How well can they play

[Jimmy Gibson]

Please don`t take this the wrong way i am not knocking anyone in any way whats so ever,we know there are some fine British steel players that put clips of themselves on Utube,to impress other steel players that`s what it`s all about,and great it gives us something to look at and listen to .I know i am not a good player and maybe i am green with envy at some of the fine British steel players that give us such a lot of pleasure,and of cause i do enjoy all of the clips these guys put on uTube,and long may they continue.



JG.

[SHAKEY]

Let me be the first to answer Jimmy. I have put lots of stuff on Youtube, but certainly not to impress other steel players. Most of what I have put on there is what people have requested, including a few friends and relatives. I was never an instrumentalist when I was with any band, I was purely a backing musician. It was only when I quit with bands and started going to Pucklechurch meetings that I started doing the odd instrumental. It simply went on from there.
At the risk of being shot down in flames, to answer your question if you are talking purely about British Steel players I have yet to see a bad one on Youtube. My opinion is, the standard of British steel playing is every bit as good as that of other countries.
Our professional players are as good as many in the States, You only have to look as far as Dave Hartley and Sarah for starters and you know what I think of Pete Haywood, there's Kenny Byng, Derek Thurlby,
the list is endless. Yes Jimmy they all play great and I don't think any of the British steel players that do the Youtube do it to impress other steel players. You only have to look at John Davis, self confessed King of bum notes, he even takes phone calls half way through a recording. (Just jokin' John..) Well that's my bit, NEXT PLEASE.
Dave.

[Zebedee]

I initially posted my playing on Youtube because I was so pissed off with people who wrote endlessly about tempered tuning, Newman presets, Black Boxes etc (but couldn't carry a tune in a bucket when I watched their videos), yet they had written me off as player because they had seen photos of my 'less than pristine' steels

It's had a knock-on effect, as I now give steel lessons to people who otherwise would not have known I played, and I do a lot of internet recording for various bands worldwide

[Uncle Roy]

Jim, I think it's an ideal place just to see all thses guys performing where in most cases we don't to see many of them. I certainly don't think any of them are out to impress but have a good blow. Long may they continue. You wait till I post a video then you can laugh mate

[Jimmy Gibson]

Sorry guys it seems i may have put it the wrong way,maybe i should have said they all impress me because i am cr#p and wish i could play like all you good players ,but please read the start of my post i did say please don`t take it the wrong way,but again it seems it has been taken the wrong way by some members ,and i am sorry it was not said to offend anyone.It was just a thoughts [a bad one it seems},so from now on if i have any other thoughts about anything to do with the steel i will keep them to myself.
Jimmy..

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Dave I refute the title "King of Bum Notes" although you know I don`t really give a flying "Pluck" about it
If I am out to impress anyone....I`m sure not doing a very good job of it!! My intention is to help and encourage anyone that has the slightest interest in taking up our beautiful instrument, and it may be "The blind leading the blind" but from the comments my videos receive most people are grateful that I have taken the trouble to try........
I think at this time, when our instrument is not that well known by the general public...(we all get people coming up to the band saying "whats that thing called??) I think we need both the perfectionist who will only play IF THEY ARE SURE THEY ARE GONNA GET IT RIGHT!! (you know who you are!!) and people like me who know nothing but still have the audacity to try and pass it on! for the greater good of us all.
To the 77 year old disabled man from Peterborough who phoned me yesterday looking to buy his first steel... I am an inspiration.... so thats good enough for me
Jimmy you are a very good and experienced player..... my advice is get your video camera out and start helping>>>>

[Jimmy Gibson]

I could`nt agree more with you John,{yes they know who they are} and they probably spend hours untill they get it right , so i do still feel that there are some guy`s that do like to show off their skills and great they are to, and,so IMHO {for what that is worth} if that is not trying to impress anyone,then i don`t what is.You in my books John are one of the most deddicated guy`s i know,and i admire you because do your thing out of the love of the steel,and have the guts to have a go without any retakes warts n all .and John don`t put yourself down I think you are a very good player,and a big big help in trying to help those in need of help on anything about the steel.Thanks..

JG..

