Gates Nichols

[Brett Day]

I was thinking recently about the steel players I've met and become friends with recently, and there's one I wish I could've met, the one I wish I could've met was Confederate Railroad's former steel guitarist Gates Nichols. I watched him play Emmons guitars in several Confederate Railroad videos, and he is one of the guys who made me want to play steel. I actually got to see part of a Confederate Railroad concert at the Upper South Carolina State Fair in Greenville, South Carolina, and Gates was still part of the band. I'd just started playing steel at the time, and remembered how I was a fan of Gates and the band. He was an incredible steel player!

[Jerry Overstreet]

Brett, I met Warren (Gates) at an outdoor concert in Lebanon Junction Ky a few years back. I was playing steel in the band that opened for CRR. I had him autograph my hat. Super nice guy, was easy to talk to and we talked about steel guitars and that we were both using TubeWorks stuff at the time. Great guy, great player. I wish you'd had the chance to meet him.

He told me he was playing his brand new LGIII, sort of a birdseye mica, IIRC.

The band put on a good show. I remember the guitar player had just got one of the new Fender Sub-Sonic Tele Bari's he used on Queen of Memphis.

Their last song was Trashy Women and the band invited those ones in the audience up on stage. They were all pretty much inebriated by this time and one of the trashy women dumped a cup of beer right in the middle of Gates' new steel guitar.

He didn't do anything...just grabbed a towel and started drying up the spilled beer shaking his head.

I talked to him after the concert about it and he just said "it happens with these rowdy, partying Confederate RailRoad fans sometimes".

I was sorry to hear he passed away several years ago.

[Brandon Mills]

Brett, my dad - Arnie Mills - got to open for Confederate Railroad back in the 90’s and I remember how much he appreciated hanging out with their steel guitar player that night after the show. My dad was by far one of the best steelers I know of and could have easily done pro-level tours so for him to go on and on about Gates says a lot in my book.

[Bill Cunningham]

Gates lived in the Atlanta area. I never met him but remember Tommy Dodd helping his family liquidate his equipment tater he passed.