Michael Martin Murphey Cowboy Christmas Tour

[Herb Steiner]

Well, I'll be back out on the road with MMM again this year for his annual Cowboy Christmas Tour, but unlike last year when I played steel guitar, this year will be an acoustic oriented show and I'll be playing dobro predominantly... (maybe some non-pedal as well) which will make life a little bit easier for the road crew!

Murph puts on a great show, very family-centered and very much a celebration of the season, with a cowboy slant to it, of course.

Here's the dates and locations, and I hope to meet any and all of y'all who plan on attending. Send me an email if you're gonna be there and I'll do my best to make contact.


Nov 22 - Wellton AZ
Nov 28 - Greeley CO
Nov 29 - Roosevelt UT
Nov 30 - Grand Junction CO
Dec 2 - Lincoln NE
Dec 3 - Hartford WI
Dec 4 - Cashton WI
Dec 5 - Cashton WI
Dec 6 - Wisconsin Dells WI
Dec 7 - Benton KS
Dec 8 - Wichita Falls TX
Dec 9 - Austin TX (yay!! get to see my wife! )
Dec 10 - Corpus Christi TX
Dec 11 - Wellington TX
Dec 12 - Oklahoma City OK
Dec 13 - Longview TX
Dec 14 - Springfield MO
Dec 15 - Fort Worth TX
Dec 16 - Corsicana TX
Dec 17 - Amarillo TX
Dec 18 - Kerrville TX
Dec 19 - Anson TX
Dec 20 - Lubbock TX
Dec 21 - Roswell NM
Dec 22 - Odessa TX

May your days be sunny and bright
May your hearts be happy and light
Merry Texas Christmas, you all!!

[Craig A Davidson]

Herb where is Colton Wisconsin?

[Roual Ranes]

Herb,
Wellington, TX? They roll up the sidewalks at 7:30 PM. ???????

[Herb Steiner]

Craig
My mistake... it's Cashton WI, which is southeast of La Crosse. We do two shows there, 12/4-5

Roual
We played Wellington last year, a fantastic venue and great people. The town theatre has been restored to its original classic condition. The whole town came out, folks brought home-cooked food, a simply wonderful appreciative audience.

[Roual Ranes]

Herb,
I'll call ex-in-laws and tell them to be there...some of them still like me....believe it or not.

[Ronnie Miller]

Geez Herb,
Looks like for that month you might be the hardest working man in shobidness...cya....Ronnie

[Roual Ranes]

Herb,
I contacted the folks in Wellington. You will probably have some come down from Dumas also.
Sure hope you guys have good weather for the trip.

[Billy Murdoch]

Hey Herb,

I did'nt see anywhere in Scotland ???
Get Your butt over here and I'll break out a nice Malt.
Have a good tour
Billy

[Chip Fossa]

Herb,

When are you guys gonna git out to Springfield, MA?

HUH?

MMM's got a lot of great songs and spirit to boot (get it?)

My favorite, of course, is "Cherokee Fiddle".

Other great ones are: "What She Wants";
"What's Forever For"; and Carolina In The Pines".

Play well, enjoy yourself.

I wish I was nearby to take all this in.

Michael Murphy being backed-up on pedal steel by Herb Steiner. Whoa!

Get some of this recorded if you can.

I wish you and Michael and all involved a great and safe tour.

Chipper

[Laurie Ayres]

Herb: Didn't either of you think of sunny Florida for this tour? We would have come to see you for sure! Think of the nice warm weather, sunshine etc. LOL We are happy for you & this tour. Have a Blessed Thanksgiving filled with Christ, thankfulness, love and family! We hope to see you next year at the convention. Your friends & fans, Laurie & Roy

[Sam White]

Hey Herb I did not see Rhode Island in that list. You need to come up here as Springfeold MA. and Sunny Florida is no place for you to be it is Rhode Island where all the Steel Guitar is being played.
Sam White
Pres.NESGA

[Herb Steiner]

Thanks for the compliments, y'all!

Ronnie
Yeah, buddy! The fella that is gonna be the "hardest working man is show bidness" is Leo the Bus Driver. Twenty-four gigs in 24 days, and 23 of 'em are drive dates... and some are 12 hour hauls, too.

Chip
I did last year's tour and a couple non-Christmas gigs last fall with Murph on steel, but this year he's decided the tour will be all "amplified acoustic" without drums, so I'll be playing almost entirely resonator guitar on this one.

