The Steel Guitar Forum

Well it looks I should be able to double on guitar since I used to play guitar for 20 years before getting into steel. The problems, however, are 1. that I just sort of lost interest in it ever since discovering the steel and 2. I play in a (mostly) country band right now but never was much of a country guitar player, I´m a rock guitar player. To get the country stuff down would take me a lot of time to practice, and since I´m working a day job, I just don´t have that, I prefer to really try to get better as a steel player instead. (Of course, this also means, I don´t have to do it for a living so I prefer to play something that I really like.) And then, I´m in a seven-piece band and the guitar parts are already covered. As for the rock tunes where most would think that a guitar would be more appropriate, it´s a lot more of a challenge for me to work out arrangements for them on steel and to prove that it´s not just limited to country. After all, that´s where I come from and some of my biggest favorites as steel players are famous for their rock playing.
Finally, I have E9 and C6 and that´s already like two different instruments. Nevertheless, I sure would love to get into Dobro some day, as soon as I´ll be able to afford a decent one.
Of course, this is all about my own personal situation.

Regards, Joe H.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Joe Henry on 02 May 2002 at 12:10 PM.]</p></FONT>

Dave, I too am an active multi-instrumentalist. I will perform approx. 40 gigs over the coming summer months, not including playing acoustic guitar and singing at nursing homes. In the 5 different bands, some are primarily country, traditional and modern, and some also include 50’s/60’s oldies and one is primarily classic rock. In a couple of them I play PSG, keyboards, 6 string, and sing some lead and harmony vocals. It’s true that I am not a “monster” player or master of any of these instruments, and even if I wasn’t playing at an outdoor climate-changing environment, like at a rodeo, I can't claim that every note I play on the psg will be in perfect intonation. I do have a lot to offer and there are valid reasons why I’m a valued band member / utility man. I do a good job at capturing the “feel,” flavor and signature licks, etc. of each individual song. Within my own capabilities I provide tasty fills, colorful backgrounds, take exciting meaningful solos, and always properly support the singer, the band and the song. I can change quite well between instruments. I can play keyboards with my finger picks on, or the psg without any picks on. I have an excellent memory and I also take good notes.(no pun intended) Except for an occasional singing blunder, I will definitely make less than a handful of mistakes the entire summer. In many instances even though I may have originally been hired for keys or guitar, when I also show up with my psg, it’s appreciated and usually turns people on to the instrument. My doubling so well on other instruments has provided me the opportunity to gain much needed experience on the psg, as I started performing gigs with psg 8 years ago with as little as 6 months experience. I know what you may be thinking, but I have tapes of some of those gigs, and even though it’s somewhat embarrassing, it’s also not too bad. I love the position of utility man and will continue to seek out and play those types of gigs even though I know I would improve more if I focused on only one instrument. -- Marc

Boy, I'd like to get into this, but I am not in the mood to write my musical life's story. But to give you some indication, when I was playig sock hops back in High School (Circa '64-68) I was the guy that got an Autoharp so we could do Spoonfull stuff, I was the one that could blow a pretty good harmaonica also, Beatles, Stones. Now I can see that this was training for Bar Bands, ie: Human Jukebox. I play about 6 or 7 instruments, enough to get by, but NOW that I am at a stage where I can play steel and hold my own, it will depend on the band, I suppose, as to what, if anything I double on. I'm glad this topic came up, it's food for thought, at least for me.

A handful of mistakes all summer huh? Well you got me beat. I make more than that any given set.<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Frank Parish on 02 May 2002 at 03:33 PM.]</p></FONT>

I went to see a friend who was touring with a National act playing steel. I was so disappointed to see him sit behind his mid-60's model Emmons D-10 which he plays beautifully and pull out a harmonica worth $10.00 and play it pitifully. I could feel his humiliation from out in the crowd. It did not do the artist justice, and anybody with 1/2 a brain could figure out the harmonica sure wasn't the steel player's idea. Maybe I'm picky, but I'd rather hear a steel guitar played with heart than a harmonica played with disgust. I know, I know, he was only doing what the boss said.

Dave,
Will you be on the TV portion with "Sons of the Desert saturday night?" I'll be watching! Theresa

I think it has been a fact of life for a while that the vast majority of primo gigs that aren't stone country require multiple instruments if you are a steel player. It's been this way as long as I have been playing, for at least 30 years. It's a byproduct of the traditional use of the steel. Most producers or artists just don't here the pedal steel in non-country contexts, so they don't think of using one in non-traditional ways. Of course, there are notable exceptions. For example Sneaky Pete's entire recording career, or more recently, Paul Franklin's stint with Dire Straits. But you need the combination of an exceptional steel player who loves making the steel work in non-traditional ways, with an exceptional producer or artist who doesn't have preconcieved ideas about the steel. Often a player needs to double even if he mostly plays steel. Would Greg Leitz or Dan Dougmore been in a position to record all the great steel parts they have played if they didn't double on guitar? Probably not.
For steel players who like to play guitar (or keyboards or whatever), it's a great idea, and a great career enhancer to double. My only problem with this practice is that I like to here steel on a wide variety of music, and sometimes if a steel player doubles, he will be asked to play guitar or whatever on a tune that the steel would really work well on. But you can't blame the artist, producer, or certainly not the musician for this pidgenholing. It's just hard to buck the tradition.

One way to get around these limitations is for steel players to get prominence as artists in their own right. Nobody is going to tell Robert Randolph what to play. Or Greg Leitz, for that matter, when he is a featured artist. If it's your sandbox, nobody can tell you how to play.

I personally have branched out considerably beyond the pedal steel to the non-pedal instruments, to the point where a majority of my session and live work is on non pedal instruments, but for me, it's got to have a slide. I have also begun (in a local scale) to get gigs as a 'featured artist'. I have also done things like 'comped' tracking sessions for local producers, not charging them any more to play on the basics than I would have to come in and overdub on a few tunes. It is amazing how much more the steel is used in this context than if you are brought in at the last minute to 'sweeten' the tracks. A few months ago I got to play on the basics for an album where the entire rhythm section was Tony Levin, Jerry Marrotta, and me. Yeah!

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www.tyacktunes.com

I didn't see anybody mention this, but one of the best things about doubling is to be able to play another instrument while looking over the shoulder of another PSG player. A great way to learn more about our great instrument!