A Steeler stealing another Steeler's job !!

Richard Marko · From: Dallas, Texas

Most guys here are really cool and I've learned alot from alot of you but there are some in a Trojan Horse or sheeps clothing.
I just got "released" from a band because some SMO said he sings, plays steel, plays dobro, plays mandolin etc ...
I would understand if the guy was a better player on steel than me which would be good for the band but he was not in the ball park !!
The band replaced the guitar player with me at the time also and his replacement was --- blah !!!
the entire band went negative in quality instead of positive ??!!
The same issues I complained about - THE MIX - were still there thank God, so I wasn't just being a pain in the B_ _ T !!
Couldn't hear the steel in the mix - me or him.

Oh well, I'd say the guy did me a favor when he cut my throat - Thanks R--k H--s-- !!!!

Glad that is off my back now - whew Laughing

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

Richard,There is probably another band in Dallas that would love to have you...Time to move on and start having some fun. Winking

_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.

Ray Montee · From: Portland, Oregon (deceased)

Just because you're a SIDEMAN.......

and the band leader is the BIG CHEESE........

DOES NOT MEAN the band leader has any real musical talent or the ability to discern real good music from loud noise.

Consider he has done you a favor.

It's like a divorce at first.......a sense of loss.
But remember, this will free up YOUR TIME to look for something better. Perhaps you could start your own group. Wouldn't that be GREAT!

Lonnie Zsigray · From: Saint Louis,Mich., USA

If the band leader is the Big Cheese then there is always a rat around the corner Winking

_________________
If I hear it,I'm gonna try to steel it

Richard Marko · From: Dallas, Texas

I couldn't of said it better Ray -
you are so right and hit it on the head !!!

Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

Same thing happened to me years ago but a few weeks later they hired me back.

My feeling in these situations is that when one door closes another one opens.

Richard Marko · From: Dallas, Texas

Hey there Dick !!
Wouldn't it be funny if it was the same guy !! LOL
Oh I know sooner or later I'll be called back,
Will I - NOOOOO
There are way too many better acts out there to jam with, I don't need the embarrassment or frustration again.
Actually I'm looking forward to going out and listen to players such as yourself and relax at home for awhile practicing.
Dick e-mail me the band your with in Ft Worth and where your playing - I'd like to see and talk with you some.
Rich

Ron ! · Posted 30 Jul 2008 11:36 am

Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

Hi Ron,

In the early days of my steel playing career, I lost jobs numerous times to players who were friends of someone in the band and I've always tried to never burn a bridge because of that kind of thing.

I figure I've made more over the years than if I had taken a hard stand and said no thanks.

Richard,

It would be fun to have you come out anytime you were off. This coming weekend we are working at the Texas Spur in Lindsey on HWY 82 about three miles west of I35 in Gainesville.

Les Anderson · From: The Great White North

I think the truth of the matter is, and this has been discussed at length on this forum, any musician who plays multiple instruments has huge edge over a single instrument musician when it comes to being picked up by a band.

This fact has garnered me probably 60% of my jobs in the past ten to fifteen years.

James Collett · From: San Dimas, CA

He ain't a forum member, is he?
_________________
James Collett

Bryant Aycock · From: Pikeville, North Carolina

I will not apply for jobs at theaters because they, most of the time, want the young showy "boy" who plays a little on a lot rather a lot on one. If these guys had to make it in the "honky-tonk jungle", most of them couldn't. Tho I play a little on a few instruments, I prefer being a sideman on steel guitar. All things come to pass. You know what you're worth. Go get it.
Thanks,
Bryant

Ron ! · Posted 30 Jul 2008 1:49 pm

Dick........this all happened in Europe.In my case that would make it "water under the bridge".

Ron

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Utility players are in real big demand these days. But by and large, most have no loyalty (they follow the money). Don't worry, he'll likely be gone like a wild goose in winter as soon as some other band offers him $10 more a night.

Laughing

Joe Smith · From: Charlotte, NC, USA

Richard, if the gig's not fun believe me it's not worth it. I'm sure that you will find a gig with guys that you will connect with. When you play with guys there the chemistry works and you get paid too, well it don't get any better than that.

sonbone · From: Waxahachie, TX

Hey Richard, come check me out if you get a chance. I'd love to meet and visit with you anytime. Just click on my myspace link below for my schedule. Later bro...

Sonny
_________________
Sonny Morris sjm227@hotmail.com

David L. Donald · From: Koh Samui Island, Thailand

I wouldn't really blame the replacement,
but sure as hell blame the band leader.

The grass is always golder on the
other side of the bale
if you're stoned enough.

You never got a decent mix,
sounds like disrespect anyway.
They probably didn't like being
told you wanted some fair share of
front time too and that's why they let you go.

You didn't agree to stroke their egos enough.

Why worry about them.
_________________
DLD, Chili farmer. Plus bananas and papaya too.

Real happiness has no strings attached.
But pedal steels have many!

Billy Carr · From: Seminary, Mississippi, USA (deceased)

Being sober, dependable, honest and loyal with other band members always wins out in the end. There's always a snake in the grass somewhere. Just think what he'll do when another offer comes along. Set standards for playing and stick by them. People will respect loyal and honest musicians, regardless of what instrument he/she plays! BEING A STEEL PLAYER PUTS YOU IN A CLASS OF OUR OWN!

Danny Naccarato · From: Burleson, Texas

Rick,
Sent you an email......

