WHAT DO olden day steel players miss most?

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 8 Nov 2004 7:07 pm

Is it the loss of the really BIG BUCKS?

Those outdoor street dances?

Is it the loss of FAME gained thro' musical stardom?

Is it the great looking team-like western cut uniforms we used to wear?

Is it the Bob Wills styled Stetson we used to wear?

Is it the car caravans we traveled in to that next on-the-road gig?

Is it those fun times at the high school gymn
in some distant little town where we arrived as "the BIG STARS"?

Is it the kinda girls we used to watch and flirt with all evening?

Is it the "live radio" shows we used to do?

Is it a lack of talent with your playing buddies of today?

Is it the thrill we used to experience when we arrived in some distant town for the annual grange hall dance and they were playing our records on their local radio station?

Is it a lack of "professionalism" among todays band stand rockers? (NO! Pete, I'm NOT referring to YOU or anyone of your many loyal friends here in the northwest.)

Is it the all night jam at the out of town motel AFTER the rodeo dance?

The parades we used ride in while playing our kinda music?

Surely, I'm not the only one that misses many of the "fun things" that made playing music in a dance band "REALLY FUN". [This message was edited by Ray Montee on 08 November 2004 at 07:10 PM.]

Jody Sanders · Post by **Jody Sanders** » 8 Nov 2004 7:15 pm

I'm not quite there yet, but I will miss all of the above. Jody.

Jim Harper · Post by **Jim Harper** » 8 Nov 2004 7:18 pm

I guess the thing,s i miss most was the booster trip,s for a rodeo where we played in 25-30 town,s in one day then a big street dance after the rodeo Pie supper,s or box supper,s where the women took box or pie and was sold to the highest bidder and then a dance==Jim Harper

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 8 Nov 2004 7:20 pm

.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 07:23 PM.]

Eric West · Post by **Eric West** » 8 Nov 2004 7:30 pm

I guess a quarter century, bulging belly, teeth that are turning gold, and half of my friends dying off qualifies me...

I miss the Sunday Jams. You could hit any one of four or five of them. Eat picnic lunch at a couple of them, meet old friends, and play for the fun of it.

After hours, I never cared too much for, but some of them were fun too.

I miss crosstops.

EJL

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 8 Nov 2004 7:34 pm

.[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 17 November 2004 at 07:23 PM.]

Bill Myrick · Post by **Bill Myrick** » 9 Nov 2004 3:40 am

Yea, all the above was fun for sure but---the single biggest thing I miss most is running up three flights of stairs with a double ten Sho-Bud in one hand and a single 15 Fender amp in the other and no ill effects ! -

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 9 Nov 2004 4:16 am

Being young.....

Farris Currie · Post by **Farris Currie** » 9 Nov 2004 4:46 am

This really gets the mind to dreaming about so many great times!i was never a pro.just enjoyed playing!40yrs.all kind of situtions,
more stories than a man could ever tell!!always enjoyed the after hrs.meeting at the all night diners.spend every nickle we made eating steak and eggs,or mabe even just a hamburger!large noisy crowds,and riding around with flat top playing and singing till day lite.big gigs was moose clubs,american leagans ect.and those ladies fighting and pulling hair!!leave my man along!!playing home made steel,all plug into one amp.ha ha those were the days.also buy the prettiest western shirts we could find.lead guitar player broke a string,had to go down the street to another band and borrow one!!Steel guitar stool,what was that?and TV station in a double wide trailer,no room for steel,so put in a back room by yourself!!would stick camera in the door and say play!!would not take nothing for all the memories!! farris

Paul King · Post by **Paul King** » 9 Nov 2004 4:50 am

Even at 44 years of age I do not consider myself olden. However, If I were to miss anything I believe playing the real country music would have to tops on my list. Even in the gospel the music that is considered country has changed. Sometimes I want to get in a bath of Calgon where there slogan is "Calgon, Take Me Away".

