Y'all just settle down now......
Posted: 1 Apr 2002 12:10 pm
I couldn't stop myself from responding to all of the cries of "The Sky Is Falling.....The Sky Is Falling!"
It seems as if though everyone thinks the steel guitar is doomed and it's the end of the line for all of us. Don't count on it...
This trend of concert acts touring without steel,fiddle or dobro is nothing new. They will soon realize the error of their ways and
learn that their shows are flat and boring without the diversity of instrumentation.
The same holds true of radio. I'm old enough to have weathered several "slow periods" for the steel guitar. Anyone my age still recalls the time when radio became so pop oriented in the late 70's that it was hard to tell whether you had actually dialed in a country station or a pop station.
Most of the Kenny Rogers,Barbara Mandrell,
Dolly Parton,Earl Thomas Conley and even later Conway Twitty hits in the late 70's and early 80's had no steel,fiddle,banjo or dobro.
Producers were all obsessed with crossover hits and the big dollars they brought in. Chet Atkins was one of the biggest advocates of pop country and even made reference to it in one of his last interviews. His tone was somewhat apologetic and he said he might have done as much to hurt country music as he did to help it.
I personally am a steel guitar and dobro fanatic. I am addicted to playing and listening to both instruments and rarely can get enough.
Unlike some players who will only do sessions or only tour I prefer to cover all possible playing situations. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I often do session work all day and then head down to the joints on Broadway
to play a bar gig till 2:00am. And belive me,
there is a steel guitar in nearly every club downtown every night of the week.
Starting next week, I will again be touring with Dwight Yoakam for the summer. We will be part of the five act lineup for the Brooks and Dunn "Neon Circus" tour. Just for the record, I know for a FACT that at least 3 out of the 5 acts have steel guitar and fiddle BOTH on stage. I'm speaking of Gary Allan, Dwight Yoakam, and Brooks and Dunn. The other two acts had at least fiddle the last time I saw them and may be carrying steel this year as well.
History has repeated itself over and over in regards to the popularity of the steel guitar. It tends to go in cycles but I have no doubt that it is well on its way back and will be stronger than ever in the near future.
We steel guitarists must remember that we can be part of the problem or part of the solution. If the steel guitar is to have a bright future, we must all have an open mind as to the many situations and ways it can be applied.
Many of the steel players who we now consider to be traditionalists were considered to be on the "cutting edge" during their younger days and were even seen as being too far out for some old school players.
Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer players who are trying to expand the steel guitar's boundaries. There is room for both traditional players and ground breaking players. I feel that we as a community should welcome new ways of using the steel guitar in all types of music while never turning our backs on what we alreay hold dear to our hearts.
Negativity breeds negativity...but I belive the same is true for being postive. In my opinion, this is a time to reflect on how far the steel guitar has come and how far it still has to go in its evolution.
Just at the Outlaws (Willie and Waylon) and later on the "New Traditionlists" (Randy Travis and Alan Jackson for starters) stepped up to the plate to save us from the mundane wasteland that radio had become.......so shall it be again.
History will repeat itself and perhaps sometime 30 years from now there will be a bunch of steel players sitting around talking about the good old days back in the year 2010 when everybody had steel players and the end of the world wasn't in sight..........
It seems as if though everyone thinks the steel guitar is doomed and it's the end of the line for all of us. Don't count on it...
This trend of concert acts touring without steel,fiddle or dobro is nothing new. They will soon realize the error of their ways and
learn that their shows are flat and boring without the diversity of instrumentation.
The same holds true of radio. I'm old enough to have weathered several "slow periods" for the steel guitar. Anyone my age still recalls the time when radio became so pop oriented in the late 70's that it was hard to tell whether you had actually dialed in a country station or a pop station.
Most of the Kenny Rogers,Barbara Mandrell,
Dolly Parton,Earl Thomas Conley and even later Conway Twitty hits in the late 70's and early 80's had no steel,fiddle,banjo or dobro.
Producers were all obsessed with crossover hits and the big dollars they brought in. Chet Atkins was one of the biggest advocates of pop country and even made reference to it in one of his last interviews. His tone was somewhat apologetic and he said he might have done as much to hurt country music as he did to help it.
I personally am a steel guitar and dobro fanatic. I am addicted to playing and listening to both instruments and rarely can get enough.
Unlike some players who will only do sessions or only tour I prefer to cover all possible playing situations. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I often do session work all day and then head down to the joints on Broadway
to play a bar gig till 2:00am. And belive me,
there is a steel guitar in nearly every club downtown every night of the week.
Starting next week, I will again be touring with Dwight Yoakam for the summer. We will be part of the five act lineup for the Brooks and Dunn "Neon Circus" tour. Just for the record, I know for a FACT that at least 3 out of the 5 acts have steel guitar and fiddle BOTH on stage. I'm speaking of Gary Allan, Dwight Yoakam, and Brooks and Dunn. The other two acts had at least fiddle the last time I saw them and may be carrying steel this year as well.
History has repeated itself over and over in regards to the popularity of the steel guitar. It tends to go in cycles but I have no doubt that it is well on its way back and will be stronger than ever in the near future.
We steel guitarists must remember that we can be part of the problem or part of the solution. If the steel guitar is to have a bright future, we must all have an open mind as to the many situations and ways it can be applied.
Many of the steel players who we now consider to be traditionalists were considered to be on the "cutting edge" during their younger days and were even seen as being too far out for some old school players.
Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer players who are trying to expand the steel guitar's boundaries. There is room for both traditional players and ground breaking players. I feel that we as a community should welcome new ways of using the steel guitar in all types of music while never turning our backs on what we alreay hold dear to our hearts.
Negativity breeds negativity...but I belive the same is true for being postive. In my opinion, this is a time to reflect on how far the steel guitar has come and how far it still has to go in its evolution.
Just at the Outlaws (Willie and Waylon) and later on the "New Traditionlists" (Randy Travis and Alan Jackson for starters) stepped up to the plate to save us from the mundane wasteland that radio had become.......so shall it be again.
History will repeat itself and perhaps sometime 30 years from now there will be a bunch of steel players sitting around talking about the good old days back in the year 2010 when everybody had steel players and the end of the world wasn't in sight..........
<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Steve Feldman on 01 April 2002 at 03:40 PM.]</p></FONT>