Facebook And Steel Guitar

Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

There has been a huge increase lately of Facebook pages about Steel Guitars. I am a member of way more than I can possibly follow, but also question the wisdom of using FB for a lot of what is going on there. In my experience, FB is not very search-able. Nor do I find it's format as easy to follow conversations compared to this forum. There is a tab site - but almost everything gets posted both here and there, so no big deal. But I think of the huge amount of tab that resides on this site, all very easy to search and access, and all the other information, and think how wonderful a tool this forum is.

Where Facebook seems a better match is with the Tribute pages to great steelers past and present. While there is a ton of material on this forum about our history and legacy, it is harder to dig out. But again, the "search-ability" of Facebook is a problem.

I think, for example, of the Jerry Byrd Fan Club page that Ray Montee has operated - so much great history there - yet we all know Ray is having a harder time these days. This site needs to be maintained - both to honor Jerry Byrd, and also Ray, Jerry's biggest fan. I'd offer to take it over myself, but I have been pretty much unemployed since hurricanes Irma And Maria wreaked havoc here in the Virgin Islands. Perhaps there is someone else who would do so? This site is at serious risk of disappearing!

I know Ernie Renn keeps Buddy's site going - but it was as much about marketing his stuff as the man himself. Maybe it is time it got an update to tell more of the story of the man himself. Anyone good at web design want to offer to help Ernie update it? I hope Ernie does not mind my suggesting it could use a face lift.

Maybe, though, these two sites should be rolled into one much bigger site. Perhaps it is time for someone or a group of people to form a Steel Guitar History org. I think it would mostly reside on the web, but think it will take more than just one person starting a website. We still have a lot of people who knew these guys and their stories. Maybe it is time these got collected and organized?

Ideally, it would be more than just a website. We once had the steel guitar Hall of Fame in St Louis. But with Scotty passing - one of our heroes of the steel guitar - that seems to be in limbo.

If we do not make an effort to save this history, it will disappear. Take Jimmy Day, for example - his page on Facebook is not particularly active. Why? As important as he was to our instrument, there just is not a lot of material out there in the web to post on FB. I have been playing for about 6 years now. And there are names of players I know, but know next to nothing about - like Weldon Myrick or Buddy Charleston. Perhaps their contributions to steel guitar music should not fade, but be celebrated?

I seem to have strayed from my original topic - the suitability of FB as an archive for steel guitar info. For general info, I think this forum is the best place. But I would love to see the history of the steel collected and preserved in a more permanent method. Thoughts?
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Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental!

Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

Hmmmm. The silence is deafening. Ok, I'll shut up and go practice now.
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Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental!

Bob Watson · From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S.

Douglas, here are a few books that give some of the history of the steel guitar, not in a historical fashion but through interviews of famous players and talking about milestones in building and design. Check out "Lap Steel Guitar" by Andy Volk, and "Pedal Steel Guitar" by Winnie Winston. There are some great threads on the Forum about how the E9 tuning evolved if you do a search on them. There are probably some other books that cover the history of the steel that I don't know of, but the two I mentioned would be a good start if you haven't seen them already. Perhaps someone else will chime in. I didn't know there was a Tribute Facebook page for Jimmy Day, thanks for the heads up.

Ronald Cid · From: Contrecoeur, Quebec, Canada

Doug. I am the creator of many tribute sites for some of my heroes of the Pedal Steel Guitar, Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Day, Ron Elliott, John Hughey, and many more. I also created the Tab site you mentioned in your initial posting. Here's why.

when I arrived on Facebook, I initialy could not see the use of it...I did a search on some of my guitar heroes and found a couple of sites for them (Guitar, not Pedal Steel Guitar) I then did a search for Buddy Emmons....there was nothing..he was not a member and there was no tribute site. I was appaulded that one of the greatest musicians of our times was not even mentionned on the site. I created the Buddy Emmons site and immediately started to notice the same people "liking" the posts. In the case of Buddy Emmons I personaly have uploaded my entire collection of Buddy Emmons videos...over 4 hours of continual play...Many have been produced by Bill Ferguson and others. but the raison d'Ã«tre of a site like this is to place all in one place all the resources into one site. The same goes for Papa John, Jimmy Day, Ron Elliott, even Scotty has his own site...and many others. In the case of Ron Elliott, he actually takes the time to answer any questions by any steeler that send him a question. Sadly, most of the others have passed away. We have members in the sites like Tommy White, Buck Reid, Bill Ferguson, and other famous persons in the Steel guitar community... I always wonder why there is so much negativity towards Facebook....Like anything else in life...it (facebook) can be used for one's benefit, and it can be a total waste of time. In my case,I have met over 30,000 fellow steelers from all around the world...many have become good buddies with me...all-in-all a very positive experience. RC

Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

Ronald - as I said, I think the tribute sites make more sense - and as you know, I participate in them some. You in particular have done a good job of archiving media on your sites. Certainly my issue is not with you and your efforts.

