So Just Who Is Doc Mehl?
Newly transplanted from Colorado to Black Diamond, Alberta, Al “Doc” Mehl traces his family roots to central Kansas, where his grandfather raised six children on the family homestead. With one foot in the past and one in the present, Doc weaves the history and the mystery of the West into his original "west-clectic" poetry and music. His debut music CD is titled “Asphalt Cowboy,” and his second music CD titled “I’d Rather Be…” was released in 2008. Doc Mehl has also published a CD of original poetry titled “Cowboy Pottery,” and a second spoken-word poetry CD titled “The Great Divide,' named 2013 "Cowboy Poetry CD of the Year" by both the Western Music Association and the Academy of Western Artists. In 2020, Doc published his first collection of poetry, “Good Medicine: Read Two Poems and Call Me in the Morning.” And in 2022, Doc released two new CDs of music, “West of the 22” and "Tried and True. You can also find Doc hanging out with the inimitable Washtub Jerry on their duo live album, "Doc & Tub, Live!"
Doc’s poems and musical lyrics have been featured on the website www.CowboyPoetry.com, he has been published in the poetry journal “Rattle,” and he was a first-place silver buckle winner at the National Cowboy Poetry Rodeo in Montrose, Colorado in 2009. In the words of Rick Huff (as published in The Western Way magazine), “There’s a unique mind at work here that may be one of a kind in the Western Music arena…He'll make you laugh and then suddenly think, laugh some more, and then cry. Don't strip your gears!” Catch up with Doc someday soon, either in concert or through his recordings. You won’t regret it.
Up Close and Personal… Doc Mehl Live on Stage.
Time to try a little taste of Doc Mehl, live on stage! You'll need no cash for a ticket, no money for a baby sitter, no change for the parking meter. Just click on the video links and enjoy! Doc Mehl is here to entertain you with his "west-clectic" songwriting, a unique brand of contemporary western music and rhyming spoken word. Sit back and put another log on the campfire.. it's time to be entertained.
"I'd Rather Be…" - Written and Performed by Doc Mehl
"Stupid Dog" - Written and performed by Doc Mehl
"Fence Posts Made of Stone" - Written and performed by Doc Mehl
"I'm Sweet on Barbie" - Written and performed by Doc Mehl
Who's Doc Been Hanging Out With?
Doc’s stage performances feature his thought-provoking (and occasionally side-splitting) cowboy poetry, and spotlight his unique "west-clectic" songwriting and soulful guitar. But you’ll also find him up on stage or down by the campfire, playing a jam-session-like counterpoint on the western cello alongside performing artists Pop Wagner, Liz Masterson, Evelyn Roper, Jim Jones, Patty Clayton, Bill Barwick, Juni Fisher, Rex Rideout, Mary Kaye, Jon Chandler and the Wichitones, the Yampa Valley Boys, Miss V the Gypsy Cowbelle, and even Riders in the Sky. And you haven't really tasted contemporary western music at its finest until you've seen Doc Mehl up on stage with Washtub Jerry! Just click on "Doc & Tub" to learn more about this entertaining duo.
Why The Nickname "Doc?"
Folks are often asking, why the nickname “Doc?”
Sure, it has a nice "Western" sound to it, but couldn’t there be more to it than that, folks seem to ponder.
So, take your pick of the reasons shown below. Doc attests that all of the following are true (but then sheepishly admits that the real reason folks call him“Doc” may not even be on the list):
1. He's pretty good at treating foot-rot.
2. He has tended to more than a few living creatures in his day.
3. He usually knows what to do about a toothache.
4. He's counseled a drunkard or two over the years.
5. Friends started calling him by that name years ago when he was still in school, and it kinda stuck.
6. When it comes to vaccinating, he's a believer.
Catch Doc at a jam session sometime after midnight, and he might just spill the beans about the nickname. Then again... he might not.