The Non Pedal Session

[Rick Alexander]

I just got back home from Dallas last night.
We had a great time there in the Non Pedal Room - we had some wonderful players and singers perform at the show, all day and night Friday and Saturday.
Herb Remington, Reece Anderson, Teresa Anderson, Scotty, Carco Clave & Renae' Truex, Scott Icenogle, Ray Montee, Chuck Lettes, Jim Stahlhut, Gerald Ross, Steve Alcott, Wade Pence, Ivan Reddington, Kevin Brown, Rose Sinclair, Margie Mays, George Piburn, Jeff Strouse, Walter Lyons, Rick Alexander - to name a few.
There are about 300 videos from the show, and they'll be processed and uploaded to my YouTube channel over the next few weeks. The first ones will be appearing in the next day or two.
http://youtube.com/rickalexander47
Some will also be at http://get.mystagemusic.com/RickAlexander - in fact there's one there already!
Here is the group photo of the participants - not everyone made the shoot, but many did:



l2r - Ivan Reddington, Rick Alexander, Herb Remington, Scotty, Margie Mays, George Piburn, Walter Lyons, Kevin Brown, Steve Alcott, Chuck Lettes, Jim Stahlhut, Gerald Ross, Wade Pence

It was a long drive back and I'm still recuperating, but I'll add more photos and stories in the next few daze.
I'll upload a couple of videos to YouTube tonight and more tomorrow.
http://youtube.com/rickalexander47

I'm sure some of the other guys will jump in with comments and pics too.
Speaking of pics, here are a few for now:

Diners

Gerald Ross, Jeff Strouse, Ken Huber, Rick Alexander, Chuck Lettes, HowardR, Kevin Brown



Walter Lyons, Herb Remington, Steve Alcott, Rick Alexander



Rick Alexander, Renae Truex, Carco Clave



Rick Alexander, Ivan Reddington, George Piburn, Gerald Ross




Walter Lyons, Reece Anderson, Steve Alcott, Gerald Ross



Kevin Brown



Dick Meis



Gerald Ross

[John Lang]

Rick, this event gets better every year, and is one of the biggest reasons I make sure to attend the TSGA Jamboree.

All the hard work you and many others put into organizing this is very much appreciated by all of us non-pedal fans.

A big thanks to you, all the support folks, and especially all the phenomenal players for making this happen.

[Mike Neer]

I look forward to making it one of these years, hopefully 2010.

[norm mcdaniel]

I enjoyed the non pedal session on saturday. I was short on time but I saw your set and wondering what 6 string steel you were using. What a great sound and touch that you have. Also what tuning did you have? Thanks in advance

Norm McDaniel
Waco Texas

[Gerald Ross]

Hi Norm,

Thanks for the ego strokes.

I was using my 1954 Fender Champion six string in C6 tuning (CEGACE lo -> hi - gauges .36 .30 .26 .24 .18(p) .16(p)

This guitar has a new Jason Lollar direct replacement pickup. Jason winds these to bring out a bit more midrange than the traditional Champion pickup (which is a bit more twangy).

Thanks for listening!

[HowardR]

It seemed that there was never a dull moment or a moment without some kind of music.....the entire weekend.....always people coming in & out.....and surprises galore.....like the gal who yodeled like she was in the Swiss Alps....very cool......

I'll also start a thread and post the candid vids....or bloopers as they're known........

[Chuck S. Lettes]

Thank you, Rick, for putting together a wonderful weekend of non-pedal steel guitar music. I loved the variety of sounds and performers. You really put together a great show, and I am proud to be a part of it. I hope that you and Jeff recover quickly from the long hours on the road, and I look forward to the next show.
Chuck

[Kevin Brown]

Hi all, I'v moved on down to Austin now, getting ready for Dale Watson tonight at the Broken Spoke, well what an amazing weekend that was, great venue, fantastic hats and some of the worlds best pickers in that little old Chagall room, thanks to Rick and jeff doing a great job on hospitality, Herb, Reece and Margie were worth the trip alone, a wonderfull weekend.

