The Steel Guitar Forum

I'll have my first gig on steel tonight, backing up a songwriter at the Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis.

Hopefully my experience won't make as good of a story as some of yours...

Mine was at Chubbys Club LaSalle on 10th & LaSalle Street in Indianapolis.

May 18, 1991

Band: Frank Dean and Hillbilly Central

Steel: Fender 2000
Amp: Fender Silverface Twin Reverb w/ master vol

Got rid of that 2000 quick and got a Sho~Bud LDG

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Tim Harr
Carter D-10 8/9 w/ BL-705s, Hilton pedal, PODxt, Webb 6-14E Amplifier, 65 Twin Reverb
http://groups.msn.com/TimHarrWebPage


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Tim Harr on 17 March 2005 at 03:20 PM.]</p></FONT>

It was in the early 70's.I had a Fender 1000 D8 and set in with some guys I knew in Saginaw Michigan and didn't know that I needed to put my Amp behind me.I put it in front of me,facing out,guess you know the rest..Couldn't hear myself at all once the band started...What a good lesson...never had played out before so I didn't have a clue....RS

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Franklin Guitars

I will never forget my lst gig. I was 17 and had a false ID. I played with these two other older guys, one played drums and sang, the other played bass guitar and sang, I played steel guitar and doubled on lead guitar. We played weekends at a place called Mable's that sat all by its self out in a open field between Cosa Masa, CA and New Port Beach, CA. It had a upstairs where some girls would come down and mix with the other people for awhile then they would disapear back upstairs. I was so dumb I did not know at that time what was going on. But it paid very good $20.00 in the late 40's which was the same as about $75.00 today. Chuck

Philly, 1972

Location: TLA on South Street, Thursdays

Steel: Maverick

Amp: Peavey (something) or Princeton

Band: Saddle Sores

Pay: $20 plus the hat

Oh man, mine was at the "Wheel-In" dancehall, way out on Jacksboro Hwy just NW of Ft. Worth. The Jacksboro Hwy was lined with joints that were the ultimate training ground for paying your dues. A friend of mine, who played fiddle called me to come play with Harold Rogers and the Texas Tornados. Harold played bass and fronted, Johnny played fiddle, and I played steel. I felt comfortable about playing there because playing bad steel was the least of my worries. We played only on Saturdays, so it was perfect. It was there, where I discovered the technique of working sustain and volume. I remember the light going on in my head about a few things back then.

Herb, you kill me man... w/ Linda Ronstadt on the Steve Allen show.

I was going to tell about playing at the C&G Country Club in Lillington, NC, but forget it now.

Let's see it would have been late 74 or early 75 and it was a four night a week bar band called 'Johnny Gray and the Rebels' in Southside Richmond Va. The other lead instrument was an electric mandolin and when the guy wanted to rock out he turned the tremolo on at about machine gun speed, quite commical when I think about it now but it wore on you after a while. I joined this band when Bruce Bouton left them, I don't know if it was his first gig but I am pretty sure it was his first steady gig. It allowed me to quit my day job (church janitor) and I never worked another day job unitl I quit playing in 82. Dems was da good ole days!

Probably about 73 or 74..at the Entertainers Lounge in Norwalk Ct. I had been making the transformation from Rock/Blues to Country and bought a Maverick.

About 3 or 4 months later this club owner/band leader ( Ken Erickson) called me and asked me if I could play anything yet, of course I said yes..which was pretty much a huge Pinnochio bold faced untruth.

I played with them on a Friday night and they requested that I "NOT" come back on Saturday.

But as the story unfolds, a year or 3 later I worked on and off with Ken for many mnay years going forward. He was a great influence and became a fine musician friend.

Many years later, two of the bands I was part of became the house bands at this same club..go figure..

t<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 21 March 2005 at 07:02 AM.]</p></FONT>

*<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 13 November 2005 at 01:11 PM.]</p></FONT>