AGGH Times gone by.

[slimbo]

We can all think back, well the older steelies can, to a time when it did'nt matter about coming home in the early hour's from a gig many miles away, in fact I quite enjoyed it, bringing the gear in from the car whilst the birds sing a morning chorus, getting into a warm bed and sleeping well into the pm.
Not so anymore, take yesterday.
Left home 1.30pm, drove from Reading to Ladrum Bay, played with a good band, Ridgway County, then drove home.
I think as I've got older someone has stretched the road's, as now they seem never ending, lot to be said for riding in a group vehicle.
When I get tired, I have to stop from nodding by visiting a fuel stop, and getting FOOD, it's a thing i do when travelling alone, I get the munchies, and boy can I put it away, but it keeps me from hitting the old rumble strip, and frightening the crap out of me.
On arriving home I felt sick having eaten too much wake up food, put the gear back under the stairs, tried to convince the dogs it was not walkies time and got to bed without a shower, too bloody tired, it's an age thing.
The bedside clock has a beam that shows the time on the celing, and I found my self staring at the time in red, 4.45, did'nt know I could stay concious that long.
15 AND A QUATER HOURS I HAD BEEN AWAY, AND ALL FOR THE LOVE OF COUNTRY MUSIC.
At 74 this has to be a no no for future refrence, I fell out of bed at 11.30 because the dog's said so, and I feel, I must have bought someone elses head home, but as they say, It's all part of the learning curve, Bollocks.
And when you inform a country club it would be £600 for a five piece band, they look at you as it you'r from another planet.
Out of my fee, which was quite acceptable, I paid out £45 for fuel, and a few yummies cost, well we wont go into that, but all in all, it looks like this travelling thing for band's is fast becoming a thing of the past, so a rethink needs to be looked at here, and allthough we only get £50 each, my American friend and I, we need to consolidate our working in day centers and old folks homes, as we are in doors by 6 pm on a day job, and home by 10.30 on an evening gig, and you feel you've done a good gig, the only thing you need to get used to is lots of tea and sausage roll's, and they can come at you while your sitting there playing, but it's good fun, so all you older steelies, dig out your local old folks homes and day centers and get to it, cos that's where all the older country fans have gone,and bugger these forever and a day gig's, we ain't that fit anymore.
Someone did tell me that sex is a good excersize to lose weight and keep fit, I just need someone to tell me how two and a half minuets once every three monthes is going to help me lose weight.

[Ken Byng]

Slim
I had 7 or 8 years with Ridgeway. I lost count of the number of times that I would get home at 4.00 in the morning when the rest of the band were long tucked up in their beds as they lived in the Midlands. Living in Southampton means that traveling to the Midlands or the North of England is financially prohibitive. There were a number of other factors in the band that caused me to leave that I won't go into here, but you are right about costs of playing in a 5 piece band and doing long distance gigs. The leader of Ridgeway gets ferried to and from gigs by the bass player, and doesn't have to pay for the fuel so he doesn't care how far the gigs are as it doesn't impact on him.

I now play in a 4 piece band in Southampton that only does local gigs, and freelance with other Hampshire-based acts. I clear £75 - £90 a gig and I am indoors before midnight most times. My gigging doesn't impact upon my day job which is important. Back in the 70's and early 80's when I was pro, it was of no consequence if gigs were long distance. God we even had roadies then. I thought the other day, why did we have roadies when we were young,fit and strong, and don't have them now we are old and decrepit?

[slimbo]

No fuel expences, sleeping in the van, nice work if you can get it, just called Steve Chirrell, not over keen to work the Norfolk show grounds in june as the work load has just reared it's little head.
It's a good three plus hours to get there, and I think I need to pull my horns in and follow your direction and work local all the time, draw a circle on the map and work inside that.
I have Artirial Fribulation and that kicks in now and again despite the tablets, so its time to slow down, even thou I just love the playing.
Did some fiddle songs last night and threw a few of my best jokes in between the songs, the reaction was brill, so I will miss that side of it as well.
Can't tell the jokes in the old folks home, as it may result in over excitment.
I can see me ending up in one of the shelterd houses, and entertainers visiting me, oh crap.
We need a home for old and retired steelies with a recording studio, then we can make money turning out steel Cd's and selling them on the web., need to make some money somehow, the bloody government are giving our pensions away.
Must stop this moaning.

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

No 1. There ain`t no quitting Slimbo as we will not allow it! We just gotta think about it is all

Now what we gotta do is share out this work load between us a little bit and all we be fine....... If I get offered a gig Southampton way I will put Ken on to it , if its Reading area ....down to you.... and anything up this way you pass to me That way we all get to play on our own patch........ Forget the east coast cos Dunny`s got that stiched up like a kipper!! and what he ain`t doin he passes to Mr.H. Now lets know if proposition is acceptable

[Ken Byng]

Excellent idea John. Even though the price of fuel has gone down a few pence, it is still an expensive hobby traveling 100 miles and more to a gig. We all know each other's standard of playing enough to recommend deps when it comes to filling in for those venues that are just too far away. We have Jimmy Gibson down in Cornwall who can box those gigs off. We could put a register of players together who would want to participate.

[slimbo]

What a brill idea, get a register of steelies by asking them to send in their location and making up a map to cover the whole of the midlands down to the south, anyone wants a steelie, band or studio, we pass it around, now someone needs to set up some form of mapped area with location and area prepared to travel, phone number and a rough idea of availability in case it needs to be handed on if not able to cover the gig.
If the areas overlap we can cover for each other.

[Mark]

15 hours ... that's nothin'.... I have a gig in July that takes me 18 hours just to get there... I'll have to take the wife to help with the gear.... hang around for days waiting for the PA guys.... Pay £45 to do the gig.... You experienced players have it easy... just think yourself lucky It's tough for us beginners.....

Great post Slimbo, made me laugh. After a 4 in the morning job.... the next day... not good!

[JohnDavisStringsHere]

Dunny, the only reason I gave you that gig in the Seychelles was to get you off the patch for a little while so I could reclaim some of those east coast gigs that you have been hoovering up just lately!! I hope you really like it out there... let me know after the gig if your gonna stay and I will have the rest of your gear sent over >>>>

[Jim Pritchard]

Hi everyone,
An excellent thread, so I may as well join in. First thanks to 'Slimbo' for an excellent night at Ladram Bay, for an 'old un' he was brilliant with the band, the only steelie all week-end, what more could we ask for .
It would be great to make a list of LOCAL players who could help out, without too much travelling/ expences etc.
Perhaps ADMIN may be able to set up an extra post for this to happen
It can be difficult for many (work-family-fuel costs etc. etc.), however, as an opener to 'jamming in' or helping out, I put myself forward to covering a radius of 250miles from Bournemouth and the odd Festival around the country (North & South). Not the East as JD said, they have got that one, almost covered
Hope we can work this one out, Available NOW on 07779851569, Jim

[SteelieAJK]

Steady folks before you go too far recall all forms of closed shops in the UK are strictly illegal under section 137(1)(a) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992