Phred

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"From Truth, Justice is Born"--Quanah Parker-1904

Shoji is a Master showman and we had a good mutual friend, the late Marshall "Tubby" Admires. Here is a piece of history for you all. Tubby Admire was an old time MO Country Fiddler and he knew my dad real well. As a little boy, Tubby would come to my parents farm here in the Ozark hills of MO. He loved the fiddle and my dad taught him a bunch of the old time fiddle tunes. When Tubby grew up he went to Nashville, Kansas City, elsewhere playing all over the USA.

Shoji Tabuchi met Tubby in Kansas City in the 1960s and learned some of the old time fiddle tunes from Tubby Admires. Then years later when Shoji first came to Branson, MO via the Grapevine Opry early 1980s and with Chisai Childs, they were looking for a steel guitar player. Tubby told me about the gig and I auditioned and got the job. One of the main reasons they hired me was because I could play the fast fiddle tunes on the steel guitar.

Anyhow, I went on to be the staff steel guitarist for them at Branson, MO during the summers and winters we worked in LA, OK, and TX. I traveled all over and recorded with Shoji. In fact, after I left the Branson scene, I recorded my first instrumental steel guitar album 1985 and Shoji was the special guest on it. He played fiddle/violin on 4 tunes on the album with me.

I have fond memories of the days I played with Shoji and the entire cast at that Branson show, but as all things go on. I left went back to school and now have two Masters degrees in Education. I still play music but now it is for fun, and that's how I like it!

I spent some time with Shoji and his family when he lived at Bossier City, LA. We also worked The Old South Jamboree at Walker, LA.

I used to get a kick out of Shoji. He was very witty on stage. He capitalized on his Japanese accent and used it as a part of his stage act. He would say to the audiences, "You know why I live in Lew-zeee-Ana? Because they grow alot of Wrong Grain Rice!"