@JLamont45

3 days ago

Great video, I really love the current observations! Joe Lamont here, I played in Nashville either touring or down on Broadway in the off-season from 1990 until about 2016 although I still do occasional gigs with a bunch of other side men in a group called Beaker Street on occasion. I now live in Southern Alabama and as I am 58 years old, I have gone we’re all old piano players go and I work for Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a solo pianist and that pays the bills. When I’m not on ship, I also play some local gigs just to keep the chops up. My experience in Nashville was overall positive although networking and staying by the phone were prerequisites to making a living, especially before cell phones. I fell into the position of being a sideman during the tour seasons, and then doing three and even sometimes four gigs a day down on Broadway during the winter months. In the early days, it was relatively easy, and I want to stress relatively, to get gigs on the road that paid scale as I was very good friends with a lot of cats that had those gigs and had connections to those gigs. For instance, my last gig was a short run with Justin Moore and I got that gig because I was very good friends with his manager Pete Hartung as we had played in the studio often with a very specific songwriter so we knew each other. So getting those connections I assume is still, extremely important. The chops are a given, you either have them or you don’t. But staying with the theme of the video it’s important to make every connection, take cards write down phone numbers, know peoples names and faces and offer to be hopeful when you can. Set a standard with price, especially during studio gigs because it says a lot about you! Make sure you’re solid in every key! Strive to know every tune in your genre under the sun, and even those outside of that genre! But at the same time, find your style and integrated into what you do. I found it very helpful to be stylistic as a piano player, and yet still be able to copy licks when that’s what the gig demanded. I could say a lot of stuff about Nashville, it has gotten a lot younger, and I have gotten a lot older, in many ways I miss it terribly, the friendships, camaraderie, and memories will last a lifetime! As a sidenote, now that I play on my own and my history was as a sidemen who would occasionally sing harmonies if they needed, I find it interesting that I have to go back through all of my charts and memorize the lyrics now that I’m the guy who has to handle that! It gives you a whole new perspective on the band leader, and their responsibilities whether it be keeping their voice, healthy, being able to read a crowd, having sense of humor and quick wit will come in handy! It will also keep you sane in the long run! I wish all of those following their own paths through the world is Nashville, success and always remember, keep your nose to the grindstone and rock on!

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