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Topic: Music City Demographics |
Bill Cutright
From:
Akron, OH
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Posted 22 Mar 2007 2:04 pm |
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Just curious about the players in Music City: (And since, I don't live there, or, know anyone down there who would know)
If you think you know enough to guess: (And realizing nothing is so cut and dry - there's undoubtably some crosso-ver in the way i'm asking. And, also - sometimes there is a fine line between making a living and starving...)
How many steel players are there based around Nashville?
How many are making a living doing sessions?
How many are, principally road players?
How many doing some sessions, some road, some bars.
How many doing some sessions, but mostly bars.
How many only doing the bars?
How many do nothing else but SG? |
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Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 22 Mar 2007 8:12 pm
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| Ask Bobbe Seymour. |
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Stephan Franck
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2007 4:21 pm
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Interesting questions... I'd like to know too...
ps: I guess you have to live in La Crescenta to be interested by this post... |
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Michael Douchette
From:
Gallatin, TN (deceased)
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Posted 25 Mar 2007 5:52 pm
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How many steel players are there based around Nashville? Too damn many.
How many are making a living doing sessions? None.
How many are, principally road players? All of us, at heart.
How many doing some sessions, some road, some bars. (See answer 1.)
How many doing some sessions, but mostly bars. (See answer 1.)
How many only doing the bars? Three; that's all the bars that HAVE steel.
How many do nothing else but SG? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA... oh... sorry...
_________________
Mikey D... H.S.P.
Music hath the charm to soothe a savage beast, but I'd try a 10mm first.
http://www.steelharp.com
http://www.thesessionplayers.com/douchette.html
(other things you can ask about here)
http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o54/Steelharp/ |
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Stephan Franck
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
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Posted 25 Mar 2007 6:39 pm
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Hey Michael, thanks for the reply. I get the point you're making...
I guess it's always interesting to get a real snapshot of the industry. actual numbers, you know what I mean... (And I don't care to know what people are specifically making, I'm just talking in general statistics...)
For instance in the mid 90's at the height of the new country thing, I read that there were about 200 "name acts" touring out of Nashville. I'd be really currious to know how that breaks down in term of steal players. How long those tours actually were and what they paid. In other words, were the steel players involved in this touring in the summer and putting up dry wall the rest of the year, or what?
In term of sessions, there has to be a group, albeit small, that is busy full time... I think we all know who they are. But it would be interesting to know how many full time session guys the town can actually support -- you know past the usual suspects, how many other guys who may not be as well known, but who maintain at least a middle class living playing steel (and related activities...)
I guess I'm following up on this out of general interest, but also, I think what we don't have enough of on this forum, is a real look behind the curtain, at the real numbers of the industry... you know... as a public service... a wikipedia kind of thing... a resource if you will... OK, I'll stop here  |
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Michael Douchette
From:
Gallatin, TN (deceased)
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Posted 25 Mar 2007 7:51 pm
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Stephan... I'm glad you appreciate my sense of humor. Now, seriously...
There has always been a handful of us that have managed to make a living doing studio work here. The names in that handful have changed over the 50+ year span, but it's always been a relatively small number. I am happy to count myself in the current batch; I've been blessed to be in it for 30+ years myself. Not all those years were on steel, although that's the vast majority of my work now. My first (and main) instrument for a long time was harmonica, so I'm not solely a steel player.
Years ago, there was a real stigma associated with "going on the road" if you were trying to be serious about the studio thing. Now, more and more of us will do gigs out of town, and it's not a big deal. I think Paul helped change that with his Dire Straits tenure. Pay on gigs varies. Some pay really well (as the afore mentioned one), and some are just a good daily wage. The status of the artist has nothing to do with it. Some of them are more willing to part with decent money to keep a good band; others just care if you can wear the last guys outfits. And yes, there are a good lot of us that do have the "day job," drywall or whatever. It's strange how when work slows down, the bills don't. Never have figured that one out. 
_________________
Mikey D... H.S.P.
Music hath the charm to soothe a savage beast, but I'd try a 10mm first.
http://www.steelharp.com
http://www.thesessionplayers.com/douchette.html
(other things you can ask about here)
http://s117.photobucket.com/albums/o54/Steelharp/ |
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