Stockinged feet!!

[Danny Mitchell]

It just came back to me, that the steel player with Western Centuries, Leo Grassi, was playing in stockinged feet

And very well he played, too, really squeezing in & out of the changes.

It got me wondering if anyone on the forum uses this approach. I couldn't consider it at all, in fact as a total newbie I was quite paranoid about what footwear I was sporting when I sat down at the steel, but thankfully, I'm a bit more relaxed about it now. Why, I've even clocked up seat time in my slippers, with my pipe nestling nearby, in my pick bag

So, what do you prefer on your plates? Trainers? Cowboy boots? Or does it make no difference?

[jonshack]

I have a pair of boots with fairly soft soles for gigs or sometimes I wear sneakers. At the last gig I realised I was wearing the wrong boots and opted for socks. Luckily they were a nearly matching pair

I really like playing in my socks, the feel is definitely better but I do think it's a bit off-putting from the audience point of view. I feel the same way about modern trainers though. Sorry Buddy, that's like playing an archtop in a shell suit. Wrong.

Leo told me the pedals on his Dekely (a very sweet sounding steel) are like butter, very responsive. If you're playing as well as he does and making expressive music, that's got to be the most important thing. Plus he's neighbours with Smokin' Brett Resnick who also plays in his socks - so it's an established Nashville style and we'll ALL be doing it in a couple of years.

[Willie Gamble]

Hi Danny, sorry about Sunday night, I was asked to play I will explain, but not on here.
So footwear, I must have tried every which way, the pointy toes of cowboy boots got caught up in the pedal rods.
I much prefer a flat shoe or boot.
I have been using the same pair of elfin like bootees for the past 25 years or more.

Asleep at the steel

[Will C]

I believe our Richard Burton (aka the spring guy) plays in stockinged feet. Me, I prefer some soft-soled and very worn sneakers. I tried without footwear and found it just a little to hard on my tootsies when pressing A&B without the benefit of a sole. Altho' maybe that's because the leverage is wrong and I'm looking into the possibility of changing that to get longer pedal travel, with lower pressure.

[Dieter Stoll]

The other day I stumbled upon a high street store for vivabarefoot shoes. Those turned out to be the right solution for me. Looking halfway decent and not too loud (black, standard loafer shape, no individual toes , took out the optional cork insole, and they do indeed provide a near-stockinged feel.

[Davie Holland]

Ironically, I can relate to this in a vague situation...Turned up at a show at the Oran Mor (Think it was Patsy Cline Show), and forgot to put my black shoes in the kit bag..ooops...Bright blue trainers just werent going to cut it...forced a pair of black socks over the top of my trainers...No one knew hee hee...

[Ken Byng]

.............I have been using the same pair of elfin like bootees for the past 25 years or more.........

Asleep at the steel

You mean these ones Willie?

[Willie Gamble]

The very same Ken, identical in fact
Asleep at the steel

[Uncle Roy]

Danny, don't worry about stocking feet these are what you want when playing tunes like Deep Water.