The Steel Guitar Forum

23 years USMC Retired
8+ years Marine Electronics, along the Gulf Coast and in several foreign countries.
13 years AV8B Harrier Simulator Technician, MCAS CP

Now 66 and watching the tomatoes and grass grow. Pick when I get the occasional chance and nerve.

Spent 5 yrs. in Navy on sub tender and air craft carrier. Have been a heavy equipment operator in Kansas City for 40 yrs. Started playing my dads 6 string when I was 10. Played lap steel and lead got out of music for 30 yrs. Play ing in a cowboy church band, Ks. Pickers, Ks Steel Guitar Ass. and some other jams for fuh. Steel is like cocaine to a dope addict.

Television News Photographer and Satellite-Truck Operator.

Casey

I'm an estimator for a drywall contractor. I play 6 string acoustic guitar in my churches "orchestra" and I used to sing in the choir.
(Make that formerly an estimator...I just got laid off today, Friday 6-4-10. Great, now I have lots more time to play guitar!!)

Truckdriver

Full-time musician. Teach private lessons -- guitar, bass, keyboard, percussion, banjo, harmonica, pedal steel, lap steel, mandolin... Play maybe 70 or 80 gigs a year in three or four bands, and sell cds and a guitar instruction manual I wrote, but 90% of my income comes from teaching music. No savings, no retirement account, still paying the mortgage, but having more fun than anybody I ever met...

Spent 25 years as an aircraft structural mechanic working on military bombers and cargo planes...got bored with that so I went to work at the local Toyota plant working on the assembly line....big disaster. Toyota was going to layoff and offered a buyout so I took it and have been in LVN nursing school since August 2009. I will graduate in August 2010 and once I pass my state board exam I'll never have to worry about employment again and I can really concentrate on playing. I can't wait!!!

last 20 years have managed the N.A. sales and marketting division for Kenda Tires. All types of tires,ie; bicycles, motorcycles, specialty, cars, trucks etc. any mountain bike riders out they may know about Kenda tires.

Classroom design at UCLA.

I lived on the road for 10 years as a Travelling musician 94-04. I left the road to pursue a stable life.

I currently own an 'Automotive repair shop Servicing, 'American' and 'Asian' vehicles.
I have set myself a very flexible schedule on Thursdays/fridays/saturdays and any other days with notice, for the 7 peice group i play in. I make a lot of time for my music, and customers are booked in advance around my schedule. It is a full time job working with vehicle's and i also play approx 48 weeks per years in my band which is quite time consuming too, but i get to release my creativity and do something i feel i need to do.

I am a low voltage and control electrical contractor. I also work, fairly steady as a sound engineer for various festivals and events and play steel.
Here's my income breakdown:
6 years ago: Electrical-70%, Sound-29%,Steel-<1%
Now: Electrical-40%, Sound-35%, Steel-25%

Mother always said " If you're going to try to be an electrician, have music to fall back on", or was it the other way around?

Let's see, today is Friday. I'm a steel guitar assembler today at MSA. Last year I was a bus driver but that phone has yet to ring this year. In 08 I was self (un) employed. In 07 I worked at MSA and played for Jody Nix. I could go on and on. Been a truck driver, deputy sheriff, security guard, car salesman, thrift store manager, record store clerk, truck loader and musician. I'm one of those guys that works full time at keeping part time jobs. LOL. God and my goofy health willing I'm going to continue at MSA and play on weekends. Buddy Emmons autographed a 8x10 for me once that says, " To my favorite jackass of all trades" Fitting I thought
Seriously considering going back to school.

Disclaimer: I reserve the right to change my mind. And all current or future employers resevere the right to change theirs too.

I work with my father-in-law at his orchard and organic garden during the warm months (Countryside Orchard, Rochester, IN). I give stringed instrument lessons during the cold months. When jobs come up, I do interim pastoring of congregations which want to better prepare for the next settled pastor. Renewal, revision, healing... I'm doing that now, at First Christian Church, Winamac, Indiana.

I used to be a hardwood lumber inspector for a couple of large regional companies, Pike Lumber, and Cole Hardwood. At 6'4", my disks couldn't take all the bending to measure board foot measurements. Busted a few...left before total disability set in.

I've been a maintenance person in both apartments, and long-term care settings. Worked at a gas station. Spent 7 years on third shift stock with Kroger.

I'm some sort of drifter, I guess.

I "crunched numbers" in a payroll office by day, and played "barroom" music at nite, for many years, until my health made me retire from both.
Austin, keep away from the drummers "crash cymbal"
Rick

Retired after 33 years in local radio news, founded and ran a statewide radio news network, and finished with 7+ years at CNN Headline News as a writer and show producer.

