STATE OF THE LOCAL
BY DAVE POMEROY
W
hen I moved to Music City 42 years ago at the age of 21, knowing one person, my only ambition was simply to play bass in a band that people liked. I didn’t yet understand that there were many other jobs in the music business. If you would have told me that someday I would be president of the Nashville Musicians Association, I would have laughed out loud and told you to have your head examined! As we enter the year 2020, a very futuristic sounding number, it seems hard to believe that I am in my 12th year as your Local 257 president. It just goes to show that anything is possible, and I am grateful for the chance to be of service to this incredible community of musicians that is like no other. A month after I arrived in town, I landed my first touring gig with an Arkansas native named Sleepy LaBeef — a country, blues, and rockabilly artist who was signed to Sun Records. He was a big man with a deep voice and a repertoire of literally thousands of songs that earned him the nickname “The Human Jukebox.” I hopped on his motor home the next morning and we headed to Boston, his base of operations. I got an amazing education in what is now called Americana music from Sleepy. He didn’t like to rehearse, never used a set list, and I had no choice but to learn how to follow and learn songs I had never heard before on the spot. After 10 months, Nashville was calling me, and I finally jumped off the motor home and took a Greyhound bus heading south. I was determined to stay in town this time around, and tried everything I could think of to make some headway. On the advice of several musicians, I joined Local 257 in 1978. I was very naïve and knew nothing about what the AFM is and what it does for its members, but I was ready to learn. A chance 6 THE NASHVILLE MUSICIAN
Dave Pomeroy, Don Williams, Pat McInerney(l-r)
It makes a huge difference when we all work together toward the common goal of promoting respect for musicians. Here’s to a great 2020! encounter with a drummer led to a job with legendary Texas songwriter Guy Clark. His music was simple but beautifully eloquent. It was a great wake up call to listen to the words, drastically simplify my approach, and work around what everyone else was doing. Guy showed me the emotional power of a great lyric and the need to lose your ego and play what is right for the song. I had befriended the guys in Don Williams’ band, and when his bass player decided to get off the road in 1980, I got the first shot at the gig. I learned 24 songs in a couple of days, including harmony vocal parts, and played my first show with Don in front of the biggest crowd I had ever played for. They were also the quietest crowd I had ever played for! They were hanging on every word, and I understood that every note counted. The next 14 years with Don were life changing. Over that time, I learned how to write songs and make records, and was his bandleader for the last five years of my run. Don treated us with respect, and was a huge role model for me in so many ways. Playing on his records led to many other sessions, and I got off the road in 1994 to go freelance full time. At that time, Local 257 had a business agent who would bring members up on charges for not having a contract with a club for shows that were “door gigs,” where the band would make their money from the door receipts and the club would make money at the bar. In addition to playing sessions, I always had a band or two going on the side playing clubs around town. After several
frustrating attempts to convince him there was a better way to deal with this issue, I stood up at a Local 257 meeting and said something about it. Next thing I knew, I was head of a committee, and together we wrote a new bylaw saying that when playing “original music” in a “listening room” the “bandleader can be the employer,” which fixed the problem. That is when I realized that the AFM is only as strong as its members make it, and that if something is not right, it can be fixed if the members get involved. Over the next 15 years I served on the local’s hearing board, and then the executive board, and in 2008, I was elected president of Local 257. A year and a half later, I became an AFM International Executive Officer as well. Looking back, it’s been quite the journey, and what I have learned is that you can do anything if you believe in yourself and pay attention to your surroundings. Sleepy, Guy, and Don have all passed on in the last few years, but the way they treated me remains in my heart and mind. I have been blessed to have a long career as a musician, and thankfully still get to play enough to keep my sanity. I love getting musicians paid and doing all I can to make sure that the tradition of mutual respect that turned Nashville into Music City not only remains, but flourishes. We are a team, and I am honored to represent you. I encourage all of you to get involved in the business of YOUR union. It makes a huge difference when we all work together toward the common goal of promoting respect for musicians. Here’s to a TNM great 2020!
