Lap Steel on Dave Letterman

Paul Kemper · Post by **Paul Kemper** » 7 May 2009 7:37 am

Anybody see Letterman's show last night? What in the he@# was that? It looked like a lap steel but to my ears sounded AWFUL! Oh well, I guess everyone has a right to their kind of music.

Paul

Blake Hawkins · Post by **Blake Hawkins** » 7 May 2009 9:22 am

Hi Paul, Guess you've never seen Ben Harper before.
I think that was one of his custom made steels.

You might as well get used to that type of playing.
The last three network shows I've seen that had steel guitar, featured that style of playing.

Check out Robert Randolph...plenty of info on him
on this forum. He was described as the top pedal
steel player in the country. (Or words to that effect.) He was on Leno a few days ago.

Blake

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 7 May 2009 10:07 am

Variety is a good thing.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 7 May 2009 1:30 pm

That was Ben Harper and Relentless7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zO45-OgPuzI

Chris Scruggs · Post by **Chris Scruggs** » 8 May 2009 8:24 pm

Even if it's not the sound you like to here from your amplifier, it's the sound he likes and he achieved it very well.

"Awful" to me implies that the musicianship was lacking. He does what he does and he does it well. "Not my cup of tea" might be a more tolerant expression.

Jimi Hendrix didn't play the guitar like Eldon Shamblin or Charlie Christian, but that didn't make him an "awful" guitarist. Nowadays I'm much more likely to listen to Eldon or Charlie than Jimi, but without Hendrix being one of my early guitar heroes at 12 years old, I might never had gone down the path that led me to the music of Bob Wills or Benny Goodman. Ben Harper's playing is just different. I personally prefer Jerry Byrd, but some kid might now go buy a six string lap steel because of Ben Harper and discover Byrd three or four years from now, the way I discovered Eldon Shamblin years after taking up the guitar.

Without different styles of playing STEEL GUITAR WILL DIE. Fortunately there will always be many styles and steel guitar will continue to live and breathe as a valid musical instrument in our diverse cultural landscape.

Thank goodness there are people on network TV playing steel guitar without a row of pedals hanging from it!!!

As Danny and the Juniors said so prophetically in 1959, "Rock and Roll is here to stay",

Chris Scruggs

Rick Alexander · Post by **Rick Alexander** » 9 May 2009 1:52 am

That was a great plug for LAP STEEL GUITAR.
Ben said it and Dave repeated it.
There could be 10,000 kids out there who now know what a lap steel is from that one performance.
There are no rules, no limits - only limitless possibilities.

These days I'd rather listen to Jerry Byrd or Herb Remington too, but 40 years ago when I was in my 20s I would have preferred this.
Music is a journey, not a destination.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 9 May 2009 2:49 am

That was Ben on his Asher Ben Harper Model II. Not my favorite type of playing to listen to all the time but he does it very well and the drummer was really good. It's all music and it's all good.

Mark White · Post by **Mark White** » 9 May 2009 2:50 am

Well said Rick.

Tom Pettingill · Post by **Tom Pettingill** » 9 May 2009 6:40 am

I too enjoy all kinds of music, old, new, clean, overdriven, and everything in between.

Ben and his new group are getting a fair amount of air play and thats a good thing for the no pedal world.

Tom Wolverton · Post by **Tom Wolverton** » 9 May 2009 6:51 am

Well said, everybody...and kind. I went to a Ben Harper concert once. It's the only concert I walked out on. Not my bag, I guess. From the video, it looks like he doesn't use picks...or is that a flat pick he is holding? can't tell. Nice screaming solo.

Bill Leff · Post by **Bill Leff** » 9 May 2009 9:27 am

Yeah sure, it was noisy but it had a lot of emotion and a great feel.

Ben's got a lot of soul and is a very good singer as well (check him out in the excellent "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" movie, the story of the musicians behind all the Motown hits of the 60s).

He did a wonderful album with the Blind Boys of Alabama that won a Grammy a few years ago.

Jon den Boer · Post by **Jon den Boer** » 10 May 2009 8:41 pm

I am a perfect example of what is described here. It was Ben Harper who piqued my interest in this wonderful and expressive instrument, and I do happen to really like this. It eventually led me here to this forum, where so many of you with so much knowledge and talent turned me on to the giants of lap steel... it really is important I think to have popular and sometimes mainstream musicians to give it a spotlight.

Bill Asher · Post by **Bill Asher** » 19 May 2009 8:50 pm

Paul Kemper wrote:Anybody see Letterman's show last night? What in the he@# was that? It looked like a lap steel but to my ears sounded AWFUL! Oh well, I guess everyone has a right to their kind of music.

Hey Paul, I think you would be surprised how diverse Ben Harper can be on lap steel. He can go heavy rock which you may not dig but his feel and phasing can be magical. Check out this link of him on You Tube playing his song Paris Sunrise #7 on Weissenborn. I think you will like this much more. Let me know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSSH1kb4mEU
If the link doesn't work just go to YouTube and search Ben Harper Paris Sunrise #7

Grant Cuthbert · Post by **Grant Cuthbert** » 20 May 2009 4:17 am

in my experience, people either 'get' ben harper, or they don't, you need to dig into his music for a while and then it just clicks!

Grant Cuthbert · Post by **Grant Cuthbert** » 20 May 2009 4:20 am

Paul, I have to ask - you didn't realize that the maker of that lap steel posts here regularly did you?

Bill Asher · Post by **Bill Asher** » 20 May 2009 7:17 am

Grant Cuthbert wrote:Paul, I have to ask - you didn't realize that the maker of that lap steel posts here regularly did you?

Thanks Grant, but I am not offended by Paul's comment and I am open to critique.
In this case it is just good to note that my instruments are not "one trick pony's"
People should check out this video on YouTube of Cindy Cashdollar playing her Asher lap steel in a more traditional style.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oTAhMuqL9s
Its all good.

Mark Mansueto · Post by **Mark Mansueto** » 20 May 2009 8:15 am

I love Ben Harper, maybe not everything he's done but when he's rockin' on his lap steel i'm totally entranced.

This vid is an excellent example of Ben playing his Asher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZNGAR7U7hY

Makes me want an Asher really bad. What awesome tone he gets in this vid. I know that distorted lap steel offends some of you guys but to me this is pure genious.

Grant Cuthbert · Post by **Grant Cuthbert** » 20 May 2009 10:46 pm

Mark Mansueto wrote:I love Ben Harper, maybe not everything he's done but when he's rockin' on his lap steel i'm totally entranced.

This vid is an excellent example of Ben playing his Asher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZNGAR7U7hY

Makes me want an Asher really bad. What awesome tone he gets in this vid. I know that distorted lap steel offends some of you guys but to me this is pure genious.

funny you post that, i was just thinking on my way home from work today "i really like that video of ben harper playing voodoo chile"

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