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Topic: Which are best cities/towns for pedal steel in TN and TX? |
Joseph Lazo
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2024 10:43 am |
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I'm looking into leaving WI once out of the clutches of winter. Various reasons, but music is a big one. There is next to nothing of interest to me (musically) in WI. TN and TX are the top contenders.
I would guess Nashville is THE city in TN for pedal steel, and by that I mean a place where there are ample opportunities to hear steel players, take lessons, and find gear. But if some other place rivals Nashville, please chime in.
As far as TX, I have no idea.
I've never been to either state. Steep learning curve ahead. |
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Rich Ertelt
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2024 1:21 pm
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| Austin has, or had, a bunch of great and a lot of very good steel players. I left in 2019, not sure who's still there |
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Andrew Schmidt
From:
Austin Texas, USA
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Posted 22 Dec 2024 7:21 pm
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Austin's a great place to play pedal steel for little money 
Just be aware it's a swamped market. |
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Rich Ertelt
From:
Texas, USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 7:23 am
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| Andrew Schmidt wrote: |
Austin's a great place to play pedal steel for little money
Just be aware it's a swamped market. |
When I lived in Austin, I never gigged on pedal steel. There are SO many really great steel players there, and a lot of really good ones I played in bands with. I gigged on guitar (my main instrument).
I moved back to Albany NY (where I grew up) and have played in 4 bands now playing steel. There are certainly good steel players around here, but nowhere near as many. |
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Joseph Lazo
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 8:02 am
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| Just to clarify, I'm a long ways from being competent enough to play pedal steel in public. More interested in being able to see pedal steel bands/players and take in-person lessons. |
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Ken Metcalf
From:
San Antonio Texas USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 8:40 am
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These days for seeing steel guitar live in a bar is San Antonio hands down.
Nashville has all but banned steel guitar.
Austin is pretty weak you really have to look for it..
If you are in town let me know and I will point you in the direction of the week. ^_^
_________________
MSA 12 String E9th/B6th Universal.
Little Walter PF-89.
Bunch of stomp boxes
Last edited by Ken Metcalf on 23 Dec 2024 9:16 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Joe Bill Moad
From:
Oklahoma
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 9:05 am
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If it were me I would call Johnny Boyd who knows everything Pedal Steel in the Nashville area as he lives just outside of Nashville and has lots of gear for any style Steel Player.
Regards
Jbm
Oklahoma
_________________
Don’t Worry About The Mule! Load The Wagon! |
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Andrew Schmidt
From:
Austin Texas, USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 1:41 pm
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| Joseph Lazo wrote: |
| Just to clarify, I'm a long ways from being competent enough to play pedal steel in public. More interested in being able to see pedal steel bands/players and take in-person lessons. |
There are mind-bendingly good players here. So if your main goal is to watch and learn, it will be a great place for you to land. Steel Monday at Sam’s town point is a consistent mindblower. |
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Joseph Lazo
From:
Wisconsin, USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 2:25 pm
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| Ken Metcalf wrote: |
These days for seeing steel guitar live in a bar is San Antonio hands down.
Nashville has all but banned steel guitar.
Austin is pretty weak you really have to look for it..
If you are in town let me know and I will point you in the direction of the week. ^_^ |
Hey, Ken, when you say Nashville has all but banned steel, are you referring to the sorry state of most new country music? I know you didn't mean they literally banned it. I have to think there must be plenty of great steel players still playing all over the place. |
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scott murray
From:
Asheville, NC
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 5:30 pm
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you can find plenty of steel in Nashville clubs and theaters any day of the week. there's also regular steel jams and steel shows, open to the public
_________________
1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster |
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Robert Simms
From:
"Mike" Simms - Austin, TX
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Posted 23 Dec 2024 6:07 pm
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I moved to Austin almost 10 years ago and love the Texas scene. Like Andrew said, the Austin market has some really good players, but most good players play in multiple bands and travel. Takes a little networking to get plugged in, but if you can learn the parts, show up on time, and not get fall over drunk or coked up you can get playing pretty quickly. When I moved here I was a little surprised that not many bands rehearse. Your audition is your first gig and you'll either get called back or you won't.
_________________
Robert "Mike" Simms
www.jesseraubjr.com
www.haydenhaddock.com |
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Ron Hogan
From:
Nashville, TN, usa
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Posted 24 Dec 2024 12:36 pm
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You can almost always hear steel at several bars by Opryland area.
You can go to Broadway but it’s a carnival with a dog and pony show. You’ll see a slim amount of steels there. We who play steel here, stay away from Broadway and only go when it pays.
Onetime I was there, saw 26 bands and only saw one steel. But of course there’s several shift. I’m always sad to know my steel buddies are forced to fall to the Broadway scene just to get by.
Soon you become King of the Honky Tonk and bar flys.
https://youtu.be/5WzcR7nJ3Q4?si=N-KuIS4swmE2xUgl |
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