WHAT do YOU miss the most.............?????

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

If there are any other old-timers out there that have played steel guitar for extra money or as a profession but no longer do so, WHAT DO YOU MISS MOST?

Is it the anticipation of getting to play tomorrow night?

Is it the 'lost' moments of tearing down, packing it out, loading it into the van/car/pickup and then packing it all into a club/hall where you then set it all back up once again?

Is it the hair-raising drives home after the gig, in the dark of night in terrifying weather conditions?

Or, do you miss all that 'eye-candy' that most of us tried in vain to ignore but finally had to accept as one of the many hazards of being a good looking steel guitar player all thro' the years?

Come-on now! We're like family........don't hold back. Share with your friends.

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Ray, I played full time from the age of 23 until I was almost 46. I'll be 70 this coming January and I think about it a whole bunch. I really miss the old days and for a lot of different reasons!

First of all there was the fact that I didn't have to get up in the morning and go to work, never had to set an alarm clock and my days were free do do what I wanted.... Now I've been retired for almost four years and it's like that again, history does repeat itself.

Eye Candy? There was a bunch of that in those days and I consumed my fair share of it! It always seemed like the girls liked the "boys in the band" and it didn't even matter what you looked like, they still wanted you!......

I really miss the music as it was more "real" in those days.

One of the things about being a musician in the SoCal area was the great comraderie of all the pickers! There were a couple of dingleberries, but most of us were like brothers and supported each other all we could. When someone came into your gig that you knew, you always got them up to pick and vice versa. Nowadays it seems like the young bucks are either too stuck up or too scared of their jobs, who knows.........

This is getting lengthy so I'll close with this! The thing I really miss and enjoyed to the max was being able to watch my kids grow up! My wife had a day job and I was a "Mister Mom" but with a night job. I'd go to all the daytime school things that went on with the kids. Most of the time I was the only man there with a bunch of women which was pretty cool.........JH in Va.
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Don't matter who's in Austin (or anywhere else) Ralph Mooney is still the king!!!

John De Maille · From: On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.

I've been playing music, on stage, since I was 16 yrs old. Lots and lots of gigs with plenty of fun. I'm 60 now, and over the last 10 yrs, my band only plays about 5-6 times a year. It's certainly not the same as it was and I miss playing good music for a live audience. I've never and never would want to be in the spotlight, but, there is something special about being on a stage playing for people. It's a natural high for me. When the music is sounding right and I'm on with my playing, it's pure heaven for me. Don't get me wrong, I've had many a bad gig, but, the good out shines the bad, hands down. I'm still energetic and willing to play. I only wish there was a venue, here, that, lent itself to good old country music. I miss being onstage, performing music and doing what I like best.

Billy Tonnesen · From: R.I.P., Buena Park, California

Playing when the whole band or group is really "in-sinc". Also for us old timers, trading "Musical War Stories" on breaks (absolutely true ones and some enhanced ones).

Ken Lang · From: Simi Valley, Ca

It was great to have people say how wonderful you were so you could hang your head and say, "Gosh, I'm really nothin'." Confused

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heavily medicated for your safety

Tom Quinn · Posted 12 Jul 2009 6:58 am

Eye candy, ear candy and let's not forget the nose candy... I miss two out of three although the eye candy now wears a moo-moo, the ear candy can still be had and the lovers of nose candy are either pushing up daisies or have been boring people to tears at their 12-step meetings for 20 years with the same shaggy stories of yore.
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I need an Emmons!

Gary Preston · From: Columbus, Ohio, USA

What i still remember the most is how some of the other bands or musicians would come out to hear you play . But the real thing they were doing was trying to take your job away from you ! The ''EGO'S '' were a killer then and still hasn't changed 30 years later ! Those guys now have a huge memory of how great they were or who they have played for ! I don't miss those times at all and am glad that i have been out of that for many years now and i don't look back !

Tom Quinn · Posted 12 Jul 2009 11:18 am

Did you ever go to the Columbus Folk Music Center? I worked there in the 60s when I was going to OSU.
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I need an Emmons!

Eric Philippsen · From: Central Florida USA

I miss the fact that there were so MANY clubs to play. Six or seven nights a week. It wasn't unusual to play Friday and Saturday nights and then all day Sunday at any of several different places. Big audiences. You could make a livin' at it although it wasn't a high-dollar one.

I don't kid myself. Those days are not coming back but, as a young man then, it was great. I was always amazed that I got paid to play which was, more often than not, so much fun.

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