Venues
Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2015 8:42 amOver the years I have played some Festivals ,clubs and pubs.
My main band only play clubs now and that is fine by me,however We do not get enough work to satisfy My love of playing in a "live" situation and I am always on the lookout for another band with which to exercise My (dubious) talents. I now have a position with a second band and whilst they do not get numerous gigs it is always something extra.
One of the members of the "new" band is even more desparate than Myself in His desire to play and has been looking for pub gigs(at a fairly low fee) in order to fill up the diary.
I have let the band know that I will NOT be playing any pub gigs and there are no hard feelings.
My main point is that most,if not all pubs do not have a stage and the pedal steel player is sitting at floor level totally exposed to the contortions of the dancers.You may have noticed that most pubs do not have a dance floor and those wishing to shake their shammy have to correograph the dance around tables and chairs.Rarely have I seen a couple dancing within the confines of the postage stamp dance floor,the norm is for the male to spin His partner round and round several times.this maneuver is usually quite difficult to perform when sober but add a couple of jars of electric soup and You can have easily have a serious situation. I am not the least bit comfortable playing and lose all concentration trying to keep an eye out for flying bodies. It is different for a guitar player since they can easily side step or even push a dancer away.The poor steelie cannot easily defend himself.
Just Me rambling on and wondering if anyone else feels the same way.
My main band only play clubs now and that is fine by me,however We do not get enough work to satisfy My love of playing in a "live" situation and I am always on the lookout for another band with which to exercise My (dubious) talents. I now have a position with a second band and whilst they do not get numerous gigs it is always something extra.
One of the members of the "new" band is even more desparate than Myself in His desire to play and has been looking for pub gigs(at a fairly low fee) in order to fill up the diary.
I have let the band know that I will NOT be playing any pub gigs and there are no hard feelings.
My main point is that most,if not all pubs do not have a stage and the pedal steel player is sitting at floor level totally exposed to the contortions of the dancers.You may have noticed that most pubs do not have a dance floor and those wishing to shake their shammy have to correograph the dance around tables and chairs.Rarely have I seen a couple dancing within the confines of the postage stamp dance floor,the norm is for the male to spin His partner round and round several times.this maneuver is usually quite difficult to perform when sober but add a couple of jars of electric soup and You can have easily have a serious situation. I am not the least bit comfortable playing and lose all concentration trying to keep an eye out for flying bodies. It is different for a guitar player since they can easily side step or even push a dancer away.The poor steelie cannot easily defend himself.
Just Me rambling on and wondering if anyone else feels the same way.
