Bud Beaton
Bud is very special to me. He's had some problems with his health lately and I've been worried about him. We met through the Yodelers and have always had lots of fun together on stage and off. He was an international fiddle champion in his day! He's in his 80's now and has such amazing musical stories to tell. He's taught me many things. He gave me advice on playing the bass and told me that the bass is actually a rhythm instrument. At the time, I thought that was pretty profound. That gave me an interest in learning how to play the drums so I went out and bought myself a drum set and learned. He once sat me down on the bleachers at a small town rodeo we were performing at and taught me how to reach within myself and sing and perform from my soul, if I didn't do that, I wouldn't be honest to myself or the audience, that advice always guides me. One time when we were performing together with the Yodelers, Bud handed me
a fiddle. He said, "This is yours Mike". There's something very special about that fiddle. When he handed it to me, he'd told me that he made it himself, it took him 6 months full time work to complete, and I treasure it.
|
