The Steel Guitar Forum

I took a risk and played the TSGA non-pedal room in March at the beginning of the pandemic. I played one outdoor gig in NH last month. I had one outdoor gig that got cancelled lately due to weather.
I'm beginning to think my musical career is over.

Camp grounds and private parties.

Our band "Last Call" plays every Friday & Saturday nights in Driver, Virginia (Suffolk area) on the rustic front porch of "Arthur's General Store. Our keyboard player owns the place and it's pretty convenient for us. It's outside so the people can just drive up in their cars or bring a lawn chair if that's what they want to do...

We only do two hours from 7 to 9 PM which I kinda like too. We've been playing inside at Arthur's for the last two New Years Eves and an occasional Wednesday night during the year. In normal times we'd be playing in the restaurant at Frank's truck stop in Chesapeake, Va. The front porch at Arthur's gives us room to be a little farther from each other. The bad thing is that most of the folks don't wear masks which means that on break I stay away from them and put on my mask....

All in all it's a pretty enjoyable gig and I'm looking forward to getting back to normal though........JH in Va.

I've been playing but I'm on guitars 100% . I'm now thinking my bi-monthly gig which I was on for 5 years, on Steel, has ended permanently, . Our last show was in March. I'm playing duo gigs on guitars, a few a month now, but our full band gigs , I fear , is now a thing of the past. People are INDEED following the so called guidelines, even the ones that make no sense. It is not accurate or fair to state that most people are not following guidelines, most are, MANY are not, specific groups are not, I agree.

Every two or three weeks here in NC we are hit with new rules on top of the old rules . Near 20,000 small businesses have already closed the doors for good. That includes Music Venues, even those which were 100% outdoors.

We are chasing symptoms, not sources . A Service Technicians nightmare.

The bi-monthly room we played, we drew 80 to 100 each show. There is no way it could survive if 40 was a preset maximum State order for attendance in the back overflow room. The restaurant is currently operating at 50% allowed max capacity. There is no way the restaurant could afford to pay us. I am told that they are just barely able to keep the doors open as it is. An 8 year run for the band, 5 years for me, finished. This was also the restaurants two biggest nights for customers each month.

The latest NC State Order nobody can quite grasp . No alcohol served after 11 PM , it allows people to congregate so they say. . Evidently up to 10:59 PM alcohol or congrating is not a problem . Congregating is a very interesting term these days, even without alcohol. A few very popular venues here in Charlotte , for LIVE Music, can never survive this. They are ICONIC Live Music venues in town and have been for decades. These are not venues I play ( too late for me ) but many musicians I know played them often, this was where they played routinely.

As I said, we are chasing symptoms. Live Music is in serious trouble, even when we are all abiding by the rules. The rules are like a moving Goal Post.


And all this time we thought that song was about the plane crash.

Tony, it is a bleak outlook for musicians and the venues, plus all businesses in general. Sad to see so many mainstays closed for good. Our steel guitar association is considering closing for good. I can only hope new life will be born into the music world that includes the old guard of the past.

Larry sorry to hear about your Steel organization, what a bummer.

If I say what I really think here , Bob will ban me for life and I will lose 3 or 4 Forum friends !

What I really think, and it's the same over here, is that whatever rules the authorities impose are a waste of time unless every last person obeys them.

But as long as some people believe they have a human right to exempt themselves and put their fellow citizens in danger, things will only get worse.

We are being threatened with all the pubs and restaurants in England being closed down again as a trade-off for fully opening the schools next month. My daughter (who is a teacher) says this is impossible, but that won't stop our government mandating childcare dressed up as education.

NC Gov just added 5 more weeks to his extended 3 weeks, which was added to the initial 2 weeks. This not only keeps clubs closed, but schools as well.

Wait I was wrong , its not 5 weeks, its AT LEAST 5 more weeks. He now says Heath Experts need to review trends as the reason. The last orders were to prevent congregating ,now its to review trends.

NC Musicians..good luck ! ( me included)

Some governors are considering going back to phase 2... no one allowed in stores or restaurants, clubs, breweries, smaller numbers of people allowed in gatherings. There has been a slight uptick here in Massachusetts in the past couple of weeks. Some of the colleges are doing online classes only this fall.

We’re back to perpetual stage two. We really have one industry in this town, and it’s toast.

Local players and hospitality workers are in a bad,bad spot.

Meanwhile, the casinos are open and crowded. How is that safe or fair? Tensions are rising as some are feeling Screwed, and getting desperate

Hard to understand the vision of our leaders. The only thing that seems certain is folks are getting sick. Fairness suggests shut it all down,

Nobody playing anytime soon in New Orleans.

edit

New rules today in Massachusetts: outdoor gatherings are now limited to 50 people... down from 100. So they’re cutting back. That means my remaining town concerts are canceled. Probably the the outdoor brewery gigs as well. 🙁 In addition, the police are now empowered to enforce the rules.

I finally got a chance to play out.

My wife asked me to go play out in the garage.

No mask needed, but social distancing has been strongly encouraged. I’m willing to do the distancing.

Is anti-social distancing a thing ?

I’m steadily playing ...mostly outdoor jobs. My session work has doubled. Good to be busy.

