GUITARS!!

[AmericanBuffalo]

Those are great pictures you posted. Brings me back to playing out. In my time the places smelled of cigarette smoke and spilled beer. I can almost get that scent looking at your pictures. Thanks for sharing!!

That shows you how close we are as countries, brothers of music playing the same bars and clubs and smelling the same stuff!

I have to say looking back, playing in cover bands way more fun than trying to do the metal stuff when there isn’t a market for it 

After a metal gig men would come up and chat music, after a cover band set ladies would wrap their arms around you.

Yes there are definitely parallels. I played in an Iron Maiden cover band for several years. We were the top Iron Maiden cover band in the midwest USA. I was playing 4 nights a week all over the place. I made ok money doing that. But your right the ladies loved the cover bands!

I also played as a guitarist for a band called Belly which was I guess alternative music. I was just a hired gun for part of their tour. That was a very professional gig and payed quite well. I saw what a real life on the road was with some record company money backing you. Its a tough tiring life and I realized I was more a homebody and did some other tours as a guitar tech then just said fuck it! I hated living on the road, It was exciting going to venues and the energy. But it became draining to me after a few years.
I have lately sat in on a few gigs with a popular local country band and every Christmas I sit in on a set with a small jazz orchestra doing Christmas songs. God I sound old!!!
My newest thing is I want to learn pedal steel guitar. I want to find one and teach myself to play but I have space issues and figuring where to set it up is daunting.