Pet Peeve

Randy (Fuzzy) Whitener · Post by **Randy (Fuzzy) Whitener** » 18 Jul 2005 4:52 pm

Paul, I agree and remember all the styles of dress from the 50's on. I must have misunderstood when you said "Depending on how you view it these new acts are following the traditions pioneered by some of Country's biggest legends" sounded like you were compairing them to Willie and his plight(spelling?). Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Fuzzy

John Daugherty · Post by **John Daugherty** » 18 Jul 2005 5:22 pm

I heard Chet Atkins say "I signed Waylon on the spot when he walked into my office wearing leather. The girls like leather".
All I can say about the attire worn by an artist is..... "If it works, wear it".
The same goes for "The Rag". After playing it it for 50 years,I don't like to play it, but if it works....play it.

Al Carmichael · Post by **Al Carmichael** » 18 Jul 2005 6:25 pm

Paul--Thank you! When I was called to play steel for this alternative act, my first thought was " How would Paul Franklin approach this?" And I spent some time listening to Dire Straits "On Every Street" which, by the way, was very helpful!

Charlie McDonald--I'm pretty excited about Mike Perlwin's work too. We live in rich musical times thanks to guys like Mike and Gary Morse, who have taken the music in new directions. Don't get me wrong, though--I still love the masters who play incredible country styles too. But I dig the idea of putting steel into unfamiliar waters.

David Wren--I don't like that musical snobbery either. I'm not sure where it comes from, but it seems to me that if you are a great player that it might be rewarding and exciting to share with others who play totally different musical styles. I DO understand the passion of bluegrass pickers. It very difficult to play it at a high level. And whatever excites us musically, we SHOULD be passionate about it. Every musician or act that I've seen who was really good had a burning love for the music being played. But, why put down everything thats not our chosen music? If we'd all play what we like and leave it at that, it would be fine with me.

It took me a long time to understand that such passion exists in every musical niche--even the ones that left me scratching my head. Who am I? Just another guy doing what he likes to do--same as all those other passionate folks who play stuff that I can't connect with.

Jim Sliff · Post by **Jim Sliff** » 18 Jul 2005 6:26 pm

I guess when it comes to steel guitar rag I was trying to point out that some of us come from totally different directions to the instrument.

I honestly wouldn't know steel guitar rag if I heard it. It's not in my range of influences.

James Cann · Post by **James Cann** » 18 Jul 2005 9:15 pm

The rules for nonconformity have become extremely strict these days.

Indeed they have! If you don't conform, you haven't a chance!

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 19 Jul 2005 2:56 am

Yes, but a real class act doesn't have to worry about conforming.
That Chet Atkins is a hoot. Liked Waylon in leather. What other master could sit down with Mark Knopfler, turn out an album and have a good time doing it?
I wonder; was Knopfler wearing his t-shirt? Did Chet care?

Brett Anderson · Post by **Brett Anderson** » 19 Jul 2005 2:41 pm

Great post. In response to David and Paul. The outlaws in the 60's and 70's were innovators. But one thing in mho sets them apart. The older guys were mega-talented, played instruments, wrote their own songs and left a mark. there is NO ONE on the radio today that is fit to be mentioned in the same breath with Waylon or any of those guys from yesterday.

Brett Anderson · Post by **Brett Anderson** » 19 Jul 2005 2:58 pm

Al i share your sentiments but the problem is that for many people, what is played on the radio is all they get to expose themselves to. Nashville and NotsoClear Channel does'nt allow radio stations to play what a hell of a lot of people still wanna hear. Unfortunately or fortunately, we still live in a country where guys like to go have a drink after work, they like to chase women, people die, people cheat, people just keep on being people. That's what used to make the jukebox play. When there used to be jukeboxes. Some of us just wanna hear some good old country to help wash down the new country,

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 19 Jul 2005 5:44 pm

Brett,

Try researching the musical career accomplishments of Alan Jackson, George Strait, and Garth Brooks, to name only a few of todays giants. Until you do, there is no way for you to comprehend how their footprints have influenced a new generation in the same manner that Wille and Waylon influenced their generation of fans.

There are plenty of legendary careers to observe from both the past and present. IMO ALL the greats mentioned in this thread, whether I like their music, or not, deserve respect for accomplishing the impossible while maintaining their integrity as human beings.

Paul

Franklin · Post by **Franklin** » 19 Jul 2005 6:13 pm

Brett,

Please don't confuse my post as an attack on your opinion. If it seemed a little harsh, I apologize because I didn't mean for it to read that way.

