The Rick Alexander Non Pedal Sessions - post weekend

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Mar 2010 2:49 pm

For those of ya'll who couldn't join us.....we have photos and (later on) videos of this fantastic event.....for those who were fortunate to attend....thank you for making it the best one so far....I'm positive that Rick is beaming......

We had such a great line up of talent.....and we also made plenty of new friends......we had so much fun......and that's what it's all about.....

Carco Clave (on 10 string Fender Delux) with Ike Johnson on vocals & rhythm guitar....

Scott on upfright & vocals

Chris Kennison with Gerald Ross

Steve Alcott (of Western Caravan) on bass

Captain Ivan Reddington on Frypan with Gerald Ross

Dick Meis and Carco Clave

Lois Meis - wonderful vocal, great bass player and a charming lady

more to follow......keep checking back......

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 14 Mar 2010 7:27 pm

Girl Howdy!!!!......the highlight of the weekend...

Mike Neer with Gerald Ross.....a rare pairing.....

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 14 Mar 2010 7:47 pm

What a great time! I am so glad I attended. It was fun to finally meet up with Howard (R and P), Jeff Strouse, and all the other forum members in the flesh. We have some seriously good players hanging out here. (Gerald Ross is a monster ukulele player, and just as good a steel player). Howard Kalish from Austin showed up and played fiddle in the after hours jam on Saturday night.

I'll post my photos tomorrow.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 15 Mar 2010 6:48 am

Thanks to Howard R and Jeff Strouse for organizing the show this weekend. Not an easy job. But they pulled it off seamlessly.

Also K J "Tuck" Tucker for all the behind the scenes help.

Chuck S. Lettes · Post by **Chuck S. Lettes** » 15 Mar 2010 7:00 am

What a great weekend! I loved the variety of sounds, and it is always a highlight for me to meet old friends and to make some new ones. Thanks to Jeff and Howard for their labor of love.
Chuck

Wally Pfeifer · Post by **Wally Pfeifer** » 15 Mar 2010 7:12 am

No fair sleeping on the job, Gerald. Get plenty of rest before Winchester and Joliet.
Wally

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 15 Mar 2010 7:19 am

Hey Brad.....it was great to meet you also.....and I too really enjoyed the jams....

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 15 Mar 2010 7:32 am

Margie Mays....The Queen Of Smooth

with Gerald & Steve

Dewitt "Scotty" Scott....

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 15 Mar 2010 7:36 am

Zowie...What a time!!! Let's do this again, eh??

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 15 Mar 2010 7:50 am

Let's do this again?.....I'm still here for another 7 hours......

Heeeeeere's Howard of Beard Guitars......

Billy Gilbert · Post by **Billy Gilbert** » 15 Mar 2010 7:51 am

It was fantastic. Rick would be proud of what Jeff and Howard made happen. Sorry I missed meeting Brad, but I did chat with several of the others.

Howard Parker · Post by **Howard Parker** » 15 Mar 2010 7:54 am

Love to Howard..but, gotta stretch my legs before hopping on an a shuttle back to DFW

Jeff Strouse · Post by **Jeff Strouse** » 15 Mar 2010 7:57 am

Geez all you guys got up early this morning. I'm still only functioning on back-up batteries right now...
What a wonderful weekend!
Howard and I send our sincere gratitude to everyone for their support. The biggest thank you going to Rick's wife, Cathe St. Jean, for allowing us to carry out Rick's plans for this spectacular weekend of music and celebration.

It was a reunion for some of us, and a brand new musical experience for many others. I saw many new smiling faces. In fact, everyone was smiling, so I know people had a great time. The spirit of enjoying and engaging in great music on the non-pedal steel was alive and well this past weekend. This is what Rick wanted to promote and share; and, I hope everyone will share their stories, thoughts, and experiences.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 15 Mar 2010 8:23 am

Nobody has mentioned Jeff Strouse's great MC work all weekend. Jeff has a natural gift for this.

He was funny, informative and kept things moving along smoothly.

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 15 Mar 2010 8:27 am

Jeff, Howard and Tuck ran this room well and did Rick proud. I'm amazed that it took three of them to do what Rick did by himself (only half joking here). I only wish I could have met Rick in person before he passed.

One of the highlights of the show for me was getting to see Reese Anderson playing his MSA non pedal steel. It was one of those experiences where you don't think of it as steel guitar playing, but just music coming from a great musician. To me it seemed like there was a direct connection between his mind and the speaker.

Of course, I also spent quite a bit of time annoying Howard Parker in the Beard guitar room. He had some great examples of their state of the art resophonic guitars. More on that later.

Josh Cho · Post by **Josh Cho** » 15 Mar 2010 9:06 am

Thanks for the pix, guys, really sorry I couldn't be there, looks like a fantastic time.

We had a ton of rain back here in NY, which made a mess of the roads all around the region.

Did it mess up any of the flights?

Hope to see you guys next year!

Aloha,

Josh

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 15 Mar 2010 10:41 am

Rose Sinclair with (didn't get his name) picking twin lead.....

Chuck lettes with Carco, Gerald & Steve....

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 15 Mar 2010 10:54 am

Rose Sinclair's red guitar playing friend's name is Lyon (didn't get the last name). Great young musician - also plays clarinet and harmonica equally as well.

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 15 Mar 2010 10:55 am

Carco Clave, Ike Johnson, Pete Mitchel....

Scott on bass

Bob? on rhythm.....

Pete Mitchel on his original Bigsby.....

Carco Clave.....

Roy Thomson · Post by **Roy Thomson** » 15 Mar 2010 11:37 am

Great Show HowardR !!!

Next best thing to being there.
Been nice to have one of you and
the latest Benoit

Roy

Tom Pettingill · Post by **Tom Pettingill** » 15 Mar 2010 5:42 pm

Looks like a fantastic time for all! Looking forward to the video!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 15 Mar 2010 7:57 pm

There was a lovely memorial for Rick after dinner on Saturday. It was moving to hear the words of folks whose hearts are still heavy with grief.

It is always so great to finally meet the people who you've known only to exist in the context of your computer monitor. That is what makes it especially worthwhile. All I can say is a big "thanks" to the Steel Guitar Forum for helping to make these connections possible.

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 15 Mar 2010 10:25 pm

Thanks Howard for bringing the conventions to us.

The pictures were great.

Another neat thing that Rick did was to video tape the sessions.

Did anyone do any video taping for us to see and hear?

Aloha,

Don

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 15 Mar 2010 10:31 pm

I recorded the entire session......and I'll post the vids....the editing takes some time....and I still have more photos to clean up & post.....so hang on folks.....we'll get it done.....

Ben Rubright · Post by **Ben Rubright** » 16 Mar 2010 6:38 am

Let me add my thanks to Jeff and Howard for all of their hard work.

The final set was awesome............Carco, Ike, Scott, and Pete. WOW! If they were still playing, I would still be there.

I think that this quartet should be back every year. There is no better way to start and to end. Thanks guys.

The Steel Guitar Forum

The Rick Alexander Non Pedal Sessions - post weekend

The Rick Alexander Non Pedal Sessions - post weekend

Non Pedal room

Good times...