My main issue is with Facebook itself. Have you ever tried to find a post you made sometime last year? There is no real ability to search your posts (as far as I know, anyway) other than just scrolling through every one of them. Have you chatted with a friend, and they shared some information with you, then later you want to retrieve that info? Search in FB Messenger is a little better than for timelines, but it is still very awkward. In comparison, searching this forum, or searching most websites, or even searching my emails for some past communication is much simpler and easier.

Anyway, glad to see someone was paying attention!
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Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental!

Ronald Cid · From: Contrecoeur, Quebec, Canada

Doug...Yup your 100% correct in that facebook is not meant for the past...it is aimed at the present. That is why whenever I upload a video I actually upload the video to the site...I refuse to simply place a link to the video. It is very easy to simply place a link...that's means nothing to me..because, as you say, you have to scroll and find the link in question..Regarding videos, they are all stored in the Photo / video section of each site....and they are permenant. In fact, I have uploaded some Big E videos that are no longer available anywhere else but at his site....at least for now, until Facebook stays free...they will stay there. When Facebook become too greedy They will be removed and I will leave the site and go somewhere else. Being a member of the IT community you quickly realize that nothing in computers stays constant for very long...proof in point, Lotus 123, dBase lll, Wordperfect, These used to be THE standard of the industry...now they are all dead...they were replaced by others, and the others will also be replaced. Nothing remains the same. The point of Facebook at the moment is simple...it is a "one-stop-shop" for the information you are looking for.....and it is also a place where you can actually speak with someone you admire...dig this I actually spoke with Ron Elliott, Buck Reid, Mickey Adams, The entire Day clan, The Franklin clan, Larry Sasser... and others...Also many of my fingerstyle guitar heroes, John Knowles CGP, Stephen Anderson. Andy Reiss etc.. there is one thing that facebook excels...it brings the common person up to the level of the superstar.....the superstars recognize they need Facebook, and they all are members...and most are approachable..it is to their benefit and our pleasure. I believe that is the main point of this forum...The Facebook pages are compliments to this forum. RC

Bill Ferguson · From: Milton, FL USA

And I would personally like to pay tribute to Ronald CID. He has put steel guitarists in the forefront of the world on FaceBook.

Thank you Ronald!
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AUTHORIZED George L's, Goodrich, Telonics and Peavey Dealer: I have 2 steels and several amps. My current rig of choice is 1993 Emmons LeGrande w/ 108 pups (Jack Strayhorn built for me), Goodrich OMNI Volume Pedal, George L's cables, Goodrich Baby Bloomer and Peavey Nashville 112. Can't get much sweeter.

Steven Hicken Jr. · From: Leeds, United Kingdom

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

About a year and a half ago, I questioned the suitability of Facebook for anything useful. I left and am not considering going back.

Bill McCloskey · From: Nanuet, NY

"There is no real ability to search your posts (as far as I know, anyway) other than just scrolling through every one of them."

Yes, you can search your own posts. Go to the search box at the top of the facebook interface, type in your search terms and hit the magnifying glass. On the left hand side, it will allow you to then filter the results. Filter by Posts From You, and it will filter any results that you didn't post.
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Douglas Schuch · From: Valencia, Philippines

Bill McClosky - thanks! Proving once again that you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks!
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Bringing steel guitar to the bukid of Negros Oriental!

Susan Alcorn · From: Baltimore, MD, USA

I hate to jump into this, but you actually can search, sort of, on Facebook. I do it quite a bit - you type in the name at the top and any keyword that might help. I just typed Lloyd Green Little Darlin' and there's a multitude of posts that come up.

The thing is, that if you want to reach people, Facebook, Instagram, etc. are the ways to do it right now. Most people I know are on Facebook, so if I post something on there about a gig, I can reach a larger audience than a group email or my website, and a more attuned audience than someplace like the Steel Guitar Forum (no offense, b0b) which I used to post a lot on for gigs and rarely got one person to come to a show.

Like you say, social media is just for the present (which is where we are), and it's not perfect. I hate using Facebook Messenger - it's a pain in the neck to read and write anything more than a couple of sentences. And Facebook probably won't be around forever - remember Myspace? Something else will come along and then who knows. But for now, that's what we have. However, it is always good to have a backup somewhere else.

That said, I know people who want nothing to do with Facebook, and they they are more productive and probably happier as a result.
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"So this is how you swim inward. So this is how you flow outwards. So this is how you pray."
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Lee Baucum · From: McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier

What is this "Facebook" thing you people are talking about?
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Lee, from South Texas - Down On The Rio Grande

There are only two options as I see it.
Either I'm right, or there is a sinister conspiracy to conceal the fact that I'm right.

Williams Keyless S-10, BMI S-10, Evans FET-500LV, Fender Steel King, 2 Roland Cube 80XL's,
Sarno FreeLoader, Goodrich Passive Volume Pedals, Vintage ACE Pack-A-Seat

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