The Steel Guitar Forum

Jamie - I hope you bought your dollars when the exchange rate was good. I am going to Nashville next April, and the way the pound is going against the dollar I'll be eating the dreaded burgers each day. I was getting 2 Dollars to the Pound in March. Now down to $1.49. What a bummer!!!!!!

Nope - alive and well in Nashville, apparently!!!

While I was living in England I toured the US in 1976. I paid for everything with an American Express card. After I returned home, and before the charges hit, they devalued the pound by 15%, and all my charges ended up 15% more than I expected.

Nowadays I have separate British and American bank accounts, and I don't mix the two. Whatever you do, when you move to Nashville keep your British bank account. Converting money all the time helps no-one but the banks.

Thats good advice alan! Thanks bloke!

I dont think I would be on the road with Alan or Chesney after a week. Get real. But gonna give it a great shot !!! and still eat steak !!!

Hi Jamie,Good luck with your dream.Just a little advise from a British EX Pat.I came here 36 years ago and have loved every day.I became a US citizen in 1979,and i thank our good Lord and Savior every day for being in this great country.I have been through the US Immigration procedure seventeen times and believe me its no joke.You need to study the immigration details very closely and get all your ducks in a row before you even think of emmigrating to the USA.If you can get a sponser it is going to cost the sponser around $5000 to $10000 and might take up to five years.Marrying a USC will also take a couple of years or so as someone else has mentioned.Both ways are going to cost you big bucks.Next of kin are taking between nine and twelve years.Buying a false green card and SS# is not a good way and is illegal.Be very careful when you come through immigration at your POE of what you say you are in the USA for.Saying the wrong thing will put you in jail for the night and you will be deported.Overstaying your visa can also get you in trouble,ie 180 days overstay will get you a three year ban from the USA,one year overstay will get you banned for ten years and if you come here illegally and get caught you are banned for a lifetime.
Here is a good read for you,
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA
or go to www.britishexpats.com and go to the dicussion forum and click on the USA segment.
I am not knocking you for wanting to come here to the USA,its your dream,i am only trying to help you in your quest.Good luck to you,this is a very hard country to get into,Regards Brian.

Jaime Send Me The $10,000 I Will adopt you Ha Ha Just Kiddin , Good Luck And Come On Over $10,000 Is Not Much And In Three Months You will Probably Decide By then What Is best for you. God Bless and Come On Down. Randy Gilliam.

If you're not married with kids, and you don't have a mortgage, moving is easier than you think. After being employed in Government for 15 yrs., the idea of being unemployed was a little scary, but in 1980 I quit a very secure job and moved to California on spec. It doesn't take long to find a job. Even if it's not what you want to do, as long as it's enough to pay the rent it suffices. Then, when you become established, you can look for a better situation. We all like the idea of earning a living playing music, which is our hobby, but it's not always possible. Sometimes you need a day job to survive. After that it's up to you.

I had the dream back in the mid 80s. I learned from the late great Jeff Newman and spent enough time in Nashville where I learned several things.

1) I didn't (and still don't) have the talent for the big time.

2) Nashville is chock full of musicians who hang around the bars just waiting to hear someone say... Is there anyone here that can play such and such? You can meet them all waiting on tables, shining shoes or doing whatever it takes before the "big break" comes.

3) The bars in Nashville are loaded with exceptionally good players that play for just for tips every night.

4) I can't count the number of times I heard Jeff tell an aspiring musician... "If you're good, Nashville will find you".

I also recently learned that even the great Papa John couldn't make a living playing sessions once ol' Conway passed on. The market's too full as it is.

All that being said... if thats your dream, don't let anyone myself included discourage you. The only things I ever regret are the things I didn't do or the missed opportunities I let go by.

Good luck and may the GREAT ONE smile down on you.

The great Jesse Fuller lived in a tenement building in Oakland and played for nickels and dimes at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.

Starving musicians abound. Often those who get into the hit parade are just in the right place at the right time. Talent alone won't get you anywhere.

September Nashville here I come, its gonna be one hell of an adventure either way !!!

And may I say a great learning experience !!!

Just reading previous posts about working a legal stuff. Intially im going for 3 months a a holiday visa, not working for money. Meet some people and hopefully jam with a few musos !

I believe you should follow a dream and go for it.

If nothings happens come home and go back a try again !

But I can say at the end of it what ever happens " I gave it shot "

Just loving playing and love the steel guitar.

I agree with Steve Branscom.The way I see it, the $10,000 will someday be gone, Nashville or not. But the memory of the entire Nashville experience will last a lifetime. Evidently you can afford it so do it. Just be safe, have fun, take lots of photo's, and enjoy the steak! Good luck!

Mitch

Bon voyage....

I was in a band, locally. That had a lead guitar player that played in Nashville. And one night while we were doing a gig he asked about me doing something with a song I wrote. During the converstation, Nashville came up. He told that Nashville is "humbling place". Because a lot of people go there,and they I'm gonna do this or that.
Reality just set in, when he told me, "Son, the streets in Nashville are full of people that are writers, pickers, and yes singers". That are still waiting for something to happen. It's not hown it used to be. I have this friend of mine that owns a recording studio here in Louisiana. He played for Jo-el Sonnier, who was pretty well known during the 70's to early 90's, tell me that Nashville is not the same place it was 30 to 40 years ago. So Jamie, I wish you well. It don't happen overnight.
Tommy Shown

And don't forget the Red beans and rice with pork sausage, corn bread and mustard greens.
YUMYUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jamie
I will start my 3 week US holiday in 9 weeks - April 12th to 1st May. We'll take in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. My list of players that I want to get to see in action are;

Reece Anderson, Steve Palousek, Herb Steiner, Tommy White, Bobbe Seymour, Paul Franklin........gosh the list could go on and on.

