I was born in Eagle Pass, Texas on the last day of September, 1946, but I grew up in San Antonio. I left San Antonio at the age of 17 and joined the Army. Less than 10 weeks later, while I was in the last stages of Boot Camp, the Gulf of Tonkin incident occurred. I won't go into the next turbulent 10 years, suffice to say, I did not go to Viet Nam. In 1982, I took my guitar and hit the streets, sidewalks, whatever Stage I could find, playing the music scene. After meeting better guitar players, I noticed the lack of a 'bottom' to the street music we were making. I remembered a group, a jugband in Minneapolis, called "Mama's Home Cookin'". There was a fellow in that group who played a 'Gut Bucket'Bass. That's where the idea for my own 'Gut Bucket' came from. A few years, and lots of blisters later, while playing with my friend and bluesman Eagle Park Slim, another musician, local Jazz Bassist Andre St.James was listening to us, closely. I mean he came over to my gutbucket while I was thumpin' away and cocked his ear....to hear me. During a break, Andre came up and told me about a player he had seen at the Fishermans' Wharf in San Francisco. This player had a similar instrument, except he was using a Bass Drum instead of a WashTub. Hence the idea for 'Bertha' was born. Around 7 years ago, I noticed my friend and fiddle player, Chip Cohen was playing these odd sounding, clacking things.....I asked him what they were. He told me,"These here are the Bones". I asked him to show me how they were played, and he did. It took a few months of intense, driving everyone around me crazy, before I could start to hear the music in those Bones....but when it happened, I was as happy as a little kid finding a song in a pebble rollin' around inside a tin can. Now Chip tells me I'm a Virtuoso on the Bones and others tell me I'm a Virtuoso on the Gut Bucket. All I can say is I like finding myself in the Music, and that's all I'm really trying to do, is just find myself in my Music.
"Dr.D."Dan Maddux, Photo by Lisa Parker and my Kids, Crystal,almost 8 and Terra, 6