I HAVE DRIVEN A TRACTOR-TRAILER OVER THE ROAD FOR THE BETTER PART OF 38 YEARS TO SUPPORT MY "MUSIC HABIT"..

I DO 'OPEN' TRAILERS, AS IN FLST-BED.. MOST OF MY WORK IN THE PAST IS IN THE HEAVEY-HAUL CATEGORY AS I DELIVER LARGE OFF-ROAD CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT OR WIND ENERGY..
NOW I TRANSPORT EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE D.O.D. .. THE MAJORITY BOF THE STUFF I'M DOIN' IS ALL "HUSH-HUSH", AND ALL COMING OR GOING TO SENSITIVE AREAS OVERSEAS..

Owned my own pottery business for 25 yrs. Made it, taught it, sold it. But always played music on the weekends...and did pretty well until recently. Now adays it seems as though decent paying gigs are mighty hard to come by. So as they say, "don't quit your day job!"

Always said i couldn't wait to retire so i could afford to play music for a living,so far so good.

I worked for Texas Instruments Inc. for 32 years. My job was so secret that I am not sure what I did.

I'm retired now but I was a journeyman machinist at the time of retirement.I helped build everything from missile guidance systems & stealth bombers to lawn mowers & spaceships.Always wanted to build me a woman but couldn't find a blueprint.

Working for the past 11 years for SIEMENS Energy Inc as a Field Service Engineer. Travel all over the US and sometimes overseas building or performing scheduled (and sometimes not so scheduled) maintenance on large power plants (gas turbines, generators, and steam turbines). I have been a Certified Welding Inspector, Managed Construction Companies, Managed and worked on ranches, welder (pasted my first pipe welding test in 1975), welded on almost every metal from carbon steel to titanium, welded underwater for over 1 year, owned and drove trucks. When I was out of work and looking for a job I never asked what a job paid, just figured it paid more than what I was making at the time. Once you get your degree let me know. SIEMENS could use a welding engineer and steel player.

Best of luck on your long career and a long life. One thing to remember is life is life. Take it one hour and/or day at a time. Some of the hardest times I have had I now look back and think they might have been the best times.

I play steel guitar and design web sites. Hire me.

Austin.....thanks for the thread here....this is great! I started out in '68 as a full-time musician playing 7 nights a week in a hotel night-club, with room and board included as part of the pay. In 1970 got my first steel-guitar and spent 4 months in my hotel room with head-sets, and any record I could find that had steel on it. After that four months, I set it up on the stage of the Hotel Night Club. That really began my career as a steel guitarist. When the club & hotel burned down about 6 months later, I went to western MASS and started playing in a band around Springfield (not enough money) so I worked for a tree company (Asplundh) during the day and music at night...was always afraid of the chipper. Finally ended up in Boston and worked full time as a musician for John Penny and The Country Sounds.....got to work with many Nashville artists that didn't carry a band with them (e.g. Wanda Jackson, Dick Curless, Barbara Fairchild, Dave Dudley, and many others). From there I moved to Nashville and worked for about 8 years doing some studio work, and other road gigs, a week here and there, etc. In '79 a drastic change came in my life. I found the Lord (or should I say, He found me). I found myself getting married to the most wonderful Lady (going on 31 years) and we entered into a full-time ministry of evangelsim (6 years) and then pastoring for over 20 years. During this time I've been a truck-driver (over 1.5 million miles), a substitute teacher....and now a fulltime para-professional at Denham Springs High and next school year, at Denham Springs Freshman, working in special education. I play most weekends with a band located in Lafayette, LA, still do some ministering in Word and music, too. There you have it....this is my contribution to this thread.

Mechanic- machinist, Chevy dealership, made parts for F-16 at General Dynamics, since 1993 work at locomotive repair shop. Very interesting reading on thread you started Austin. Did not read all replies. Your ability to hear sounds and your music ear are two different things. Amusia affects 1 n 20 people, totally tone deaf. I always wear hearing pro-tection if using tools that I know can damage my hearing, eye protection is also important. Hope this is helpful..

I was a full time musician from the time I was in High School until my mid 30's. Switched over to hi tech in the 80's, moved to the Silly Con valley and managed software sales groups until I retired at 52. Played music and did voice over work too. Got bored and wound up playing with too many crappy bands. I just started back working in the corporate world today at Apple in sales so I am offically no longer a PC, I am a Mac (and an iPad, iPhone, iPOD Touch) and lovin it!

Walked in to New Employee Orientation this morning and they were playing U2 "It's a Beautiful Day" at comfortably loud volume. It certainly was!

SS