The Steel Guitar Forum

That is a question that someone asked me backstage at a show last weekend. There were several steelers playing that day so I'm not sure if the question was aimed directly at me. But - the questioner did go on to say that the majority of steel players that he watches appear to be immersed in their own world and don't really look as though they are having a good time on stage. I replied with a one word answer. Concentration!

It did get me thinking though - are we a miserable looking lot on stage?

5 immediate reasons come to mind..

1) we had to carry it in from the Car

2) We're thinking "Will the 3rd string break during my solo"

3) we can't actually watch the Lady's dance while we are playing

4) we have to carry it back to the Car

5) we only get equal pay for all of that

I think there are several reasons. Most notably that it's hard to smile when the little metal finger picks are digging into your fingers. All seriousness aside, set them down at your guitar, (especially the non-players.) Have a camera ready and take their picture when they try to play something. Chances are they're making some sort of unusual face. Then you can say, "See! It ain't as easy as it looks!"

For me it's trying to remember what I'm supposed to play where and when. It's an on-going thing for me.

BTW: I think you're right. Lots of concentration. Buddy has an intense level of concentration. He just developed that grin to hide it. It works for him very well. If I do it, it looks like my thyroid is acting up. My eyes bug out and my face turns blue... (White Lightnin'!)

I have had a few people tell me I need to smile when playing. There is great concentration involved when playing steel. I always get tickled at Buddy Emmons when he can smile and even hollar "OH" when he made a mistake. He does look like he enjoys playing. I notice there are so many who do not smile when they play. How about Joe Wright? He can play at times without looking at the fretboard. Oh yeah, he smiles and puts on a show whe he performs.

Paul Franklin is fun to watch when he plays, he sounds so great and gets quite animated. I look sour because I'm struggling to play without screwing up.

I just wear a big hat, can't see my face.
If I could grin like Big E does, especially when I make a mistake I"d be the "happyest" looking steel player in the world!

Larry

I think they are hearing all those strings that need just a tad more "tweaking" to be in tune.

Or why didn't I twist the knobs on that effects unit just a little differently?

Or why did I trade off my Emmons p/p for this brand X piece of @#$%^&*!
You wouldn't be smiling either!

Your right Ken, Constipation.......it'll do it every time.... seriously most people dont know what concentration and multitasking it takes to stay on top of the song playing this wonderful instrument, thats the main reason I think most players dont sing and play as well....

It started when pedals came into vogue and sitting down was a must.

When I stand and play my Fender it's a lot easier to smile.

Reasons for facial expressions of consternation and fear:

1. One must suffer for their art.

2. Worrying about what is going to go wrong next.

3. Worrying about what is going to break next...

4. Pack-A-Seat with no backrest and sacro acting up...

5. Are there any other steelers in the audience who are listening and know how to play this thing better than me???

6. Tuck in jeans at right knee catching on RKL lever all the time...

7. Somebody twisted the pot on the Profex II...

I've heard it only takers two muscles to smile but eight or 10 to frown. I'm just exercizing my face when I play.

Gee , all those years I saw Alan Trammel concentrating on scooping up grounders , starting the double play , covering the gap and hitting the ball out to the outfield for the Tigers , I never realized he wasn't having a great time . He was doing his job in a masterful way though ,without showboating and I'm sure he was having the time of his life . Not everybody can be a demonstrative entertainer along with doing their job too.
When we saw British finger style guitarist Bert Jansch play a rare appearance in Ann Arbor about ten years ago , he didn't say more than a couple of words the whole evening . He concentrated totally on his fretboard and performance and the place was very quiet. I don't think he smiled at all.

HEMORRHOIDS

hERBIE

Ray - I'm glad you brought up #6. I thought I was the only one with that problem.

I'm already busy with both hands, both knees, both feet, both eyes, both ears , what could I do with my nose?

Ken's hit a good one here - we have got to make the job look fun if we expect to recruit more steel players. We can always practice smiling when we pick? I once saw a top rate guy actually dribble spit over his guitar he was concentrating so much! (No name!!!).
TR.

The question 'why do you (steelers) look so miserable?' sounds to me like a polite diversionary question implying another question - 'why dont you steelers ever pay any attention to us?' Guitarists, drummers, bassists etc. can play their instruments ok without having to look at their instrument as much as steel players do and so are able to, if they choose, direct a little more attn towards the audience without the fear of missing pitch or missing strings etc.. It's true - steel players do have to concentrate more, or are at least in the habit of doing so (generally speaking of course). So, it may not be just a smile, they would probly rather see a frowny mug looking their way than a smiley face looking down at the guitar. After all, that is one reason why people are there in the first place,,to be seen. There might even be some folks out there who wish that they could play but can;t, so might even be feeling a little jealous of you. Um..im just speculating here as food for thought. 3 cents back from a nickel.

I got to smile once when the lead vocalist said something that was funny. Of course I messed up my ride and pretty much crashed and burned after that. I recovered somewhat though. Yeah I agree that it's consentration that makes us look like we may not be having so much fun up here.

People ask me if it's hard to play the steel. I just tell them that I have both hands, both knees, and both feet going at the same time...... but I can't ride a bike and chew bubble gum at the same time. That always brings a smile to their face then.

I've heard it only takers two muscles to smile but eight or 10 to frown. I'm just exercizing my face when I play.

We use 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, and 2 to pull a trigger.
I'm lazy and I'm tired of smiling.

Every time I sit down, it smiles...

Just watch ol' Tom Brumley smiling away on this one during his break. Guess we all could take smiling lessons from Tom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flO9jB1g0ZE

Looks like they are having such a good time !

What is there to smile about when your playing country music,
the wife has left ,dog got run over,and so on

Herbie Meeks wrote:HEMORRHOIDS

hERBIE

That's pretty close to the truth with Jerry Byrd. He had an undiagnosed kidney stone in his bladder for years and he must have been in great discomfort, but he always had a smile on his face.

In response to the question, steelers aren't miserable they're just concentrating on what they're playing.

They are not smiling because they are thinking " I should be making more money than these other guys". And they are right.

I knew that Michael, I hust wanted to see if you were paying attention.