Fantastic SWSGA Show in Phoenix

Doug Childress · Post by **Doug Childress** » 25 Jan 2009 10:31 am

The SWSGA once again put on a fantastic show in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ). Great lineup of players and a big crowd. A special tip of the hat to John Hensch and crew for the stage, house, and Video sound and visual support. John went the extra step and gave each player a DVD of their individual performance. There were some super pickers this year as has been every year. More about the line up later.

Fred Jack · Post by **Fred Jack** » 25 Jan 2009 12:30 pm

Three cheers for John. He's The Man! Regards, Fred

Joe Naylor · Post by **Joe Naylor** » 25 Jan 2009 12:58 pm

It was a fantastic show - on one hand I wish it could go on for ever and the other - my body says that was enough.

Just getting to talk to such talented and many interesting people would be a pleasure but getting to hear such talent too is unbelieveable.

I think each show is the best and then it seems we have another one that is better yet.

Thanks for everyone that helped and attended the show.

but Thanks is not enough but what more can I say ???

Bill Bailey · Post by **Bill Bailey** » 25 Jan 2009 3:39 pm

Joe,
Your M C work was very cool, relaxed and informative, Good job man.

Ray Harrison · Post by **Ray Harrison** » 25 Jan 2009 4:03 pm

Just got home from the show and am worn out...........
Denny Sarver lead me astray Thurs. PM amd I never recovered.
The show was fantastic in all aspects of what a show should be. Mike Sigler's comment of "Bach to rock" summed it up.
All the players put on top performances. I was fortunate enough to sing with a great number of the players that I admire so much.
Looking forward to the next one...............

Paul Foster · Post by **Paul Foster** » 25 Jan 2009 4:15 pm

HI Gang
If you did not attend the show this past weekend you missed a great one!! The highlight for me personally was that I got to meet and talk to Mickey Adams from U-Tube, What a great guy) He made me feel like we had known each other for ever, and I expressed how much we "Nubies" appreciate what he is doing for us! Mickey if get a chance to read this I just want you to know that getting to meet and talk to you was great beyond words!!! I also heard Mickey is going to be on the show next year I for one plan to be there!!Mickey, keep up the great work you are a great asset to us "wannabees" Paul Foster

Frank Harris · Post by **Frank Harris** » 25 Jan 2009 5:19 pm

Just returned homeR from a great Steel show is AZ Many great players and good show. Saw Mickey Adams from Y tube he also plays a great lead guitar.

Jack Francis · Post by **Jack Francis** » 25 Jan 2009 6:23 pm

I also got to spend a little time with Micky Adams and he was easy to get to know...can't wait to hear more about the "Project" that he's working on.

Great steel playing and a fantastic mix of styles from Al Vescovo's "Big Band' type of old standards to Chuck Backs Vocals, steel playing and his 'Tearing" it up on his 6 string to the wonderful set that Dan Tyack did with his bluesy "Desert Rose" backed up by Stu Shulman and a great keyboard player.

Well done, smooth management of the show.

Best was being able to connect with old friends and see that, unlike me, they are starting to age a bit!! $:\$

Darvin Willhoite · Post by **Darvin Willhoite** » 25 Jan 2009 6:24 pm

Well, I had to miss this one, the first one since they started, and I sure hated to. I knew it would be a good one as usual. Maybe next year the economy will have picked up a little and I'll feel more comfortable spending the money.

Bill Bailey · Post by **Bill Bailey** » 25 Jan 2009 6:37 pm

I want to thank Ray Harrison for playing bass and singing on my set, great harmony. I also want to let Ray know I listened to your CD "Scratchin The Surface" most of the way home. This is an awesome CD and I will try and wear it out. It has incredible playing by John Hughey all over it, along with a host of other great pickers. Ray your singing shows your love for Ray Price and country swing music.

Larry Bales · Post by **Larry Bales** » 25 Jan 2009 10:06 pm

Had a great time singing with Blackie Taylor and Kenny Morris on the show this weekend. Sorry my ears were so plugged up I couldnt tell if I was up, down, or crossways vocally. Be glad when this ear thing clears up. Thanks everyone for your kind applause.

