Non Pedal Steel on Letterman

[Mitch Crane]

I enjoyed the tune a lot ! Nice vocal sound, neatly arranged and performed nicely. If I were playing lap steel on that tune, I can't imagine doing much more than that young man did. Complemented the vocals, played the signature lines... well done I say !

[David Robey]

For me this thread is so coincidental. First I enjoyed the video. So nice to see young groups playing this style of music rather than what I call "Screamer" music.

Recently I bought my 19 year old a Deluxe 6. It's going to be a Christmas present. After reading this thread I asked him if he had ever heard of Fleet Foxes. Turns out he went to see them with some friends last week and really enjoyed the show. I almost asked him about the steel guitar parts but didn't want to give anything away. It was all I could do to hold myself back from giving it to him right there.

I agree with others here that feel the steel part was just what the song needed. Unfortunately it has been my experience that television music productions always miss something in the production. While the part was barely audible it would be interesting to hear it over again without the steel. Sometimes we don't realize what's there until it's gone.

I think it has been the nature of a steel guitar to always be prominent in a song because it does put forth a tone that cuts through everything else. It was nice to see it in a different role.

[Brian Hunter]

For the record, the steel playing didn't bother me. I didn't care for the song.

[Twayn Williams]

I enjoyed the tune a lot ! Nice vocal sound, neatly arranged and performed nicely. If I were playing lap steel on that tune, I can't imagine doing much more than that young man did. Complemented the vocals, played the signature lines... well done I say !

+1

[Bill Creller]

At least he didn't screw it up. which is good for a new guy, and he has to start somewhere...

As usual, as mentioned, some folks want to know what instrument that is So it's not like 1930, when "Hawaiian Guitars" were popular all over the country, and much of the would it seems...
Some may be a bit jealous of his chance to do a bit on stage, even if it isn't much..

[HowardR]

Lap steel guitar artists like JERRY BYRD could've have done so much more to educate the public as to the beauty of the instrument.[/u][/b]

I would be curious to see/hear what Jerry Byrd would have played if he were playing steel in this tune......just as I would to hear what Curly Caulker would have played on "Teach Your Children".....

Come to think of it.....I'd also like to hear what Django Reinhardt would have played on "Norwegian Wood".......

[Ian McLatchie]

Or John Lennon on "Djangology?"

[Les Anderson]

I was at a wedding this past Saturday night where a soft rock band was playing and they had an eight string Fender on stage. The very young guy was playing it without finger picks and had it tuned to open E. All he was doing was single string picking per the root chord of each song. ( he bought the Stringmaster for $250.00 at a pawn shop)

During one of their breaks I got up on the stage with him and re-tuned it to C6; then, showed him how to do a few two string chords and the kid loved it. I tuned it back to open E when they got back to work; however, the kid had the courage to bring the thing up on stage and try it out. I think we may have a this young guy hooked on a steel guitar.

[Steve Ahola]

Going back 30 or 40 years ago I would have thought that lap steel was on its last legs. You had pedal steel, you had dobro and that was about it. In rock and blues there was David Lindley and Freddie Roulette, and that was about it. These days it looks like lap steel is becoming more popular every year.

Steve

P.S. With all of the long time players on this forum I can see that there was a whole world of non-pedal steel that I was not aware of living in the SF Bay Area and mainly listening to rock and blues.

[Jack Aldrich]

IMHO, it started when David Lindley, who's played lap steel for a long time (in his only ideosyncratic way) started backing up Ben Harpeer, and got him interested in playing a Weisenborn, then lap steel. My youngest daughter is active in the alt rock scene here in Seattle, and she has often told me about young bands with steel players. These kids are also nuts about classic country. Lap steel is becoming an "in" instrument! Take heart, fogies! - Jack

[Steve Ahola]

IMHO, it started when David Lindley, who's played lap steel for a long time (in his only ideosyncratic way) started backing up Ben Harper, and got him interested in playing a Weissenborn, then lap steel.

Mr. Dave has always had a very faithful following but it is his own niche about as far away from popular music as you can get. I think that some rock bands have been using lap steels all along in the studio to sweeten tracks (starting with the first Led Zepellin album).

But you are right about Ben Harper- he revived my interest in lap steel and then when I got turned on to Sacred Steel 10 years ago (almost to the day) all hell broke loose. The local adult rock station played "Joyful Noise" for their daily "5:00 o'clock Blues" in October 2001 and I had to track that album down. I got a Chandler RH-2 (since I really didn't want to take my EH-100 out of the closet) and proceeded to get nowhere fast in open E tuning, basically doing just bottleneck stuff which isn't what I really wanted to play.

And then I ran across the Steel Guitar Forum... damn, there are so many people to learn so much from here. And the links to so many good YouTube videos. Heck if I had resources like that 30 years ago I'd have gotten a lot further trying to learn lap steel and pedal steel. So consider this a thank you note, SGF.

Steve