The K word.... grrrrr....
The last job that my band played was at a local club, and we had the place jumpin, packed in like sardines. It was a great night until.....
This moron bubble-head broad walks up to the band and tells us the song that she wants to sing.
(!)
I informed her that this is a band. We actually practice our instruments, learn chords, changes, harmonies, solos, transpositions. We then rehearse these songs till they are presentable to the public, and then keep polishing them as we perform, to be the best we can be as a BAND.
The friggin ditz was actually miffed that she and her "K" friends wouldn't be allowed anywhere near our gear, period.
It wasn't all that big a deal, but it left me profoundly PISSED (every time I think about it) that people have no idea how hard musicians have to work to sound good.
sorry, rant mode off....
-andy-
working with electric guitarists
Moderator: Shoshanah Marohn
-
Chris Forbes
- Posts: 1545
- Joined: 2 Jan 2002 1:01 am
- Location: Beltsville, MD, USA
Andy, sigh, I know exactly what you mean. It seems since the "K" word has been around, everyone assumes they can just waltz onto stage wherever and whenever. I actually had to give a drunk jerk the ol' heave ho off a stage a little while ago. He was mad cause we wouldn't let him sing with us (and to make it worse, he wanted to sing "Friends in Low Places", yech!!!!).
-
John Russell
- Posts: 887
- Joined: 19 Sep 1998 12:01 am
- Location: Austin, Texas
Guys, I share your pain.
On bright side: I played a party the other night for a co-worker who said she couldn't afford a DJ but had no trouble paying us $400 for three hours.
What's with these "K" guys anyway? Think they're artists or something?
It's not new. I knew of a couple of brothers back in the late '70s who assembled a massive sound system with fog machines, expensive lights and thousands of watts of power to play top 40 rock music on tape. These guys booked out for big bucks, used local "talent" agencies and toured the state. It was a lot of hype and hustle, about a 3-hour setup and tear down.
That mentality of more is better will never die. Several "country" acts around here do pretty much the same thing, only they actually play instruments. These bands mix George Strait, ZZ Top and rap in an entertainment package that is quite popular in the smaller towns between here and Houston. It doesn't really fly here in Austin, thank God though there are some fans.
Face it, the 18-25 year-old demographic wants anything big and loud. I try not to let it bug me, after all these years you see things come and go. There will always be an audience for talent, you just have to try harder, sometimes to get exposure. Don't give up. The synergy of talented players having a great time will prevail. --JR
On bright side: I played a party the other night for a co-worker who said she couldn't afford a DJ but had no trouble paying us $400 for three hours.
What's with these "K" guys anyway? Think they're artists or something?
It's not new. I knew of a couple of brothers back in the late '70s who assembled a massive sound system with fog machines, expensive lights and thousands of watts of power to play top 40 rock music on tape. These guys booked out for big bucks, used local "talent" agencies and toured the state. It was a lot of hype and hustle, about a 3-hour setup and tear down.
That mentality of more is better will never die. Several "country" acts around here do pretty much the same thing, only they actually play instruments. These bands mix George Strait, ZZ Top and rap in an entertainment package that is quite popular in the smaller towns between here and Houston. It doesn't really fly here in Austin, thank God though there are some fans.
Face it, the 18-25 year-old demographic wants anything big and loud. I try not to let it bug me, after all these years you see things come and go. There will always be an audience for talent, you just have to try harder, sometimes to get exposure. Don't give up. The synergy of talented players having a great time will prevail. --JR
-
Terry Downs
- Posts: 491
- Joined: 8 Jun 1999 12:01 am
- Location: Wylie, TX US
This is a major sore spot for me. I feel that the ethics for playing with others has drifted away with the times. I am amazed that it is not totally obvious to everyone on a country music stage the method of sharing fills and backing vocalists (what John Steele said).
I began playing guitar at age 5, and was playing in bands at age 10. I had the same problem of hogging the fills and over playing only by human nature. I have never been selfish person by nature, so why was I doing this? It is a natural response. I was fortunate enough to have a mature caring musician figure in my life to beat this concept into my head. I believe it take mentoring to fix this problem.
Most of you guys on the forum are seasoned mature musicians. I challenge you to have critical discussions with your co-players. If I did not have that type of guidance, I could very well be one of those guitar HOGS still today. I would like to think I could discover it on my own, but who knows.