Mickey Adams · Post by **Mickey Adams** » 25 Jan 2009 11:37 pm

Hey Paul, I did get a chance to read this as soon as I got home, and Im truly overwhelmed! And that was a really nice thing to say my friend. I really appreciated your offer to pick me up at the airport, and next year, you and I will be enjoying a 150.00 hamburger at the local airport...because next year I will be flying in with a new Lancair Turboprop. I wasn't sure until the last minute whether I was going to make it this year,sure glad I didn't miss. I met more people this weekend than I did in Dallas last year! Of course this years Dallas show is going to be bigger than ever. Ive got some special guests coming from Europe, and Im trying to get a young man from Georgia here too, Austin Tripp. Hes been spending a lot of time with my videos, and is now playing steel in a band in Georgia...And hes really working hard..Thanks all of you for your support and encouragement...its always greatly appreciated...Mickey

Doug Childress · Post by **Doug Childress** » 26 Jan 2009 9:49 am

Wanted to especially recognize the young players who participated in this year's show, Jonathan Candler and Austin Stewart. These kids are coming on strong and are the next generation of superb steel players.

Al Risbeck · Post by **Al Risbeck** » 26 Jan 2009 10:47 am

And how great was Dottie Jack and Jim Loessberg with the new stuff they're doing and keeping it COUNTRY!!!!

Troy Porter · Post by **Troy Porter** » 26 Jan 2009 11:31 am

I have to agree with you Al. Jim is definatly on my list of favorites and what a fantastic job he did with Johny Bush. Definatly a great performance by a great guy.

Joe Naylor · Post by **Joe Naylor** » 26 Jan 2009 2:12 pm

Thank you Bill Bailey - the M C job is a fun one for me - the relaxed comes easy - it is just me - the info is a fun part - I am gathering info all the time and started a notebook of info - by just listening to people answer questions I learn a lot -

Glad you enjoyed the show it was a great one and now we have to top that next year.

Thanks again to all that helped make it a great (and that means everyone that was there)

Dana Stewart · Post by **Dana Stewart** » 26 Jan 2009 2:15 pm

We are back in Kansas, skating around on the ice again (Austin just came in from feeding the dogs and said he slipped and landed on his hinder end while out there).

Just wanted to let Billy, Troy, Joe and staff that we had a wonderful time in Phoenix. Thank you so much for the invite. It's always great to come out and spend time with good people and enjoy the good weather.

Austin said to tell everyone thank you and that he had a lot of fun. Thanks to Ray for singing and to the band for making it easy to pick. He says when you have a good band like that behind you, it makes playing so much more fun.

Hope everyone made it home safe.

Dana

Paul Polish · Post by **Paul Polish** » 26 Jan 2009 3:26 pm

Just a quick post to say ,we made it home around 4:15 or so today,Monday. It's a long drive BUT well worth it. We had a great time in Phoenix,AGAIN, and looking forward to next year already.
Billy, you and all the folks do a terrific job organizing the show and making it work. I really want to thank Denny for filling a large pair of shoes on the bandstand. We will always miss Brother Ben but Denny did everyone right. Thanks Denny, looking forward to the next time. Maybe next time it all won't be thrown at you at the last minute. So you won't have to spend your free time working on new tunes. HA!
Also want to thank all of the guys that stepped up to help out in the bass department and the lead guitar dept. You sure made my job MUCH easier. THANK YOU.
There were too many highlights for me to mention individually. Like was said before,FROM BACH TO ROCK .we had it all. HA!~! Loved it.
Its always a pleasure working with Jim and Johnny Bush. That should go without saying..

Ms Dee always enjoy's shopping in Chandler with Ms Barbara. I know she enjoys that a lot..
Anyway, Thanks to everyone for such great hospitality we are greatful to be a part of this great show.
Love , Paul and Dee

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 26 Jan 2009 5:23 pm

Man did I have a great time this year,My good friend former Holly Dunn steel player Josh Dubin finally came to the show,it's probably the first time in 30 years that Josh,Herb Stener,and me have been in the same place together.I got to play guitar behind Chuck Back,and Dan Tyack and also got to play bass behind my good friend Chuck Lettes,What an honor to sit between Roy Rosetta,and Paul Polish...They are in my hall of fame,I made a few new friends Jeff Surrat who makes those incredible Sho-Pros,Mickey Adams,Carco Clave..an absolute monster on both steel and guitar,Marty Muse one of my favorite players in the universe,Mike Sigler,No one should be that good!The JayDee Maness Bobby Black show,OMG!Jim Cohen just blew me away what a great player,and a nice guy.Thanks to Ray Harrison for lending me his awesome Music Man bass.Billy Easton,Joe Naylor,John Hensch and crew thanks for being so kind to me and welcoming me.The shuttle ride to the airport was a blast with Mike Sigler,Marty Muse,Larry Petree.The only drag was when I got off the plane in Anchorage I had to go to a club and play bass all night wah!Stu

