"Can you play without sliding?"

[Bill McCloskey]

Recently joined a band and we were on our second rehearsal. It wasn't going real well. The female singer/drummer couldn't keep a steady beat, couldn't sing in tune and was all over the place with the changes. the rhythm guitarist/singer was also pretty weak, out of tune. But the worst was the bass player/Piano player who never asked me my name, never shook my hand, arrived late, and was playing bass too fast and piano too loud in order to show off. I knew immediately we were going to have a run in.

At one point he turns to me (never calls me by name) and says "can you play without sliding?". I said "What do you mean? I'm not really sliding. do you not want me to press levers? Do you not want me to use vibrato? what?" He says "can't you just pluck the strings without sliding. I repeat "I am plucking the strings without sliding." so I sat out the tune.

When I got home, I wrote the "manager", the drummers husband and just told him I didn't think it was going to be a good fit.

The other thing the guy did was he kept calling my Pedal Steel a "Lap Steel". "I marked 'Lap Steel' on the songs in the set list you can play on.".

Another one bites the dust.

[Doug Taylor]

Sorry it did not work out Bill!

[Raybob Bowman]

Reminds me of that joke:
How do you know there's a female singer at your door?
She's late and can't find the key

[Rick Campbell]

You probably stayed longer than I would have. The older I get the less tolerance I have for playing music that I don't enjoy.

RC

[Fred Treece]

Q: Can you play without sliding?
A: Yes. Can you play without being a jerk?

Congratulations on your decision to leave that soul-sucking situation, Bill.

[Bob Carlucci]

I have been in very similar "new band " situations more times than I care to remember. Actually the vast majority of bands I auditioned for were exactly as Bill described. A musician KNOWS right from the first song or two if the band is a dud with a bunch of pretenders or a group of seasoned musicians with actual talent.. There are a lot more really awful bands looking for musicians than really good bands looking for musicians.. The very best local and regional bands usually don't need to look much... Good musicians come to them.. Anyone with good solid musical background and some talent wants to play with those with similar ability... I never had much time for drummers that speed up and slow down, bass players that played Jaco like lines in a I-IV-V country songs, singers that couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, or screaming loud or out of tune guitarists that play out context. I have heard each of these brilliant comments from band members- "play without sliding", "play without the pedals", and even "play without the volume pedal".. so yeah, life is too short for that crap... NEXT!..... you try again and hope you its worthwhile.. It usually isn't, but sooner or later you will find a good fit...When we do, most of us stick around for a while... bob

[Bill McCloskey]

"play without sliding", "play without the pedals", and even "play without the volume pedal".. so yeah, life is too short for that crap... NEXT!

That is hysterical. Glad I'm not the only one. It is amazing to me that people who claim to want a pedal steel in their band have zero idea what a pedal steel is, how it works, or what it is capable of.

[Duane Becker]

Bill, I go through the same thing with musicians up here in Spokane, Wa. Very leak at playing the songs, poor quality of musicians, and I really want to quit playing out. To top it all off, its gotten really bad the last 10 years because of the excessive volume levels.

[Bob Carlucci]

"play without sliding", "play without the pedals", and even "play without the volume pedal".. so yeah, life is too short for that crap... NEXT!

That is hysterical. Glad I'm not the only one. It is amazing to me that people who claim to want a pedal steel in their band have zero idea what a pedal steel is, how it works, or what it is capable of.

Bill, the one that really floored me was the time I was doing a studio session, and it was at a pretty good studio from what I recall.. The engineer was freaking out because i was using a volume pedal. He said he couldn't record my steel if I was using a pedal because of the changing volume levels.. NEVER heard that before and I have played in many studios. I pride myself on having a good right foot on the volume pedal, and had never heard of this before... I guess the guy didn't know that much of the dynamic expression and emotion a pedal steel guitar is known for comes from the judicious use of a volume pedal.. I don't remember what happened it was so long ago, but I might have not used the volume pedal on that session.... bob

[Fred Treece]

the one that really floored me was the time I was doing a studio session, and it was at a pretty good studio from what I recall.. The engineer was freaking out because i was using a volume pedal. He said he couldn't record my steel if I was using a pedal because of the changing volume levels.. NEVER heard that before and I have played in many studios. .... bob

This happened to me just a couple years ago. I ended up taking the work home because I had to practice playing while not using a volume pedal and was wasting the client’s time and money. Plus, the engineer had put unnecessary pressure on me and I was having difficulty rolling with it. That probably wasn’t very Pro of me, but it was either that or walk away from the project completely.

[Floyd Lowery]

Once up on a time, I knew a band I was rehearsing with was not going to work out when they needed to practice "Happy Birthday" several times.

[Dave Mudgett]

Ha, never heard "Can you play without sliding?". My answer would be, "Sure, I can; but why do you think you want a pedal steel player?".

Like all of us, I imagine - I have run into bands who are clueless about steel guitar who want me to play steel - but not for a while now. Most people around here, that say they want pedal steel, actually want pedal steel and have some idea what that entails. But I screeen these calls by asking pointed questions before I agree to show up to a rehearsal. I'm not getting any younger, and I don't have any time to waste.

Like Bob C., I have had studio 'engineers' whine about volume pedals, and especially 'noise' from pickups. I have put Lawrence humbuckers on a couple of steels so I don't have to deal with noise complaints. If someone tells me, "No Nashville", my inclination is to suggest slide guitar. I can play blues/rock/etc on steel, but I think with these kinds of people, slide guitar often works out better. I believe some people just think they want pedal steel - maybe it's for image or whatever. And seriously, a lot of times, they just call the steel "slide" as in, "Hey, cool slide, man". No problem, we can do that.