[HowardR]

Order the chicken fried steak at The Broken Spoke....it's to.....die for.....

don't forget to visit the trough in the men's room......and if you're the guy all the way to the right....you're in control of the plumbing....

[Harry Dietrich]

Is that milk that Jeff Strouse is drinking?? Or maybe a White Russian?

[Bill Leff]

Loving the Hendrix t-shirt Chuck!

[Gerald Ross]

That's not Hendrix. Everyone thought that last weekend.

It's Sol Hoopii during his "acid years".

[Steve Cunningham]

Great pics - look forward to watching some vids. Thanks Rick.

[Josh Cho]

WOW ..so sorry I wasn't able to attend this year, looking forward to seeing more of the vids and pix...

This event will be on my list for 2010.

Mike, you wanna car-pool

[Drew Howard]

Sorry I missed!!!

[Rick Alexander]

Okay, there are a few vids on both those sites now - many more to come!
Keep checking both http://youtube.com/rickalexander47
and http://get.mystagemusic.com/RickAlexander
My connection has been cutting in and out today, and has terminated a number of uploads.
But I'm getting a few through, and an actual human repair person is coming tomorrow morning to fix the problem. This only happens when it's windy and rainy, so I know it's something up on the pole. I had the same thing happen a couple of years ago, and that's what it was. It took some doing to convince the robots that's what it was, but they finally consented to send a repair guy out.

Here are a few videos that did make it:


MALAGUENA Reece Anderson

SETTIN THE WOODS ON FIRE RA with Carco Clave

MY WINDOW FACES THE SOUTH RA with Carco Clave

YOUR CHEATING HEART Red Kilby

CHEROKEE BOOGIE RA with Carco Clave

PAGAN LOVE SONG Margie Mays

We had a power outage in Dallas - during Ray Montee's set.
At first we thought his Volutone amp had popped a breaker, but it was some weather phenomenon that had taken out the entire area.
The hotel was in darkness for 1 1/2 hours, but we just kept going. Ivan Reddington and Gerald Ross played a 1 hour acoustic set with a flashlight for stage lighting, and the audience stayed with us - 50 people sitting in the dark listening to some great acoustic picking.
I have that on video as well -you can't see much, but you can hear it just fine.
I'll be posting those videos too.

I'd like to list the highlights of the Non Pedal Session, but the fact is - everyone that played was excellent.
So to list some and not others as the highlights would be misleading . .

[Gerald Ross]

Hey Rick,

I think you are a victim of cut and paste. I just watched the Margie Mays Pagan Love Song vid. You have the sidemen listed incorrectly.

[Rick Alexander]

Thanks Gerald - I fixed it!
That was you playing bass, and doing a darn fine job of it too.
I'm glad somebody's on the ball . .

Man, everything is slow today. It seems like it's taking forever for the videos to process on YouTube once they're uploaded.
Or maybe I'm just caught in one of those dang space-time continuums you hear so much about.
I definitely have a severe case of "van lag" . .

Here's B BOWMAN HOP by Herb Remington.


I love this photo . .

Scott Icenogle, RA, Renae' Truex, Carco Clave
This was my band on the main stage too, and they did such a great job . .

[Rick Alexander]

SPEEDING WEST - Chuck Lettes
WALTZ ACROSS TEXAS - Scotty
ROLY POLY - Reece Anderson
IN THE MOOD (in the dark when the power went out) - Ivan Reddington & Gerald Ross
HE TAUGHT ME TO YODEL - Shirley Alberts (Howard, this one's for you!)
REDSKIN RAG - Ray Montee
YOU RAISE ME UP - Teresa & Reece Anderson
TOMORROW NEVER COMES - Ike Johnson
SLEEPWALK - Carco Clave & Renae' Truex
PLAYBOY CHIMES - Herb Remington
TAKE THESE CHAINS FROM MY HEART - Rick Alexander with Carco Clave & Renae' Truex
CHEROKEE BOOGIE - Rick Alexander
YELLOW BIRD - Herb Remington
MEMORIES - Ray Montee

[Rick Alexander]

Here are some great photos taken by our staff photographer Ken Huber:


This group shot is from another angle, so Herb Remington and Ray Montee are visible.
But Jim Stahlhut isn't - so it's a good thing this pic was taken by multiple cameras . .



