A boom for steel players.

Les Anderson · From: The Great White North

Well fellow steel players, all is not lost for us just yet. I played at a large company’s Christmas party and dance last night and the steel guitar player all but stole the show. Sadly, it was not because of his fantastic playing however.

The under carriage (a cross rod) on his Sho Bud D10 (8–5) had a plate screw drop out during the third song of the evening. He promptly turned the Bud over and started putting things back together. Within 60 seconds he had ten people gathered around him pointing and jabbering about all the rods, levers and springs on this guitar. There must have been fifty camera shots of the under carriage as he worked on it.

By the time he had everything back in place and ready to roll again, he was so busy fielding and answering questions about what everything was for and how it worked that he just left it laying there, upside, down for another five minutes.

After he got the thing turned right side up and we started playing again, he actually had two people with their video cameras laying on their backs in front of the steel doing their video thing.

So guys, if you want to draw attention to yourselves, don’t bother turning up your volume, just turn your steel upside down.

It was priceless.

Mark Edwards · From: Weatherford,Texas, USA

I had a similar experience, I had a rod break loose on one of my gigs on one of my knee levers. I unhooked everything picked up my steel and went over to the pool tables where there were several folks playing pool. I asked if it would be okay if I could utilize the pool table for a few minutes. They said sure, I picked a clear spot on the pool table turned my steel upside down, and began the surgery. All of a sudden I look up and there are about 12 to 15 people standing around asking questions, about what does this and that do. After about 15 minutes of a 3 minute job, I was able to pick up steel go back to the stage, tune her up, and pick up where I left off. I noticed about 4 or 5 people from around the pool table were now standing off to the side of the dance floor, watching me play. They were mesmerized not by my playing but just by the mechanics of the steel. Yes turn it upside down, folks are curious.

Walter Stettner · From: Vienna, Austria

Same Experience! The moment we're finished and I start packing up my steel, people gather and start asking questions, I even got the question if I could set it up again to demonstrate the use of the pedals and knee levers...

Kind Regards, Walter

www.lloydgreentribute.com
www.austriansteelguitar.at.tf

Bill Terry · From: Bastrop, TX

I played a Christmas party a few years ago for an engineering company of some sort. It was in a hotel in downtown Fort Worth and the room was full of geeks (takes one to know one

).

So I'm tuning my guitar (using a little Boss tuner) and I notice these two propeller heads staring at me from the dance floor. Finally they walk over and get a closer look, and one says to the other "Oh, it's just a frequency counter.." and I thought the were interested in the PSG..

Herbie Meeks · From: Arkansas, USA

Les
I enjoyed this, reminded me of
similar break downs, I usually
had the Fiddle handy to finish out the set.
then a 15 minute break to try the repair,
while answering questions,
The only Instrument, that requires
a Tool Kit to be kept handy

Also , an audience, and offers to help
while dismantling and putting in the case,

We have kept the Steel in the background
a bit to much

Herbie

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John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Les, I wonder if they were all engineers? Now that I think about it, they probably weren't, cuz engineers woulda been tellin' you how to improve it!
Maybe it's time to make a clear body for my old Shobud....
John
Performance Steel Guitars http://steelguitaramericas.com/

Mark van Allen · From: Watkinsville, Ga. USA

I had seen and heard steel played before I was at a festival in Michigan around 1975, it started to rain and I was helping clear gear off the stage. I saw the pedal steel upside down in it's case and I was hooked. "What's that do? What is that thing for?"- the owner patiently explaining things to me while he probably wanted to get out of the rain. After that I jumped at the first maverick I saw for sale.

To this day I understand that look people get with their first glance underneath.
My favorite is when people come up and comment on what a cool looking instrument it is, and I say, well, look under here...

David Mason · From: Cambridge, MD, USA

You remember when boys used to really, really polish their shoes in the hopes of being able to look up girl's skirts? I have even heard of "gentlemen" affixing mirrors to their shoes. It seems like some sort of similar arrangement might stimulate audience interest, perhaps even setting up your steel on a large, polished steel plate? (Warning: don't you wear a skirt too....

)

Mark Treepaz · From: Hamburg, New York USA

Mark Eaton · Posted 21 Dec 2006 10:06 am

These are great stories.

I think that in a typical situation, people probably have a Wizard Of Oz, "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain" attitude.

The first time they see one upside down, it piques their interest.

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Mark

Bill Ford · From: Graniteville SC Aiken

One night while puting my S12 MSA together,I looked up and there was a very well endowed young lady wearing a very low cut dress leaning over watching. She was asking questions, I don't remember much after I looked up/down.

BF

Calvin Walley · From: colorado city colorado, USA

these are the kinda stories i love to read on the forum

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Mullen SD-10 3&5 / nashville 400
Hilton volume pedal

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