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Topic: Bob Crafton and the PovertyNeck Hillbillies |
Ron !
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Posted 14 Oct 2006 12:26 am |
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The Povertyneck Hillbillies fired their SteelPlayer Bob "Crafty" Crafton.
Bob is a forumite and I want to say that I am really feeling for the man.He is one of the founders of the Povertyneck Hillbillies and is a very good steelplayer.Being sacked in a way like this is terrible.
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| "The steel guitar was only featured on four songs live, thus the band made this decision based on the limited amount of steel already in their sound and the fact that more fiddle and electric guitar seemed to be the new theme." |
This is what happens when a band takes a major turn towards a bigger label where the big chiefs make the rules.
quote:
"I was told it was strictly a financial move," he said.
Crafton, who's been with the band since 2001, said he feels "hurt, angry and betrayed."
The poverty's are well known in the Pittsburgh area and are loved by many people but this the start of what I see as a major misstake.Bob made the Poverty's sound.
Don't let this stop you Bob from making good music for people who DO appreciate it.
Ron
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Alan Coldiron
From:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 14 Oct 2006 2:42 am
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The firing of Crafty is a tragity but not unexpected based upon what I know about this group. He's a great picker and a great guy. I've known Bob for 25 years and he basically got ripped. As I suppected from this group its not about the music, but the money. I saw them one time and walked away basically thinking here is Pittsburgh's version of Big and Rich, all flash, no substance. The only real player was Crafty. To give credit where its due they jump around and put on a good show from that angle, they just lack real musical talent and obviously heart. I guess I'm old fashion, I want to hear good music played from the heart, not a bunch of theatrics. Its ALL about the money.
There are and have been so many great and talented country players and bands in the Pittsburgh area over the years. Its ashame the the ones that get seen nationally are these guys.
I don't wish the Hillbillies anything bad. I just hope they someday wake up and realize what's really important, people, all people, and taking care of people (and a good relationship with God is even better). Thats when their lives will really mean something.
Crafty - Keep you head up. There are people here who still love and apprecate the real you, not the member of an up and coming group. You have something more special than they do, real friends, a replationship with God, and repect.
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 14 Oct 2006 10:41 am
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I saw them this summer - Bob was far and away the musical high point, and I say that not as a steel player but also as a guitar player - I actually have many more years logged on guitar than steel. I think this is exactly the wrong approach - my sense is that the next big wave for country will be for people who can do the real thing. But this seems so typical right now.
It seems to me that it's tough for a pedal steel player to view themselves as anything but a hired gun. I have one band in which I'm an integral component and have no concerns, but for pretty much anything else, I have to act as if I'm expendable.
For those of you who haven't seen Bob Crafton, he's a real good steel player. I can't imagine he'll have any problem finding other good gigs - up here, good steel players don't grow on trees. What impressed me about this band was that they had a bunch of musical territory covered, and Bob was what put that aspect across. Maybe they'll see this in time. I really think it's a good time for pedal steel to make some inroads. It takes a good player like Bob to put it across in this kind of unit. All IMO, of course. |
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Dave Zielinski
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 15 Oct 2006 6:42 pm
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| The firing of crafty had to be totally an image thing. I've seen those guys and played alot of the same places they got their start in. Crafty was always the guy who would be willing to chat with you, rather than fan out to the teenage girls in the crowd. He was th eolder, wiser MUSICIAN in the band. Their statement/reasoning to cut him was weak at best. He had a part in getting them to wherever they are now. |
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Brett Anderson
From:
Arizona, USA
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Posted 15 Oct 2006 10:04 pm
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| This sucks. He was probably the best musician in the band too. Maybe the only one. Take solace in that in our current age of "country" music, these guys will probably only be around for a cup of coffee anyway. |
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Dave Van Allen
From:
Doylestown, PA , US , Earth
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Posted 16 Oct 2006 6:22 am
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I know this is about Bob C's situation,and I don't intend to hijack... it does suck when someone is ejected from a band for other than musical reasons.
but there are more playing situations to consider; some bands are like marriages, some strictly business soncerns; some are an odd combination of both...
| Quote: |
| it's tough for a pedal steel player to view themselves as anything but a hired gun. I have one band in which I'm an integral component and have no concerns, but for pretty much anything else, I have to act as if I'm expendable. |
I would amend this statement relating to my own situation , thusly to:
"it's tough for a pedal steel player to view themselves as anything but a hired gun. I have one band in which I'm an integral component YET I have concerns... I have to act as if I'm expendable."
The geographic and economic realities of my current band with whom I have performed and recorded since 1997 are such that I cannot play every gig we do, but I play every date I can.
Other players are slotted in according to the needs of the gig, and availability. All are excellent musicians in their own right. When I am playing, I am indeed integral. If there is another, or no, steel player another night, the sound of the band is different, yet the musical core remains valid.
It's not an ideal situation, but the reality is that I do continue to contribute my skills to the effort every chance I get, with a band that I feel does have considerable musical substance; Big & Rich are not the role models... other acts, with longevity if not mass popularity are.
One way around this would be for a steeler to front their own band, which I did for a short while in my youth, performing primarily my own compositions.
