Hello, Ya'll. These are some June 12th photos from our C&W Beijing Banditos Band gig. We take classic C&W songs and do them in Chinese. Some of them are: Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, Last Date, Ain't No Love Around, Bud's Bounce, So Lonesome I Could Cry, Heaven & Hell, and the yodeling song from the Coen Brothers film Raising Arizona"
Our bassist, Woody and drummer Xiao Bai make their living playing in several other bands and Woody is also a boxer. He carries his double bass strapped to his back while driving a motor scooter to gigs. Bryan, from Tennessee, in the orange cowboy shirt with the cap gun, is the lead singer while I play steel and sing harmonies. We hope to add a female fiddle player over the summer. stevet
Our first gig was at SCHOOL BAR in a beautiful hutong called Wudaokou which has bars,music venues,restaurants, and small shops.
Last edited by steve takacs on 17 Jun 2013 3:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Andy Sandoval wrote:Bud's Bounce in Chinese...does it sound the same? Just kiddin It's all good!
Now that is funny.
Hey Steve. No pretty girls at that gig? No photos? I need my pretty girl fix from you.
Carter D10 8p/7k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup, Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112, Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open G slide and regular G tuning guitar) .
Guys, it was indeed fun and I wished you had been there. Anyone of you could have played rigns around me. Andy, I think Bud' Bounce sounds different in different parts of China because of the various dialects. Glad you enjoyed the photos.
Richard, you realize China is modernizing quickly but perhaps don't know the new face that will replace Mao on the yuan notes soon. I'm sure you will agree that it is a much needed improvement. Unfortunately, she was not at the gig. stevet
John, it indeed ws a fun-time and we hope the music will be appreciated by the Chinese audiences. It is not like in Japan where C&W is popular but i believe it will help that the songs are sung in Chinese.
Also, I dropped the idea of doing them in English as well so we can get some real decent paying gigs at embassies, foreign companies and private party gigs. The money could be very good judging by some fo the past gigs I have done with other bands. Of course, for us the most important is that people get into the music.
The two Chinese guys play in a three piece Rockabilly-Punk band also. Talk about fun!!! I see them every time I get a chance. They love their music as do the audiences. Take care, stevet
In 1961/2 I was stationed, in the Air Force, in Taipei Taiwan. We had a country band that played the Officer/NCO/FRA clubs in Taipei. Our drummer was in the Taiwanese Army and he got us on local TV in spring 1962. Taiwanese TV was in its infancy and was only on for a couple of hours in the evening. He got us on TV as a "cultural exchange". We did a 30 minute show and were the first Americans to appear live on Taiwanese TV.
We went on at 7PM, after the news. The station only had one camera and the camera operator just put his hand over the lens and moved it from the newscast desk to the position for us. There was an announcer that made an announcement about us. He took his hand off the lens and we were "on the air".
I don't remember much about the band. The singer had been a regular on the Big D Jamboree and some afternoon children TV show in Dallas. The steel picker was Bob (don't remember his last name) and he was from Beaumont, Tx. He had a Fender dual 8 that he had added one pedal to pull strings behind the nut. I was the rhythm guitar player in the band.
"Also, I dropped the idea of doing them in English as well so we can get some real decent paying gigs at embassies, foreign companies and private party gigs."
Steve,
40 years ago, I was in a very strange band in Milwaukee. We sang a couple of AC DC songs in Polish. It didn't get us any gigs.
Location: beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
Postby steve takacs »
Jack in addition to reading about you making Taiwanese history with that broadcast, I had a good laugh hearing about camera techniques used in early Taiwanese TV.
Do you remember what songs your band played?
John, perhaps the AC DC songs did not work because you were in the Hungarian section of Milwaukee? Who knows.
I am finding that Asians in general, but mostly the Chinese, around here really like country, and a lot like classic country. I play each month at an older people singles club dance, and there are a few Chinese folks that come in. They are the biggest tippers and always come up several times during the gig to tell you great you are and to thank you for playing. We managed to land a gig for an Asian group at the Doubletree Hotel next to the Santa Clara Convention Center next month through the folks from the singles club. People coming in from all over including China for this gig. Hopefully some really great looking ladies like the one's Steve posts and sends me.
Carter D10 8p/7k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup, Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112, Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open G slide and regular G tuning guitar) .
I live in Thailand for 6 months each year and they like country western music too but they love Thai music more.
I lived in Hawaii for a while too and they really love country music. You might think, " Why not? They're part of America". But really that's only on paper. MANY Hawaiians feel that Hawaii is a seperate country that's being occupied. That's another subject but they do love C&W music and you can hear the influance its had on them in much of their local music.
