The Steel Guitar Forum

Does one ever retire from the music business? Sooner or later we all reach that age or crossroads.Even though I haven,t actively been working since 1991 retiring at 50,there still is a fire. The hardest thing to do is go out to a club , after 20 minutes the urge is back and soon you find yourself sitting in. Then you realize you have not learned anything new and the band does not know anything old. They have heard of Merle Haggard,but don't know his songs. So I do a couple of Ray Price tunes and I play the bass so they can follow me. I tell them 1-4-5.in C no intro and they look at each other and some how we get it done with a little rock thrown in. Not too much Country around here.However every now and then a band comes in with a Steel.(usually the guitar player is doubleing and usually the steel is a two song a nite instrument) There should be more country but there is not enough clubs that would pay and the DUI's laws are tough and enforced. Took a trip 50 miles North to Catfish Johnnies months ago. Jack Stoner was sitting on the Steel and it was real true Country. The gig started about noon and they had a full house. Tell me people aren't hungry for Country.I sat and listened that was my shot in the arm. Back to retirement.Lets see wheres my Golf clubs?

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CJC


<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Joe Casey on 20 May 2000 at 06:48 AM.]</p></FONT>

It's our job to make sure the younger generation is exposed to our style.
One of my other hangouts is a usenet news group for country music. Sadly we have folks in their 20's who only know and care about what happened as far back as Randy Travis.

My responce to the discusson was that by the time I was 25, I knew I had music by at least 1/3 of the country music hall of fame.
For this i can thnk an ex boyfriend who was a passenent fan. I also lucked out at getting a good stack of 78's when my neighbors had an auction. For reference this was the early 1980's before CD's and countless reissues of better quality material.

The music is there if we only get them to listen.

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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

Nicely put Janice. If only they would listen.. I'm 70 now and I'm very fortunate to be still playing and building my own guitars and amps. A year ago I was presented with a very nice award for excellence by my pears in Winnipeg. That really mean't something to me. I've been playing now for over 50 years and have just about done it all and covered the world so I guess I can't complain.
Just about everything I read on this forum, I can relate to and sometimes I find a great deal of humor in it. One of the most interesting things I find is that a lot of players love to experiment before they learn to play and then when they do, they prefer to copy rather than experiment. I don't know who's right but I love them all for sticking with it.
In one form or another, I believe that the steel guitar is here to stay. The wheel always comes 'round and the players that love the steel will take it to the grave.
I'm still playing and, as a matter of fact, I'm playing again this weekend.
...... Billy

Joe, we're going to have to get you back up there in the fall AND get your butt up on the stage!!

That place is a rarity anymore, with all the traditional country music.

BTW I'm working up the road from you in Crystal River at the Moose Friday night. Will be all traditional country there too.

JOE--I played Catfish Johnnys this winter--Feb. I think--with Jean Shepard--truely enjoyed the place, but the stage was kinda small. ALso liked the big alligator. They invited us up there for the jam on sun. but we were working. I'm so glad there are a few places like that to play the good stuff. We ran into quite a few fans of the music down there, but like everywhere else, they have to hunt and dig to find a place to hear it. A friend of mine, Mark Coolidge does the good stuff if you ever find him playing out anywhere down there around Zephyrhills area. Keep up the good work, and maybe we can bring it back around as soon as this other bad stuff dies out--the sooner the better--
P.S. its o.k. to play the wrong notes every once in a while, as long as you miss a lot of chords to make up for it--he-he--

Janice, I admire your perserverance in participating in the country-western newsgroup.
I used to go there, but it was like talking to a fence post. I did drop in last week for a second... first time in a long time... to find the burning topic of the week was a discussion of Faith Hill's hair.
I did notice your post about Gary Hogue, which I thought was a nice thing to do.
Regards,
-John
p.s. I played a gig last week with a local "trad" group. Lots 'o shuffles, fiddle and steel, and no electric guitar at all.
What a relief! People love to dance to shuffles, imho.

Janice,

What newsgroup is that?