But I am not genetically disposed to be a band leader. I have trained myself essentially from day one to be a sideman, to 'play for the song' and to complement the singer, and the overall band sound.
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[This message was edited by Dave Van Allen on 16 October 2006 at 07:27 AM.] |
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Gene Jones
From:
Oklahoma City, OK USA, (deceased)
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Posted 16 Oct 2006 7:48 am
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I had a brief stint of being a bandleader back in the early stages of my career.
Early on I had to "fire" a trumpet player for showing up late. He blew up saying: "You can't fire me, I'm the best trumpet man in town"! My position was that it didn't matter if he played better than Harry James if he wasn't there.
Additionally, as the bandleader, I had to negotiate differences between band members and club managers, and neither were ever satisfied.
Those events quickly convinced me that being a sideman was the only function that I was comfortable with. Additionally, I have ever since been understanding of the responsibilities and problems of bandleaders and have tried not to be critical of them.
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www.genejones.com
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Mitch Adelman
From:
Pennsylvania, USA
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Posted 17 Oct 2006 6:07 am
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| I have seen the PNH and they are only a band that has just one thing, money behind them. The chances of them making it nationally are between slim and none. Crafty was the only player in the band both on steel and guitar. the rest are amatuers to say the least.Its all about muscles not musicianship. Any fiddle contest winner would blow away there fiddle player who has misguided classicalstyle and no bluegrass chops at all. Just big biceps. I don't want to sound vindictive but it makes me ill seeing there name all over Pittsburgh TV and this talk about how good they are. The vocal harmonies are usually off live and are not near nashville quality let alone any comparisons to Alabama!! Corbin Hamer, who produces them, wrote many Alabama hits but there barking up the wrong tree with these singers. Lets face it, SW Pennsylvania is not a big country music area and having a following of naive teenage girls after these "hunky" guys isn't going to get them anywhere nationally. The PNH need a good reality check and just stay local before there flash is out of there pan. Don't worry Crafy you saved yourself alot of heartache.They'll be back in Fayette County licking their wounds before too long. |
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Jack Mansfield
From:
Reno, NV
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Posted 17 Oct 2006 6:41 am
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| PNH has about four videos on you tube. I watched each one which are only about 30 seconds long for each of them. All I could here was a bunch of noise, and teenieboppers hands in the air. not much talent from what I could see and hear. |
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Karen Lee Steenwijk
From:
Pennsylvania
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Posted 19 Oct 2006 4:40 am
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Back in the 80s I had one of the best bands around.I did all the bookings,bought all the outfits, and,all the the sound system. The only thing my guys had to do, was to show up, and plug in , and play. I took care of all the format of the shows, and, even at times,picked them up, so that they would have transportation. Through all this, I learned, the hard way.When it came to replacing something that was broke, I did it, When it came to paying for phone bills from getting bookings, I did it,and yet, as the leader of the band, I split all the money right down the middle.Why? Because I wanted the band to stick together .We went on the road, and played, state, to state.
When we returned home, the changes came. They thought they were "Big Stars", and to good now to back up a singer from "Pa".So, we disbanded. They were never heard of again! Needless to say, I went on, and recorded in "Nashville", on my own. When my records came out on the radio stations here ,they all wanted to get another band together,but, they also wanted to sit in with other bands, to make more money. I thought about it for awhile, then one night I went to listen to a few of my players sitting in with another band.When I walked in,I heard them doing the sets, that we did.The same order as we did, wearing the outfits,I bought. I then came home, hooked up all my studio EQ, and played all the music, to all my original songs, and took my show outwith back round tapes.I grab my mic, do my show, make the folks happy, and leave.No money split, its all mine. Guess who shows up? Yep!! The ole band!!! Nope!!!
Not this time!
Im local 339, and our saying is "Say it with Live Music"""...Well, thats where my husband comes in, Ron is the steeler, and till we get a good bunch of musicians, that we can count on, will do this.
We are looking!!!!!
Karen |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 19 Oct 2006 4:49 am
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That's always a tough one. You feel bad for the guy who was fired, especially if he is a good player/nice guy.
Buta band that's trying to "make it" HAS to be all about marketing, not music. And their marketing direction, with steel on 4 songs, didn't dovetail with having a steel player in the band. That's just business.
I stopped hanging out with guys who were trying to "make it" years ago...that way you can (at least sometimes) play with musical integrity and not "sales" on your mind. |
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Al Moss
From:
Kent,OH,USA
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Posted 20 Oct 2006 4:45 pm
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| I'm gonna go out on a confessional limb here and state that, to my ears, "today's hot new country" sounds ridiculous and a live performance of it sounds and looks even sillier. It's probably a quotient of my age, late 40's now, but I just can't get excited about smooth skinned, usually slightly flabby, chest thumpers proclaiming this or that anthemic testament to the myth of americana. It's as comical as the production values that so triumphantly frame the maudlin hooks. Music and Marketing form an uneasy alliance at best. It's a darn shame if this cat had a hand in gettin the band happenin and then gets tossed out. Old sins cast long shadows and the "industry"'s been chalkin 'em for a heckuva long time. |
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