Randy Scruggs – Pick your friends
JD: I remember one promoter in particular who would have a festival and put out a flyer and just pull names out of the air and put ’em on the flyer. Send that out, and then start booking the festival (laughs).
RS: And then, of course, if they sold 200,000 tickets in advance they could always negotiate the artist. (laughs)
JD: At times the bands that were performing would stop and take money at the gate until they had their fee, and then some other band would take over, and then they’d go ahead and play their gig. (laughs)
RS: Yeah, I’ve seen that happen, but, boy, it’s become a business, and that part of the bluegrass world is a lot better off. You talked earlier about the Byrds and some other influences that you have had. And that’s the same thing for me. As much of an influence as Doc had on flatpicking, I also heard Michael Bloomfield playing on early Dylan records, and Eric Clapton and Albert King, B.B. King, those were all big influences for me that segued into actually starting to play more electric guitar and just really wanting the experience of growing as a musician and learning new things.
JD: Well, we’re doing a gig together soon. We’re doing a gig with Earl. Randy and Gary [Eugene Scruggs], Marty Stuart and Glen Duncan and Earl and me. I’d never been to Earl Scruggs’ house before. We were having rehearsal and we went into the living room, and there’s white carpet in there. I looked at Marty and we both looked at each other at the same time, and we were both thinking, if we drop a crumb in here, Louise is going to kill us.
RS: (laughs)
JD: So we were both being real careful that night, but that was some of the best fun I’ve had in a long time, playing music rehearsing that night.
RS: That was a great time.
JD: Earl leans into it and it’s the same. It’s the same things I remember hearing.
RS: He’s feeling great. He is.
JD: He’s in good health.
RS: Yeah. Because in the past couple years his back had been hurting, and just different things. But this last year has been a turnaround for him.
JD: It’s great. I’m flying in from Albuquerque that night. (laughs) I’ve got the craziest schedule this summer.
RS: Are you going to be touring with some people on the new record?
JD: I’m doing a tour of my record in November. I’m touring with Alison Krauss all summer long, so…
RS: Oh, OK.
JD: That’s sixty dates with her, twenty dates of my own, and then after that’s all over, if I have anything left, I’m touring with the band that’s on the record in November, doing a short tour of that. You going to do anything like that?
RS: Yeah, we’re in the planning stages now of putting together some concerts. Hopefully we’ll have a couple that will have everybody on it, if possible, but…
JD: We both stay busy, we’re just kind of running all over the place at the same time, so once in a while we run into each other.
RS: Which is great because everybody is out playing, working, which is good. Life is good.