Steel Guitar Union Hall: hit 100 members

Bill McCloskey · Posted 30 Jan 2024 6:13 pm

Myself and HowardR have launched a new Facebook group dedicated to the promotion of Steel Guitarists, their gigs, their live performances, and teachers of Steel guitar. Both Pedal and Non pedal steelers are welcome.

The full name is The Steel Guitar Union Hall and Equipment Exchange.

The idea is was inspired by the Musicians Union Halls who would meet on Weds to book gigs for the weekend.

We have already started a pinned list showing links for booking members and links to find teachers. Our focus is on Live performance and we encourage members to post their live performances, whether in front of a crowd of thousands or a group of friends, Auditoriums to nursing homes. It is a public group so non-members can see live performances and book steel guitarists for their next event. Or for people interested in learning steel, to find a teacher.

And I hope a place were steelers can commiserate, talk about gigs, tales from the road, how to get your best sound live, how to play for an audience, or anything related to live gigs.

We are just getting started but we already have an impressive list of members including Johnny Cox, Rick Aiello, Flavio Pasquetto, Mike Neer, and Christo Ruppenthal.

If you'd like to join, we ask you to answer some simple questions and agree to the rules of group.

To become a member, please check us out at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1069629560980782

Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

Sounds pretty much like what we have here, and have had. A place to promote pedal steel, a place for offering and finding lessons, stories, pedal and non-pedal steelers welcome - you're describing this place to a T. I wish you success, but IMHO you're reinventing the wheel. What does that site offer that we don't have here?
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Many play better than I do. Nobody has more fun.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 30 Jan 2024 7:18 pm

Nothing takes the place of the SGF. But Facebook is a different format and much easier of the sharing of pictures and videos and has its own advantages. And it also provides a place for those who wish to hire a Steel guitarist who are not members of SGF, but are looking to hire one. And a way of promoting the steel guitar to those who don't play, don't know the SGF and who would never join. And its on a major social media platform so the potential audience to expose the instrument is infinitely greater.

As an example: Facebook has over 2 Billion daily users. And Facebook does a great job with their algorithm to expose Steel guitar to those who may be interested in Steel Guitar but don't know it yet. Other advantages include the like button and the fact a lot of people check facebook all day long. If something is posted, you are notified which drives a LOT more engagement with the content.

SGF is and will remain the greatest repository of Steel Guitar knowledge in the world. But as a social media platform, it just doesn't have the ability to do what Facebook does.

Don R Brown · From: Rochester, New York, USA

I'm one of the last 5 people on earth who are not Facebook members but there are zillions who are. Hope it works well for you.
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Many play better than I do. Nobody has more fun.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 31 Jan 2024 4:49 am

So far so good Don. We launched a 2 days ago and already have 35 great members and growing. The Facebook technology makes it must easier to post photos, embed videos right in the post (instead of a link to youtube) and to engage and expose millions more people to the wonderful world of steel guitar.

If you want to get the next generation interested in playing our instrument, you have to go where they are.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 4 Feb 2024 6:03 pm **We broke 100**

Well, the Steel Guitar Union Hall just reached 100 members. And what a group; Hre are just a few of them.

Lucky Oceans
Jody Cameron
Mike Brenner
Andy Volk
David Wright
Graham Griffith
John McClung
Al Boo Miller
Junior Knight
Susan Alcorn
Roger Rettig
David Solomon
Bob Hoffnar
Bill Ferguson
Brad Brechtel
Tracer James
Dave Van Allen
Russ Rusty Park
Johnny Cox
Mike Holland
Rick Aiello
Flavio Pasquette
Bill Nork
Mike Neer
Christo Ruppenthal

I have also purchased the domain SteelGuitarUnionHall.com which will be dedicated to Steel Guitarists and their music with interviews, articles on steel legends, and album reviews. Nothing there yet but we will have something soon.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/steelguitarunionhall

John Laidler · From: New South Wales, Australia

Bill,

You mention it's a "public" group, but when I went to have a look I was asked to login?

Thanks.

John
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Bill McCloskey · Posted 5 Feb 2024 6:05 am

It is public to anyone who has a facebook membership. John.Sorry for the confusion. However I will be adding a website soon which you will be able to see without a facebook membership. Facebook has private and public groups. In a private group, you have to be a member of both facebook and the group, which is hidden from other facebook members. Mine is public which means it is open to all facebook members to view.

John Laidler · From: New South Wales, Australia

Bill, thanks for the clarification.

I have sometimes visited a Facebook page that doesn't require login.

Always seems strange to me that a band (for instance) would restrict access by enforcing a login.

Anyway, I will look forward to the website!
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ShoBud 6139, 1975; Excel Robostar, 2023

Bill McCloskey · Posted 6 Feb 2024 6:40 am

The bands don't force a login, that is facebook. I have no control whether non-facebook members can login or not. If you used to be able to do it and can't now, maybe facebook changed their rules. But the individual administrators of a facebook group have no control over that. Unless someone can tell me different.

Dustin Rigsby · From: Parts Unknown, Ohio

Tom Campbell · From: Houston, Texas, USA

Me Also!

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