Is the Club scene as bad all over as it is in New England?

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 30 Mar 2001 2:01 pm

I give up !

You guys have fun sitting at home complaining and I'll have fun playing music on the steel.

When bands offer me gigs and tours that I am too busy for I'll keep on making sure that I only turn them over to guys that have not figured out bad everything is yet.

Also all you guys that have somehow managed to figure everything out about the music world without actually playing or listening to any of the new music out there (why bother, its all garbage anyway !), lets let all the deluded fools that are making a living and having fun playing pedalsteel live in there fantasy world !
I know alot of guys that are getting pretty good playing the steel. People are giving them money , plane tickets to Europe, recording session work, good looking girls are flirting with them...

Man... they would be heartbroken to find out how bad everything is.

Geez, now that I know how bad it is out there maybe I should cancel my gigs, tell my students not to bother and spend the rest of my life talking with you guys about Lloyd Green's wound 6th string !

Bob

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 30 Mar 2001 2:35 pm

Rayman! As long as you singled me out of the majority, Being you play, uh in NY, why not take a call from Letterman, you should have no problem, blowing away 90% of the bands he has on his show? Heck even us old, out of tune country boys could do that! ;bOb; If I'm out of line, just let me know! kr

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 30 Mar 2001 3:25 pm

Retcop! Its going to be way too easy to win this one!

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 31 Mar 2001 12:43 am

Is any of your stuff availible,I'd gladly purchase your material and Raymans too.

You are a lucky man ! It just so happens that a CD by "The Doodars" is available in the forum catalog.

There is no reason for anybody to have heard of me. I'm just a nobody sideman steel player. You guys are so out of it that you would not have heard of me even if I was well known. I don't have any big standards or anything like that. I don't even think of myself as any big deal of a steel player. I can do what I can do and I get by.

The sad part of this is that there are young players with a good full life of playing music in front of them that think like you guys. By limiting there concept of what music is they will not find work and therefore not enjoy the most fun and personally fulfilling way to spend what time they get on this goofy planet.

Bob

BTW:
One thing I do hope is that by the time I'm back in diapers I'm not a bitter, complaining old fart

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 31 Mar 2001 6:02 am

there is always a lot of Nostalgia on this kind of Post.
Vets who love their P 51 Mustangs or Spitfires and these newer Fly Boys on these SuperCopters, well heck, as long as they Fly
If Steelin is what you're countin' on to earn a living or Evolve and take Musik furthur
well you guys are doin' the right thing !! no matter what you play. As long as you play for the People you win a Blessing.
Nobody said it was gonna be Easy.
For those who mostly Play at home well shucks,i feel like i wanna hollar but the town's just a too small !
and then you get those, Thank God, who get to play in Church.
Well like i said as long as they Fly
i have found that most of us here on the Forum are middle aged and Nostalgic for our epoques. Time moves on and waits for no one.
Thanx Donny, Wine does gets better w: Age, and i guess that's what us Oldsters feel like,(btw, Thanx Dan Tyack 4 the Fortified wine) but for those who have or still have the Spirit, well let's just get on w: the Show.
Steel diggin y'all

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 31 Mar 2001 7:59 am

As I read this thread and comments, I hear the "Play anywhere as long as you are playing" and "I can find jobs every night". And the young musician's that are playing the current rock/pop that is typical of the current Nashville product.

Then there is the rest of us that sat in smoky clubs for years doing yeoman's work - playing all kinds of music not just traditional country - and now find that most of the places we worked have either closed up, changed to karaoke or have a DJ - which is the crux of this thread.

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 31 Mar 2001 9:56 am

RetCop! I'm still on the floor!

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 31 Mar 2001 5:29 pm

Bob Hoffnar, I wasn't commenting on the music you have in NYC. My post said...

I would go out of the house more if most of the alt-country bands, and singer-songwriters around here were any good.

I KNOW you must have better music in NYC than we do around here. It just stands to reason, since NYC is world-class in the field of entertainment. Baltimore is still basically a blue-collar sports town, and though it was VERY "into" music 30 years ago, things have certainly changed. More power to ANY OF YOU that are working steady...I wish you all well! You're quite lucky you are there.

But, a word to the wise...don't get too "attached" to the music you're playing now and enjoying so much. Don't get to love the sound, or the songs, or the style, because some time soon...they will be gone...out of style...passe...and undesired by the mainstream public. Sooner than you think, tastes will change and something else will take over the No. 1 spot in popular music.

Try and remember though, there are some of us here who really LOVE the old music. We sit and listen to old records and tapes, and the re-issue stuff and say "How did they do that!?!?! So clean, so simple, so down-to-earth, so BEAUTIFUL."

But, if YOU don't love some kind of music, you'll just never understand how we feel, or why we feel that way.

And RAYMAN...while you and I may not always agree, I sense that you do "understand"...thanks!

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 1 Apr 2001 8:01 am

Retcop! He's already proved what you said in your last statement! Also I'm sure that you, like me, are long past the need for a 50.00 gig in a seedy bar? but Wow, he gets 100.00.