I agree with your comment Janice, but would add that it's also today's artists responsibility to provide linkages to tradition. Sadly, very few -- Jackson, Strait, Dale Watson-- are living up to it.

I'm a good example: When I was in my twenties I purchased exceptionally few records that were not Merle Haggard records. Thanks to Hag, I have a better knowledge of Bob Wills, Jimmy Rodgers, Hank William, and even Emmit Miller, than the average fan.

Also, it used to be that radio dared to play the legends on a regular basis.

Merle has claimed that this year is his farewell tour. If he does choose to retire, I have to feel he's earned it. He'll really dig the SS checks, eh?

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HagFan

Ron it would be a close call to figure out who is the biggest Hag fan between you and I. I'd say he's earned a retirement but he is one of the last true strongholds to the past. I would say he has kept me working many years, He stop writing and my material got narrow. My desire left as I am sure his has. Those walls get tough on the head.

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CJC

Hey Joe,
I left California in 1985 to retire from music after a long career of 23 or 24 years! I moved to Virginia as my wife's brother was Chief of Police here and said he'd fix me up with a day job. I was here about 3 months and hadn't played a lick when one day I was standing by one of the company trucks and the driver had his radio tuned to a country station. All of a sudden he said "Hey Jerry, listen to that steel guitar"!. I asked him if he liked the steel and he said he had a ShoBud Maverick student model and had taken a couple of lessons but couldn't get anywhere so he just listened. I told him I used to pick it a little, so he said there was a club where he knew the steelman real well and invited me to come out one night. We went that Saturday night and I met a fine steeler named Bubba Davis. Bubba told me that on Sunday afternoons there was a jam session at a club called the Nashville East in Virginia Beach and they had a good steel player there! I went the very next day and lo and behold that's where I met Kenny Dail. I made some local contacts and I've been playing dang near every weekend for the last 15 years. It sure beats playing for a living too! Now that I don't have to rely on it to put food on the table I can play more for the fun of it. Speaking of Kenny, he's 70 now and plays as good as ever and gigs all he wants to!

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Have a good one! JH U-12

Find the link on your internet server for newsgroups.
link to rec.music.country.western

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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

Jerry I know our paths must have crossed in the old LA scene. I recently have gone through some old tapes I recorded (well my wife had recorded on a Roberts reel to reel)of a couple of appearances on the old Cal's Corral KCOP 62 0r 63 vintage. There were two three hour tapes and I had patched into the speaker (Mono)I am trying to edit and save the best stuff.

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CJC

Hey Joe,
I think we might have crossed paths somewhere out there but I don't remember a lot of it. There was always a party going on somewhere and I liked to partake of all the good stuff. Hey, I'd like to get a copy of the Cal's stuff if you get it edited. I played there a few times myself. Once it was in the Dodge dealership in Huntington Park, and another time at the big hall I think was called the Huntington Park Ballroom or something like that!

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Have a good one! JH U-12

I am really amazed at how many younger players in our area are really into Merle, George, Johnny Cash, Price etc...Even have some of them coming in to hear the Johnny Bush stuff we do...I realize that the club I work is known for the traditional country music we play there and it makes me feel great that the younger players come around to see how a bunch of "old veterans" do it...
From talking to other friends around the country I know that I am very lucky to be playing four nights a week in the club I play...Just my thoughts...

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How many of you find that when you play infrequently that you lose a bit on ideas and attack .I cant believe , I gig once a month now after 15 years of steady ,and i at 45 cannot believe that my technique and fluidity is affected .Ya gotta like thing too hard and take a less of a leading driving role . Wow . People will say it sounds good but you kinda know the real deal. think I gotto join a lesser band so that I can roll again ,till im up to par.I tried to retire ,but hell you cant.......hankR

Shucks Hank.. You're only 45. Wait till you reach 70. As long as your ear is good you can fit into anything. Just take another approach and let it flow. As you get older, you just can't hold on to the gung ho pace. Anyway, you must have heard the old saying that speed kills. Cut it to half time if you have to but make it meaningful. you'll be just fine. ... Billy

Shorty&Billy Bacon,Buddy Cagle,Jimmy Snyder.Tex carmen. cont:You wouldn't wan't to go down to the old Huntington Park Ballroom now, unarmed. PS Jason Odd has come up with an unlimited history of the old days.I can't wait to read the book. I am cleaning up some old tapes,I lost a lot of footage destroyed by age, so what I can transfer I will make clip like parts. so far It's a job but I have enough to make it worth while.

