John Dunnigan, a local musical legend in Whitefish, talks with me here about how he has Made it Work in Montana!
John has been a regular favorite of local places like Whitefish Mountain Resort, The Great Northern Bar and Grill (Thursdays), The Firebrand Hotel, Grouse Mountain Lodge and The Lodge at Whitefish Lake. It wouldn’t be Northwest Montana without John Dunnigan. John has a great personal story too! Enjoy. Check him out on Facebook, or at
And after you listen to the interview, take a moment to view this clip of John Dunnigan performing at the Macaroni Radio Awards with Jeff Foxworthy! (posted by mtbeckalu on youtube)
Check him out at www.johndunnigan.com/ and follow John Dunnigan on Facebook here! 
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Transcribed here: Welcome to another episode of Making It Work in Montana. My name’s David Boye, I’m your host. I’ve lived in Montana since
nineteen ninety six and I own Black Diamond Mortgage in Whitefish, Montana. And since 1996, I’ve had the opportunity to meet
many people through business and life and just people that have done an amazing job of making life work in Montana. And
sometimes we’re featuring people that excel in business and being involved in the community and the outdoors. Our guest today is
somebody that brings joy to a lot of people. For me, as long as I’ve lived in the Flathead, I feel like I’ve always had the opportunity to
go and listen to this person perform. And he basically is a live performer that plays at many different venues in Flathead. And he also
plays throughout northwest Montana, an even greater audience. He’s recorded, I think, five albums so far. And I’m sitting here right
now with John Dunnigan.
[00:01:11]
Hi, David. How are you doing today? I’m doing good. How are you? I’m doing great.
[00:01:15]
What I really like about the music career that you’ve developed is when I’ve been here, I’ve been there at the Lodge.
[00:01:25]
Whitefish Lake and and places like the Firebrand. And I think I’ve seen you play up at Moguls before. When I’m when I’m watching
you play, sometimes I’m just enjoying it. Because you have a lot of humor and sometimes you’re just playing a really good version of
a song that I recognize and I’m enjoying that. And then other times, I’m just really enjoying the interaction that you have with the
audience. And it actually seems to create the atmosphere that me and the audience, you are all having an experience together. And
so I just really appreciate to hear the talk today and share like what it’s like to make a career like that in Montana. So thanks for being
here.
[00:02:05]
Well, thank you for the introduction and yeah It’s great to be here. I’m getting a kick out of looking at these pictures on your wall of
our beautiful blue sky and sunsets and such, because as we all know, November in the Flathead Valley don’t see a lot of sunshine. So
my job getting back to your question is to bring kind of musical sunshine to these audiences, because the flathead is a very cloudy
place in November. And so when I do these these live shows at these places that you mentioned, I try and just have fun with the
crowd and do fun songs, keep it up. Up, uplifting.
[00:02:47]
Yeah. So you mentioned that. So we’re in the studio at my company, Black Diamond Mortgage. And on the wall, I’ve got pictures of
sunny days at the beach. And you are absolutely right that while I’m working, I can’t see what it would be like. Could be like so many.
You should mention that. Yeah.
[00:03:05]
So not everybody has heard a John Dunigan performance, but there are some bands that you resemble.
[00:03:14]
Could you give it a little bit of a feel for what? What is John Dunigan music like?
[00:03:18]
I know there’s banjo sometimes guitar, different things. What what’s the music like?
[00:03:25]
Well, it’s it’s, you know, kind of from my era and you know, now that I’m in my late 20s, that’s not true. Of course. They can’t see me.
I’m from the. I’m a guy from the 60s who was greatly influenced by, of course, the Beatles and Dylan and Simon Garfunkel and The
Byrds and all that. So I I play a lot of a lot of acoustic music. I do play a lot of electric guitar as well and kind of bluesy things. And like
you say, I do play a five string banjo and I bring an assortment of harmonicas. But I mean, if someone was to come in and pigeonhole
me, they would go, other guy does a lot of Sounds like James Taylor kind of Jimmy Buffett kind of stuff. Perfect.
