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Topic: Lot's of talk about steel players retiring..... |
Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 16 Mar 2015 9:52 am |
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Just curious about all of the steel players that seem to be retiring during recent days......
I truly wonder how many are going to be 'fixed for life' as a result of all their great sacrifices to making music their livelihood.......
and/or, how many have had to hold down full time jobs in addition to making some vocalist sound so wonderful..........
Has music really been kind to all of them? |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 16 Mar 2015 10:45 am
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| Quote: |
| I truly wonder how many are going to be 'fixed for life' as a result of all their great sacrifices to making music their livelihood....... |
| Quote: |
| Has music really been kind to all of them? |
Doubtful, Ray, but most of us when starting out don't become steel players for the money…  |
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Robert Jones
From:
Branson, Missouri
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Posted 16 Mar 2015 12:43 pm
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Great question Ray. I myself am not quite ready for retirement. I am not wealthy by any means as I have a day job and have pretty much worked my tail off all these years. My music has been really good to me over the years and I've had some really great gigs in my time. I've make some pretty good money but nothing to really brag about. I'm not too far from retirement from my day job but I think I would like to keep plucking my strings a few more years before hanging it up for good. I am about to embark on another gig which is going to reward me in more ways than money could ever pay me. I have decided to take my steel to church and play for God. I am blessed with a gig that only comes around during the Christmas holiday season and I intend to keep doing that as long as I can. In the mean time I'm going to be doing my thing in church.
_________________
Mullen Royal Precision D10 Red Lacquer Pearl inlay 8&8
"Life is too short for bad tone."
https://mullenguitars.com/
http://www.bjsbars.com/ |
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Robbie Daniels
From:
Casper, Wyoming, USA
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Posted 16 Mar 2015 5:31 pm
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That is a good question. I am 81 and have been playing for over 60 years, all west of the Mississippi, and I can't just quit because it has been a part of my life. I still play but usually is three or four times a month. I am still able to tote my two Evans amps that were built prior to 1999 and my D12 2005 Carter. They are not as you would say lite but they give me the sound I want and I just enjoy playing because it is a part of me. Thanks for asking.
_________________
Carter D12, MSA S12, 12 String Custom Made Non-Pedal, Evans FET 500LV, Evans SE200, Peavey Nashville 400, Fender Steel King |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 16 Mar 2015 6:09 pm Re: Lot's of talk about steel players retiring.....
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| Ray Montee wrote: |
I truly wonder how many are going to be 'fixed for life' as a result of all their great sacrifices to making music their livelihood.......
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Ray, I think the number of steelers who can be "comfortable for life" on their music earnings is incredibly small...maybe 1 out of 100. I don't see that situation improving because there has been such dramatic change in the entertainment business, as a whole. Music just isn't as big because of competition from reality TV, video games, theme parks, the internet, movie-plexes, and all those other forms of entertainment we have now that did not exist in the '50s and '60s.
I've been fortunate enough to make a pretty good living, but music was never more that a small part of that - even when I was doing 6-7 music gigs per week. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 19 Mar 2015 10:20 am
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I don't think steel guitarists every retire. Like old soldiers, they just fade away.
The main difference between musicians and the rest of the working world is that they're earning a living doing what they would otherwise do anyway. No-one does accounting or turns a wheel on a machine for a hobby. Most people have a day job which they dislike, but put up with, and then do what they really want to in their spare time. If you can turn your hobby into a profession then you are priviledged.
So the question becomes, how can you retire from a pastime that you do for the joy of it? You don't. |
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Smiley Roberts
From:
Hendersonville,Tn. 37075
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Posted 21 Mar 2015 5:34 pm
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Someone,once,asked orch. leader,Duke Ellington,when he was going to retire. His answer was,"Retire to what???"  |
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Brett Day
From:
Pickens, SC
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Posted 21 Mar 2015 7:34 pm
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| I can't quit and retire from the steel because it's a part of my life, and I've always told myself that if I ever did stop playing, I'd regret it, so retiring ain't gonna happen for me. I'm now at fifteen years on steel, so there's no stopping. I've loved the steel since I was nine, started playing at eighteen, and now at thirty-three, I still love playing steel. I do take breaks every once in awhile, but saying "I give up" or "I quit" is not an option. I remember in 2002, I took a kinda long break because of a bruised hip, but I was very determined to get back behind the steel and play. Now, after I play a steel guitar show or play at my church, I always take a little break, then get the steel back out and play again after the little break |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 10:22 am
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I was at an Everly Brothers concert a few years ago, and Don Everly recounted how they had decided to return to Bowling Green, KY, and retire. After a few months they realised that they were bored out of their minds, so they came back out of retirement and went on the road, but their attitudes had changed: now they looked as performing as something they were choosing to do for the pleasure of it, rather than a chore that they had to undertake to make a living.
It's all a matter of mental attitude.
(By the way, they had Buddy Emmons playing steel on that tour, and one of the things that they mentioned was that more groups should have steel guitarists.)  |
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 12:58 pm
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(By the way, they had Buddy Emmons playing steel on that tour, and one of the things that they mentioned was that more groups should have steel guitarists.)
