Sep 15, 2013
When I started out on the road I worked the southern circuits of the United States. I have performed in every town that ends in ville or boro. I did a horrendous gig in Mobile, Alabama many years ago and the best thing about it was I made a life long friendship with Faye Woodruff. Faye is a southern comedy legend known as the Grand Mother From Hell. She started doing the road once her husband Joe had retired and they would travel together. It was inspiring to see an older couple who were still head over heels in love with each other. Sadly, Joe passed away and as she gets older Faye does the road less and less. She has been an important person in my life. My Grand Mother died when I was very young and I have always considered Faye to be a sort of Grand Mother figure to me. She loves dirty jokes and that is why she is called the Grand Mother from Hell because she looks like a sweet little old lady when she takes the stage but then her act that follows is filthy and hilarious. She once robbed a comedy club at gun point in Jacksonville Beach, FL after they refused to pay her. She tells that story here and how she made the most fun out of her time in jail. I also get her to tell me my favorite story of hers which is what she taught a parrot to say in Key West, FL. She loves Nashville, country music and filthy jokes. I go out of my way to swing by Nashville to visit her whenever I have the chance. Things haven't been easy since Joe died but she loves life and believes in laughter and jokes to be the sweetest joys a person could know. Once you hear this conversation, recorded in Nashville last year, you will know why I have loved her since the day I met her and why she is called the Grand Mother from Hell.