Because I have recorded with all these artists. I have seen how Willie and Waylon along with Garth, Strait, and Jackson share only admiration for each others careers, talent, and creative honesty. They ALL achieved success as the artist they wanted to be and none of them is like the other.

IMO most artists (providing they have natural talent) that don't reach the legendary status, both in the past and present, are typically the ones that lost sight of their vision for making music. I believe when we forget what inspired our hearts to perform in the first place our music loses its honesty.

Paul[This message was edited by Franklin on 19 July 2005 at 07:22 PM.]

George Redmon · Post by **George Redmon** » 19 Jul 2005 7:05 pm

I honestly wouldn't know steel guitar rag if I heard it.

don't sweat it jim....meet the steel guitar rag...

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Whitney Single 12 8FL & 5 KN,keyless, dual changers Extended C6th, Webb Amp, Line6 PodXT, Goodrich Curly Chalker Volume Pedal, Match Bro, BJS Bar..I was keyless....when keyless wasn't cool....

Al Carmichael · Post by **Al Carmichael** » 19 Jul 2005 7:21 pm

Paul--that last paragraph is pretty profound--sad but true. AJ, Garth and Strait have always had a vision for what they wanted their music to be--and they had the passion to make it happen. Same with Willie, Waylon, Buck (until hee haw) and Merle. The minute you subvert your music to please the bell curve, your vision dies right there.

Brett--I hear you, but the only way radio will play the type of country we want to hear is when its target demographic wants to hear it too. I'm 54, and like a lot of country listeners my age, I prefer a lot of the older music too. We aren't what radio is aiming at though.

And as a country songwriter, I can't tell you how difficult it is to censor every song you try to write so that its PC and squeaky clean. If you ant to hit the mainstream, you have to think Disney--almost. How about mark Chesnutt's "Saving the Honky Tonks"? GREAT record--fabulous playing by Paul. Any hits from this great disc? No. Its a damn shame. How do you even have a vision in this climate?

Brett Anderson · Post by **Brett Anderson** » 20 Jul 2005 5:15 pm

Paul, let me start by saying I Love You. And I did not take your response as an attack. I have been a big country fan for twenty years. I'm 34 now. I am familiar with the contributions of the folks you have mentioned above. But I feel these people are the exception and not the rule. No knock intended here, but the folks you mentioned only Alan writes his own songs. George wrote no hits, Garth got his name on a couple. And neither are considered virtuoso's on any instrument. My point is that perhaps the truly talented artists are'nt getting their just do because they have a 38 inch waistline, or they don't look good in a pair of designer jeans or they're over 40 etc... How bout the story of the guy in Phoenix who's been toiling in the bars, playing for his dream, singing his butt off and can't get a sniff of a better place. It cost him a marriage, friends, sanity. He sings better than most all of them. That guy could be me. It is me. Don't mean to bring this down. Maybe its my bitterness. J/K. Really though, maybe there is just no originality left anymore. Maybe all trails have been blazed. I don't know. That's why I have recently taken to playing steel. The rest seems monotonous. But it seems to me that Nashville, what with their declining sales every year for the last several years, should look inward at what they've done to the music. Maybe it is the fault of the internet music sharing websites. Thats an easy target. Or maybe the music just blows. Except the stuff with lots of steel guitar. Sorry to rant Paul, but you are one of my heroes.

Brett Anderson · Post by **Brett Anderson** » 20 Jul 2005 5:24 pm

Al, I know they are'nt aiming for us. But maybe they should. You are'nt that old my friend. And my guess is that you, like myself and most others, have more money to spend on music than your average teenage girls. And let us face it here and now. It IS all about money. I would love to buy more mainstream nusic if I could feel something in it. I bought the new strait cd, and the Chesnutt cd you spoke of. I'm just saying gimme more to buy.

Harold Dye · Post by **Harold Dye** » 20 Jul 2005 6:28 pm

what I had to say was not important[This message was edited by Harold Dye on 20 July 2005 at 07:43 PM.]

Al Carmichael · Post by **Al Carmichael** » 20 Jul 2005 11:59 pm

Brett--They should be aiming for us, but the Hollywood mentality has overtaken everything. Truth doesn't sell in a world where illusion is king. Its not a lack of new talent. Its there. Its just that every creative writer and performer has been beaten up so bad that they feel like its not wise to tell it like it is. The industry is run by a bunch of marketing strategists and bean counters.

Someday soon, some record company will take a chance on something real and maybe it will make a ton of money. Then, the whole industry will be busting their butts to give the public something "real" again. Time will tell...

