The Steel Guitar Forum

Hey Folks! Got a quick question for ya. I'm considering a possible job offer in Little Rock, Arkansas and would like to know what the country music/club scene is like. Don't really want to play all the time but want to keep my licks and suppliment the income here and there. Please check out my websites and let me know how I would fit in. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks! Austin

Austin, I live in Conway, about 30 miles NW of LR on I40, a great place to live. As to the club scene, I am not familiar, but I do manage to play quite a bit - regular Sat night show/dance (family) at Houston Country (steff band)just west of Conway. There are'nt many steel players in this area, Rudy Osborne (great picker)in Benton, Robert Jones here in Conway, are the ones that come to mind for this immediate area. I was just about to forget Dan Sliter out of Dardenelle, another very fine picker.
If you should decide to come to this ares, you would recieve a hearty Arkansaa welcome.

Austin, VFW's,American Legions,Moose clubs,Etc are down to 1 nite a week,Club work is nill to none and even they are down to 1 or 2 nites a week,real smokey dives and loud DJ's, Money isn't that great either,3 to 5 peice bands mostly,very few studios and very few do any country,lot of RAP crap and some Gospel but not much work for steel guitars,There are places to play for the door and make small money,Senior centers ,Etc There are around 12 to 15 somewhat active players in a 100 mile radius of Little Rock.Don't let the downside of the music stop you from taking a good job here,The people of Arkansas are very nice and we would also welcome you to our music community such as it is and do a meet and greet at a jam session or two. Rudy Osborne

Im here in little rock and play in a couple of bands. Theres actually a really cool scene here with some cool clubs. Its not all country music. theres a lot of alt country, singer/songwriter type stuff, indie rock, rock n roll, blues, hip hop. You name it. Its a younger scene I guess. One thing is for sure. I get a lot of love for playing the steel. It seems like all kinds of bands, other than country guys, would love a steel player in there band. The problem is theres not enough of us. As far as the money goes its okay. My country band is doing well, and making some money, but weve definatley payed our dews and are starting to hit the road. The music scene here is pretty tight nit. If you meet the right folks and hang out at the right clubs you could easily pick up with some guys that are just trying to get out every once and a while and have a good time playing.Very layed back here. It might be perfect if your not looking to play all the time.

Sam, Rudy and Alex I really appreciate the feedback. I am originally from Kentucky and can see a lot of similarities including the music biz. Twelve years ago before I moved to Florida, I had all the weekend work I could handle but things have sure changed since then. Many of the clubs I played dont even exist anymore. (I guess in some cases, That's probably a good thing ) Yeah, I guess we've all done a few of those. Anyway I have heard so many great things about Arkansas I think we would be very happy there. Thanks again, Austin