[00:04:07]
And I put a link to some things where you can find more about John Dunnigan again after this podcast.
[00:04:13]
So, John, what really impressed me and why I wanted to reach out to you was as out of the observer in the Flathead. I see a guy who
who has basically a career of entertaining people locally and sometimes regionally in music, which so many people want to be in
music and arts and they struggle to be able to make it their life. And you’ve succeeded in doing that? In my opinion. So I wanted to
bring on and get a little bit of that story, too, to help people who are interested or maybe maybe to work in Montana through music
just to hear a little bit of how you did it. Well, before we get into that. So I moved here in 96, and I always am able to recognize that.
John Dunnigan is around, but there’s a whole life before that. So maybe if you could give us a quick snippet of. Where you grew up
and how you ended up in Montana as a as a musician.
[00:05:10]
Well, yeah. OK. I was born in San Francisco. My father played guitar. My grandparents were musicians. Not not like what I do or
what you would think, but they. They were in the music world. And I moved to BigFork, Montana, basically about 1976 just to kind
of check it out. I was going to junior college in northern California and Santa Rosa came up here to Big Fork, came up here to big
fork in 1976 and saw just, you know, obviously an amazing area, lots of places to play, lots of great musicians, kind of a little
hideaway for great musicians. You know, some kind of semi-famous people at that point lived here. And just a lot of guys and girls
like myself making a living, playing guitar clubs, you know, night to night. And I just I really liked that. So I I did a lot of played in a lot
of bands. I was in the Blue Moon House band for a couple of years. I played all down through other areas, playing in kind of country
bands, kind of always admiring the guitar players, I guess, because I was secretly wanted to be a guitar player. And then probably 25
years ago, I kind of started doing some solo gigs or maybe more than that, actually maybe 30 years ago and kind of basically never
looked back. Like you mentioned earlier, I played up on the big mountain ski resort. I’ve played up there continually now, I think for
probably 30, more than 30 years up there, played in some bands and played a played solo guitar. And I just kept at it. I just played a
lot. Kind of always, you know, showed up on time, comb my hair and kept my nose to the grindstone. And here I am.
[00:07:07]
You know, it’s great. Thanks for a little bit of background there. Yeah.
[00:07:11]
So what I’ve always enjoyed about watching the John Dunnigan performances just that there is an element of humor and that you
might play something that I recognized, but then you have some of your own stuff and kind of a combination of the two makes it so
that I’m actually just as a member of the audience, willing to listen to something that I haven’t heard before, which is engaging. And
then I noticed you’re always engaging the audience, which I think makes for a good experience.
[00:07:40]
And I think that’s why maybe you’ve had a nice long term career of playing in the flathead.
[00:07:46]
Well, I yeah, I think that’s true. I mean, I really do enjoy. I’d say 90, 90 percent of the time I get ready to go to a job I’m really looking
forward to. There are, of course, those times when like with anyone, if you’re a baseball player, there’s probably days you don’t feel
quite up to it. But I really enjoy what I do and I really enjoy making people smile and laugh, kind of a comedy part. I’ve learned that
that took a long time to develop to do.
[00:08:15]
I would go see, you know, who I thought were the great singer songwriters in the day back in the in the 70s. In the 80s. You know, I
like that the Jimmy Buffetts and the John prine’s and and Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor and these guys were great storytellers.
And John Prine and Jimmy Buffett were like comedians. They were really funny. James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot, they’re a little
more solemn. Gordon Lightfoot didn’t say very much at all. He didn’t really have to. His music was so great. But the stories that
particularly John Prine and Jimmy Buffett and many other musicians that I can’t even remember right now that really influenced me
as to, you know, be the be funny and be lighthearted and set your songs up. I’m sure that the bartenders and the waitresses at some
of these clubs that I play have probably heard my stories a billion and 10 times. But there’s a lot of new people. That’s the great part
about the Flathead Valley. So many new people come here and there’s new people in the crowd.
