whats your day job ?

About Steel Guitarists and their Music

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Peer Desmense
Posts: 109
Joined: 30 Jul 2007 6:01 am
Location: Netherlands

Post by Peer Desmense »

School teacher. The kids I teach come from all over the world. There parents are warfugitives or workseekers or gypsies or whatever you can think of , we have them on board.
I've been teaching for 32 years now and still enjoy this line of work.

Peer
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Steve Norman
Posts: 1696
Joined: 12 Oct 2007 6:28 am
Location: Seattle Washington, USA
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Post by Steve Norman »

bike messenger.

a stupid job for stupid people
GFI D10, Fender Steel King, Hilton Vpedal,BoBro, National D dobro, Marrs RGS
pdl20
Posts: 1162
Joined: 2 Jul 1999 12:01 am
Location: Benton, Ar . USA,

RETIRED

Post by pdl20 »

i worked for 20 yrs as a Training Director/Instructor in Asbestos removal and Haz-mat training courses for the construction Laborer's unions of North America.before that i made a living playing steel guitar. Now that i am retired i can play music for a living. :smile:
Bill Tauson
Posts: 204
Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
Location: Chino Valley, Az.

Day job!

Post by Bill Tauson »

Almost 29 yrs in Law Enforcement in the Los Angeles area. Looking forward to retiring and playing more steel guitar.
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Jim Sliff
Posts: 7059
Joined: 22 Jun 2005 12:01 am
Location: Lawndale California, USA

Post by Jim Sliff »

I've been in the paint business for 30 years, mostly on the technical consulting and sales management side save a 3-year self-imposed retirement due to a downsizing a few years ago (luckily, I was on the committee and helped build my own "golden parachute". My specialty has always been in unique technical industrial/commercial coatings, robotic application systems (for field work), and trail-blazing...although I love finishing guitars and have done many, including some restoration jobs.

Now I'm VP of a painting & waterproofing contracting firm like no other; we do as much consulting and R&D work as application/installation. Our specialty is polyurea (the stuff some car bumpers/dashboards are made of, along with tugboat "fenders"), and we're probably the largest applicator in the country of sprayable versions, with 8 plural-component spray rigs.

A simple polyurea plural-component spray rig will run about $100k, is trailer-mounted in a race-car hauler, sprays A&B components out of drums heated to 175 degrees F, and needs a 45KW generator in the trailer. Most of the polyurea versions we use dry in 15-60 *seconds*. Parking decks and such are back in service in an hour max. Our clients are folks like Dodger Stadium, Universal Studios, Disney (we spent 18 months on the "Finding Nemo" sub ride conversion project alone), the University of Arizona etc.

In addition to project management, planning/scheduling, specification consulting, laboratory testing and running the safety program I take care of the website, and there's some cool video stuff on there, even if you're not all that interested in waterproofing...sheesh, I can keep that site running but still haven't unscrewed my personal one!! FWIW webmaster email DOES NOT go to me, so don't use it for contact please.

www.waterproofingcontractor.com

Also interesting - we are reportedly the only painting/waterproofing contractor in Orange County CA that generates zero hazardous waste. Almost every thing we use has no solvent, and even cleaning/flush materials are strained/reused and the inert solids legally disposable. NOTHING goes in a sink or especially storm drain. Hand tools are dried and disposed of as inert, not cleaned. Makes annual County and Fire inspections a breeze.
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
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Chris Schlotzhauer
Posts: 2204
Joined: 11 Jan 1999 1:01 am
Location: Colleyville, Tx. USA

Post by Chris Schlotzhauer »

Electrical Contractor, but I mostly do estimating for a firm in Dallas. It's more flexible for my playing. I do work at home a lot.
Here's a project downtown I'm currently working on. It's a non-stop stream of pricing, since the original estimate. It's 28 story luxury condo high rise (on the right)

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Larry Robbins
Posts: 3521
Joined: 18 Feb 2003 1:01 am
Location: Fort Edward, New York

Post by Larry Robbins »

Carpenter /cabinet maker, before that a drywall taper for far too many years.Also used to be bartender/bouncer in the toughest part of my town.Made a lot of friends. Made a lot of enimies....till they sobered up! :lol:
Twang to the bone!
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Roger Crawford
Posts: 5264
Joined: 10 Sep 1999 12:01 am
Location: Griffin, GA USA

Post by Roger Crawford »

Quotations Manager for one of the worlds leading manufacturers of commercial, industrial and residential lighting equipment.
Russ Cayen
Posts: 25
Joined: 1 Aug 2005 12:01 am
Location: Woodstock,Ontario,Canada

Post by Russ Cayen »

Lic. Truck/Coach Mechanic and Lic. Heavy Equipment Mechanic. Worked Forestry and Underground Mining. Now work for the city I live in, easy to get time off for gigs. The guys in the band like having a mechanic with them.
John Floyd
Posts: 2556
Joined: 2 Mar 2001 1:01 am
Location: R.I.P.
Contact:

Post by John Floyd »

I'm A Traffic Director! :-D :lol: :lol:
I have The Intracoastal Waterway in my front yard.
I sit on my front poarch and wave at the boaters going to down to see Joe Casey in Florida in the fall
and in the spring I wave at the rejects when Joe Sends them Back North :lol:
Tony Farr
Posts: 373
Joined: 5 Jul 2002 12:01 am
Location: Madison, Tennessee, USA (deceased)

Post by Tony Farr »

Yes John, that is my second album that I recorded. It was recorded in 1970 just afer I moved to Nashville from Minneapolis, Mn.
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Dean Gray
Posts: 135
Joined: 9 Nov 2007 1:42 pm
Location: New South Wales, Australia

Post by Dean Gray »

I am a Station Commander in the New South Wales Fire Brigade. We do structure and bush fires, rescue, hazardous materials incidents, public education and more.

