Five Questions With Doug Kershaw

Doug Kershaw

- Frank Etheridge

What does it take to be a good fiddle player?

Well, talent doesn’t hurt. I come from a fiddle-playing family—I started at five years old. At seven my dad died and I had to start helping my mother make a living. By nine I was playing fiddle professionally. So I just learned. But, to be honest with you, it’s hard for me to say how to become successful at it. I just did it because I was hungry. Hungry to learn, you know? You have to have that burning desire to succeed at anything. I had that. Growing up with four brothers, we were always in competition with each other. I learned a lot from my family by just playing.

Do you mind being known the world over as the “Ragin’ Cajun”?