Stuart Legg · Posted 31 Jul 2008 8:59 am

This is kind of like telling you a boiled egg will float or it won’t.
But sometimes bad things have to happen before good things can happen.
Your ability to play another instrument wouldn’t hurt in getting a PSG job and keeping it.
My experience with small venue country bands is that if you play a single neck PSG they will question your ability judging your choice of PSG to be a student model.
If you don't also play fiddle you are going to be on the bubble.
I know Bo has been turned down for a lot of PSG jobs just because he didn't also play fiddle.
Some thought it strange and couldn't believe when they called him about a job that he didn't know how to play fiddle.
I remember him getting fired once when they hired a PSG player who also played fiddle. They also fired the lead guitar player and they gave Bo the lead player’s job.
He would switch back and forth from guitar to PSG when the other guy played fiddle but you could tell he wasn’t happy with it.
A new club owner heard Bo and hired him to play PSG and lead guitar five nights a week in his club.
Bo played PSG and lead guitar in that club with a three piece band and you could tell he was having a ball.
I went there and watched him play at that club for over three years and I never heard of anyone asking him to play a fiddle.

Herb Steiner · From: Spicewood TX 78669

Richard, sorry to hear you lost a gig. It hurts and is kind of insulting, I know. I've had the experience personally.

Now, I hate to sound like a Social Darwinist, but in 40+ years of doing this job for a living, I have a few thoughts...

Sad to say, and even sadder to hear, but if you lose a gig to another player, it wasn't your gig in the first place.

Also sad to say, but in the real world, do you think a player will turn down a job opportunity if one is offered to him, simply because another picker is currently in the job? Such altruism doesn't exist in the real world. SOMEBODY is gonna get the job, and it might as well be him.

Also, players go up to bandleaders all the time and hand out business cards, even if there's another player of that instrument already in the band. Who knows what the current player may want to do in the future? He might need to quit for some reason. Networking is a big part of this bidness. It doesn't mean the new player is actively seeking the job of the current one.

People lose gigs all the time for a variety of reasons. The owner of the business has the right to hire and fire whom he feels is right or not right for his business.

I've lost various jobs because 1) the bandleader (owner of the business) thought I was too old, 2) I didn't sing enough, 3) I was obviously looking ahead to the next gig, 4) I wasn't enough of a multi-instrumentalist, 5) I was in a situation where travel was problematic or out-of-the-question, 5) I didn't want to move, 6) other sad-but-unfortunately-true reasons.

I've found early on that in the music bidness you take your lumps and get over it. Hopefully, there are winners and there are learners. If you're not a winner and refuse to be a learner, then sadly you're a loser. If you lose and the most you can do is complain about it in public and online, you're a whiner. And whiners don't look good or professional to the next person that may be hiring them. Badmouthing other players and bandleaders sends up red flags to potential future employers:

"Hmmm... will I have trouble with this guy if I have to make changes?"

People get screwed by those in hiring positions all the time, including getting screwed royally by big-time, big-name stars, like my good friend Kenny Grohman did.

This is not to say that you weren't wronged in some way; you may very well have been. Sadly, loyalty doesn't always have the same value to some bandleaders as it does to others.

That's just the way it is. Good luck on your next position, and may it be better than the one before it.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?

Glenn Shankle · From: Kyle, TX

I got a call from a band once who was looking to possibly replace their steel player. After the audition, they decided to keep the guy they had.

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

When I was in my early twenties and living in Austin Texas I was hired to play steel,and guitar for a couple gigs with a local singer,I was playing full time in B.W. Stevenson's band so I could only play with this guy when I wasn't on the road with B.W.This other guy had guitar player who also played steel in his band,and he played well.One night this bandleader pulled me aside and told me that he would rather have me in his band and I should quit B.W's band and he would fire the other guy? I asked him what would the other guy do?He didn't seem to concerned...This other guy was just scraping by like me and I considered him a friend.I told the bandleader that I thought that he was a scumbag for doing that and never played with him again.When I moved to L.A.a few years later the other steel player called me and had some work for me in tough times.Today other guy is a well know Americana singer producer in Austin and to this day I never mentioned this to him,I didn’t want his feelings hurt ,Some thirty years later we are still friends.I figured that I would rather keep a friend.
_________________
Steeltronics Z-pickup,Desert Rose S-10 4+5,Desert Rose Keyless S-10 3+5... Mullen G2 S-10 3+5,Telonics 206 pickups,Telonics volume pedal.,Blanton SD -10,Emmons GS_10...Zirctone bar,Bill Groner Bar...any amp that isn't broken.Steel Seat.Com seats...Licking paint chips off of Chinese Toys since 1952.

Richard Marko · From: Dallas, Texas

Thanks all for your inputs and all are well taken.

I was just blowing off steam and I've never been fired from a band in all of my 25 years of playing so maybe it was a blow to my ego.
Not saying I think I'm a great player
believe me I'm my worst critic.

This entire situation could of been handled better.
The leader knew I wasn't happy with the mix and if he had another player in mind we could of agreed to me moving on, instead of a phone call and your out ! Whoa!

As with all "EXECUTIVE" type people their thinking is when I make a decision in haste or not that is the way it is !!
At the same time they hire you they say "Please give a notice should you decide to leave so we can find a replacement".
OH, well that is life and how it is.

I'm relieved that there are other players that this happens to and I'm OK with it now. Very Happy

Stuart Legg · Posted 31 Jul 2008 10:37 am

Glenn Shankle

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