My ZB D-10.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 27 Nov 2017 11:21 am

Here I am in 1976 with my first ever D-10. It was rather handsome with dark brown stain-and-plain maple finish.

I apologise for my appearance. I must have been going through some sort of phase that today seems inexplicable. If I had hair today I'd treat it more kindly.

Also in view is the great Billy Bremner, certainly the best singer/guitar player I ever worked with.

Michael Meader · Post by **Michael Meader** » 27 Nov 2017 2:49 pm

I like it!!!

Will Houston · Post by **Will Houston** » 27 Nov 2017 4:58 pm

Ya, cool pic.

J R Rose · Post by **J R Rose** » 27 Nov 2017 6:05 pm

Cool Roger, I bet you have a foot locker full of them. How about some more. J.R.

Charley Hill · Post by **Charley Hill** » 27 Nov 2017 6:05 pm

NICE AXE Roger! Nice......

Art Beard · Post by **Art Beard** » 28 Nov 2017 6:33 am

Do you still have or wish you had the ZB. I believe they have a tone of their own. I just bought my 1st ZB D11/10 in what looks to be great shape, will know more when it arrives. Bought it site unseen, from pics. Hope my instinct is right. I know my end stinks but quit following them when I left Vietnam. Worst mistake I ever made. My mind can be my own worst enemy LOL. might have questions for you on ZBs if you still have yours. Mine is also Blonde/Brown, belonged to someone know as EMMA who played with 9 strings on each neck. thanks for any insite. Crazy Arizona Art

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 28 Nov 2017 6:54 am

Back in the '70s the first steels available in any numbers in the UK were ZBs. I had three - a student model, then an S-10 and finally this one.

Even had there been a choice I wouldn't have known good from bad at that point. Later some Sho-Buds and a few Emmons became available but I saw no reason to change having no frame of reference, as poor a player as I must have been.

I took the ZB's great tone for granted and assumed that that was how all steel guitars sounded. If there was a downside it would have been the excessive undercarriage noise which became an issue once I started doing some studio work.

I sold this and bought a used Pro 111 in the '90s for no other reason than I felt like a change. That guitar was a problem, breaking pot-metal parts, etc and I never really cared for it. I moved to the US at a time when I had a new Emmons on order and I've mainly played LeGrandes ever since.

Do I wish I still had the ZB? Absolutely! I think I would now have a better appreciation for it.

As a footnote I can recall how surprised I was when I took delivery of my Emmons. I'd had ZBs and a Sho-Bud, all with very exotic bird's-eye maple, and the stark, almost utilitarian, appearance of a 'mica Emmons was a bit disappointing. Now it's my preference.

The ZB above was the 'George Harrison' steel seen in this picture.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 28 Nov 2017 7:00 am

I'm horrified so see how 'at odds' I appear to be with my instrument here. You know that relaxed, in-command, posture that Buddy Emmons always seemed to have? Here I'm demonstrating how not to do it.

Count yourselves lucky that there's no audio with this photo!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 28 Nov 2017 2:15 pm

Roger,Give yourself a break,These photos are wonderful!

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 28 Nov 2017 3:14 pm

Y'know, Rog, if I had photos of myself playing steel behind George Harrison, I think I'd just bask in the glow for the rest of my days and not worry about what I did or didn't look like to anybody else. (But that's just me...

)

BTW, is that Billy Bremmer on the right? And what did become of him? And are you still in touch with either of the two young ladies in the photo? And, if not, is it because you appeared to them to be somewhat uncomfortable at the steel?

Will Houston · Post by **Will Houston** » 28 Nov 2017 7:53 pm

Playin with a Beatle, pretty damn cool. Nice jackets

Damir Besic · Post by **Damir Besic** » 28 Nov 2017 8:34 pm

those are some very cool pictures...thank you

Edward Rhea · Post by **Edward Rhea** » 29 Nov 2017 6:26 am

Yes! Very cool indeed!
Thanks so much for sharing these Roger...that is such a cool psg.

David Weisenthal · Post by **David Weisenthal** » 29 Nov 2017 11:32 am

Awesome Roger, what tunes did you cover with Harrison?

