Whittie of the Week: Marshall Baker, fiddlin’ gansta
This week’s Whittie defies stereotypes. While he may seem like a rap loving gangster, this 2 West party boy loves to play the fiddle. It is for his unique character that Marshall Baker is Whittie of the Week.
Baker grew up in Portland, Oregon. He attended public school throughout his academic career, but switched schools a few times. He first attended Sabin Elementary School where his mom worked as a special education teacher. He left before fourth grade after repeatedly getting into trouble. Baker describes himself as “just a stupid, impulsive kid who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
He could certainly play a fiddle, though. Baker’s father taught him to play the fiddle when he was only 6 and he hasn’t stopped playing since. He entered in local and national contests, usually placing top five in the state championships.
He said, “It was pretty cool to for a 10-year-old kid to play for six minutes and make 100 dollars.” He especially liked the National Oldtime Fiddlers Festival. The festival takes place in Weiser, Idaho.
Baker describes fiddling as “having its own little subculture.” The Festival draws tens of thousands of people to Idaho for five to 10 days of fiddling fun. Baker likes the different kinds of people. He said, “You get people from cities, really religious conservative people just out of the hills and all different ages.”
Fiddle isn’t the only instrument Baker plays. He also plays the clarinet and bass. Baker currently plays bass for the Whitman Jazz Sextet.
Baker is also in a bluegrass band with his father. The band is called “Larry Wilder and the Stumptown Stars.” This summer the band will be touring around Europe.
The band plans to travel from June to July through countries such as Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Baker doesn’t think that the band is all that well-known, but rather that “they just like American music over there.” Apparently Europeans like bluegrass enough to give them a gig almost every single night.
Aside from the fiddle, Baker plays rugby. He likes it because “it’s an aggressive, animal sport.” He also feels that he needs it “or else [he] will be violent.” Baker wrestled in high school and also admits to “getting into a few scraps.”
Baker is thinking of possibly double majoring in music and anthropology, as he also enjoys learning about other cultures. This is evident from his “Yellow Bus” radio show that is all about exploring an extremely unique culture: the hyphy movement.
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