[00:09:15]
Every time I play and they have not heard these goofy jokes in mine and I see the bartender laughing along with the crowd, even
though he’s heard that punchline or that joke, you know, seventy five times. And that’s really cool. I love that.
[00:09:30]
I love that song. Probably similar to expect of an actual comedians. They’ve got something that they’ve kind of figured out works.
[00:09:37]
Yep. Yep. I can remember seeing Robin Williams bless his heart, you know. And he was so spontaneous. I saw him on. He was, you
know, promoting a movie or a book or something or maybe a comedy tour. And I saw him one time on. I’m just you have to rattle off
some names on Johnny Carson or maybe David Letterman and Jay Leno.
[00:09:56]
And he literally said the same jokes, the same setup, the same crazy. He was on every little interview he did, and I thought, wow, if
Robin Williams can do that, I can certainly do that at The firebrand hotel. Well, it will be our secret yeah don’t say anything.
[00:10:14]
So what’s the what’s the biggest audience that you’ve played for? Have you played like. I know. I’ve heard you play at some fairs,
places like that. What’s the biggest thing that you’ve got an opportunity to play live?
[00:10:28]
Well, I did a show with Jeff Foxworthy out in Seattle that it was for the marcone Awards, which is radio, which is like the Emmys for
a radio show. And I got to do an hour and a half show with Jeff Foxworthy. There was, I think, a couple of thousand people in the
audience. It was actually taped to be later run on television. I don’t think it ever got on there, but I’ve lived shows for five thousand
people a couple of times with the nitty gritty dirt band or Charlie Daniels, you know, Im the opening act Guy, you know, I’ve done
literally dozens and dozens, probably more like hundreds of opening acts, not in the Flathead Valley. I’ll leave. And to do these state
and county fairs or just an opening act for a, you know, Restless Heart or, you know, country bands like that. So and that’s always
really fun. You don’t play along. You don’t do a three hour gig. You get up 20 minutes, boom. You’re off there on your back in your
hotel room, drinking a Heineken, watching ESPN. Life is really good right then.
[00:11:32]
So that experience compared with, say, plans several hours that does Whitefish Mountain Resort. How’s that different for you as a
musician?
[00:11:41]
Oh, it’s night and day because these particular opening act act shows, you know, you’re you’re up there for, you know, 20, 25
minutes, maybe a half hour. And you still you can just do your best songs. You can cram everything, your greatest hits, kind of. So to
speak, in a half hour. And, you know, at this point in my life, I know what songs. And again, I try and be the funny guy. I try and do
the the funny guy routine and do that.
[00:12:06]
So even up in a big, bigger audience, you’ll do that.
[00:12:09]
Oh, gosh. That’s my main thing for sure, is to try and be do the humorous songs in my little funny stories. And that works really good
to warm up a crowd to get the crowd into it.
[00:12:20]
Now, we talked a little bit off line, but you mentioned when you were getting started and to the point where you had some regular
performing gigs like what it was like to get established.
[00:12:33]
Maybe we just chat for a little bit about what was it like to go from wanting to be a musician as a career musician and actually being
one? Like what were some of things that it took for you to get from from the point where you wanted that to where it was your
reality?
[00:12:49]
Well, you know, David, I’ve been doing this so long. I guess I always knew I wanted to be a musician.
[00:12:57]
And I just started out. And as soon as I started to play, I really never did anything else. I just played like I played a bunch of
instruments. And in the early days in Montana with these country bands, I played the pedal steel guitar. And that was like, you know,
being a basketball player with three arms. If you played the pedal steel guitar back in the 70s and 80s, you, my phone would literally
run a ring off the hook.
[00:13:26]
I know that that’s like something people were really wanting to have. And so you have that.
[00:13:31]
And it’s not that. It’s not that. How is that good? It’s just there’s there weren’t any steel guitar player, very few I could name on my
left hand and not even use all my fingers. Seriously.