Billy Carr · Post by **Billy Carr** » 21 Jul 2005 2:11 am

Well, there's some interesting opinions on this post and while I can still agree with a lot of them my bottom line is this. If I buy a CD,record album,cassette tape or even a video, it's for one reason only. Because it's got some good steel guitar on it. If I go to a concert, it's because there's a steel player I want to see and hear. In the 80's & 90's, I worked clubs playing 5 and 6 nights a week. During that time I really got fed up with the way new country was turning. Without mentioning any names they were bands that didn't use steel guitar that seemed to really hit it big in country. Even today, I just about will not sit and watch CMT/GAC if there's not steel in the mix somewhere. I support steel guitar and it's players 100%. ( I just thought about when I used to watch the reruns of Dukes Of Hazzard, it was because of the steel playing by J.D. Maness)

Michael Breid · Post by **Michael Breid** » 30 Jul 2005 10:53 am

Charles I have to agree with you 100%. The GAC and CMT(Crappy Music Trash)know how to ruin the real spirit of country music. I'm not into the NashTrash music even though where I work we play it occasionally. I'm just glad we do some real country on the show as well as bluegrass and some jazz standards. Real music. Not this swill they are flooding the airwaves with. And the swill artists(?) aren't any better. Since when did hairy armpits, a cowboy hat, and pukka shells make you country? The grunge people who show up on the Op'ry now disgust me, and I turn it off. Most look like they just came in after an eight day drunk. Pete Fisher has done nothing but bring disgrace to the Op'ry. He stated once that he didn't want to see any grey hair on stage, to which Op'ry performer Jeannie Seely said, "Well, what do you want? We're dying as fast as we can"!! Viva la real country music.

Klaus Caprani · Post by **Klaus Caprani** » 30 Jul 2005 1:26 pm

He stated once that he didn't want to see any grey hair on stage

Did he really? That would qualify as bad manners where I come from!

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Klaus Caprani

MCI RangeXpander S-10 3x4
www.klauscaprani.com

Brett Anderson · Post by **Brett Anderson** » 30 Jul 2005 7:13 pm

Just a guess, but Pete Fisher must be a bean counter who's only interest is the bottom line. WE see what those worried about the bottom line in the country music business have done to the music. Double digit declines in sales for the last several years. Wake up nashville music executives and smell the filth you are waste deep in. You have left behind the very people who used to buy records when the music was good. Per Mr. Fisher's comment if he did say that, good luck with your head in........... the sand. Can't we let Marty Stuart have that job? I bet he'd be great.

Leslie Ehrlich · Post by **Leslie Ehrlich** » 30 Jul 2005 10:34 pm

Some other forum member (I can't remember who) once said "This is a steel guitar forum, not a country music forum."

Curt Langston · Post by **Curt Langston** » 31 Jul 2005 8:34 am

Hey Charles, I know what you mean about being politically correct. Just check out my signature, you'll see what I mean. This country is going down the toilet by trying to be "Politically Correct". Don't get me started on the ACLU. As the Incredible Hulk used to say,"Don't make me angry, you would'nt like me when I'm angry"..................
Oh, almost forgot. Welcome to the Forum!

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I'd rather be opinionated, than apathetic!

[This message was edited by Curt Langston on 31 July 2005 at 09:34 AM.][This message was edited by Curt Langston on 31 July 2005 at 09:36 AM.]

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 31 Jul 2005 12:50 pm

I am not terribly thrilled or stimulated by the site of hairy armpits either

I totally agree. And that goes for the men also!!!

Brett Anderson · Post by **Brett Anderson** » 5 Aug 2005 10:08 pm

Leslie, It is the Steel Guitar forum. But would it be safe to say country music and steel guitar go hand in hand? In my world they do. And if you are'nt that passionate about it don't read the thread and don't post replies. No disrespect intended, but I am fearful that if somebody does'nt stand up for my music, those Nashville geniuses will have it so steel guitar is never heard on the radio at all. There are already too many songs on radio with no steel guitar. I think the argument is warranted.

Charles Davidson · Post by **Charles Davidson** » 7 Aug 2005 6:32 pm

Mr. Fisher,you are slipping up,I saw one of the greatest country singers of all time on the oprey stage last night. MR.GENE WATSON.There was a lot of grey hair on his chinny,chinny,chin.Better be careful ,you may lose your teenie bopper audience.That would be a disaster in your mind.I will never quit ranting and raving about the pityful state country music is in today.I,ve heard someone say,but the top artist of today make millions and millions of dollars a year.So did Al Capone but he was still a gangster!!!!That is what is wrong today.To hell with the music just let us count the MONEY.