The "Country" that I like is pretty much anything on the records by Gary Allan, Brad Paisley, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Dierks Bentley, Joe Nichols, (early) Brooks & Dunn, and Patty Loveless. For extra female presence, there are a select number of songs I like (they're pretty easy to find, being the ones with a lot of steel up in the mix) from Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Gretchen Wilson, Terri Clark, and Sara Evans. I think the ladies, for the most part, though, get shuffled over to the canned-pop side of "Country music/New Country". Shame. I digress, though.
I know of the guys who make me love this music, but they aren't here and I don't fully know why. Randle Currie, Dan Dugmore, Robby Turner, Mike Johnson -- these guys, to my knowledge, never post on this forum; I haven't seen a post from Paul Franklin and Tommy White in months. These are guys who have made me want to play the pedal steel; I mean really want to learn to play this instrument well! The road players for these artists, many of whom I don't even know the names of (although I'm sure Brett Day would have a blast naming them off, all in under 40 seconds) don't seem to post here, either.
Tommy Dodd plays a bunch of stuff that perks my ears up. Mark van Allen laid down the steel foundation for Sugarland, a local Atlanta band who have some songs I like. Also, there's Tim Hamilton (who is also not a member of this forum), who plays some wicked pedal steel at Cowboys in Atlanta. That about does it for the players I can think of that might enjoy playing songs by those artists I mentioned above, though.
"Gone Country" and "I Don't Even Know Your Name" from AJ; "Me Neither" and "Make A Mistake With Me" by Brad Paisley; "Can't Hold a Halo to You" and "Don't Ruin It for the Rest of Us" by Joe Nichols; "Adobe Walls" and "Guys Like Me" by Gary Allan; and so on, ad nauseum. I never see these songs mentioned here, and it's disappointing, frankly. I do want to learn "Blue Jade" and "Farewell Party", and I think songs like these and of earlier eras than mine are really important to have an appreciation for, but I also want to learn these other songs that touched me, and I don't feel any support or encouragement to do so.
The impression that I get as a newcomer to this instrument is that the majority of the players are terribly obstinate and dislike everything new that I like, but they won't say if they've heard it or not; the ones that do like what I want to play -- the tiny, itty bitty minority -- are the ones that are out there cutting the music or playing it on the road, and are too busy and in too much demand to find the time to reach out to the people they inspire.
My friends, if they don't vehemently hate Country music (Why is this a genre that people either despise as the scum of the earth or love to their death?), they don't really much care for most of what I like in Country music. They say it's just a little "too Country". I know, you may laugh in disbelief, because to you it's "not Country 'nuff", but it is true. The people who say they like those artists usually only like the two or three "hits" that get overplayed on the meager rotations of the Top 40 station. The ones who attend the concerts just seem to be there to get drunk and get laid.
On the other side, the players I've met at the three steel guitar shows that I've attended (with the aforementioned possible exceptions) don't seem to care for any of it. I even heard Randy Beavers at the last jam I attended say, and I paraphrase here, that he was asked why the steel players don't play music from Nashville anymore, to which he replied, "Well, find us something worthwhile to play, and then we'll play it." That was really disheartening. No offense to you, Randy -- I love your playing to death and I've put a lot of miles on my autographed copy of A Few of My Favorite Things. I'm just being honest.
So I guess this is a last-ditch effort to see if there's actually anyone I can connect with on this issue (which is a small one in the grand scheme of things, but still important to me). If you like this music, if you know how to play it and enjoy it, or are trying to learn some of those licks because they inspire you or tickle your fancy, please, pipe up, give a sign that others are out there, and make a presence of such a group a little more known. If you happen to know any of those great steelers that I've mentioned, please, tell them what a big musical influence they are to me. I know I'm just one kid, but if I was told that my music reached someone else to the point of inspiring them to pick up an instrument, it would make my day. Maybe it could make one of theirs. Oh, and then ask them politely to join the forum.
If there's no one out there, that's fine. I'm still going to do my best to hack my way on this instrument to play things that fill my foolish heart with joy. If there is, though, it's always nice to have company. To quote Mark Twain, "Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with."
Lastly, thank you for reading this. Time is valuable, and about one of the only things you really can't get back. So, thanks for yours.
--Chris<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Chris Lasher on 22 August 2004 at 12:54 PM.]</p></FONT>
