Is Hypertension Common Among Steel Guitarists?

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 8 Mar 2014 5:57 am

I opened for the day to respond to Rick's preconceived notion that my comments were aimed at him. Apparently his response was removed. In deference to his comments, rest assured that I found his comments interesting, and no such thing would ever occur in my everyday thoughts. During my visits to various shows as an interviewer, for a country music newspaper, I quickly learned that there are no shortages of rude individuals who do not hesitate to butt into a scheduled interview without prior approval. They fit into the same category of rude individuals who grab front row seats much before show time.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 8 Mar 2014 7:13 am

This has become more about something other than steel players..

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 8 Mar 2014 7:40 am

To some Barry, but as you can see there is some good answers given if one wants to listen and maybe someone will realize it's time to change ones lifestyle. Recently going through my health problems I find listening to others who have similar problems and their results has helped me. If b0b feels there is a drift then it's in his power to close the topic. Also our choice to ignore or answer.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 8 Mar 2014 8:34 am

Joe, I agree. That being said, I don't think steel guitar players are more prone to hypertension than anyone else who leads a sedentary lifestyle..
I mentioned "drift" because I thought Bill's posts were becoming more chitchat than relevant information.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 8 Mar 2014 8:56 am

Any person having normal intelligence would know that exterior annoyances (bad manners and the like) can and does raise blood pressure. Countless heart attacks have been caused by undue external excitement. It seems as if some were born to throw the bull....! You shouldn't expect to hear nonsense from intellectually sound members. Blood pressure is most certainly closely related to a host of successes, including playing the pedal steel guitar.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 8 Mar 2014 9:05 am

Bill Hankey
Posted: 8 Mar 2014 5:57 am Post subject:
I opened for the day to respond to Rick's preconceived notion that my comments were aimed at him. Apparently his response was removed. In deference to his comments, rest assured that I found his comments interesting, and no such thing would ever occur in my everyday thoughts. During my visits to various shows as an interviewer, for a country music newspaper, I quickly learned that there are no shortages of rude individuals who do not hesitate to butt into a scheduled interview without prior approval. They fit into the same category of rude individuals who grab front row seats much before show time.

Bill, this is your previous post this morning. There isn't anything in it about steel players or hypertension, hence my comments.

Joe Casey · Post by **Joe Casey** » 8 Mar 2014 10:07 am

Barry I agree that Hypertension is not only related to Steel Guitarist. But as is the case Musicians are a high at risk and this can be shown by the very young deaths amongst us. With me it's the level of things I had to do like keep the band working , Keeping guys that got along and enjoyed working with each other, keep the public interested, keep the club owners happy all this while trying to stay married and raise a family. While doing this I must have drank enough scotch and inhaled enough smoke to fill a river and cover the countryside. Thus in 07 I had a stroke and from a blood pressure level that got away from me that I never once considered. I think Bills post if for no other reason should remind us who are members of this Forum to pay attention to our symptoms.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 8 Mar 2014 10:41 am

Barry,

We could have a fireplace chat about the pedal steel guitar, and it would last for hours on end. I truly enjoyed building my steel from scratch. During the course of making it playable, I had to overcome dozens of problems. I'm tempted to demonstrate in the future how well my fretless steel with upright fret board responds to brushed melody lines. Today's artists are as fast as a cobra strike, but there are very few utilizing a brush technique that would encompass vivid melodies.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 8 Mar 2014 11:26 am

I think Bills post if for no other reason should remind us who are members of this Forum to pay attention to our symptoms.

I agree, and Bill did that, but then he started to wander...

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 8 Mar 2014 12:57 pm

Click here

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 8 Mar 2014 1:58 pm

Bo Legg,

I'll go along with your suggestion by burying my head in the sand. Sooner or later I'll need to come out for air. It's easier for 2nd and 3rd parties to say, "Don't tell me your troubles." Following your suggestions will not be that difficult. I'd guess according to your way of thinking, leave the "How are you" questions out of conversations. Most folks who concern themselves with the wellness of others, have developed over the years the million times spoken, "How are you?" I doubt if the traditional greeting will ever be deemed to be anything other than a expression of good wishes.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 9 Mar 2014 6:22 am

I just wanted to mention the fact that all parties are more or less the same in terms of resolving musical issues. These disputatious outbreaks of disagreements have been the core of argumentative posturing for centuries. Musical splendor is nothing new.. with the exception of possibly the pedal steel at special moments, when the player will play an unexpected riff inadvertently. He can wish with all his heart to repeat the beautiful phrasing that is lost; possibly forever. This would most certainly lead one to believe that such uniqueness makes the pedal steel guitar fitting to be referred to as an instrument with the rarest of qualities.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 9 Mar 2014 7:58 am

"Disputatious"... a good word, Bill!

Definitely of the "5 Dollar" variety.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 9 Mar 2014 11:31 am

Hi Herb,

I know that you are a front runner in this musical game involving the pedal steel guitar in your "Neck of the woods." It is my belief that like so many great books, the steel guitar requires a great deal of study to familiarize oneself with its basic purpose. Then there remains a target area of instant recall. Lacking the ability to retain learned proficiencies can become a problem. To be more specific, the inner self becomes more baffled when it attempts to outfox existing external problems of any magnitude. The pedal steel contains the properties to precipitate an attitude adjustment when our confidence scoots ahead of our abilities.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 9 Mar 2014 11:32 am

Hi Herb,

I know that you are a front runner in this musical game involving the pedal steel guitar in your "Neck of the woods." It is my belief that like so many great books, the steel guitar requires a great deal of study to familiarize oneself with its basic purpose. Then there remains a target area of instant recall. Lacking the ability to retain learned proficiencies can become a problem. To be more specific, the inner self becomes more baffled when it attempts to outfox existing external problems of any magnitude. The pedal steel contains the properties to precipitate an attitude adjustment when our confidence scoots ahead of our abilities.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 9 Mar 2014 12:57 pm

Bill Hankey wrote:Hi Herb,

I know that you are a front runner in this musical game involving the pedal steel guitar in your "Neck of the woods." It is my belief that like so many great books, the steel guitar requires a great deal of study to familiarize oneself with its basic purpose. Then there remains a target area of instant recall. Lacking the ability to retain learned proficiencies can become a problem. To be more specific, the inner self becomes more baffled when it attempts to outfox existing external problems of any magnitude. The pedal steel contains the properties to precipitate an attitude adjustment when our confidence scoots ahead of our abilities.

