Special Thanks to:
Doug "The Fiddle Doctor" Fulker
That day that I walked into the Folklore Center for the first time, Jerry and Freddie were to the right of me, but Doug was straight ahead. He and Jerry looked alike to me, sort of a cross between a prospector, hippie and maybe a biker. No offense, Doug!
But when I saw Doug, I couldn’t help but notice, that he didn’t just shine me on, rather, he was welcoming and seemed interested. Little did I know, I would spend 13 years of my life working with him, and we’re still working together today.
Doug and Freddie opened Mercy Guitar Hospital and the Fiddle Doctor in 2005. They were directly across the street from the former Folklore Center. As I did with Freddie, I developed a good business relationship with Doug by coming to the shop frequently. Although Doug was never impressed with any of my guitar projects!
When Freddie retired, he offered to sell me Mercy Guitar Hospital, but I didn’t have the money at the time. I figured it was a short but sweet run with Freddie, but I would have to just go and get another job that I would hate. However, Doug stepped in, and offered to buy Mercy Guitar Hospital and keep me on as an employee, along with Addison Matthew (Another talented, young guitarist, funny and nice guy and friend of mine). So, Doug bought the business from Freddie and changed the name to “Mercy Guitar and the Fiddle Doctor”.
After just a few months or so, Addison took another opportunity to work at “Gray Dog Guitars” as head manager and sales rep. When Doug found out that Addison was moving on, he got a little worried. But I knew that this was my opportunity to really become the next “Guitar guy” of Prescott, so I assured Doug that he and I were gonna make a great team and that we were gonna do good and that I wouldn’t let him down. That was 13 years ago, and we’re still going strong. I’ve certainly learned a thing or two from Doug, as well.
So, not only do I have Freddie to thank, but really, I owe Doug just as much of a thank you because if he would not have allowed me to be his guitar tech, I don’t know that I would have had the same unique opportunity to really step up to the plate as Prescott’s new guitar guy. He really let me run with it and let me do it with the utmost freedom. And although Doug was indeed my boss and I was his employee, he never lorded over me and was never a petty tyrant, not even for a minute. Instead, he always treated me with trust and respect and in fact, we have become close friends. And for that, I’ll always be thankful to the Lord, for Doug.
