Reminiscences of Dutch Mason for the occasion of his investiture into the Order of Canada The only thing I have against Dutch Mason is that several times he almost caused my premature death, by creating such a state of panic within me over not being able to breathe, that I really thought I was going to lose it. I came to fully understand the expression "I laughed so hard I thought I'd die"! No one else ever even came close to making me laugh like that. He was already somewhat imfamous down in the Valley when I was still in high school, and even had a record on the Kentville radio station called "Don't Mess Up My Ducktail." There were only a few so-called "new bands" (with electric bass) in all of the Maritimes back then, and Dutch Mason & The Wreckers had a reputation as the bad boys, and were even feared. They had everybody's attention! We went to Bridgetown to see them, and that changed everything for me. Next week at practice, I tuned the strings down on my guitar and became a bass player. The week after that I ordered a bass and amp from Eaton's catalogue. When his original bass player, Zeke Shepherd, went to Toronto in 1961, he came down and plucked me out of the bean patch (not to mention high school) and away we went. Maybe I could blame him for my ending up so poor, but actually, for me it was the beginning of a great adventure that I wouldn't trade for any amount of academia. Dutch was a slender 128 pounds back then, charismatic, and had a knack for everything! He could play just about any instrument; guitar, piano, bass, drums, you name it! I remember that one night a valveless horn ended up on stage, which he picked up and we played C-Jam Blues as though it had been rehearsed. He just had it! He was one of the top 3 or 4 snooker players in St. John, where we spent most of our time. Dutch could have followed several different paths, including actor, comedian, and even dancer, but music was in his heart. I remember he, Bubs Brown (his original guitar player) and myself spending nights in the front seat of the car, in the winter because the reception was good, starting the engine every half hour to keep warm, listening to Del Rio, Texas, and all that great old black music. I was there when Dutchie fell in love with the Blues! There's so much more I could relate, but in the interest of keeping this concise, let me just say that Dutch Mason is a very special human being, and there'll never be another like him. I just want to thank you for everything Dutch, even for almost killing me (haha). Love ya, ol' man! Ronnie Banks Ronnie 19 - Dutch 23 (at practice)