The Rocky Mountain Yodelers
Most of my country music history knowledge has come from Chuck and Miriam. Chuck is a relative of Wilf Carter's and if you close your eyes when Chuck sings, you think it is Wilf himself!
I toured Alberta with them for 5 or 6 years. They taught me all about touring and playing in a band. They believed in me and paid me as much as any adult musician they hired (even when I was only 7 or 8 years old!). At about 9 I decided I wanted to play the bass. I approached Chuck and Miriam just before a sold out show and asked if I could play the bass that night (I had no idea how to play it but was fearless because they taught me to be). They said 'you bet Mike'. There I was, on stage learning the bass in front of hundreds of people. It's great ear training and you learn very fast when you have a band that is counting on you to hit the right bass notes. I sure had fun and thank goodness the audience enjoyed watching me learn.
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