A Conversation with Vassar Clements   (continued)

PM: You just mentioned her, and this album is dedicated to Millie Clements' memory. I saw some beautiful photo galleries of you guys on your site. Could I ask you to share a little bit about her with us?

VC: Oh, she's the one--the reason I'm playing. Not the reason I'm playing fiddle, but the reason that I go out and, thank the Lord, make a living out of it, because I would have never went out by myself. I'd never have got a band. I never done anything except play with somebody else, and this was along the time I was telling you that I was kind of getting depressed with the studio work because they was wanting me to play like everybody else. And I went home one day, and she saw that I was feeling bad. She said, "Well, you can go out on your own." I said, "Are you kidding?" And she said, "No." She says, "I'll put a price out there. If they don't want it, you'll just be playing with somebody else. If they take it, well, you can go play with somebody else or get you a band." And she did, and they took it.

PM: Wow.

VC: And that scared me.

PM: [laughs]

VC: And ever since then I've been trying to do it. First I would go out and play and I wouldn't talk. I'd just say maybe, "I hope you came here just to hear fiddle, 'cause that's about all you're going to do is hear fiddle, because I don't know nothing much to say, and I'm not good at talking, so we'll just play."

PM: [laughs] Now, in those early days, who would you take out on the road with you to play?

VC: Well, we had to get a band pretty quick. I went one time and played a gig by myself. It scared me to death. Of course, they told me that there'd be a band there of two or three people to back me up. But they were just telling me that to get me there. And my wife told Nancy Talbot, I believe was her name, it was in--oh, where that school of music is--

PM: Boston?

VC: Boston, yeah. And it was at the college. And that place was packed out. And I couldn't understand that, because I said, "Who's ever heard of me?" So my wife told Nancy, she said, "If you get him out on the stage, he'll be too embarrassed to leave."

PM: [laughs]

VC: And like I said, that was one of the most scary times ever--the other time was the first time I played the Opry. But anyway, she got me out there. And they kept saying, "Well, the band is a little bit late, but we'll send them out there as soon as they got here." I said, "Nancy, what am I going to do? I don't know what to do out there." She said, "Well, just play anything. Just start off with something and then the band will be here." And I went out there and started off, and that's what I said, I said I hoped they was there to hear fiddle. I said, "These guys should be here any minute." I said, "I don't do much talking--I don't do any talking, really." And they all started clapping--and I looked behind me, I thought the guys had showed up, and I was wondering who they was clapping for. And I couldn't figure that out, and then I got more scared. I thought, "Oh, lordy, what am I going to do? These people are here to see me, that's ridiculous." But they felt sorry for me. They went along with me, man.

[laughter]

VC: And the whole time, nobody showed up. I think I just played, and when I couldn't think of something, I'd just move the bow across the strings until I could think of something.

PM: [laughs]

VC: And I did that probably for 45 minutes. And they give me an encore. I said, "No, Nancy, they just feel sorry for me. I can't go out there and do another one." She says, "They want to hear you." If I remember right, I think I went out and tried to do something else. But anyway, man, they got me out there, and I didn't let them forget that.

PM: Well, your wife was right, you were too embarrassed to leave the stage.

VC: I was. I was too embarrassed. Monroe told me that, too. When I'd play with him, I didn't know the tunes 'cause he'd write a lot of them, and a lot of them put the melody to. Because I was brand new, and I didn't know very much. I knew his tunes I'd learned from Chubby. But when he'd come up with a new tune or something, he'd just pull it on me. He'd have it made up with the boys in the band, and he told them, "When it comes time for him to take a break, y'all all move back from the mic." And so he taught me real quick not to leave the mic. And I think that's where I got it from, because I was scared, and I said, "Well, I don't know the tune, but I can't leave the mic. Nobody's out here." I don't know why I had that in my mind, but I just stayed out there and fumbled around.

PM: [laughs] Oh, that's funny.

VC: I've done that all my life, I guess. continue

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