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If I may paraphrase, I think more groups should have steel guitarists like Buddy Emmons.. |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 3:50 pm
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I agree, Barry. What a pity there aren't enough to go 'round.
_________________
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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John Booth
From:
Columbus Ohio, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 5:07 pm
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I "quit" playing steel once, for a few years.
I kept playing Telecasters tho and had more work than I needed,
but now I don't care so much about working all the time, and no 6 string
can give me the joy of my steel.
Yeah, I'm in for the long haul, with or without the stage time.
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Jb in Ohio
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GFI S10 Ultra, Telecaster, a Hound Dog, and an Annoyed Wife
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John Billings
From:
Ohio, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 8:27 pm
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Retired. Tinnitus.
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Dr. Z Surgical Steel amp, amazing!
"74 Bud S-10 3&6
'73 Bud S-10 3&5(under construction)
'63 Fingertip S-10, at James awaiting 6 knees
'57 Strat, LP Blue
'91 Tele with 60's Maple neck
Dozen more guitars!
Dozens of amps, but SF Quad reverb, Rick Johnson cabs. JBL 15, '64 Vibroverb for at home.
'52 and '56 Pro Amps |
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John Macy
From:
Rockport TX/Denver CO
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Posted 22 Mar 2015 8:45 pm
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They recently asked the steel player that won the lottery what he was going to do now and he said "just keep gigging till the money runs out..."
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John Macy
Rockport, TX
Engineer/Producer/Steel Guitar |
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Bob Carlucci
From:
Candor, New York, USA
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 1:50 am
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| John Billings wrote: |
| Retired. Tinnitus. |
Yeah John.. me too.. bad,,, REAL bad..
However, I still play with a band that plays at reasonable volume.. The T has not been a major issue when playing with the band, in fact my head is quieter after the gigs than before them for some reason.
I still play out, not quite ready to retire from gigging just yet.. Not sure I will ever really retire fully, but I will probably not take every crappy gig I get called for.. The burn is just not there.
Actually, I plan on retiring from my low wage day job in about 15 months, and will need to play sometimes to keep myself in toy money... bob
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I'm over the hill and hittin'rocks on the way down!
no gear list for me.. you don't have the time...... |
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Ben Lawson
From:
Brooksville Florida
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 3:10 am
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I will probably retire this year. There are several reasons that may make it necessary. I have dupuytrens contracture in both hands, most severely in the right hand. It does cause issues that make me unsure of my ability to hit the note or notes that I'm aiming for. Might be more mind over matter but it isn't getting any better.
I'm also turning 70 in August and want to see different parts of the country while I can.
As far as finances are concerned I have a smart wife who put away more than I did for retirement and our financial advisors told us we are okay to continue our current life style. We won't become jet-setters by any means but as long as we continue living as we have been we'll be fine.
Now with all that said we'll see??????. |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 7:42 am
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Haven't you heard, steel players don't retire, they just "steel away"...
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Joe Casey
From:
Weeki Wachee .Springs FL (population.9)
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 8:04 am
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I retired about two weeks after I bought one.  Is quitting the same as retiring? |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 8:56 am
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Alan commented about old steel players fading away like old soldiers and then mentioned Buddy Emmons in a later post re The Everly Brothers.
How about this: Buddy Emmons actually has intentionally retired.
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Mark |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 9:08 am
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I may be wrong but I think Ray's original post was intended to mean the 'name' players who made their sole living from music and who, by rising to the top of the heap by dint of talent and sheer hard work, furthered the instrument.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 10:58 am
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| Roger Rettig wrote: |
| I may be wrong but I think Ray's original post was intended to mean the 'name' players who made their sole living from music and who, by rising to the top of the heap by dint of talent and sheer hard work, furthered the instrument. |
Roger, Ray covered all the bases in his original post, folks whom have derived their living from steel guitar and other folks whom have had to hold down full-time jobs while playing steel guitar on the side.
Might be too broad a canvas to paint under one topic.
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Mark |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 23 Mar 2015 11:13 am
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Perhaps you're right, Mark.
When he asked "...has music been kind to them?" I'd assumed he was thinking of those who gave their whole working lives to an endeavour that often doesn't bring much in the way of reward and brings even less security.
There's a world of difference between the master pros and those that perhaps have enjoyed a part-time career with no real pressure to make it pay. This is not meant to demean anyone - I applaud everyone who strives to play any instrument to the best of their ability even if it's only as a diversion in their lives.
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 24 Mar 2015 10:48 am
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Yes, the question could be about professional steel guitarists who retire, or amateur/part-time steel guitarists who retire from their day jobs and now have more time to play steel. I'm one of the latter category. 45 boring years as an accountant/economist; now I'm retired and ready to rumble.  |
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Roger Rettig
From:
Naples, FL
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Posted 24 Mar 2015 10:57 am
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You're lucky, Alan (or sensible).
You could have finished up like me - I worked solely as a pro guitarist since 1959 (steel since '75 or so) and still I don't have enough saved to retire on!
And I turned seventy-two yesterday.....
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Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles and Martins - and, at last, a Gibson Super 400!
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