Ray Harrison · Post by **Ray Harrison** » 26 Jan 2009 5:46 pm

To all the guys, like Bill Bailey, and the rest that I sang with, thank you so much. To the guys I played Bass with, I'll be working on my chart reading in this near future. I am way out of practice.
With our dear friend Ben not with us, it really showed us how valuable he was. To all the guys who bailed me out and gave Denny a break, your welcome to use my bass anytime. Stu, Bill, Russ and anyone I forgot, I'm glad you enjoyed the Musicman. I think its great too. Took me a while to get it the way I wanted it.
A truly great show. Joe and Bill did great MC work and all the sound crew were on the ball.
SWSGA can be very proud of what they did at this years show.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 26 Jan 2009 6:08 pm

I'd like to express my thanks to the SWSGA for inviting me back to play again this year. It was an outstanding weekend, with amazing performances from so many great players.

We all missed Ben Brogdon, with his passing so suddenly just before the show. My special thanks to Bill Cunningham who was willing to jump in and handle the bass duties on my set with basically no preparation. And my tunes aren't the easiest to follow. You're a great sport, Bill, and you did a great job. I look forward to playing together with you more in the future.

Thanks too to Ray Harrison and Red Kilby for gracing my set with their vocal chops. Bet y'all didn't know these guys could sing standards like "Have You Met Miss Jones?" and "Fly Me to the Moon", eh? Hah!

Oh, I must mention the GREAT work done by John Hensch and his team of cameramen (his "Henschmen"). This was by far the best, most professional live show camera work I've ever witnessed at a steel show, with live, on-the-fly mixing and fading among 4 (or 5?) video cameras, all projected on a huge, really sharp screen. This added such a special dimension to everyone's enjoyment of the show. And to be handed a DVD of my own set first thing in the morning was way beyond the call of duty. Thank you John! (I'll post one of the tunes from my set on www.SteelGuitarJazz.com soon)

So, once again, my thanks to SWSGA and all the great volunteers who do all the hard work to make this such a special event.

Jimbeaux

Jerry Lee Newberry · Post by **Jerry Lee Newberry** » 26 Jan 2009 6:52 pm

Well, we left Phoenix Sunday morning about 6am. We got home Monday at 3am. It was a great show and it was good to see everyone again. The weather was great there. Not so good here. We are getting ice and they say it is really going to be bad.

Thanks to the band and all the staff that put the show together.

I would like to say thanks also to Mike Castleberry for letting Austin and Ray practice in his room.

Joe, you do a wonderful job with the MC part. You are a natural.

Roy, Jerry's new song wouldn't have been complete without your piano. He said he would never play it at a show if you were not there to do the piano. You did a GREAT job on it.

We want to thank the club for having us and hope to do it again next year.

Donna & Jerry

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 26 Jan 2009 9:17 pm

I second all the accolades, this show was the best ever, hard to believe that's possible.

John Hensch and crew, you guys do such a long, hard but amazing job with audio and video, thanks from the bottom of ALL our hearts.

In addition to praising the whole SWSGA staff, let's highlight and praise the female volunteers who manned the tables, made the quilt, and did so much work behind the scenes: you gals are amazing, and all done with big smiles through all the hard work and scant sleep.

Also big thanks to the great singers: Ray Harrison; Red Kilby; Dottie Jack; Austin Newberry's grandmother (I think that's right, apologies if not) Donna, and Austin's girl friend (you had great courage!). Sorry if I've left anyone out. I think steels sound best when they're supporting great vocalists doing great songs.

Steve Ross · Post by **Steve Ross** » 26 Jan 2009 9:18 pm

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone at the show. What a great time! I would like to extend a special thanks to everyone that was so gracious and encouraging to my son Talon. I think he came away invigorated and inspired and ready to keep his nose to the grind stone and continue learning. You're all a great inspiration to him and we look forward to seeing you all again soon but it won't be soon enough.

Dana Stewart · Post by **Dana Stewart** » 27 Jan 2009 12:57 am

Hello, just wanted to correct a couple names. Austin "Newberry" is really Austin Stewart.

Austin's "girlfriend" is not his girlfriend, but his "cousin". Although, I understand how you might think she was his girlfriend, as Dad had fun telling people all weekend that Austin brought his girlfriend. Before you AR joke people get going, yes, we heard the one about marrying cousins in AR.

Not happening here.

DeShae, Austin's cousin, my sister's girl, did a great job singing, as did Mom (Donna Newberry). DeShae is so shy, we can hardly ever get her to sing, even at home. She has power behind that voice, and I can't wait to hear her use it some day. She said she had a lot of fun and wants to go again next year.

Dana

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