The Steel Guitar Forum

What Bob said! Same goes for when the country bar band says "let's do some jazz!" and tries to play "hold it" or something jazzy and butchers it to high heaven. Have had the same experience with the same kind of bands trying to play blues. Country bar bands should stick to what they know...

"Country bar bands should stick to what they know..."

And that would be.......?

Boy, is that ever a statement that is totally dependent on the band at hand.

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Artie McEwan

<SMALL>Boy, is that ever a statement that is totally dependent on the band at hand</SMALL>

Yes, it is....so?

All I was saying is that I'd prefer bands that are good at Country but stink at jazz, rock, blues, funk or whatever, to not do it if they're going to butcher it. Same goes for any type of band. If you don't mind playing styles of music with bands that stink at it, be my guest.

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 08 June 2005 at 06:11 PM.]</p></FONT>

In the 90's I played steel and lead guitar in a very "roots" based country band in Indianapolis. We played Cash, Tubb, Frizell, Jones, Owens, Haggard, Young, and on..

The drummer, Bass player, and myself played professionally in the US Army Jazz Band there at Ft Harrison on the NE side of Indy. We would play "Take the A Train", "Straight No Chaser", "Blue Monk", "Ornithology", "Wave", "Four on Six" for break songs. The crowd loved it..

It was far from a third rate country band performing a "Jazz-Wank Fest".

If the players can pull it off then it does work.



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Tim Harr
Carter D-10 8/9 w/ BL-705s, Hilton pedal, PODxt, SGBB, Webb 6-14E Amplifier, 65 Twin Reverb

http://groups.msn.com/TimHarrWebPage

Well good for you, Tim.

I don't recall either Bob H.'s original comment or my posts said EVERY SINGLE band playing country couldn't play something other than country well.

I've played old country, "new" country, pop, light jazz, r&b, soul, funk for over 35 years (and now doing Mexican/latin stuff) for everyone from Lorie Morgan & Wynn Stewart and others to Gladys Knight and the Pips' band and I play the styles properly. Playing a style of music authentically is important to me.

In that time, I can recall only TWO COUNTRY BAR BANDS that could also play rock, pop, funk or blues well. I'm sure the others THOUGHT they could. Likewise most rock, pop, blues, funk or what-have-you bands can't play country well, either.

Read it again:

<SMALL>All I was saying is that I'd prefer bands that are good at Country but stink at jazz, rock, blues, funk or whatever, to not do it if they're going to butcher it. Same goes for any type of band.</SMALL>

<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 09 June 2005 at 12:24 PM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>Can you accept that the singer/songwriter is just telling a story? Why does the songwriter or singer have to have experienced what the song is about? That is a new one on me. In my opinion, there is very little about the Legendary Johnny Cash that is lame. That is a tall comment from a 'musician'.</SMALL>

I guess I should have emphasized the "painfully obvious" part of my comment when I said "I hate doing any "prison" songs when it is painfully obvious that the singer has never been in prison." I can totally believe Johnny Cash when he sings about being in prison for murder." He has the middle-finger-in-the-camera persona to pull it off.

My point is.....clean-cut performers can't sing a prison song and pull it off. Imagine Hank Thompson singing about killing a man just to watch him die. Or Marty Stuart. Or Brad Paisley. It's just not gonna work.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Joe Alterio on 09 June 2005 at 12:48 PM.]</p></FONT>

... or the Dixie Chicks

"Country bar bands should stick to what they know..."

Mr. Phelps:

Peace!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with everything you said. I don't believe that every band has to do everything and try to please everyone. I wish more bands felt the same way.

I believe that the statement in quotes can be interpreted another way, also. For those bands that feel they need to and/or can do everything, they often come off sounding like they know nothing.


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Artie McEwan

Peace, Artie!

I'll backpeddle enough to say that my "should stick to what they know" statement does leave open a lot of room for interpretation.

I'll try to chose my wording more carefully. Every now and then I'm reminded of how much trouble a few carelessly-chosen words can get a person (like me) into.