[00:13:43]
And I remember you talking about having to play a lot to get to the point where you could earn a good living will you chatter about
that.
[00:13:52]
Well, yeah. Well, you know, again, back in the late 70s and all through the 80s and 90s, you know that the money was.
[00:14:01]
Yeah. You had to work a lot of nights to make it kind of work for you. You know, and now that I’m more established and I think that
the Flathead Valley is kind of on the map, especially whitefish and bigfork, I play these places like you’ve mentioned, the firebrand
and the big mountain ski resort where a lot of people come through these, you know, come to these venues. And so I’ve been
playing these places for a long time. I’ve gotten, you know, my pay scale has gone obviously way up since the days of the 70s and
80s. I mean, when I worked the blue moon, I don’t know if I even should talk too much about the actual dollar percent, but it was
not very much. And I worked five nights a week at the Blue Moon.
[00:14:44]
And that’s just the way it was. That was the standard house band gig. And you made 50 bucks a night. That was kind of your. That
was the big 50 bucks. Now you got a five piece band. Give you two 50, 50 bucks a night. Everybody got $50.
[00:14:57]
Most the guys that I’ve talked to were there in that part of their career or entirely doing. Because they just enjoyed it play music for
our people. Right. And they and they’re not yet at the point where they’re planning to make money from doing it.
[00:15:10]
Right. Yeah. It it takes a big commitment and a lot of sacrifice. And you know, because. Yeah, you’re not going to like, you know, go
to work and, you know, work in a bank and it’s there and all the unknowns about it.
[00:15:25]
You know that you have to work at it to make sure you’re working next weekend and the following weekend. And I think with all the
social media stuff now, you know, with with Facebook and and just cell phones and things, you can promote yourself better now. You
can book yourself farther down the line.
[00:15:43]
I just got a text this morning from a guy in an in not Las Vegas. He’s an agent. We’ve done a couple of gigs. And he’s trying he wants
to book me in for a one night in in June. So I checked my calendar and I said, I can probably do that. So I don’t go down to Vegas. I’ll
go to Vegas. I I’m not we didn’t he didn’t give me any details on it yet. But I do I’ve traveled all over the United States really for my
little motto is if they pay, I play.
[00:16:12]
Makes a lot of sense. Yeah. So so now you’ve got a pretty routine established, you know, people that call you to get you on a
schedule and those kind of things, you could do it in a long time.
[00:16:24]
Going back.
[00:16:25]
Is there anything that you were doing when you were trying to get to this point would have been like a mistake that you’re like. I was
I hadn’t done that.
[00:16:34]
It would have been easier for me if I hadn’t done, you know. Well, that’s a really good question. I don’t think I ever really made any
mistakes. We’ll probably talk about the one big mistake I did make as far as just, you know, abusing a certain substance. Way too
much. But as far as, you know, a more mechanical things like wrong songs or, you know, didn’t charge enough for different kinds of
equipment. I don’t I think I was always pretty much in tune to that. I was always been in tune to people. And what people kind of
like, you know, the classic people pleaser. I mean, if there’s 100 people in the room and there’s one guy not smiling, I will focus on
that.
[00:17:16]
I’m not saying that’s right, because you can’t please everyone. But that’s what goes through my mind as the kind of a entertainer guy
that I love, that I like to think I am.
[00:17:25]
Well, that sounds like a successful strategy. So you have a very close connection with your audience. You’re not just their plane.
You’re you’re looking to see if you’re meeting their need.
[00:17:36]
Well, that’s. Yeah. Well put. Yeah. And that’s what my whole show is, is based around right now, as, you know, doing the fun things
start out, you know, kind of the mellow background guy then you know, for these particular shows that I’m doing, like for example,
this week at the Firebrand and Whitefish Lake Lodge, I played the Great Northern Bar last night, which is a real lively. Sometimes
people would call rowdy big, big ski bar here in Whitefish. I get a chance to be more electric in there, but I’m always, you know,
looking out in the crowd to see who’s enjoying themselves and see who’s not and, you know, filing that stuff all the way as what I
can do better next time.
