I started playing mandolin when I was eight by necessity, which is pretty much how I do everything. We played at a country music show in Marceline Missouri.. where the guy in charge, his name was Buck Cody, decided that whoever didn't play an instrument didn't get paid. And so this was my dad's answer to that. He said, 'Here's the mandolin. Here's the G, C, and D chords. You're going to be playing this for two-and-a-half hours every Saturday night'. The wage was $10 per man. I don't think I ever saw that $10 either. I might have to talk to my dad about that.