[SHAKEY]

If the finger is pointing this way, well let me tell you I don't spend hours trying to get things right or hundreds of takes before I stick a video on Youtube but there is nothing wrong with wanting to get things right. I am pretty sure that all steel players do their best to get things right or what the hell is the point of playing in the first place. If I had the time I would spend hours practicing, unfortunately (like many others) I have to go to work, maybe when I retire I may have a bit more time. John I shall retract my comment "King of Bum notes" it was said in jest but obviously it offended you, but lets face it John you are the one that keeps making comments about them.
Cheers Dave.

[Jimmy Gibson]

Dave,i wasn`t pointing the finger at anyone, least of all you , because i enjoy your clips very much ,you are a great soulfull steel player,and IMHO play it the way it should be played,not all that fast picking, i can play it but like the slower stuff better{i play the fast stuff on guitar },but if i was going to put a clip on utube i would probably do the same thing and get it as good as i could before putting it on the web ,but i wont because i cant be bothered,and because i don`t need to.

Jimmy.

[David Hartley]

Re:- YouTube.
You know, it's just kind of expected of me to post videos now. It's got to the stage where, if I don't, I get loads of emails asking me "what's up Dave, where have you been". I also have a list of requests that I know realistically, I will never get round to doing, but the list is kept safe, and maybe one day, I will pick some to play. Not all requested material would make a suitable instrumental anyway. I have nearly made 4 million viewing now. Ok, so Coronation street and X factor will get 6 times that amount in one show, but for a pedal steel guitarist, I suppose that's kinda good. I very rarely visit YouTube after posting a video. I do obviously get an email when a comment has been made to any of the videos and/or I get a comment or question emailed to me via the YouTube site. These are many. They take a lot of time to reply to if there's a particular question or comment that requires a response from me. I never fail to answer these. I know I have inspired many people to get their steel guitars out after many years, or indeed buy one again after selling their instruments years ago, or indeed, buy a steel from scratch. Some of the personal emails I get are amazing, and I find it hard to believe some of the comments I get. I have made many friends in the last 4 years simply because of my YouTube recognition. Now, to continue, anyone who knows me will tell you, I hardly ever play my steel. Just at gigs, and there few and far between now. I never practice and I don't even give tuition now as the guys have learned enough from me and need to work with other musicians for a while to develop their own style and use all the stuff I have taught them in their own way now. To continue, I rarely play, if I ever get the urge to play it, which is really not much these days, I simply get a track recorded, and play to it. There no rehearsing. That is my rehearsal. The first time I play it, I put the camcorders on the steel. It takes seconds to to this. What I find is, I either play bad, or good. There's nothing really in-between. A good recording, that's one that has least mistakes in, will get the bum notes corrected, and then uploaded to YouTube. Someone with a keen eye will spot that sometimes, a note or chord is played, and I may not be 100% over the fret but it sounds in tune. These are the sections where the recording have been corrected and the video, which is always the original, has not been edited. Nobodys perfect and I am certainly the first to admit this. The end result is always, mostly, to my satisfaction and good enough to broadcast. Now to continue further, I will watch my own video quite a few times afterwards. This is how I learn a lot. I always will have sections in an instrumental, where I think to myself, "why did I play that!" my brain is like a steel guitar inside, although I rarely play it, my mind is always cranking around with ideas and things. If I lived for 1000 years, I would never even get hardly any of the ideas out to my steel. It's the way I have always been. I can't listen to a piece of music without playing my steel in my head along with it. It is in fact annoying at times, because I can't get away from thinking steel guitar. There have been times where I think I must give it all up because of this. It dominates my thoughts from the second I wake up, to the second I go to bed and even in my sleep. OK, yes, I am an odd person I suppose, but I think most steel players have active minds and are always constructing something in their thoughts before playing the instrument, whether it be days, hours, or milliseconds in advance of playing a lick, run or song on the steel. That is what this instrument does to you. I have loads of things I want to do, but to get the incentive to go upstairs and play it these days is hard. I suppose now, after all the many hours of simply practicing many years ago, it does come naturally to me. The c6th is a different story altogether, nothing comes naturally to me on that, and because I don't rehearse, I will never probably ever get to play it. But, it is always there, just in case I do get the urge to work something out. So, now you all know why I YouTube. It's simply a way of still learning and hopefully improving my playing, and as I said at the beginning, it is expected from me now. I know I make many many people very happy with what I do and I feel very honored to get the comments and emails in reply to my YouTube contributions.