Heck, I guess I'm just lucky! The band I play with always wants the steel guitar out front in the music. I think the only thing we do that I don't care for is probably,"Margaritaville" and I can't even spell it correctly or at least I don't think I spelled right. Oh well! Who cares! For years I played top 40 music and the latest country when I was playing 5 and 6 nights a week. Now I play what I want to or I can just go to the house. It really don't matter. I play with other country pickers that like the same thing I do. No more screaming guitars playing at 10-volume all night.

I detest any song that in any way promotes the use of alcohol, getting drunk, adultery, fornication, or lusting after women. Exmples are: one says something about slow hands, one says something about tight fitting jeans, another says you've never been this far before. And the list could go on. This is just me and I don't listen to and have refused to play anything that fits into the category I described.
Of course I don't play country music anymore either.
WJ

Some country bar bands play the heck out of jazz and funk. I played funk and jazz for 10 years professionally before i ever played steel. Plus my drummer is a well trained jazz drummer. We break into songs like "Hold It" every so often and the audience loves it........ <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Ron Sodos on 10 June 2005 at 10:31 AM.]</p></FONT>

Like everybody, I have my list of songs that I don't love to play. It just goes with the territory. Chocolate cake is great, but if you eat only chocolate cake for a week or two, you start to hate it.

When I get hired to play for people, I assume that I am there to entertain them, help them to relax and have a good time. If they want to hear a song I'm not fond of, I will play it for them and they appreciate it. Most of the other people will appreciate it too. I call that doing my job.

What musicians think is good is usually different than what non musicians like. If I played only my favorite music, I doubt if I could even get any work. Sure, I throw some of my favorite songs into the mix, but I always try to please the people that are paying my way.

When I come home, I may work on music that none of those people have ever heard. I may write original songs. I certainly don't play Margaritaville or Brown Eyed Girl. Its all relative. I was astounded to learn that Marvin Gaye sang all those great songs, but his true love was standards in the style of Nat King Cole. Sometimes we have to separate what we do for a living from what we love the most. A song is just a song--no more and no less.

So let me get this straight. Are you saying that "It's A Small World" is better than all these other songs?

It's funny. "It's a Small World" is always mentioned as the bad song against which all others are judged. You have to admit the person that wrote it sure knew how to write a hook. That song has been front and center for almost 40 years and even if you don't like it it still rambles around in your brain.

Jon

Fortunately for me, nobody ever asked me to play "Its A Small World."

Danny Boy.

Never liked it.

And I'm Irish!

Terry

Edited for the sake of peace in b0b's house.


Rick<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Rick Garrett on 14 June 2005 at 03:38 AM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>ANYTHING by Michael Jackson. What a perv!</SMALL>

Not guilty...

I'm with Dave boothroyd on this one. It's been driving us nuts for weeks.
Aaaaargh......!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.blue-rabbit.com/searches/Crazy_Frog_Ringtone.html

Almost every song that everyone has previously mentioned falls in under the list of songs I have come to detest playing, with the exception of "Misery & Gin, Last Date." But what I hate most is being forced into playing wore out rockin' roll songs. I like playing country, I even like playing some country songs that I don't like to listen to, but I am not a rockin' roll guitar player and I don't play it well. Therefore, when some drunk in the crowd starts hollering for a rockin' roll song I would rather just un-plug my equipment and go home, than to sit there and attempt to play music I don't play well. I am sure my attempt at playing rockin' roll is offensive to a real rockin' roll guitarist, as a rockin' roll guitarist attempt to play country music is to me. There are a few musicians that can play both country and rock music well, but I don't fall into that category, nor do I try.

I wonder do drunks come up to the band stand around the third set asking R&R bands to play traditional country songs?

Crazy

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Carter D10 9p/10k, NV400

Flight of the Bumblebee on pedal steel.

Whose version, Charlie? <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 17 June 2005 at 07:59 AM.]</p></FONT>