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CJC


<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Joe Casey on 25 May 2000 at 06:33 AM.]</p></FONT>

Dale Bennett, the Kentucky Colonels, Norm Owens, Danny Michaels & the Rebel Playboys, Jack Laux {Lox?}......

Joe, every time you mention Cal's, I start to drool!?!

I sure wish someone at the station had secretly taped all the shows, 'Spot' commercials and all. It would make some great footage with all the folks that walked through there, from Western Swing to bluegrass and everything country inbetween.
John Delgatto of Sierra Records was telling that one time the Golden State Boys were in half attendence for a Corral gig, so half the Kentucky Colonels sat in for that one. Golden State Colonels anyone?


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Have no fear my pal. I'm a 23 year old picker and grinner who is perfectly happy playing country while everybody else my age is playing with turn-tables, drum machines, and various knobs. That's fine if your into monotonous computer dribble. I, however, enjoy the craft of real songwriting and instrument playing.

I plan to carry the tunes of Nelson, Miller, Coe, Williams, Parsons, and countless others as far into the future as I venture.

Actually there's always been a healthy roots rock, rockabilly and honky tonk revival scene in Melbourne.
It's more centred around 10 or so public bars and a few record labels, but we have some real stone country and some real hot rockabilly bands here.
I have to wonder what these bands would do if someone who has been writing songs since the 1950's, passed around demos of thier songs to groups that were looking for material in 1950's style.
Interesting thought is it not.

Hey Jason,
I'm working with an Elvis impersonator now quite a bit. It's called the Sterling Riggs Tribute to Elvis Show. We have a big Viva Elvis Festival each year in Virginia Beach and another in Ocean City, Maryland. We get to dress up in black shirts and pants with loud ties and play all the great music. We do two sets where on the first one we do 50's stuff where I get to play my Gibson and do Scotty Moore licks. On the second show we do Vegas and movie stuff and I play my Telecaster and try the James Burton route. We're working on a Rockabilly show now where we'll be doing Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis, and some of that type of stuff for some of the retro gigs. We just went to Ocean City, Maryland last weekend for a big classic car and hot rod show where we played two sets. It was a lot of fun. It's really strange how you never hear this stuff on the radio but when we do a show it's usually standing room only! I guess it's just another indication of how radio doesn't know what people really like!

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Have a good one! JH U-12

Hiya Jerry, yeah it's weird isn't it?

My younger sister got married a few years ago and most of the crowd were her friends,like early to late 20-somethings.
Half the guys there play in blues,R&B and rock bands that did the top #40 from around 1969 {Creedence} to 1979type rockin'stuff.
So they got one of the less cool bands to play the wedding, these guys ripped out all this Jerry Lee Lewis and Buddy Holly material and the floor was packed!

You know the Collins Kids tour Europe a lot, Sammy Masters did a rockabilly CD in 1998 and the Blue Caps still tour some. Although Johnny Meeks just retired from the road late last year.
I haven't been to a hot rod show since ..the early 1980's, but they were cool.

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Sammy Masters still out there doing it ,thats great. Rockabilly is still great stuff. I may nave to forget this retirement stuff if it recycles.Heck I am still younger than Sammy.yet older than larry and Lorrie but not much.

Joe, I figure honky tonk and rockabilly go hand in hand, but then Western Swing slips into both just nicely!

Rockabilly is pretty hot in Europe, check out this site to somereal great country music put together by a French fan.
The site is all in English and is very cool in my book.

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/rockin.paul/contents.htm