Steve, its been too long ago. I don't remember any specific song that we did. The only feedback I recall was our drummer did get some type of acknowledgement from the Taiwan Army.
I do remember the one (only) camera they had was made by RCA.
As a side note on the drummer, who was a native Taiwanese. He could only be an "enlisted" rank. At the time, the only ones in Taiwan military that were officers were either Chinese or Chinese ancestry. Mao Tse Tung (Mao Zedong) was still in power at the time.
Mark, I like everything about the Stage One with one exception. It sounds great, plays well with lever and pedal action quick and responsive, does not dance around the stage when I engage the levers, stays in tune and is light.
I only wish Doug would have the option of attaching the pedalboard to the legs by using those sliding clamps secured by an attached nut-bolt combo rather than requiring that two long bolts,secured to the pedalboard, be threaded through holes in the legs and then held down by two small wing nuts. The later method is more time consuming for me. I don't see as well in the dark and am clumsy, so the wing nuts enjoying jumping to the ground in a game fo hide and seek. I do believe they are mocking me. Otherwise A+ all the way for the Stage One.
Jack, interesting about Chiang Kai-Shek and his Guomindang officers (who fled China asthe Civil War was ending in 1949) taking the officer spots and leaving the local Taiwanese for the enlisted ranks. Did you notice any resentment on the part of the locals towards the Chinese who fled the mainland? You may have forgotten the songs, but I'll bet you have never forgotten the experience of having been there. stevet
Taiwan has a history of being invaded and taken over by different countries or people. "Formosa" (another name for Taiwain) is from the Portugese who had the island at one time. There was a lot of military "control" (there was still martial law in 1961/2 when I was there) and I never really heard much about whether the Taiwanese were resentful of the Chinese. Chinese (I don't remember what dialect) was the official language.
An interesting note, radio's were tubes in those days and the Taiwan goverment would only allow radio's with a certain number of tubes. The reasoning was that they could not get broadcasts from the China mainland. I had a tube guitar amplifier and needed a tube and as they were controlled items, I had to turn in the old tube to get a new one.
Chiang Kai Shek's wife and Mao or Mao's wife were related, if I remember correctly.
Chiang Kai Shek annually made a speech about returning to the mainland but that obviously never happened.
I only wish Doug would have the option of attaching the pedalboard to the legs by using those sliding clamps secured by an attached nut-bolt combo rather than requiring that two long bolts,secured to the pedalboard, be threaded through holes in the legs and then held down by two small wing nuts. The later method is more time consuming for me. I don't see as well in the dark and am clumsy, so the wing nuts enjoying jumping to the ground in a game fo hide and seek. I do believe they are mocking me. Otherwise A+ all the way for the Stage One.
That method is the worst. My 2 ZB's used that method. I also would drop them in the dark club. I only had to look for them a couple of times before a bought several and carried them with me so I didn't have to play "hide and seek" with them. I hate wing nuts. My Carter has the sliding piece to hold the pedal board on, but used wing nuts to tighten it. Always hated to try to undo the wing nuts. They seemed to get tighter as the night went on. Finally, I just went to the hardware store and got some threaded knobs that are easier to get a hold of. You might look into that for your Stage One. I don't know if you will find them in China though. Also you may have to use a shorter screw depending on how long the one now is.
If you really want to try that, send me a pm with your address and the size you need and I will go get you some and send them to you.
Carter D10 8p/7k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup, Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112, Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open G slide and regular G tuning guitar) .
Thanks, Steve, I'm looking at the lightweight steels for some fly dates I have coming up. I always tell my students to buy extra wing nuts if I see that kind of pedal bar attachment on their guitars. It's amazing how that little nut can bounce around and find the only crack in a festival stage that's 25 feet in the air over a mud puddle...
Madame Chiang WAS related to Sun Yat Sen's wife. They were sisters, the Soong sisters. Both sides claimed Sun Yat Sen as the George Washington of China.
Someone in my family has a photo of my dad getting some kind of medal from Chiang Kai Shek when he served in China.
Wondering what this has to do with the steel guitar? Well, my dad's sister had a son (my cousin?) that was a pedal steel guitar player in Michigan (Billy Vann). Sorry, that's the best I can do.
Carter D10 8p/7k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup, Regal RD40 Dobro, Recording King Professional Dobro, NV400, NV112, Ibanez Gio guitar, Epiphone SG Special (open G slide and regular G tuning guitar) .
Mark van Allen wrote: I'm looking at the lightweight steels for some fly dates I have coming up.
yes...i wonder how many players have bought a new light $2000 steel to save $100 on a 'fly date' or two....just to have an inferior steel on their gig?
It's all good!
Glad you enjoyed the photos.