Correct me if I'm wrong, Bill, but in Texanese I'd translate the above paragraph thusly:

"There's a whole lot to learn about playing this steel thing, and if you've got a case of the Big Head, well, steel guitar will just take you to school and bring you down a couple notches."

That's pretty close, idn't it?

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 9 Mar 2014 1:29 pm

Herb,

Yes Herb, close but no cigar. Nothing rattles the senses more than a first try at playing the steel guitar. A more shocking experience occurs to the system, (at least for most) if you awoke to find yourself seated at your steel between Buddy Emmons and say Doug Jernigan! My message would become crystal clear at that point in time. I have a friend who found himself in that position somewhere at a Texas show. Safeguarding a confidence level at that point in time, may very well be difficult.

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 9 Mar 2014 11:42 pm

Shoot, I ain't skeerd to sit between Buddy and Doug, and pick my Emmons. They'd both get up and leave, and I'd still be settin thar a pickin' and a grinnin' I can hear'em now as they get up to leave,"WELL, AT LEAST HE'S GOT THE GRINNIN' DOWN"......With meds the old BP is normal, but even without'em I still ain't skeerd.

Bo Legg · Post by **Bo Legg** » 10 Mar 2014 12:41 am

Bill I meant my comments to be in general.
I like your posts, I know every topic of yours is going to be a new adventure.
It's just like Gilligan's Island. I know it's going to end in disaster and you're not going to get off the island but it's never boring.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 10 Mar 2014 4:40 am

Bill Wilson,

You seem to be a great source of information in musical punditry. Have you ever heard of "The Picker's Club in OKLAHOMA? Back in the 80's of the last century I was told that everyone visiting there wore guns. Furthermore, one of the best pickers at that time purchased a cannon to protect himself at home. Could this be true?

Bill L. Wilson · Post by **Bill L. Wilson** » 10 Mar 2014 8:42 am

Bro. Bill, I've never heard of The Pickers Club of Okla. An old friend used to say,"shake a bush in Okla. and 15pickers will run out of it"....As for guns, we have open carry, but I have yet to see anyone w/a 6shooter strapped to their leg, gettin' ready for a gun fight at The OK Corral......My neighbor doesn't play steel guitar, but his guns sound like cannons when he's shootin' in his back yard.....I fire a round or2 off now and again, just to make sure my .20 gauge still works. It's loud, and kicks like a mule.....An interesting thing happened to me 2wks ago while playing my Emmons at a club in Kingfisher Co. A drunk cowboy comes up, acting like he's playing my steel guitar. I looked down to see that he was using a .25 cal. auto pistol for the bar. He wasn't touching the strings and the barrel was pointed toward him, so I gently took it out of his hand and laid it on my amp......You gotta be ready for anything here IN OKLAHOMA!!!!!!!

Edward Meisse · Post by **Edward Meisse** » 10 Mar 2014 8:56 am

I've been buying and watching a bunch of lectures from the teaching company. One course was on life long health. The guy talked about all kinds of bad habits and the problems that they led to. And time after time after time he added at the end that people who get a lot of physical exercise, for reasons we don't understand, seem to gain substantial immunity from these problems. I do a great deal of bicycle riding, walking, meditation and Tai Chi Chuan. My blood pressure is 100/60, even at the doctors office.

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 10 Mar 2014 10:30 am

Bill L. Wilson,

I believe the "PICKER'S CLUB" is located in LAWTON, OK., for what it's worth. I'm confident that other forum members could offer more info on this subject matter. Someone pointed out in the past that chicken wire was mounted in the front of the stage to protect the band from objects hurled by clientele; including beer bottles.

Alan Tanner · Post by **Alan Tanner** » 10 Mar 2014 11:40 am

I KNOW that being a musician and playing in the trenches has it's dangers. Guns, knives, flying objects, drunks, weather, fatigue, mechanical problems, etc. all contribute to the demise of pickers. Almost anyone who started playing in the 50's and 60's has horror stories to tell, as well as "newer" pickers too. Add to that the lack of exercise,tobacco, drugs,alcohol,really BAD diet, over weight, and the blood pressure thing, and it's a wonder we have lived as long as we have....I think the younger guys these days may be a little more aware of their health...but then again I could be wrong. Playing in honky tonks will always have a certain amount of danger. I also think that constant use of fingers, wrists, and elbows, contributes to joint problems after several years. Another thing too, if there is some airborne crap going around, like flu or a cold, I usually pick it up sooner or later. Being around crowds with all the hacking and coughing sneezing and hand shaking, is a good way to catch whatever is on the loose...

Bill Hankey · Post by **Bill Hankey** » 10 Mar 2014 12:34 pm

Edward M.,

I don't practice TCC... you'd have to tell me about the benefits realized from engaging oneself in that particular activity. I would give all that I own for your blood pressure, as well as your great energies to enjoy riding out into the wind. One word of caution.. use care cycling into remote forested areas in California. I wouldn't trust those tawnies in every situation.

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Is Hypertension Common Among Steel Guitarists?

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