Just desperately hoping the pound picks up against the dollar somewhat as the current exchange rate is a killer.

Jamie,

While i agree with the post about there being alot of good musicians in Nashvegas, i think you will have a better than 50/50 chance of getting on with a major artist.

You are a good player but the main reason will be because you have the look they are looking for live and for TV.
It will not be easy but the worse you could hear is "NO"!!! Always remember "NO" stands for "New Opportunity"
I went there in the early 80's and was offered a gig but it didn't pay enough to make the house payment and i had kids so my dream was put on hold.

Now i'm 49, grey headed with some wrinkles and Nashvegas doesn't care that i can play as good as most these days!
So go after it hard and if you are single, stay that way until you finish the music business!!

Good luck!
km

I was talking with a couple of friends one time. All three of us deeply imbedded in the music industry. Guy "a" was a very successful engineer worried about going out on his own and gambling with his career. He has engineered some of the biggest records in Nashville and wants to take it to the next level. Guy "b" had a major hit in the late 80's... produces records now and makes most of his living off of royalties.

"b" said to "a" something that really struck me... "I never regretted betting on myself". It was an off the cuff sentence in a long conversation... but it really stuck with me.

If you won't gamble on yourself... who will.

When I moved down here I packed all of my clothes, two computers, two trombones (ya... should have left em) and little else in the back of my $300 1988 Buick Century. Moved in with a friend for a month and eventually got an apartment. For the first few months the contents of my apartment were a chair that the studio was throwing out and a mattress.

I make a decent living now... not great but I ain't hungry. I work 80% on music that I love... 20% music that I don't. I have a great life.

If you ask me I gambled and hit big.

I gambled on myself though... don't let people around you that haven't gambled talk you out of it.

Before I moved down one of my mentors told me not to do it... that nobody he knows makes a living in the music industry. Well... he never left our hometown... he only has himself to blame.

I talk to people I went to school with and many of them are bitter because they can't pay their student loans working on music. Well... they never left Harrisburg, PA or Nowhere, NJ.

You have to go where the work is... you have to put yourself out there.

That pretty girl ain't gonna dance with you if you don't ask her!!

Long rant I know...

My three cents.

and if they ask about any connection to influence your decision of american musical experience....
just ask.....
...do you remember the lennon sisters?

jack.......

If you're a graphic designer or a plumber or an IT guy or have a Masters in Philosophy you'd find competition in those fields, too. Being a musician ain't that much different, except there usually aren't benefits if you do get a gig, like insurance, paid holidays, etc.

A good friend of mine was one of the most talented lute players in England, but he was a senior officer of the City of Birmingham Public Lighting Department, and didn't want to throw away his career and pension on the gamble that he would make it as a musician, so he never gave up his day job.

Ironically, when local government cuts came, he was laid off, and now he has a muscle complaint in his left hand which prevents him from playing.

There must be a moral to that somewhere.

Opportunities, once lost, are gone for ever.

Jamie, I want to wish you the best of luck in your endeavours in Nashville. As mentioned in a previous post, you fit the image of what they're looking for on stage, and while many here will scoff at that fact, it's only because they may not have that edge. As shallow as it may seem, it is crucial these days to fit the image. Most of all, you have the chops to back up your youth, so you're in a good position to succeed.

The only advice I'd throw your way would be to get around on dobro, lap and 6-string guitars as well. They'll no doubt want you to double, and possibly only play steel for a relatively small portion of the show.

Chris LeDrew wrote:Jamie, I want to wish you the best of luck in your endeavours in Nashville. As mentioned in a previous post, you fit the image of what they're looking for on stage, and while many here will scoff at that fact, it's only because they may not have that edge. As shallow as it may seem, it is crucial these days to fit the image. Most of all, you have the chops to back up your youth, so you're in a good position to succeed.

The only advice I'd throw your way would be to get around on dobro, lap and 6-string guitars as well. They'll no doubt want you to double, and possibly only play steel for a relatively small portion of the show.

Chris
I wouldn't scoff at your assessment of youth being an advantage for musicians in Nashville to fit in with an image requirement. You are spot on - it's the name of the game in some quarters. Thank goodness for the likes of George Strait, Merle Haggard and many others who see musicianship as a prerequisite of being a band member than a youthful image. What happens in the image outfits when that goes? Do you get cast aside for a younger person. Yup!

I would personally be more inclined to watch a show that contains great players than pretty ones. To be both is extremely rare and unlikely. I am an old guy who will be 60 this year. I still enjoy playing live after 40 odd years, but I would hang up my picks tomorrow if the music scene in England hinged around age. Thankfully it doesn't in the field that I play in.

Finally, many of the best players that I saw in Nashville last year in the main will never see 50 again. They also weren't playing in pop/rock bands that pertains to be country music these days.

Jamie-

Let me know when you get to Nashville. Your first meat and three is on me. I'll point you to the Station Inn and you can catch the Time Jumpers with my favorite steel player...

You'll find Nashville and the steel community a great bunch.

Come on over. We'll teach you to speak English once you get here...