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 29 Nov 2017 11:56 am

Jim: At the time we did this I was just enjoying myself. Steel wasn't important to me apart from as a 'second' instrument that might earn me some studio $£$£$. I have a picture of myself playing with Buddy Emmons and I assure you that means much more to me. Now - if I could get one of me playing with James Taylor that would get my heart started.

And yes - that's Billy Bremner. An amazing singer and Tele-slinger who, last I heard, was living in Stockholm.

David:

I got to know all four Beatles to a varying extent back in '62-'66 because we played on the same circuits (I was with singer Eden Kane who is unheard of here but was a big-shot in the UK).

The TV show you see here is a clip from 'Rutland Weekend Television' - a spoof comedy series masterminded by Neil Innes and Eric Idle (of Monty Python fame). It was here that I got reacquainted with George and we spent hours discussing our mutual hero, Lonnie Donegan.

Here we're playing a comedy routine. Throughout the 30 minute TV show Eric keeps rubbing his hands and boasting about how he's secured the services of 'one of the Fab Four' but GH keeps interjecting that he wants to be in a 'pirate sketch'. You can find this on YouTube under 'The Pirate Song' but we start off playing the well-known intro to 'My Sweet Lord' and on comes George. Ignoring our intro he launches into a silly pirate ditty and confusion ensues....

We did a couple of London gigs with George, too. He seemed to enjoy me and Billy playing Telecasters and was fascinated by us using fingers rather than picks. I think we did some of his compositions like 'Something...', 'While My Guitar...' etc, etc, but I can't now remember. He professed to love steel guitar too but I rather think I cured him of that. Listen to me on that clip and you'll understand.

I found George to be a thoroughly nice and modest human being - not a quality that all Beatles shared.

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 29 Nov 2017 12:02 pm

For anyone who may be aware of the Rutles, this ensemble (me, Billy, Brian, John, Neil) was, in fact, the very first incarnation of that band. Only drummer John Halsey and Neil were in the Rutles movie.

A PS for Jim Cohen:
I seem to recall both those young ladies saying that they were Buddy Emmons fans and that they wouldn't be seen dead with anyone who had such a flawed technique as I. Or maybe I imagined that......

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 30 Nov 2017 5:37 am

Jim Cohen wrote:And are you still in touch with either of the two young ladies in the photo? And, if not, is it because you appeared to them to be somewhat uncomfortable at the steel?

Stop it, you're killin me! I mean him!

I can't say I prefer the haircut with Harrison over the other photo.
However, I'm so impressed that you were a Rutle that it doesn't matter. Seriously!

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 1 Dec 2017 4:13 pm

Charlie - I was only an 'embryonic' Rutle. When it came to doing the film Eric was looking for physical attributes that might have 'suggested' the original Beatles. Billy and I didn't make the cut!! Mainly 'cause I was 300 lbs then.

If you know the movie there's a 'still' used in it showing us outside the BBC TV Centre on the same day we taped the show with George.

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 1 Dec 2017 11:10 pm

Roger Rettig wrote:I'm horrified so see how 'at odds' I appear to be with my instrument here. You know that relaxed, in-command, posture that Buddy Emmons always seemed to have? Here I'm demonstrating how not to do it.

In fairness, I don't know how possible it would be to look relaxed and in-command in that jacket.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 2 Dec 2017 7:06 am

Roger,

What great pictures and stories. You have some great history as part of your on-going music career.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 2 Dec 2017 7:07 am

Did all 5 of you come out of that Mini?

Roger Rettig · Post by **Roger Rettig** » 2 Dec 2017 7:14 am

Thanks, Larry, but I have little to show for it, I'm afraid.

Jimbo - I doubt they could have got me in the Mini on my own then. Those were my 300+ lbs days.

We searched the BBC car park for the least prepossessing looking vehicle for our photo; this was it.

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 2 Dec 2017 7:16 am

Jim, A little off topic, but when I was in high school a girl in my class had a mini cooper. One night we had 11 people in it on a short cruise...

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 2 Dec 2017 7:18 am

Larry Jamieson wrote:Jim, A little off topic, but when I was in high school a girl in my class had a mini cooper. One night we had 11 people in it on a short cruise...

I cannot fathom... did any pregnancies result?

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 2 Dec 2017 7:20 am

Not that I can remember. The owner had a key mounted on the back ( made of painted plywood) which made it look like a wind up toy...

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