The Steel Guitar Forum

I had not logged into the forum in a long time, and something pulled me towards it today. I was so sad to learn of bObʻs passing. Bobby Lee meant so much to his friends and family, and meant so much in ways he likely never fully appreciated for so many more. I became a member here a couple of years ...

Hi all, I had not logged into the forum in way too long and came across this post. Iʻm excited that the National Museum of American History's 1954 Bigsby was sighted by a forum member! We felt it was important for the Smithsonian's permanent collection to include a Bigsby steel, so we went big with ...

Thank you Mark! I am elated by the positive response that the book has generated so far. It was a labor of love to participate in the growing body of knowledge on the steel that we are collecting in books, out there on the internet, and of course here on the forum. Thanks!
John

Hi Loren, Thanks for posting-- Ed and Cynthia were indeed wonderful. We had a great turnout--I met several steel guitarists and musicians whom I had not before met, and we even sold a bunch of books. Cynthia provided for me a delicious dinner. It was a wonderful coda to a lovely visit! I hope you en...

Thanks to Frank, Andy, and Ron for their posts. I had a lovely book launch at Nā Mea Hawaiʻi on Sunday, with a lot of guys coming out to play, including Ron Johnson and Isaac Akuna on steel. I had a fun interview on Kauaʻi's KKCR this morning, and on Friday night I give a talk at Talk Story book...

Love it. I'm in Kauaʻi right now and am overwhelmed by its beauty. Caught some great music by Bev Kauanui at Tahiti Nui tonight. Thanks for posting, Ron!
John

Hi everyone-- I've been traveling for the last few days and am behind on things, but thanks to everyone for your kind words on the book! And thanks to Kevin for your cool Son House story! I'm looking forward to his words of wisdom as well. Orville-- thank you so much for your kind words, in particul...

I've been traveling for the last week and have not been able to keep up with online goings on too well, but thank you to everyone for weighing in on this and to those of you who alerted me to the link. Digital piracy is ravaging authors and musicians these days-I appreciate how folks on our forum ca...

Hi all, Some kind souls have discussed this book over in the no pedals section, but since the official release day is May 16th, I thought I would quickly post something here this week as well. I'm a history professor by day, steel player by night, and over the last eight years I have researched and ...

Kevin: those videos are awesome--thanks for posting them! Also, holy cow-- you received lessons from SON HOUSE???!!?? Incredible. Yes if you haven't already posted on that experience, please do!!! Andy: thanks for those kind words and I'm so glad you're digging the book! While I may have done some l...

Hey Kevin, That link goes to Taj and Bobby Ingano-- itʻs a nice clip, though! I deal with the vina tradition in the book as well, and in fact I found a bunch of new evidence regarding Gabriel Davion, an individual of Indian descent who has been associated with Kekuku as a source of inspiration. Peo...

Kevin-- I share your questions regarding the origins of the steel (and of the blues "slide" style) and the extent of a Hawaiian influence in the South, and I spend a good deal of space in the book working through all of the available evidence. I tried to look at this question from every po...

Hi Matthew, I'm glad you are enjoying the book so far! Once I started digging into the newspaper coverage of the Paka troupe, it became clear that Kekuku was the featured steel player of the group during that period. He also recorded in London with the popular group Layton & Johnstone in 1925 an...

Awesome, Steve--thanks. I hope you enjoy it!
John

Duane--thanks so much for picking up the book! The Maui steel festival looked fantastic from the FaceBook coverage. Wish I could have been there!

Matthew-- I'm so glad you are digging the book so far! Thank you for your kind praise.

John

Hi Loren, Thank you for asking! Unfortunately I won't have a chance to visit Maui this time around. However, I am hoping to get there either this summer or next year for the steel guitar festival (the one that I am missing right now!). If you know of a bookstore there (or even a music store) that mi...

Hi Martin & Ron, Martin, thank you so much for planning to come to Talk Story! I am excited to meet you there!! Ron-- I have been looking for a copy of ʻOlelo ʻOiwi for some time-- I have heard great things about it. Thank you for reading the book -- I hope you continue to enjoy it! I wonder a...

Awesome-- Thank you Bill! I hope you enjoy it!!

Wow--thank you guys! Peter, I am hoping that it will ship sooner than May. Keeping my fingers crossed. Bob and Andy, your work stands so tall--I am honored to be in your company. Thank you for your support!
John

Thanks Mike!! I look forward to the release of your new record!
John

Hi Andy-- Thank you! That means a lot coming from such a seasoned author as yourself! I hope I have made a worthy contribution to the steel guitar library that you, Lorene and others have built over the years!
John

Hi all, John--I'd love to meet you in Kauaʻi! Book, nook, or neither, please come by the bookstore and say hello! Steffen, thank you so much for ordering the book-- my hope is that the book will arrive well before a month. The press had originally established a May release date, but I know that the...

Dear Matthew, Thank you so much for posting about the book. I am so thrilled that the book is now shipping, and also available on Kindle! UNC Press is a non-profit, academic press, and its editors and staff have gone WAY out of their way to bring this book to fruition and to make it look great. I sp...

Hi all, I am searching for an attractive, professional quality hi-res image of a Bigsby pedal steel, either double or triple neck. I would like to include such an image in the color plate section of a book that I have authored and that will be published by the University of North Carolina Press in M...

Two of the main questions I sought to raise in regard to this issue were... 1) What historical evidence supports the idea that one-stringed zithers ("diddley bows") inspired southerners to develop what became known as the slide guitar style? 2) If no real evidence can support the diddley b...