Wednesday is music night at barber shop
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Bill Tadlock plays a mandolin during a jam session at Rogers Barber Shop on Washington Road in Martinez. About 20 musicians gather at the store every Wednesday to play. The musicians range in age from 13 to 82.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
It's a barber shop by day, but every Wednesday night it becomes transformed into a "pick-nicking" guitar and gospel singing sensation. Robert Hendrick said.
"This is just a place where good ol' boys can get together, away from home and play and sing music all night long," said Hendrick, of Martinez. Hendrick, a barber for 41 years, has worked at Roger's Barber Shop in Martinez for 19 years.
Since 2002, Hendrick said, he has been playing guitar with his friends at the shop, which is at 3817 Washington Road. He confessed he is still learning how to master his skills.
"I can do a little," he said hesitantly. "All I can play is rhythm."
On average, Hendrick and more than 10 of his friends have been meeting at the shop every Wednesday night to perform country and gospel music. However, the group, which has no name, has a total of about 30 vocalists and instrumentalists, who play a variety of instruments, including banjos, mandolins, fiddles, harmonicas and guitars. With a gamut of players ages 13 to 82, Hendrick said, musicians alternate the performance schedule each week.
The musical group, which has no name, has a total of about 30 vocalists and instrumentalists who will play old tunes at the barber shop. The schedule alternates weekly.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
The "get-togethers," Hen-drick said, all began when a man sold his guitar to him in the shop one day. Not knowing how to play, Hendrick said the instrument just sat in the corner. So, he asked his friend Joe Johnson for a little help.
"I said, 'I'd like to play the guitar.' So Joe Johnson said 'I'll teach you on Wednesdays,'" he said. "So, it started off with me, Joe Johnson, Tank Tankersley and Robert Bostic. It just started snowballing from there."
In addition to singing and playing songs in the shop such as Amazing Grace and I Saw the Light, Hendrick said the group has played in area churches and at public events.
Tankersley, the lead singer and shop's owner, said one of the greatest attributes about harmonizing their tunes is the fellowship.
"It's the camaraderie that makes singing and playing country and gospel music so fun every Wednesday night," he said.
State Sen. Joey Brush often joins the group. In addition to singing and playing songs in the shop, the group has played in area churches and at public events.
Photo by Jim Blaylock
Guitarist Littleton Chance, of Augusta, agreed.
"The fellowship is great because the people here have the same common interest in music," he said, adding that his love for singing country music with the group is therapeutic. "I like coming here (every week) because I can talk about all types of subjects in my life. The group is like a psychiatrist, except I don't have to pay anything. It's free."