[00:18:17]
So you made mention of it. So we’ll go ahead and jump right on. So the one big mistake you said you would. I.
[00:18:24]
We were going to talk about this. So in January 2015, you had a big life change.
[00:18:30]
And maybe go ahead and explain to you what happened at that time and kind of how things are now compared to before. Well, it
was the big event.
[00:18:39]
Well, the big event was I drank too much. I drank a lot when I played. Just when I played and I didn’t drink most of my life, I was
really I wasn’t a total tetotaler. But because I drove so much from the big mountain and played these, you know, out of town gigs, I
was pretty smart. I wouldn’t, you know, have have consumed anything and then get on the highway. But doing so many local gigs
right here in town and of course, I live right here in town and I got sponsored by the Petron Tequila Company, which was the end of
the beginning, so to speak. And I really loved my endorsement. I loved the product. It was really fun. But it it caught up with me after
about probably six years, six, seven.
[00:19:26]
Not exactly sure how many years, but I ended up getting very, very sick with pancreatitis, ended up spending about 21 days in the
hospital. And as of that. That time, I have not had one drink sinse, and that has been that’s the greatest thing ever is. I’m just kind of
like kind of like a rebirth.
[00:19:47]
It’s really, really fun not to play all the and it’s been going on now for five years and and it just makes me feel more clear headed. I
just can’t tell. And a lot of my friends, in fact, I was going to meet a friend of mine this morning to talk about the alcohol thing.
[00:20:05]
You know, I can’t drink. It’s really easy for me. I can’t because I could, you know, end up back in the hospital. And that was the most
painful thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. It was really hard on my family financially. It was unbelievable. And physically, I don’t
like pain. I don’t. I get hangnails on my finger and I know I’m a little crybaby and pancreatitis. If anyone out there has ever had
pancreatitis, it’s the. According to the surgeons and the nurses, it’s the worst thing that a man can go through.
[00:20:39]
Very painful. So anyway, so I don’t do it anymore. And I’m I’m I think I’m a way better musician, better singer, whatever, whatever for
it.
[00:20:46]
So you you basically we talk a little bit about this off line, but you got to a point, your career were having drinks during the
performance was the way it was.
[00:20:58]
And then all of sudden your pancreas said no.
[00:21:03]
And you had to go to the hospital. And going forward, you can’t do that anymore. Right.
[00:21:08]
So you you you had basically a life where you could drink as much as you wanted.
[00:21:14]
And it was fun and it was part of the performance. And then now, you know, like a line is drawn after January 2015.
[00:21:22]
If you want to continue to be a musician, it’s fine. No more drinking.
[00:21:25]
Yeah. ex-. Exactly right. It was fun. And it became part of my show. It was. It was it was another was like another instrument. You
know, I had my banjo, my electric guitar. I had my humor songs. I had my harmonica. I had my little mellow James Taylor songs. And
if none of those things worked, I could, you know, kind of lean back and get people all excited about doing these shots of tequila.
You know, that’s a big thing in a bar as well. You know, that’s what you’re there for, really. You can be the you can be the best guitar
player and or singer in the world. But if nobody drinks, you’re not going to be playing there very much. So that’s part of your job is to
kind of come on, let’s go, you know, and get get the whole get the party started. And I was I was really good at it.
[00:22:11]
Well, I have to admit, like, I had a personal journey, similar myself and I.
[00:22:15]
My big fear when I didn’t have pancreatic disease where I had to do it medically, but at a point my life where I decided to quit
drinking.
[00:22:25]
And I remember being worried about being able to be Dave right the one that everybody liked after was there any struggle there.
Did you have a little bit worried about that?
