Being a musician is hard work. Whether playing in front of an audience of thousands or sitting on the dock of the bay with a couple of friends, musicians always seem to experience pure joy when making music. It doesn't seem like work at all.
Linda and I are fortunate to have so many venues around the Scenic 98 Coastal area to listen to gifted performers. We make a point to hear our favorites as well as discover new talent. In every case, the musicians we hear enjoy what they do and entertain us wherever we go.
One musician we have come to know and love, and consider a friend is Stan Foster. Stan and Phil Proctor are a staple at Callahan’s Irish Social Club in the Garden District in Mobile. Every Wednesday, Phil and Foster pack the house at this iconic bar and eatery. Callahan’s has built a reputation for discovering and attracting new musical talent from across the land.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Stan and I sat down at Callahan’s to talk about his life of music. I had been looking forward to this for a long time, and it finally came together before he was scheduled to play with The Marlow Boys, another great local group.
Stan has different mixes and matches of musicians he plays with, including his uber-talented wife, Donna Hall of Wet Willie fame. As a singing bass player, a rare and coveted breed, Stan has perfected it. It wasn’t always that way, so let’s start at the beginning.
Born in Camden, Arkansas, Stan earned a degree in Voice at Southern Arkansas University. His first job after college was teaching music to junior high school students in Birmingham, Alabama. “I was starving,” he said. “I took home $500 a month. My apartment rent was $400. I had $100 for everything else like food and gas. It was awful.” He taught for two years.
A friend told him about a job at a big music store in Birmingham, Nuncie’s Music. They sold everything; records, all kinds of instruments, keyboards, and electronics, and even created sound installations for churches. “They were looking for someone to install electronics. I lied and told them I knew all about it and got the job.” This was in the early 1980s.
“I quit my school job at noon and was working at Nuncie’s by one o’clock the same day.” Nuncie’s was where Stan met many musicians from around town. Then fortune and misfortune struck. The misfortune happened to a bass player in a “killer trio” who severed a good portion of his hand in a bandsaw accident.
“The lead guy, who knew I played guitar, came into the store and asked me if I could play bass and sing. Sure, I lied again.” Stan had never played a bass guitar. Before this, Stan’s sister had given him her vintage clarinet. He decided to trade the valuable clarinet for a bass guitar and amplifier.
“There was an old guy on the loading dock at Nuncie’s named Pete who played bass, and I asked him if he could teach me to play for a gig we had the next week. “You think you can learn to play bass in a week?” he asked.
Stan was determined. He tells me that he has the perfect frame to play bass guitar due to his long arms, long fingers, and height. He also could sing so he made it work. “I found my thing,” he tells me. The trio was a hit, but after a while, the group moved on.
Along the way, he met several talented local musicians like Anthony Crawford, who moved to Nashville and played guitar with Neil Young. Anthony now lives in the Scenic 98 Coastal area and plays locally with his wife in Sugarcane Jane. Pete Nice was another well-known musician in Birmingham that Stan played with.
Soon, a musician named Mark Custer asked Stan to join his band, appropriately named Custer’s Last Band. They became the house band at a famous steak restaurant in Birmingham at the time called the Ox. “I worked at Nuncie’s six days a week and played at the Ox four nights a week. This lasted through the 90s.”
In 1994, Rick Carter, of Telluride fame, was looking for a singing bass player. He had heard Stan at the Ox and said he needed a singing bass player for a new band that he was putting together. The concept was for a bluegrass band with a rock and roll style like The Allman Brothers Band. “Rocked up country and bluegrass, what would be called Jam Grass today,” says Stan.
The band was an immediate success, and Rollin’ in the Hay is still performing today. In its heyday, they played 250 gigs a year and recorded their first album. Around 2000, Rollin’ in the Hay was playing at Flora-Bama and Donna Hall of Wet Willie fame showed up to hear them.
“Around 1999, we were working on a second album. Rick wanted to ask Donna to sing on the record. I was totally against it,” says Stan. “She's too good, she’ll make all of us look bad. You go ahead and call her and she will laugh in your face.” To Stan’s astonishment, she did indeed agree to record with them.
“After I met Donna, I eventually worked up the courage to ask her to lunch. We were planning to meet at King Neptune Seafood Restaurant in Gulf Shores. When I got there, the server asked if anyone else would be joining me. “Yes,” I replied.” Stan sat there by himself and Donna never showed. “I’m that guy!” A week later, he did a redo and they were married in 2007 at Five Rivers Resource Center with Rick Carter presiding. That was 24 years ago.
“We were married on a Sunday so we wouldn’t miss any gigs,” says Stan. The list of accomplished, star-studded musicians who played at the reception included Hank Becker, Mark Farner (Grand Funk Railroad and Donna’s former husband), and of course, Donna’s brother, Jimmy Hall of Wet Willie. Today, they have 4 grown children and 7 grandchildren.
I asked Stan to tell me what it’s like playing music with Donna. “Singing with Donna has made me push to become better. It comes naturally to her. I have to work on it every day.” He goes on to say that Donna’s mom, Mama Hall, played piano, and he, Donna, and Jimmy would gather around and sing gospel together. “They are so musically gifted and sang dynamic harmonies.”
“I work on my vocals every day trying to hone my craft. It’s no different than a workout regime for an athlete. You have to be disciplined. Having Donna is like having a personal voice coach. Donna offers sound advice. It just comes so easily for her.”
These days, Stan mixes and matches with several groups. Friends like Rick Carter, Mike Estep, and Phil Proctor keep it fun with many different set lists. In addition to Rollin’ in the Hay and the Marlow Boys, Stan plays with The Selma Boys and the Alabama Troubadours. He may play with Jimmy Hall and Donna on gigs as well.
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I asked him about the playful banter between songs he’s developed. “Ben Jernigan (Live at Five) introduced me to Phil Proctor at Jack’s by the Tracks in Ocean Springs, and we hit it off. We developed the banter at Callahan’s. It’s usually just the two of us on Wednesday nights, and we needed to connect with the audience.” (To get him going, just ask him about the ice cream sandwiches at Mr. Gene’s Beans in Fairhope.)
As we wrap up, Stan says, “Callahan’s is a very respected gig for a musician. When Phil and I first approached John Thompson about playing, he said Wednesdays were really slow and he couldn’t afford to pay us much. We said, Let’s give it a try. That was ten years ago, and we are the longest-running group to play here.”
Stan says, “Being a singing bass player has allowed me to find a niche and has opened lots of doors. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Thank you, Stan, that was a blast!
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