Some Photos of Steel Player in Nashville

[Robert Rhea]

Checked out a few places on Broadway in Nashville on Saturday. I was amazed at how great the pedal steel players are here. I had the chance to stand right next these guys and watch them in action. They all played D-10's and it was interesting to see how much they switched back and forth from E9 to C6, even in the same song.

First up are a few pics of J.R. Merseal playing his Emmonds at The Second Fiddle.




Here is J.R. making his way across Broadway about 2:00 in the afternoon with his push-pull in hand. I think this is an every Saturday occurrence for J.R. because he plays from 11:00-2:00 at Second Fiddle, then has to high-tail it right across the street to play at the Full Moon Saloon from 2:00 to 6:00. He really didn't seem to be phased at all, dodging the traffic! Wonder how many times he's banged his shins on the pedal board making that walk...


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From 2:00 to 6:00 right next door to the Full Moon, Mike Sweeney was playing his ZumSteel at The Wheel.


Really nice looking pedal steel and sounds great!


Sorry for the image being so dark.

I also caught Eddie Lange playing his Fessy at Robert's Western World. He was playing from 2:00 to 6:00 as well, so I only got to hear him for about a half an hour. Great band!



I really enjoyed my day trip and had the chance to meet these great players. If you are in the Nashville area on a Saturday, you really need to check out these guys.

[Barry Blackwood]

Robert, let's brighten that dark one up a bit, ok?

[Robert Rhea]

Yes, thanks Barry. I probably should have done that myself before I posted it. Don't know what I was thinking...

[Jim Hartley]

Hey Robert,

I know you were focusing on the steel players, but did you happen to notice who was playing drums in the band with Eddie Lange?

[Damir Besic]

it was interesting to see how much they switched back and forth from E9 to C6

it's because J.R. and Mike both kick butt on C6... and the best players you can see on Friday and Saturday ...there was no rare ocassion to run into John Hughey or Big Jim Murphey or some other guys, down town, pickin' with the bends, it is all about tip jar on the lower Broad in Nashville... I remember playing at Tootsie's one Tuesday, years ago, it was on Tuesday morning , and I was playing front room from 10am-2pm, I made $2 for 4 hours ...thanks but no thanks...

[Robert Rhea]

Sorry Jim, I didn't catch any names of the drummers. All I can tell you is that it's the guy in the second photo with Eddie wearing the red plaid shirt and white hat. Don't know if you can recognize him or not.

And BTW, I had a nice chat with Gary Rittenberry on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. We were going to meet up at his place around noon on Saturday. But he called me about 8:30 that morning to let me know that we would have to make it another day. He was west of Nashville and was meeting a polisher, hoping to get back home by noon. But the guy was going to be several hours late, so it just didn't work out.

[Jim Hartley]

Robert,

I just thought it might be of interest to you. The drummer with Eddie is Willie Cantu, of Buck Owens fame.

[Robert Rhea]

Wow, very cool! Really good band with Eddie.

I found it interesting that the guitar player was playing a Les Paul. Everyone else I saw was playing a Tele, with a few playing a Stat.

[Jack Stoner]

Its a sad situation that they have to play for the tip jar. When I was there we got $15 for a 4 hour gig - "Broadway Wages". But, when I was there a lot of the pickers were road pickers who just wanted to "stay in practice" when off the road and really didn't care about how much they made. And, with so many pickers around it didn't matter who you were or weren't it paid the same. It could be Buddy Emmons or some unknown amateur like Jack Stoner and it paid the same $15.

[Joe Casey]

Jack, Smiley told me they get paid plus the Tip jar when he plays. Of course 1hat 15 dollar pay hasn't increased all that much but when you have 198,362 plus pickers hanging around they gots to eat somehow. On a good tourist day the Jar can fill up fast.

[Dustin Rigsby]

If I went down there and listened...I'd probably come home and either practice a lot more or sell my gear and call it quits...

[Pete Finney]

I can say from recent experience that all these estimates of money are way low and outdated, at least for the better clubs like Roberts, and there is some money from the club, plus tips. If you can work your way up to the better gigs it's sometimes possible to have fun and make pretty good money for a few hours.

But there's a lot of great players out there, and it's very competitive. I've just got a couple of guys I sub for now and then, no regular slots. Works for me, in between other stuff.

[Skip Edwards]

Now this is weird... just yesterday I asked if a ZB that's currently for sale on the Forum was Ed Black's old steel, and today I see that J.R. is playing a blue p/p that has a space betweeh the 3rd & 5th pedals...which is exactly like Ed's blue p/p.
So... is that Ed's? the one that Dan Dugmore had?

[Fred Glave]

I was down there in the spring a couple of years ago and there were a lot of tourists and the honky tonks on Broadway were busy. At Legends and
Tootsies, the tip jars were full and when I put my dough in, there seemed to be a lot of 5,10 and 20 dollar bills along with singles. At Tootsies I saw someone pay $20.00 just for the band to play Sweet Home Alabama. It probably varies from day to day and season to season as well as the band. Good pictures, thanks.

[John Billings]

I remember stopping at Bobbe's in Goodletsville 30+ years ago. When I told him I had a house gig paying $250 a week for 5 nights, his jaw dropped! Gotta be better now?

[Tony Prior]

great photo's !

correction: Emmons, not Emmonds...

Some of the players are making some good cash if the band leader is working the room in the prime hours, but agreed not all. I know a few in town who have been there for years, decades. The trick is parallel employment , exposure, improve your skill set , appearance, general attitude ,professionally network, better things are possible. But it takes time and patience. Broadway is not a career it's a path to a better career should you follow it. Endurance...Use the NON stage time towards the goal...

I started as a bench tech many years back, I am still with the same company but the bench tech left the building a long time ago !

[Eric Philippsen]

I got a question.

When you play on Broadway in Nashville, where do you park your car? I mean, parking is at a premium down there, especially at night, and I assume it isn't cheap. And if you're not taking that much $$ from the gig........

Just wondering.

[Robert Rhea]

I was told it was $4 to park all day at the library a few blocks away from most of the venues. I found that out after I paid $40 to park for 24 hours. The other choice was $25 until 5:00 p.m. to park in the same lot behind Honky Tonk Central, and I knew I was going to be there after 5:00 so I bit the bullet!

[Barry Gokee]

I have been told that the pay for the pickers downtown is $30.00 plus tips for a 4 hour stint. A couple bands get $50.00 and tips. Anyone wanna chime in? thanks.

[Mike Sweeney]

The pay depends on the club and the time slot you are in. It can be anywhere from $25.00 to $50.00. The library garage has went up to $5.00 on weekends and evenings so it's still the cheapest thing going. And last but not least, Your camera is really good to withstand those mugs without breaking.