The Steel Guitar Forum

I didn’t make this video , I haven’t been down town in a very long time … but if you’re coming out of town to Nashville, this is a recent video done down town Nashville on Saturday night … and it shows you what you can expect to see …


https://youtu.be/YvzDyfS3_HU?si=yoAx18IIPai_3mwu


I moved to Nashville in 1998 , and this is absolutely nothing what Nashville was like back then … back then there was steel guitars and fiddles in every bar, George and Hag music on every corner , so if you’re looking for that Nashville , don’t get your hopes up …because this ain’t it …

Not fun for me.

“Can we get a hell-yeh for freedom!” Freedom to read your text messages on your phone while singing on stage…..I guess…..

Ya, its a whole different world now. Maybe I'm just getting old...I don't know.

Gone to hell with the rest of the country music world.

me and great Johnny Hiland in front of the Tootsies on lower Broadway , back in late 90’s … I was working at Tootsies , and Johnny was next door at Robert’s with Don Kelly band … what a days … I was very fortunate to catch those last years of real country music in Nashville … I wish I have more pictures , those were some of the best times of my life … it’s all gone now tho , they replaced Hag with trash …

Ha, didn’t know Johnny left Nashville years ago , and now lives in Virginia… 2007 is when I quit playing in Nashville for the same reasons he did , everything was changing … interesting read here by Johnny

https://americansongwriter.com/the-chat ... interview/

If life has taught me anything in almost eight decades, it's the simple fact that young people and rich people will screw up just about anything. The difficult part is explaining what the world was like fifty or sixty years ago. It harkens to the old expression "You just had to be there to understand it, and appreciate it".

As the Buddha says: The only thing that doesn't change is that all things change. Not understanding this basic principle will cause suffering.

I just don't accept that. Change for change's sake is not always a good thing. There are plenty of good things that do not change.

And Frank Zappa said:

“It isn’t necessary to imagine the world ending in fire or ice. There are two other possibilities: one is paperwork, and the other is nostalgia.”

But he also said:

“Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe.”

Those older folks that complain about the younger generation seem to forget it was our generation that raised them up.

Bill McCloskey wrote:As the Buddha says: The only thing that doesn't change is that all things change. Not understanding this basic principle will cause suffering.

Can you elaborate on this more Bill, please. Does it mean that if you ignore bad things happening they will go on or in your mind you should resist them?
I have a Buddhist friend (a good man) good opinions and all, that never gets upset about anything and it's kind of boring.

‘Scuse me while I reprogram my digital can opener for a sardine can.

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I personally don't mind change as long as its for the better. I'm talking music, and I think lately in the steel guitar world, things are getting better, different, yes but definitely better. Just need to search things out in this world of media oversaturation

Can you elaborate on this more Bill, please. Does it mean that if you ignore bad things happening they will go on or in your mind you should resist them?

If things are bad, don't worry. All things change. Things will get better.

If things are good, don't be complacent and take it for granted. All things change and things will get worse again. Once you understand that, you don't get too upset when things are bad and you don't get too happy when things are great. Why? Because all things change.

But on a deeper note: it isn't the bad things but our reaction to the bad things that creates suffering. When you train your mind through meditation and see things as they truly are, you train yourself to not compound the bad things by acting out of anger, fear, or haste. You can quiet the inner negative feedback loop in your mind. And you make better decisions not based on emotions. And that creates less stress in your life and ultimately, more happiness regardless of your circumstance.

And yeah, Buddhists are kind of boring. That is kind of the whole point.

"Smile, things could be worse" and I smiled and sure enough things got worse!
Erv

That band at mile marker 4:00 looked like they were going to the beach after the show. Jeez, I'm a bit of a slob but a no shorts policy might be a good thing. Maybe the guys could wear matching shorts? No rhinestones required. Some nice lookin ladies tho!

A different perspective:

I think it's misleading to suggest that a Saturday night in the drunken, touristy bachelorette part of downtown is representative in any way of the "Nashville music scene today."

There's great, creative, music being played here every night of the week, in pretty much any style you can imagine. Maybe not as much “classic country” as there used to be but it’s not hard to find if you make even a small effort, and there are great steel players gigging around somewhere in town every night. And there's a whole new younger honky-tonk scene happening at different venues around town that doesn't attract the drunken tourist element.

Lower Broad can be a crowded nightmare for sure, and most of us avoid it on weekend nights, but it’s possible to make a few hundred bucks for a gig these days in the better clubs. That NEVER happened in the “good ole days,” 20 or 30 years ago when 40 or 50 bucks was a good night.

My opinions only, but based on still regularly playing music (country and otherwise) around town in all kinds of circumstances.

I always try to get to see 45 RPM for live traditional country when I'm in Nashville. Great musicians and singers, particularly the incredible Michael Johnson on steel. Primarily they tend to play occasionally at the Station Inn, but I'm not sure if they play elsewhere in Nashville.




You've also got The Time Jumpers at 3rd and Lindsley still going strong. I've been lucky to see John Hughey, Buck Reid, Tommy White and of course, Paul Franklin all occupying the steel seat. I never got to see Johnny Cox with them but I'm told that he did a fantastic job. Great band and sometimes they will pull superb singers out of the audience.

Thanks for the explanation, Bill. I get it now. I guess me at age 70 still wants to see the world become a better place, although I know there's NOTHING I can do, except on a personal level.

Yeah, I could re-tweet Bill on that paragraph. Managing the morass pays off in less stress, the cause of dis-ease.
Or I should say maybe, Bill, not managing it....

And boredom? 'Boredom is vastly underrated,' says my friend in New York. Boredom would be vital on the streets there.

The street in Nashville reminded me of the city at first. And sure enough, it got worse. Strange sounds coming from Nashville, country capital of the world.

Charlie McDonald wrote: The street in Nashville reminded me of the city at first. And sure enough, it got worse. Strange sounds coming from Nashville, country capital of the world.

In all fairness, Nashville's accepted name is "Music City, U.S.A.". Nothing in that phrase suggests what kind of music, though. (And that was probably on purpose.)

I've lived in Nashville since 1983. Lower Broadway now is like Hill Valley in Back To The Future II where Biff turned it into Hell-on-earth.

I won't play gigs anymore on lower Broadway. The parking is too expensive, the load-in/load-out is a royal pain (and can be risky - several musicians have been robbed going back to their cars), and the cacophony of audio chaos on that street of drunk tourists, bachelorette parties, and hearing 20 bands blaring thru PA speakers pointed out at the street is just not my vibe.

To quote Yogi Berra, "No one goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

this is one good thing, if it's alright to be positive. hali hicks monday nights with tom killen.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvuwcZ5STwM&t=1180s