I personally do not particularly enjoy recording, especially if it involves sitting around a studio for long periods of time waiting for other people to do their thing. And doubly if 'producers' and/or 'engineers' are gonna give me a hard time. So I screen calls to record very carefully. Too often, there's really nothing in it for me.

... That probably wasn’t very Pro of me

Fred - unless you're talking about a very serious commercial session with a bunch of A players (who are all expected to be operating at a very high level), it strikes me that an engineer, ignorant about pedal steel, ignorantly hassling a player that much on a local/regional recording project is hardly "Pro". If I was involved in a recording project like this and the engineer was hassling either one of our guys or someone we hired to do some parts, the engineer would be the one taking the heat.

[Dave Grafe]

"Can you play without talking?"

[Rick Campbell]

Once up on a time, I knew a band I was rehearsing with was not going to work out when they needed to practice "Happy Birthday" several times.

That's understandable because about every time you do it, It has a different birthday name. You have to get the phrasing right. LOL.

[Marshall Woodall]

That is hilarious Rick!

[John De Maille]

Actually, I think that I'd find another group of people or another band to play with. They obviously have no idea what a pedal steel guitar is suppose to sound like and don't realize how you could enhance the sound of the band. It certainly wouldn't be worth the frustration of trying to fit into their interpretations of what "they" want.
You're really battling an up hill battle with musicians of that quality.
On the other hand, if you're in for it, then, try to make the best of it. But, it wouldn't be my cup of tea.

[Dave Hopping]

What I've done relative to the audition/application process with new bands is to streamline the getting-acquainted process. I put up a page on the local Bandmix site, recorded some samples at home, put them, a blurb, and pics up so people could hear and see what they were considering. It's only fair to make that easy for potential employers. It also makes it easy for me to ask for website and setlist so I can see what they have going, too. I also make it a point to come to a gig so I can see what might fit. No gigs? No website? No problem, but no audition, either.

Things I've been sorely tempted to say:

"If you have to rehearse the setlist, either your representation is asleep at the switch or your product is subpar and nobody wants to buy it."

"I'm not interested in where you rehearse. I'm interested in where you get hired to perform."

[Marshall Woodall]

Dave, you left out the other classic bite-my-tongue phrase, "I really dig what you were trying to do there"-

[Fred Treece]

”If you have to rehearse the setlist, either your representation is asleep at the switch or your product is subpar and nobody wants to buy it."

From the perspective of a perennial sideman, I really dig what you’re trying to say there.

I realize there are players who can do gigs without having played together, or to fill in for someone. Frankly, I think this is something every musician should be able to do occasionally. When I used to get that call, it was always with established bands or players who were familiar with the music, if not also each other.

If you are in on the ground floor of a startup band or a show band and are interested in becoming an integral part of it, then rehearsal is an essential element to preparing the presentation so someone will “want to buy it”. I believe that is the topic in the OP, and it’s too bad in his case that it involved crummy musicians of dubious personal character. Sometimes there’s only one way to find out.

[Bob Hoffnar]

I practice playing without sliding/bending notes and vibrato quite a bit. That way I'm in charge of my phrasing and expression. Every time you slide a note you make a very big statement. It should be intentional. Hear the slide in your mind before you play it. make sure it serves the music. So many players miss out on the deeply expressive qualities of the pedalsteel by having there vibrato and bends be automatic. Don't let your hands control the music. Make sure your heart and mind are in charge.

Bill,
BTW: life is to short to spend time dealing with dickheads.

[Brooks Montgomery]

Bill, I can’t believe you forgot your xylophone mallets.

[Bobby Hearn]

And they probably think they are really good.

[Dave Hopping]

If you are in on the ground floor of a startup band or a show band and are interested in becoming an integral part of it, then rehearsal is an essential element to preparing the presentation so someone will “want to buy it”. I believe that is the topic in the OP, and it’s too bad in his case that it involved crummy musicians of dubious personal character. Sometimes there’s only one way to find out.

Most times you can find out without spending the time, gas and effort of showing up at somebody's basement rehearsal space. Just have to be aware of the red flags that surround sketchy situations and be willing to nope out when your time is at risk of being wasted.

Like the bandleader who told me to my face that gigging interferes with the rehearsal schedule.

[Fred Treece]

Like the bandleader who told me to my face that gigging interferes with the rehearsal schedule.

I don’t remember you ever being in my band, Dave

[Dave Hopping]

Fred, I don't remember either, so it must have been in the Seventies!

I think there are MANY folks who did the equivalent of garage bands back in their youth but gave it up for all the reasons people opt out of doing music for a living -college, marriage, parenthood, jobs that situationally or explicitly prohibit moonlighting, you name it. But they do remember most fondly that a full house and a hot band is the most fun you can have standing up (or for us PSG guys, sitting down), and having attained some stability and assets want to revisit it. The revisiting takes place where they left off, which unfortunately is often at the garage-band stage. Kids' garage bands don't have to turn a profit; it shows in the quality of what they create, and mature garage/basement rec room bands have similar QC issues, resulting in situations very like Bill's "can you play without sliding" episode. Although the episode is hilarious, that band wasted Bill's time and made him do work for nothing.

Calls to mind the first six words of Part B of "The Rodeo Song".