Murph re-invents himself every 15 years or so. In the 42 years (?! Has it been that long? Good Lord!) we've been pals, he's been 60's country rock, 70's progressive country, 80's commercial country, 90's cowboy music/poetry, and his newest recordings soon to come out are straight-ahead bluegrass and some of the best I've heard from him in a long time. Sam Bush on mando, Rob Ickes on dobro, Charlie Cushman on 5-string, Rhonda Vincent on tenor harmony... this stuff totally knocks me out, y'all!!

Since I came from a bluegrass background, I love it still, and never gave up the ol' hound dog even though I've been, for all intents and purposes, a pedal steel player throughout my career. And I'm really enjoying getting back into dobro again. It's refreshing and wakes up the old gray matter. I've got two Gold Tones on this tour: one in 'grass G and one in C6.

[Terry Wood]

Hi Herb,

Never been to any of his shows but I bought tickets for my entire family weeks ago. So we will be there at the Springfield, MO show.

I promise to not throw a pie at you.

Terry Wood

[Carroll Hale]

Well, I'll be back out on the road with MMM again this year for his annual Cowboy Christmas Tour, but unlike last year when I played steel guitar, this year will be an acoustic oriented show and I'll be playing dobro predominantly..


MR HERB::::::
QUESTION: I play dobro and lap steel...use different tunings....I always have some difficulty changing...diff tunings..etc...I have not been playing for that many years...so ...??HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE CHANGES????...is it easier to go from psg to dobro or vice versa ...or not much difference...
Also...lots of TX dates....none down in my neck of the woods...beaumont area....guess I should be glad there are texas dates...unlike some folks who dont have a chance....Good Luck...sounds like a great tour for you and the MMM gang....wish I could hear it...
. (maybe some non-pedal as well) which will make life a little bit easier for the road crew!

Murph puts on a great show, very family-centered and very much a celebration of the season, with a cowboy slant to it, of course.

Here's the dates and locations, and I hope to meet any and all of y'all who plan on attending. Send me an email if you're gonna be there and I'll do my best to make contact.


Nov 22 - Wellton AZ
Nov 28 - Greeley CO
Nov 29 - Roosevelt UT
Nov 30 - Grand Junction CO
Dec 2 - Lincoln NE
Dec 3 - Hartford WI
Dec 4 - Cashton WI
Dec 5 - Cashton WI
Dec 6 - Wisconsin Dells WI
Dec 7 - Benton KS
Dec 8 - Wichita Falls TX
Dec 9 - Austin TX (yay!! get to see my wife! )
Dec 10 - Corpus Christi TX
Dec 11 - Wellington TX
Dec 12 - Oklahoma City OK
Dec 13 - Longview TX
Dec 14 - Springfield MO
Dec 15 - Fort Worth TX
Dec 16 - Corsicana TX
Dec 17 - Amarillo TX
Dec 18 - Kerrville TX
Dec 19 - Anson TX
Dec 20 - Lubbock TX
Dec 21 - Roswell NM
Dec 22 - Odessa TX

May your days be sunny and bright
May your hearts be happy and light
Merry Texas Christmas, you all!!

[Herb Steiner]

Carroll
Thanks for your excellent question. Here's what I can tell you: playing pedal steel, especially C6, improved my knowledge of music theory, chord progressions, and how melody fits over chords. Therefore it improved my dobro playing because I can now look at the guitar neck and visualize chord patterns and melodic positions that I couldn't see without the knowledge I gained from steel playing.

Going from one tuning to the next easily is a product of repetition, practice, and abstract musical knowledge. It's not playing patterns by rote; rather, it's understanding and knowing what note you want to hit, why you want to hit it, how it relates to the last note you just played, and what notes you're intending to play next.

It requires the ability to look at the guitar neck and "see" where your melody lies in a linear "up-and-down the neck" fashion, rather thaa a vertical "straight-bar" chord position fashion.

But it also depends on the style of the music or song you're playing. Some tunes that MMM does, like "Carolina In The Pines" as an example, is very bluegrass banjo influenced, and on those tunes I'd play G tuning using Josh Graves rolls, like the older style dobro. On "Cherokee Fiddle," on the other hand, I choose to play C6 tuning since I prefer having minor chords, partial diminished chords, and more useful slant bar positions under my fingertips.

Am I making myself clear? I realize I'm getting far afield from your question, but it's all related in my convoluted mind. So I'd summarize by saying, prefaced by a HUGE IMHO:

1) it's easier to go from pedal steel to dobro;
2) the right hand techniques are different due to the blocking methods required of pedal steel. Dobro is an acoustic instrument necessitating more "digging into" the strings;
3) the left hand techniques are also different but there are some similarities to Hawaiian non-pedal steel playing - not so much with E9 technique though. More blocking is done with the left hand.