You can learn all you want about music and technique, but you are not acceptable in the market if you don't know when NOT to play.
I scanned in the text from the last page of the "Roy Wiggins Steel Guitar Course" from 1948. Please read this and note its simplistic wording. Over a half century has passed, but it is advice every musician should know up front.
<I>
PRACTICE - This is something most everyone falls short on. But is is very important. Especially as a beginner, practice is very necessary. I would suggest at least an hour or two a day so as not to forget what you have learned and to learn new things. A good way to learn about new things and improve your tone is to listen to records that have steel guitar players on them. The most of these fellows are good. And it will help you considerably. Another thing of importance is, as you proceed along, do not get ahead of yourself. Take one thing at time till you get that one thing down, then proceed along to another. This is very hard to do, because it is human nature for a person to overestimate his or herself . Thus trying to do something they are not quite capable of doing quite so fast. Now that doesn't mean they are not to progress, but to do so according to your own ability. So many of our steel players do try to play beyond their ability. Remember to proceed slowly and patiently, because the steel guitar isn't as easy to play as it looks.
No matter how simple you play, play that good.
TOUCH - This is where your ability really shows up. Remember to touch the strings lightly and easily. Always playing softly.
FILL IN - Remember when backing up a singer do not drown them out but to play in the vacant spots. Also, if you play with a group, do not let everyone a back up the singer at once. Let another instrument play one chorus and you another. Play softly, or not at all during the other instruments fill in. This prevents' the clashing of instruments.
Tone, volume, equipment, practice, touch, and the ability to fill-in are the most important things to remember in the playing of the steel guitar.
I hope this book in some way has helped you. And I thank you very much.
Your Steel Guitar Friend,
ROY WIGGINS.
</I>
I began playing guitar at age 5, and was playing in bands at age 10. I had the same problem of hogging the fills and over playing only by human nature. I have never been selfish person by nature, so why was I doing this? It is a natural response. I was fortunate enough to have a mature caring musician figure in my life to beat this concept into my head. I believe it take mentoring to fix this problem.
Most of you guys on the forum are seasoned mature musicians. I challenge you to have critical discussions with your co-players. If I did not have that type of guidance, I could very well be one of those guitar HOGS still today. I would like to think I could discover it on my own, but who knows.
You can learn all you want about music and technique, but you are not acceptable in the market if you don't know when NOT to play.
I scanned in the text from the last page of the "Roy Wiggins Steel Guitar Course" from 1948. Please read this and note its simplistic wording. Over a half century has passed, but it is advice every musician should know up front.
<I>
PRACTICE - This is something most everyone falls short on. But is is very important. Especially as a beginner, practice is very necessary. I would suggest at least an hour or two a day so as not to forget what you have learned and to learn new things. A good way to learn about new things and improve your tone is to listen to records that have steel guitar players on them. The most of these fellows are good. And it will help you considerably. Another thing of importance is, as you proceed along, do not get ahead of yourself. Take one thing at time till you get that one thing down, then proceed along to another. This is very hard to do, because it is human nature for a person to overestimate his or herself . Thus trying to do something they are not quite capable of doing quite so fast. Now that doesn't mean they are not to progress, but to do so according to your own ability. So many of our steel players do try to play beyond their ability. Remember to proceed slowly and patiently, because the steel guitar isn't as easy to play as it looks.
No matter how simple you play, play that good.
TOUCH - This is where your ability really shows up. Remember to touch the strings lightly and easily. Always playing softly.
FILL IN - Remember when backing up a singer do not drown them out but to play in the vacant spots. Also, if you play with a group, do not let everyone a back up the singer at once. Let another instrument play one chorus and you another. Play softly, or not at all during the other instruments fill in. This prevents' the clashing of instruments.
Tone, volume, equipment, practice, touch, and the ability to fill-in are the most important things to remember in the playing of the steel guitar.
I hope this book in some way has helped you. And I thank you very much.
Your Steel Guitar Friend,
ROY WIGGINS.
</I>
-
James Morehead
- Posts: 6944
- Joined: 19 May 2003 12:01 am
- Location: Prague, Oklahoma, USA - R.I.P.
-
Chris Scruggs
- Posts: 807
- Joined: 20 Jan 2003 1:01 am
- Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
-
Chris Scruggs
- Posts: 807
- Joined: 20 Jan 2003 1:01 am
- Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA