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Author Topic:  Audience first time viewing a pedal steel
Craig Schwartz


From:
McHenry IL
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 6:58 am    
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Now I try my best to look the part so that I dont give people a wrong impression at any gig that comes my way, In fact I try NOT to stand out, but it seems like I`m explaining the same thing over and over and I`m getting callased to it just a little,
I gotta remember to keep smiling, Heres only a couple of remarks.

What the heck is that thing...

One woman said it looked like I was sitting in a wheel chair and had braces on my legs , (Black spray will fix that)
I thought Chrome was cool Shocked

Any other Don Rickles statements out there ?
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Erv Niehaus


From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 7:27 am    
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I just tell them that it's a combination Singer sewing machine and an electric cheese slicer. Whoa!
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Chuck Lawson

 

From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 7:54 am    
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I tell them its my electric ironing board.
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Joe Miraglia


From:
Jamestown N.Y.
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 8:33 am    
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I tell them it's my MACCORINI MACHINE( Rotini).
I wonder if Bassoon players are asked the same thing? I could see someone asking a Bag Pipe player " Is that a Octopus your playing".
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Dennis Manuel


From:
Quesnel, B.C., Canada
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 8:54 am    
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Someone asked if it was a new style xylophone.
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Rick Schmidt


From:
Prescott AZ, USA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 9:13 am    
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When someone asks "Is that thing difficult to play?", I say "Yes....it's impossible!" Razz
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Malcolm McMaster


From:
Beith Ayrshire Scotland
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 9:31 am    
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Here in Scotland it is often referred to as a knitting machine.One player got fed up with it and got hold of an old wool blanket, tied it up under his steel and gradually lowered it down on a piece of string during the gig.There were a few confused faces in the hall. Laughing
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Tony Glassman


From:
The Great Northwest
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 11:11 am    
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I vas collate between telling people it's either:
an oakie organ
.........or a loom
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Henry Matthews


From:
Texarkana, Ark USA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 11:49 am    
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A guy I work with calls it a floor fiddle. Now where he got that, I'll never know. Laughing
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Henry Matthews

D-10 Magnum, 8 &5, dark rose color
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Roual Ranes

 

From:
Atlanta, Texas, USA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 12:27 pm    
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Back in the 70's, I was playing the Plano Elks Lodge and a couple came up and bent over to look at the underside of the steel. I told them it was a console harp......seemed to satisify them.
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John Cadeau

 

From:
Surrey,B.C. Canada
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 1:11 pm     Audience first time viewing a pedal steel
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Mine has been called a table guitar, and a keyboard.
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CrowBear Schmitt


From:
Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 2:36 pm    
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Appalachian Tone Bender ?
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chris ivey


From:
california (deceased)
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 4:03 pm    
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i tell everyone it takes a genius to play one!
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Aaron Goldstein


From:
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 4:23 pm    
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"Hillbilly string section" is what I've taken to calling it.

I can't count how many times I've gotten "you were great on the keyboard tonight".

But I CAN count how many times I've heard, "you were great on the sitar tonight" - twice! Two separate occasions, two different people. Weird.

I'm also often asked, "how hard is that thing to play, really?" as though there is some scale by which I can quantify exactly how hard it is to play. I usually tell people it's quite hard but can be achieved if you set your mind to it and give it lots of time.
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Damien Odell

 

From:
Springwood, New South Wales, Australia
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 4:31 pm    
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I always tell them it's a pedal steel guitar, and that always confuses them....
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Robert Daniels


From:
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 5:08 pm    
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I used to call them "redneck tear machines"...with love.
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Michael Haselman


From:
St. Paul
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 5:37 pm    
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When they ask what it is, I always like asking them what they think it is. Some interesting answers. Zither was one.
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Jack Ritter

 

From:
Enid, Oklahoma, USA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 5:43 pm    
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I always tell them," you don't have to be crazy to play one of these things, but a little bit helps"!
Jack
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Mike Perlowin


From:
Los Angeles CA
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 10:04 pm    
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"Table top string thingy."
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Olaf van Roggen


From:
The Netherlands
Post  Posted 8 Apr 2013 10:54 pm    
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...I once heard someone praising:"great stringbox instrument!"
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Daniel Morris


From:
Westlake, Ohio, USA
Post  Posted 9 Apr 2013 4:40 am    
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I don't know who originally coined it, but I always like "electric ironing board".
However, my favorite was when I was playing in a country covers band, and a guy came up to my side of the stage. He said, "Man, you really play a great sitar!" You can't make these things up....
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Howard Steinberg


From:
St. Petersburg, Florida , USA
Post  Posted 9 Apr 2013 4:58 am    
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I've been asked if the thing that I was playing is a glockenspeil. My favorite, however, "is that a keyboard with strings?"
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Bud Angelotti


From:
Larryville, NJ, USA
Post  Posted 9 Apr 2013 5:26 am    
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Cheese slicer. Standard 10 stringer makes 9 thick uniform slices. Deluxe model, two people can operate simultaneously. There is also a model that can do 11 slices.
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Josh Rossow


From:
Mchenry, Illinois
Post  Posted 9 Apr 2013 5:34 am    
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One guy called it a " Sit Guitar "
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Joey Ace


From:
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Post  Posted 9 Apr 2013 9:21 am    
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Ten Manually Controlled Monophonic Oscillators.



Actually, I always appreciate the interest, and answer politely, no matter how much it get's old.
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