On a cold November night in the windy harbour city of Saint John a group of musicians called the Cool Chicks & the Ugly Doclings squeeze onto a tiny stage in the local arts centre. In the once-flourishing industrial city of Saint John, NB, money can be too tight to mention and that's why this group of doctors, nurses and their friends picked up their guitars and tuned up their voices to raise money for good causes. Tonight the hat's being passed for the struggling arts centre itself.

FOLK LEFTOVERS
The Doclings' music and medicine mix started with Dr Stephen Willis, a family physician, and Dr John Acker, a retired orthopedic surgeon, the original players. "John and I were just a couple of folk singers left over from the 60s," explains Dr Willis. "We played at neighbourhood parties for years and then we hooked up with Dr Andrew Clark — he can really play guitar, where John and I are just strummers."

After discovering just how much musical talent there was among their friends, the docs decided to go public. "I said, 'I bet people would pay good money to see a bunch of doctors make fools of themselves,'" laughs Dr Acker. And so the Doclings were born. Today, the group's made up of Dr Willis, Dr Acker and Dr Clark (an anesthetist) on guitars; Dr Mark Engfield (an intensivist) on percussion; and singers Jennifer Rooney and Mike Wills (respiratory therapists), and Brenda Brooks and Marilyn Mockler (RNs). Margaret Bockus (voice and keyboard), a retired teacher, and George Fifield (voice and traditional Irish instrument, the bones), a lifelong musician and longtime friend of Dr Acker's, round out the lineup. All the doctors sing as well as play, and the resulting harmonies are amazingly polished.

The Doclings gave their first public performance on December 30, 2002, at a variety show they'd arranged called "Music is Good Medicine." That night they raised $2,000 for local palliative care charity, Hospice Saint John. Since then they've raised money for orthopedic fundraiser Hip Hip Hooray, annual arthritis awareness run Joints in Motion, the Shriners Hospitals and local churches.

COOKIES AND CAMARADERIE
The performance room in the turn-of-the-century Saint John Arts Centre building is warm and lit by a mixture of tiny white lights and floodlights. The 50-strong audience munches cookies and sips tea around the cluster of small tables scattered in front of the stage and on the balcony. The docs have some initial difficulties: a collapsing music stand, a too-small stage, and the absence of Dr Engfield, who's on call. Once the music starts, however, it's all pure harmonies and beautiful music. The players are comfortable on stage, with an easy camaraderie. The first set is a mixture of old and newer folk music with some modern classics like Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."

The second set, following a poetry reading, includes more familiar tunes and an original composition by Dr Clark ("Maritime Christmas") and finishes with a rousing singalong. Wild applause and expressions of admiration from the audience and a brimming cash box say it all.

The docs and the rest of the Doclings say they're glad to help — and that their music helps them, too. These performances lighten the load of working in a province with severe healthcare staffing shortages. In "Maritime Christmas," Dr Clark advises "Don't get so busy you've no time for laughter," and it's advice that these 10 people take to heart. They plan to stay together to share laughter and music for some time — while keeping their day jobs, of course.