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Mandolin Mick
Dec-30-2010, 6:25pm
I'm a breadman and was checking in my load at a store. The receiver asked me what I was doing for New Year's and I said I was just going out to eat with my wife, but I used to play out with my band. He said that he was a drummer in a Western Swing Band. I asked him if he had a mandolin player, and he said they used to have one, but replaced him with a pedal steel guitar. I asked him if he liked Bluegrass and he said that his bassist was Bill Monroe's bassist for 7 years! I said, "Mark Hembree?" He replied in the affirmative. Mark is from Wisconsin and joined the Bluegrass Boys when Bill was in Appleton. He told me how Mark sold himself to Bill and how Bill told him he had a job for him if he'd cut his hair ... :)

Scotti Adams
Dec-31-2010, 11:57am
Thats cool. Thanks for sharing.

Gary Hedrick
Dec-31-2010, 12:01pm
Certainly is a small world we live in. Thanks for sharing this interesting story!

AlanN
Dec-31-2010, 12:42pm
He told me how Mark sold himself to Bill and how Bill told him he had a job for him if he'd cut his hair ... :)

...and if he "would work for me for $10 a week, boy!" :))

Willie Poole
Dec-31-2010, 2:23pm
Lamar Grier once told me he had to work part time at the A&P so he could afford to buy something to eat when he was playing with Bill....Yes he was also one of my neighbors, I lived near a lot of named pickers, too bad it didn`t rub off onto me....Actually family came first before going out on the road to try and make a living being a bluegrass picker..

Willie

Mandolin Mick
Dec-31-2010, 5:45pm
He told me that they're playing out on January 7th; just a few miles from my place. I'd kind of like to meet him. He's playing on my all-time favorite song, "My Last Days on Earth". I'd like to jam with him on that if I could ... I play it note-for-note on the mandolin :mandosmiley:

re simmers
Jan-06-2011, 3:14pm
We would like to hear about your show. That should be a great experience.

Bob

Fretbear
Jan-19-2011, 3:37am
Lamar Grier once told me he had to work part time at the A&P so he could afford to buy something to eat when he was playing with Bill...Actually family came first before going out on the road to try and make a living being a bluegrass picker..Willie

That's the kind of thing you might regret a little bit at the time, but not at all in the long term......

300win
Jan-30-2011, 2:41pm
One of the former " Bluegrass Boys" was / is Doug Hutchens, he also was a teacher to both of my sons in school.