Sorry we won't be close to Beaumont. Longview and Corsicana are prob'ly the closest. Hope you can make one of them.

[Terry Wood]

I have heard only great things about this show! Really looking forward to it!

Terry Wood

[Carroll Hale]

Carroll
Thanks for your excellent question. Here's what I can tell you: playing pedal steel, especially C6, improved my knowledge of music theory, chord progressions, and how melody fits over chords. Therefore it improved my dobro playing because I can now look at the guitar neck and visualize chord patterns and melodic positions that I couldn't see without the knowledge I gained from steel playing.

Going from one tuning to the next easily is a product of repetition, practice, and abstract musical knowledge. It's not playing patterns by rote; rather, it's understanding and knowing what note you want to hit, why you want to hit it, how it relates to the last note you just played, and what notes you're intending to play next.

It requires the ability to look at the guitar neck and "see" where your melody lies in a linear "up-and-down the neck" fashion, rather thaa a vertical "straight-bar" chord position fashion.

But it also depends on the style of the music or song you're playing. Some tunes that MMM does, like "Carolina In The Pines" as an example, is very bluegrass banjo influenced, and on those tunes I'd play G tuning using Josh Graves rolls, like the older style dobro. On "Cherokee Fiddle," on the other hand, I choose to play C6 tuning since I prefer having minor chords, partial diminished chords, and more useful slant bar positions under my fingertips.

Am I making myself clear? I realize I'm getting far afield from your question, but it's all related in my convoluted mind. So I'd summarize by saying, prefaced by a HUGE IMHO:

1) it's easier to go from pedal steel to dobro;
2) the right hand techniques are different due to the blocking methods required of pedal steel. Dobro is an acoustic instrument necessitating more "digging into" the strings;
3) the left hand techniques are also different but there are some similarities to Hawaiian non-pedal steel playing - not so much with E9 technique though. More blocking is done with the left hand.

Sorry we won't be close to Beaumont. Longview and Corsicana are prob'ly the closest. Hope you can make one of them.

thanks so much...first for just acknowledging my question....and 2nd..for a very detailed answer...and I do not think your were "far afield"...as least you gave me a real thoughtout answer.....I think I understand ....at least for me, a rather newbie in this area......I do understand how your previous knowledge and training would influence the dobro playing....kinda like a friend of mine..who can play anything with strings...seems to me he plays them all like a champ....my mom always told me..."experience is the best teacher"..and in this case...very true....I do appreciate your explanations and maybe if I live to be 100...(38 to go)...I will be able to play as good as you...good luck on the tour...and thanks again....ch

[Lefty Schrage]

hi Herb,
Would like to catch you w/ the MMM Show at either Cashton, WI or Wisconsin Dells, WI but, after doing a web search, am unable to find any information regarding how to get tickets or the exact location of the shows. Any ideas? ...lefty

[Herb Steiner]

Lefty
Right now I'm in Greeley CO and might not have internet access for a couple days, but when I do I'll have information for you.

[Will Bartell]

Hi Herb, tell MMM he needs to come out to southern Oregon to visit his brother, and bring his Xmas show with him. Wish you guys weren't so far away...

[Herb Steiner]

Lefty
Go to www.michaelmartinmurphey.com for the gig info.
HS

[Craig Stock]

I heard an interview with MMM on the radio a few weeks back, he really is something. Doing alot to help out farmers and ranchers, the 'Real Green Industry'.

Good luck on the tour Herb, sounds like fun, I just love the Christmas Season!

[Lefty Schrage]

Herb,
I was glad I caught you w/ MMM at Cashton, WI. and what a great show! Really enjoyed your dobro work! Hope the sponsoring FFA club fund raiser was a success.
...lefty

[Marlin Gengenbach]

Hi Herb,
The Roswell Symphony Orchestra will play host to the Cowboy Christmas show in Roswell on the 21st. I look forward to hearing and seeing you...and moreover chatting for a few moments during the break.
Marlin

[Herb Steiner]

Thanks for the well wishes, guys. I'm really enjoying getting back into the reso guitar again!

'Course, I'm using the C6 tuning (CEGACE), so I feel quite at home.

I enjoyed meeting Lefty the other night, and I met Terry Wood last night in Springfield. Heck of a nice guy.

Got a sound check at Bass Hall in Ft. Worth right now, so I gotta split. Later, dudes.