[00:22:36]
I I definitely worried about it. You know, I was I was off work, out of work and resting home, kind of recovering for about five
months. And I I thought this would be interesting. That would be the first time I’ll have to play, obviously totally sober, which was
which was really fun. It just it came right back. I didn’t miss it didn’t miss a lick, so to speak. And I think I’m a like I said, a better
musician, better singer, better guitar player for it. And you just feel better when you leave the. You feel a lot better when you leave
the bar at one o’clock in the morning. You’re the most sober guy in the whole room. And that that feels good.
[00:23:16]
So do you feel like now, if you did know somebody that is struggling with alcohol, that you could look him in the eye and say, I can
assure you that you’ll be doing amazing things on the other side, this is worth it.
[00:23:28]
I do it every week at least once. I’ll bet you once, maybe more. I know. I’m just last week I talked to a guy. This morning I talked to a
guy. They don’t know my situation because the fact that, you know, I’m not like I don’t go to aa meetings, although I think they’re
good. I just was given the ultimatum. You’re either going to not drink and live or you’re going to drink and possibly die. That’s how
serious my particular pancreatitis, acute pancreatitis destroyed, you know, a lot of my pancreas and poison to my system. And it was
very, very serious. For a couple of days. I was it was touch and go. I don’t remember it, but. Yeah. So it’s great. And you save a lot of
money. I can buy better steaks now. My top sirloins.
[00:24:15]
Well. So you’re you’re in your mid 60s now, right? Sixty five.
[00:24:19]
And you’ve you’ve got you’re very talented at music because you play to play and play. And you made it through this drama.
[00:24:27]
What’s your long term what’s what’s on the horizon for John Dunnigan? What do you look for?
[00:24:32]
Well, just to continue, you know, playing, I still want to play for, you know, several more years. I love it. And I can drag my audience
through the mud, I think, because they’re they like the kind of stuff that I play. I mean, I’m that guy from the 60s. You know, they’ll
come down tonight. They’re going to expect to hear, you know, the Beatles and Paul Simon and James Taylor stuff. And I think back
I look around at all these different musicians and there’s some just phenomenal musicians in the valley and they all have their little
niches. And I’m that guy. I’m the guy that does those and do the funny songs. I put I’m probably one of the only guys really who who
does the kind of comedy routine along with the James Taylor songs. And because I’m older than some of these guys and and like I
say, doing funny songs is that’s an art that’s a huge art to do comedy music, because it’s just you get to find the right song. You’ve
got to sell it, you’ve got to practice. Said he kind of you got to relive it every single time. You you’ve got to make it funny to yourself
and to the audience every time you play it. So it’s it’s kind of a big trick for the cool.
[00:25:44]
Yeah, I think what I hear you saying is, as long as you’re bringing joy to the audience, you don’t see yourself stopping ever.
[00:25:52]
Well, another. Yeah. I don’t know about ever, but I’ll play until they stop calling me and telephone doesn’t ring and then I’ll just I’ll go
fishing.
[00:26:03]
I had mentioned to you before. That that is a likely thing because like I mentioned that when I was in college, I I heard for the first
time Clarence gate mouth Brown.
[00:26:17]
At that time, he was like 80 something years old. Right. And he was playing and I had never even heard him before.
[00:26:23]
But after going getting his albums, after all that, he was as good at that age as probably ever . mastered it. He was still good at it.
Yeah. He has passed on. But like really as long as you got it, you guys will keep going.
[00:26:37]
And you know, as as we all age up with with these kind of quote, singers from the 60s, I saw yesterday on online Gordon Lightfoot is
now 80 years old and Willie Nelson is is 80 years old. And Paul Simon is right around 80 years old. And these guys that are, you
know, definitely influenced me. They’re 15, 16 years older than me. And they’re still out there doing it obvious. They don’t need the
money. I mean, Paul Simon is, you know, one of the end. Gordon Lightfoot and Willie Nelson are some of the wealthiest musicians in
the history of the world. So they love it. They just love it to enjoy it. Yeah.