Steve Feldman · Post by **Steve Feldman** » 1 Apr 2001 5:03 pm

FWIW - I just got back from a 4 day house-hunting trip in central Mass. Based on the local free arts/entertainment weekly that comes out in Worcester, there are ~15-25 clubs in the area that have bands booked on the weekends. Now, I can't speak to specifics, but dems pretty good odds.[This message was edited by Steve Feldman on 01 April 2001 at 06:04 PM.]

Sage · Post by **Sage** » 1 Apr 2001 5:53 pm

I hear you all. I do play old roots country (and alt country) with a dear friend because I love it. We don't do it for the $$. But you're right, Bob H- I'm getting so much interest from singer-songwriters after making just a few connections that I'm going to have to start turning down projects.
I respect and honor the legacy of the players that gave us the sound so many of us love, and associate with the steel. The fact is that it is a musical instrument, capable of playing music. Ready or not, here it comes into the WHOLE WORLD of music.
BTW Bob, I just bought the Doodars from b0b. Just need to get to the post office to pick it up, as I have been in Florida this weekend. Friends, you have no idea what is on the way. The best is yet to come.
Blessings to all- Sage[This message was edited by Sage on 01 April 2001 at 06:55 PM.]

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 1 Apr 2001 6:41 pm

Sage lives in a smaller town than Baltimore:

I'm getting so much interest from singer-songwriters after making just a few connections that I'm going to have to start turning down projects.

Donny,
I promise you that if you get out there and check out some of the talented new songwriters out there you will find people that love your playing. Jimmy Day finished his career with a bar gig playing with a singer songwriter. Just acoustic guitar and Jimmy. Give some of the new musicians a chance. You will find the most appreciative audience you have ever run into. It is a great feeling. If you are not sure how to get started shoot me an e mail. They absolutly love the classic country sound of the steel. You are a great player. Don't hide your gift.

Sage,
you go get em !

I hope you like the Doodar's CD . We are getting radio play in Romania for some reason.

Kyle,

Also I'm sure that you, like me, are long past the need for a 50.00 gig in a seedy bar? but Wow, he gets 100.00.

I am interested in hearing about how much money all your gigs pay. Are you a working pedalsteel player ?

I work regularly with some of the best and most successful musicians in NYC. They still play $50 gigs. The attitude among the top pro's that I know is "You gotta gig or you don't gotta gig". They just love music and love to play.

Bob

kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 1 Apr 2001 8:12 pm

Bob! I'm not one to brag, I recently sold my OTR trucking co. [350 rigs& 3 terminals.]I'm building a little? place somewhere on my 170,000 acres. "no crime no grime" also had no electicity or phone line.but now have 3 windmills&3 cell #s for computer, fax& etc. I played the road for several yrs including 3in Nashburgh I honestly must say I'm not presently playing, but in addition to having a ton of Steels. I'm contiplating building a club that may be the club of all clubs, but nowhere near the size of Billybobs, It will feature, No R&R, But definately twin fiddles, & background singers, This is a long time dream that I'm putting a lot of thought into. As I said, I hate to brag, So I lied, but it is April Fools day! If I rubbed anyone earlier the wrong way, I apologize! kr

John Steele · Post by **John Steele** » 1 Apr 2001 8:15 pm

*cough*
"Well said, Bob" ??

Well, now I'm confused, Rayman. A short time ago I mentioned doing a low-paying gig for the fun of it, and you told me that was "strictly amateur".
Has your position changed on this ?
-John

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 2 Apr 2001 1:02 pm

Bob Hoffnar, I thank you for the kind words. (I don't believe I've ever gotten a compliment here on my playing!) Anyhow, I've been pretty busy with other things, but by fall I'll be lookin' for a gig, along with trying to put a CD together. I hope to have some luck in both endeavors. I'd like to do just a couple of nice gigs a month, but most of the people I run into want to play every weekend, and it'd have to be a very special group to make me want to do that again (after having done it for almost 35 years).

I haven't done much in the last year, except for a little session work. I do miss playing though, especially when I get around live music (doesn't seem to matter what kind of music it is, either!)...then I get the "itch" to be pickin' again.

Chris Schlotzhauer · Post by **Chris Schlotzhauer** » 3 Apr 2001 7:08 am

Bob H. I am with you all the way. I'm no great player, but I get booked because I show up, I do my homework, I perform the music like the artists wants, I travel, and I don't worry about how I may feel about his music. I work for songwriters and alternative country bands. I get all the work I can stand, at the price I demand. I'm not bragging, but I have worked hard at building a reputation for making each show come off better for the artist when he hires me. That's what you are paid to do, period. Most players are not willing to travel, or try something different musically to work. If the club scene is bad in New England, get into a circuit that takes you to the good rooms. I rarely play in my hometown on a consistent basis. Frankly, I would go nuts playing around town all the time. I play great rooms every week, but it's hard work and hard travel sometimes.
I laughed at the post in Pedal Steel about smoke getting in equipment. Some guys are actually quiting because there gear stinks. Guess what? Beer joints and clubs are full of smoke! If that's enough to run you off you'll never stay busy.