I love this job, you never know what you may be confronted with from one shift to the next. There can be a sense of satisfaction in knowing you have helped people in their time of need. On the downside, there are incidents we attend that are plain distressing.

Shiftwork can be very conducive to playing and family life if you have a good roster. I get to see a lot more of my kids, (and play steel guitar if I am lucky) than when I worked "regular" hours.

Happy New Year to you all.
The more I learn, the less I know!
Terry Winter
Posts: 507
Joined: 20 Sep 2007 10:57 am
Location: Saskatchewan, Canada

Post by Terry Winter »

I'm a third generation rancher.
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Alan Brookes
Posts: 13218
Joined: 29 Mar 2006 1:01 am
Location: Brummy living in Southern California

Post by Alan Brookes »

....what this shows is that most members don't earn their livings playing music. :whoa:
Dickie Whitley
Posts: 1090
Joined: 10 Feb 2004 1:01 am

Day job...

Post by Dickie Whitley »

...
Last edited by Dickie Whitley on 12 Feb 2011 7:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Steve Norman
Posts: 1696
Joined: 12 Oct 2007 6:28 am
Location: Seattle Washington, USA
Contact:

Post by Steve Norman »

Alan as soon as I get my paycheck I go home and throw it at my pedal steel as hard as I can. Then I go to the music store and throw the rest at the owner. Then my wife says she wants to go on a trip right after I get of tour... people make a living playing these things? for the love of God how?
GFI D10, Fender Steel King, Hilton Vpedal,BoBro, National D dobro, Marrs RGS
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Earl Foote
Posts: 371
Joined: 12 Oct 1998 12:01 am
Location: Houston, Tx, USA

Day Job

Post by Earl Foote »

I design gears & gearboxes for oil field and petrochemical applications.
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Alan Brookes
Posts: 13218
Joined: 29 Mar 2006 1:01 am
Location: Brummy living in Southern California

Post by Alan Brookes »

Steve Norman wrote:Alan as soon as I get my paycheck I go home and throw it at my pedal steel as hard as I can. Then I go to the music store and throw the rest at the owner....
I throw my credit card at eBay. I guess it's similar :whoa: :whoa: :whoa:
Jake L
Posts: 613
Joined: 4 Aug 1998 11:00 pm
Location: Grapevine, Texas

Post by Jake L »

I'm a land based mud engineer. I used to be a golf pro, and for several years, was an insurance adjuster for State Farm and then as an independent. But, believe it or not, at one point in my life, I threw darts for a living. I want to be a hunting, fishing, and pack trip guide when I grow up.
Last edited by Jake L on 28 Dec 2007 8:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Larry Hamilton
Posts: 1277
Joined: 20 Aug 2003 12:01 am
Location: Keller, Texas, USA

Post by Larry Hamilton »

Kenny, Yes I have run the GE dash 8 locomotives. BNSF has many in their fleet of locomotives.

Thanks for your interest. It is a fun job.
Keep pickin', Larry
Terry Kinnear
Posts: 534
Joined: 17 Mar 2007 8:31 am
Location: Erie ,Pennsylvania

Post by Terry Kinnear »

I use to work, at Ge .on the dash 8, train air conditioners..testing station, amtracks . that was fun. mostly when they had the converters,wired wrong. I would walk out of the building, when it was in testing.after the dust cleared, I would go back in,tell them ,i told you so. they were always hard of hearing. they got to belive me after that,Hum ..TK
Terry Kinnear [ steel wondering]
Mike Kowalik
Posts: 1752
Joined: 29 Nov 1998 1:01 am
Location: San Antonio,Texas

Post by Mike Kowalik »

25 years as an aircraft structural mechanic(with an Airframe license from the FAA).....just completed my first year working at the local Toyota assembly plant on the Tundra production line.
Robert Cates
Posts: 273
Joined: 30 May 2006 12:01 am
Location: Maine, USA

Self Employed

Post by Robert Cates »

OK..I'll jump in ..I have been a fisherman for the past 40 years..Mostly for Lobster but I have fished for just about everything in the ocean..Except Right Whales...My father and his father and so on

Self employed my whole life.Now that I'm 53 I kind of wish that I had taken a REAL job years ago...Maybe I would have a retirement fund built up by now...OH Well ..you know what they say

Fisherman don't retire..they just die

Bob
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James Martin (U.K.)
Posts: 539
Joined: 2 Nov 2004 1:01 am
Location: Watford, Herts, United Kingdom * R.I.P.

Post by James Martin (U.K.) »

I drove a London cab for thirty years here's me on the cab rank in Wembley a couple of years ago before I retired.
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Terry Kinnear
Posts: 534
Joined: 17 Mar 2007 8:31 am
Location: Erie ,Pennsylvania

Post by Terry Kinnear »

Hey James, I think your driving on the wrong side of the road. your steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car. nice car.Tk
Terry Kinnear [ steel wondering]
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