and I would say the Pedal Steel is NOT dead !

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 13 Aug 2010 4:59 am

I played a show last night, Neil Young Harvest Tribute, 11 artists doing one song each..I was the only Pedal Steel player and let me just say this.."attention grabber"...

I was there to play with my friends on" Are You Going to the Country" which is more of a slide style, bluesy..AB peds in , not typical traditional Country, you guys know what I mean, think Duane Allman, but in the middle of the song we played more of a Waylon style, Mooney style Steel, It went over huge.

but

I was also asked as soon as I arrived if I would play with another act on Heart of Gold, which I did...

I was also approached by a bunch of people after those two songs telling me how great it was to have the Steel in the room and they loved it on the songs.

This was not a Country audience, more of a rock audience with crossover appreciation. Most of the artists have shows which are based on original material. The club does not hire cover bands, primarily artists in there own right...

The main artist who closed the show , Lenny Federal, this older really well known and excellent Blues player in town asked me to come by his regular Fri gig and sit in. Now that was a surprise...But Lenny does it all, he's not locked in, standards, ballads, Blues , crossover, country etc...

I was asked if I do sessions. 3 artists took my contact info... ( business card )

So...I think Steel is not dead, maybe hiddin' away in a place that nobody visits, but certainly artists know it's out there, but if we are going to go to other venues we are going to have to stretch beyond typical and/or traditional Country pickin'.. It's not the instrument, it's us...as players...

S T R E T C H !

t

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 13 Aug 2010 7:17 am

Musicians like them, and audiences like them. It seems to be producers who had closed the steel out of major-label sessions, so people got used to it not being there. As major-label producers are on the wane, influence-wise, it's easy to foresee a "comeback" - if you can play the music.

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 13 Aug 2010 9:53 am

Because of the omnipresent apathy about the instrument, producers don't know how to use them, and most engineers rarely know how to record them. This, of course, is a Catch-22 situation which continues to grow worse over time.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 13 Aug 2010 9:57 am

Great to hear Tony, good on you!

I like to think the spirit of Big Ben Keith was there with his hand on your shoulder.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 13 Aug 2010 11:07 am

Mark Eaton wrote:Great to hear Tony, good on you!

I like to think the spirit of Big Ben Keith was there with his hand on your shoulder.

Yes OK, I think he was !

When we played Heart of Gold they asked if I wanted a full solo, I declined and said no, lets keep it just like the record. There was a gal blowin' harp which was just too close to the record to minimize or take away from what she was doing, it was too good to change. Especially without ever seeing the band or playing with them ever, I just played the BK parts where they were on the record. It worked.

t

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 13 Aug 2010 11:29 am

Tony Prior wrote:

So...I think Steel is not dead, maybe hiddin' away in a place that nobody visits, but certainly artists know it's out there, but if we are going to go to other venues we are going to have to stretch beyond typical and/or traditional Country pickin'.. It's not the instrument, it's us...as players...

S T R E T C H !

t

This portion of Tony's first post reminds me of a quote from an article on Lloyd Green that came out several years ago in the Journal of Country Music and he had this to say about the future of the instrument:

"The instrument's really in a quagmire. The way it's played and sounds is stereotypical. It's like verbal placeholders in conversation, when you start saying uh-uh because you aren't able to say anything substantive. If it doesn't end up getting totally discarded, you might hear it come around in jazz, or blues.'"

Even though a high percentage of us here will always love good old "crying" E9th country steel playing, obviously it has been minmized to a degree in the mainstream Nashville country music "machine."

Pedal steel from that mainstream standpoint might just be going through "menopuase" right now because after all, it's just about the right age for such a thing!

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 13 Aug 2010 1:25 pm

When we played Heart of Gold they asked if I wanted a full solo, I declined and said no, lets keep it just like the record. There was a gal blowin' harp which was just too close to the record to minimize or take away from what she was doing, it was too good to change. Especially without ever seeing the band or playing with them ever, I just played the BK parts where they were on the record. It worked.

Well put, Tony. That says to me that you're a good musician, as well as a good steel player.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 14 Aug 2010 2:33 am

Barry Blackwood wrote:
When we played Heart of Gold they asked if I wanted a full solo, I declined and said no, lets keep it just like the record. There was a gal blowin' harp which was just too close to the record to minimize or take away from what she was doing, it was too good to change. Especially without ever seeing the band or playing with them ever, I just played the BK parts where they were on the record. It worked.
Well put, Tony. That says to me that your a good musician, as well as a good steel player.

well thanks Barry , really nice of you to say that, but my real skill, the one I am an expert at, is operating the TV remote control !

t

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 14 Aug 2010 6:52 am

Then, admittedly, we have both reached Journeyman status on that job!

Glen Derksen · Post by **Glen Derksen** » 1 Sep 2010 9:37 pm

I don't think we have to worry about the PSG going extinct. Back in the early 1960's most Nashville artists had strings incorporated into their recordings, but the PSG picked up again in the mid 60's. I think right now the PSG is not as popular as other times, but it will pick up again.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 2 Sep 2010 6:17 am

I read reviews of recent releases (all music styles) quite regulary. Seems to me that the steel guitar is always on a few of them. Mostly on the newer or older singer/songwriters output. But when you hear their record it's mostly on only one or two cuts out of maybe ten. I bought the last record by Peter Wolf and it has the same ratio.

Tommy Shown · Post by **Tommy Shown** » 3 Sep 2010 10:13 pm

The steel guitar is NOT DEAD, by any means NUF SAID
Tommy Shown
SMFTBL

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 4 Sep 2010 6:14 am

Mark, I really like the quote by Lloyd Green. Thanks for providing that.

Up here in MI steel guitar is not dead.

I try to stay away from string 3 and 5 / AB pedal cliches unless the music calls for it.

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and I would say the Pedal Steel is NOT dead !

and I would say the Pedal Steel is NOT dead !

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