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 9 Nov 2004 6:05 am

i'm sure they miss the Flexible buses and the cars that had the upright on the roof
or the Super Chief if they had the chance to ride on it

Carl West · Post by **Carl West** » 9 Nov 2004 7:34 am

I miss the guys I worked with. Some still with us,but many gone on. I miss the true clean music. I miss the joking and and talking with those that had stories from the road that made me laugh. I miss playing
a lot, and even though good tracks are out there, it's just not the same as working with those you came to love so much and work with. I miss them all !
At 69, I sure qualify.

Carl West
Emmons LeGrande 111

Roy Ayres · Post by **Roy Ayres** » 9 Nov 2004 7:40 am

Ray,

If I run into any old guys I'll ask them.

------------------
Visit my Web Site at RoysFootprints.com
Browse my Photo Album and be sure to sign my Guest Book.

Charles Curtis · Post by **Charles Curtis** » 9 Nov 2004 7:43 am

Prop driven transport aircraft....the good old days.....

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 9 Nov 2004 9:13 am

For a great trip down a musical memory lane, I would reccomend seeing the movie "Ray".

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 9 Nov 2004 9:41 am

I miss how good my playing sounded to me in the 1950's. I could play "I Overlooked An Orchid" on the first string except two notes on the second string and one note even down on the third string in key of "E" on E6th tuning and it sounded beautiful to me. Now I can't impress myself with anything I do.
Jerry

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 9 Nov 2004 11:57 am

I found kinship with most of those items Ray listed.....but I can really identify with what Jerry said!

www.genejones.com

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 9 Nov 2004 12:09 pm

I miss the good old Standel amps with the 15" JBL speakers. The fact that everyone was working and if we'd get tired of the band we were with there was always another gig down the road. Jam Sessions all over the place on Sundays, and Friday and Saturday afterhours where you'd get up with all your contemporaries to catch up on the latest. Ralph Mooney still being played on the radio and on records in the top ten. Singers who all sounded different and not the same like the ones of today. Just too many good things not to long for "The Good Old Days". I'd give anything to go back there and know what I know now....JH

------------------
Livin' in the Past and Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning.

John De Maille · Post by **John De Maille** » 9 Nov 2004 1:12 pm

I guess I miss, not playing a lot, the most. There was a time, ( not that long ago ) that, I was playing 4 to 5 nights a week plus many private functions. Also, quite a few session jobs. But, there doesn't seem to be enough work anymore, around here. Of course, I know that, I'm living in an area where country music really isn't that popular anymore on Long Island (N.Y.) I could move I guess, to a more hospitable place, but, I'm not ready yet. I'll keep waiting for that pendulum to swing back the other way towards my musical preferences. I just hope I'm not too old then and the damn thing doesn't knock me over.

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 9 Nov 2004 1:24 pm

Jerry, my last Standel amp bit the dust, but I kept the speaker and it is still in one of my monitors in my home studio.

It still sounds great, even though it is like me and will probably not reach to the back of the "hall". But, it sounds great in my little home studio.

www.genejones.com

Robert Thomas · Post by **Robert Thomas** » 9 Nov 2004 1:49 pm

I miss when times were much simpler and of course, being over 70 now, I miss being younger with all that energy that went on forever, almost!

Mike Wilson · Post by **Mike Wilson** » 10 Nov 2004 3:45 am

COUNTRY MUSIC, that's what I miss the most...couldn't even watch all the country rock music awards last night, too depressing

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 10 Nov 2004 6:57 am

Hearing other "olden day" steelers regularly on the radio...

Danny James · Post by **Danny James** » 10 Nov 2004 7:01 am

There is still a way to get a great reward for our music. The people in the Senior Centers are in our age group and they miss and appreciate the same things we do. We are not pros. but we have a band called the "Sounds of Yesterday" and play a lot of Seniour centers, community centers, Kiwanis clubs, etc. and are really appreciated there. Money is not everything and most of us in our age group are retired anyway. I'm 66 and having a great time.
God bless,
Danny

Bill Bosler · Post by **Bill Bosler** » 10 Nov 2004 7:58 am

The friends who have passed on.
The gatherings of pickers at a truck stop at two in the morning after the gigs.
The weekend jams.
The stories and jokes.
The fellowship.