I played last week in a restaurant parking lot. The diners wore masks and were separated while we set up at the far end of the parking lot. The restaurant and patrons were being responsible. Everything was fine until the middle of our first set. More people came in and packed the dance floor. I’d say the band was safe because we were separated from the crowd by a lot, and spaced out on a big stage. The 200 people on the dance floor however (parking lot) had no masks or separation. The band killed. Statistically, i’d say we killed about 6 people. Sorry about the macabre “joke”, but that night made me realize that in certain situations there’s no way to do it safely because the crowd will do what they want. It was a good night musically, but not so much for the common good.
Makes you rethink the situation:

Glenn, it's like driving at (or near ) the speed limit. If somebody else decides they need to drive 80 to pass you, that's not your fault not your job to give them a ticket. Enjoy your ride!

You did what you were supposed to do, and you took sensible precautions. If other people chose not to follow the same path, that's not your fault nor responsibility. It's not your job to make others follow guidelines. I'd say play your music, provide an evening of music to uplift those who enjoy hearing you. It no doubt brightened their lives.

Yeah, thanks Don. No I don’t feel guilty or anything, but man, some people (like what I mutter when the yahoo passes me at 80MPH. Hope he doesn’t crash into someone.

I don't know... I think I'd feel a little guilty playing to 200 dancers crowded together, not wearing masks. I'd feel like I was contributing to the problem. Those people are endangering all of us. Anyway, it's now a moot point here in Mass. Outdoor gatherings are now limited to 50 people and the police are enforcing it. So no gigs anytime soon. That's fine with me. It's far more important to get this plague under control.

Doug, I guess I'd look at it differently. If I and the guys in the band were spaced apart, on a stage away from the dancers, playing as advertised, why would I feel guilt for someone else's unwise actions? The mere fact that the band is performing is not the cause for them ignoring guidelines.

Look at it this way - I'm sure that BC (Before Covid) you played at venues where alcohol was served. Would you feel guilt because some of those patrons over-indulged and drove away drunk? They possibly were there because of the music your group was playing, but the choices they made once on the premises were strictly their own.

It's fine and good to care about our fellow citizens. But acceptance of undeserved guilt does nobody any good.

Just my 2 cents worth, feel free to disagree if you wish!

You guys are great. That is the conflict we have to think about. If it wasn’t me, a keyboard player would have done it. I guess the point really is that if we were ALL responsible about this thing, there wouldn’t be a problem.

If people are smart and thinking about, there is no difference sitting on a bandstand away from other players. We are not walking around like in the Grocery store where we really do come in close contact with others.

Who walks around the Steel player anyway ? Nobody. Who walks around the band members ? Nobody. Not even other band members. Personally for me, on breaks, I rarely walk around and socialize, its a break ! I've been doing this for years. I'm not a crowd handshaker or crowd hug and kiss person. Quick way to get the Flu or a Cold, nevermind Covid. I'm not anti social but I don't need to shake everyones hand or have the ladies come hug and kiss me, well, depending on the lady of course !

That being said, if the venue is adhering to and MONITORING whats going on, then there should be minimal exposure ,if any, just like going to the store. If they are not, then yep, agreed , they may be inviting trouble.

There are many ways we can be safe and ADD to safety protocols for ourselves. 200 people dancing, well, yep thats not even LEGAL in any state right now. I would avoid those people and venues like the plague. That's totally irresponsible.

I play 2x duo gigs a month now, outdoors or on the patio. There is no dancing anyway, its sit and listen. The closest people are probably 15 feet away, or more. We are not in contact with anyone, not even each other.

I have added a NEW protocol for myself. I bring a cooler with water/soda etc..( no beer) , I don't even go to the server for a cold drink anymore. I don't order or eat any food either. Most gigs are 2 hours, some are 3, its no big deal. We don't even take a break. We just stay in our own small space !

HEADS UP:

Several of my friends and bandmates have been attending a weekly jam, inside, large stage, very large room, actually a barn. A PRIVATE FACILITY. This has been taking place for about 2 months now, once a week . I went one time at the very beginning, did not return. After a bit people were coming to listen, sitting across the room, nobody was close to the band. Then there was socializing, a break, cake, cookies etc at a community gathering area.

Last week everyone of them contracted Covid, 2 or 3 are in the Hospital, most are recovering at home a few have zero symptoms.

While I am not playing Dr Tony here, its easy to see that early on they were all ok , playing by the rules or at least SOME rules, but all of a sudden, more people coming in , socializing, community food area etc.. Easy to become complacent and let your guard down. Covid walked in the door, probably with someone who had no clue they had it.

PLAY by the rules please. Play by your OWN rules. Follow them, don't get complacent.

When I attended that ONE time way back, when they took a break, I stayed right where I was, I never left my spot behind the Steel. I even packed up early ahead of everyone else and left before everyone else. I never returned. I waved goodbye, no handshakes, no hugs ,no kisses.

My opinion, if they never left the stage area to socialize and congregate, they never would have become infected. It was too easy to drop their guard especially after 8 or 10 weeks of normalcy. The players went to the people, not the other way around. The perfect storm.

Good point, Tony!

For all our careful border control (here in New Zealand), we've had a small? out break in Auckland/Rotorua. Auckland is in Level 3 Lock-down but the rest of the country is now in Level two.
I've heard of gigs here being cancelled but I haven't heard if our Friday night gig is still on. We are limited to 100 people (which is unlikely) and social distancing. This means no dancing? The pub we are booked for usually is poorly patronized, so I suspect it'll still go ahead. It'll be a good practice???
Any opportunity to play out is a bonus?
I'll probably set up my PSG and play some slower stuff to restrict the urge to get up and dance.
We'll find out midnight Friday night (just as we finish the gig) if the lock-down will be extended.

Steve Spitz wrote:Is anti-social distancing a thing ?

Yes. I've been doing it all my life.
The no-hugging thing hasn't bothered me at all - I never go within six feet of anybody if I can help it.