back him up. He'd run through the songs with 'em once or twice and then would have his show, shake their hands, collect his money and go back home to sleep in his own bed.
I aint as good as Chuck, so it really aint no problem. People always step forward. If you do the right thing the right people will always show up and play with you. Doc: Yeah, it ain't an issue. Sometimes a whole band will back us up, if it is just one or two of us. Like we played over to a place in Waldorf an' everyone but Handsome Brian the Bishop Garner, our drummer could make it. We weren't gonna cancel 'cause of that. And we weren't playin' without a drummer.
So when we got there, we started askin' around, and Jerry found a drummer named Bradley who was playin' with another group. I think he turned out to be from Bowie, MD, up the road about an hour.
We talked to him a bit about how we sound and what kind of music we do, and when we got up, Bradley got up with us and played just like he'd been with us for years.
Marilyn: He was truly anointed and that is what makes the difference so it can sound like he had been with us forever. The Holy Ghost was in him and the Holy Ghost HAS been with us forever, and He knows all our songs and just played them through Bradley.
Doc: That, and Bradley is a good drummer in the first place. We never seen him before and ain't seen him since. But if we're out somewhere and need a drummer and he is there, we'll ask him up to play again.
Tondeleo: But doesn't that make you at least a tad nervous? That would give me an ulcer!
Marilyn: NO, you got to have faith, Tondy, you got to have faith.
Doc: Marilyn's right. You gotta have faith, and then open your mouth and ask around. You'll find the people you need!