Ivan Reddington & Ray Montee



Wade Pence



Reece Anderson


Chuck Lettes with Jim Stahlhut



Jeff Strouse with Gerald, Ivan and Yours Truly



Captain Ivan Reddington



Herb Remington



Renae' Truex and Herb Remington
"Beauty and The Best"



Ike Johnson, Carco, Renae', RA



Scotty



Walter Lyons, Herbie, Steve, RA

[Tom Pettingill]

Looks like a ton of fun and thanks for the videos, great stuff

[Doug Beaumier]

Rick, thanks for posting the pictures and the youtube clips. Much appreciated!

[Billy Gilbert]

Great show Rick, I was there for most of it. Billy

[Bill Hampton]

What a fantastic bunch of musicians in those videos!!
I don't know whether to be inspired by what is possible -- or discouraged because I don't have enough years left in my life to get to that level of proficiency.

Anyway, thanks for posting Rick!!

[Rick Alexander]

I'm glad you're enjoying it guys - it was a labor of love for everyone involved.

Billy, you sure were buddy - and we were glad to have you.
You're one of the faithful . .

Bill, please choose inspiration over discouragement.
The most important thing to remember is that it's FUN - at every skill level.
It has enormous potential to bring joy into your life and the lives of those around you.
If we compare ourselves to others there will always be some better and some not so better.
This could cause us to feel superior and inferior at the same time, which might lead to confusion.
Better to just have fun with it and enjoy the musical camaraderie.
You're welcome to come and join us next year!

Here are a few more videos:

SMOKE SMOKE SMOKE - Scott Icenogle

STEELIN' HOME - Rose Sinclair

I LOVE YOU BECAUSE - Herb Remington

HAWAIIAN HONEYMOON - Wade Pence

ARKANSAS TRAVELER - Dick Meis

LONESOME 77203 - Junior Pruneda

I ONLY WANT TO BE WITH YOU - Chuck Lettes

BELGRAVE BOUNCE - Kevin Brown

PLAYBOY RAG - Reece Anderson

YELLOW BIRD - Herb Remington

BORN TO LOSE - Herb Remington

ROLY POLY - Rick Alexander

HERB REMINGTON TALKS ABOUT NON PEDAL STEEL GUITAR

THERE SHE GOES - Scott Icenogle

THIS LAND AIN'T YOUR LAND - Ike & Scott

CHEROKEE BOOGIE - Rick Alexander

A MAIDEN'S PRAYER - Reece Anderson

BEYOND THE REEF - Margie Mays

MOONDANCE - Chuck Lettes

I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY - Rick Alexander



There are more than that, and more to come.
We're talking over 200 videos from 2 daze and nights of great music.
All will eventually be at either http://youtube.com/rickalexander47
or
http://get.mystagemusic.com/RickAlexander

Incidentally, a few guys expressed concern about about my connectivity problem.
Yesterday they sent a guy who just looked at modems and stuff but didn't climb poles or anything like that. But he listened to my sad tale and got on the company's case - and today they sent a smart guy who spoke English and had a truck with a ladder.
Not only that, he's a Bass player and a cool guy. The problem was intermittent and only happened when it rained (which it's not doing today). He understood that, and climbed the pole and changed out the pairs and other potentially problematical components.
Then he gave me his card and said to call him personally if there were any more problems.
He said that climbing poles in the rain is just part of his job.
Then I played some of these videos for him.
He loved them, and wished he could have hung around all day.
He has a friend who makes documentaries for TV and needs music for them and he's going to hook us up.
Now that's what I call a repairman!