[00:27:17]
Well, hey, I just can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming and being on this podcast. We didn’t really know each other that
much before this. But you’ve been somebody that I felt like I knew. Thanks. Because I have heard your music and I and it’s like you’re
a very engaging guy in your performances.
[00:27:34]
And so when I reached out to you, I was hoping that you would be willing to share a little bit about your story and your journey. And
I know that you’re the kind of guy that if anybody listening to this wants to follow up with you and know more.
[00:27:47]
You’d be happy to share with them and they probably could just run into you. What are your performances? Right.
[00:27:50]
Sure. I again, I get that I get that a lot. I’m kind of one of the one of the senior performers, you know, in the Flathead Valley. There
are a couple of other guys who might be older than me. I’m not really sure that’s true, but I talk to guys all the time about, you know,
they’re inquisitive as to how just like some of the questions you ask, how I’ve done it so long and how I keep my show fresh and and,
you know, as far as equipment and guitar styles and things like that. I love it. That’s that’s all I do. This is practice and play and set up
and go home.
[00:28:24]
Last question. Okay. The guy that got me in touch with you for this interview told me to ask you this, but he’s one of your biggest
fans. Cause whenever I’m on Facebook, he’s always at a John Dunnigan event. and he’s always posting. So what are your big fans
locally here said to ask you? Apparently your wife cannot know. But what’s it like to walk on thin ice?
[00:28:50]
Oh, my gosh. Wow. Wow. And what’s he where’s he going with that?
[00:28:56]
Well, I well, I that’s literally thin ice as I fell through the ice on the big fisherman. And I have a little cabin on a lake here in northwest
Montana. And a couple of years ago, me and a buddy were out. We’re being we’re being stupid. You know, a couple of Northern
California guys, even though we’ve both been here for more than 40 years, just walked out of the ice in the spring. It was frozen or
looked pretty frozen. And I had my dog kind of like your dog who I’m petting right here. And I was throwing the Frisbee for him, not
thinking much about it. We were about 50 or 60 feet from shore. And later on, I found out the water was about 40 feet deep. But a
friend of mine from Minnesota said it doesn’t have to be deep. It just has to be over your head. And I broke through just so quickly.
[00:29:48]
It’s just mind boggling. And I had all my winter gear on. So suddenly I probably went from weighing, you know, one hundred and
sixty five pounds to two hundred because everything gets soaked. I didn’t go, you know, over my head and I got out on my own. And
then I took like four or five steps towards my friend who was just in shock. And I broke through again. And this time he laid down on
his stomach and reached out and actually got me out. And I remember looking up towards my cabin and towards the guys, my
neighbor who had just told me three hours before that don’t go on the ice. It doesn’t look very safe. I was looking at his window
thinking, I wonder if he sees me out there and feeling really embarrassed to make a long story short. Obviously, I got out, but.
[00:30:35]
You know, sometimes people don’t get out you you’re in there and you, you know, the ice keeps keeps breaking.
[00:30:40]
I never felt the cold. It never I just never even realized I was in cold water. But it was it was. And my friend I was with. I won’t
mention his name. He will never go out on ice.
[00:30:52]
He said I’ve been out many, many times since then. But it scared my friend. He will never go ice fishing again.
[00:30:58]
So that’s what it is. Thank you, Scott. For you, Scott.
[00:31:03]
That’s a nice little side note story. Well, hey, John, I really appreciate you sharing a little bit of it. We were trying to have just a wide,
diverse mix of people who made it work in Montana. And you made it work through music, which is a lot of people would like to be
able to do that. And so I just appreciate sharing some of your experiences with everybody.
[00:31:26]
You’re welcome. David, good luck with this podcast.
[00:31:28]
And this is David Boye and this is Making It Work in Montana. And we appreciate you listening to this episode. If you have any
feedback for us, let me know on the Facebook page or our Website. And if you have somebody that you think would make a great
guest for making it work in Montana, please reach out to me and let me know and have a great week.
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