Rusty Young Pictures added below

James Mudge · Post by **James Mudge** » 11 Jan 2012 10:44 pm

Poco is playing Sunday night in New Hampshire at the Tupelo Music Hall. Can't wait to see/hear Rusty Young playing.

Cartwright Thompson · Post by **Cartwright Thompson** » 12 Jan 2012 9:53 am

Is he playing with them? They're playing in Portland as an acoustic trio.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 12 Jan 2012 10:15 am

If you're lucky, he'll play steel.

Storm Rosson · Post by **Storm Rosson** » 12 Jan 2012 11:05 am

$:\$ Yeah like Jim said ,Rusty does mostly singing and guitar and VERY little psg (much to my {our})chagrin, but since Paul quit maybe they'll change again.....I hope....Stormy

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 12 Jan 2012 12:56 pm

..acoustic trio..!!!what's that about...!! they shouldn't be able to use the name 'poco'..(even a little)..

maybe 'a little part of poco'...

'un poco de poco'

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 12 Jan 2012 12:58 pm

I feel a class-action suit coming on...

James Mudge · Post by **James Mudge** » 12 Jan 2012 1:48 pm

I'll keep you posted on how the show is and if he plays any pedal steel. Sure hope he does, it would be a disappointment if he doesn't. It wouldn't seem like
Poco with out that signature sound of the steel.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 12 Jan 2012 1:55 pm

James Mudge wrote: It wouldn't seem like Poco with out that signature sound of the steel.

My understanding is that, in recent years, Rusty has only played steel on about 2 songs per night because he now has to front the band, sing, play guitar, emcee, etc. So for quite a few years already, they have re-envisioned the sound of Poco without the 'signature' sound of steel.

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 12 Jan 2012 3:03 pm

Storm Rosson wrote: $:\$ Yeah like Jim said ,Rusty does mostly singing and guitar and VERY little psg (much to my {our})chagrin, but since Paul quit maybe they'll change again.....I hope....Stormy

Jim's explanations seem to be the general consensus regarding the modern iteration of Poco. If anything, it would appear with Paul Cotton quitting a couple years ago that it would force Rusty into even more of a "front man" position, unless Paul were replaced with another strong lead singer. Furay and Messina have made occasional appearances over the years, but I wouldn't expect either of them to ever again to do more than make "cameo appearances."

Two ways to look at this: the glass half full version - it's a credit to Rusty that he's managed to keep some sort of version of Poco togther this long. The glass half empty version is that it's time to throw in the towel and hang 'em up.

It's been quite a few years since I last saw the band, and that was during one of Richie's periods of brief return, and they sounded pretty good, but it wasn't the same energy as back in the early years.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 12 Jan 2012 4:34 pm

It's definitely a credit to Rusty that he has held it together for so long. But anyway bye-bye.

Brian Herder · Post by **Brian Herder** » 15 Jan 2012 12:44 pm

I saw them a few years ago before Paul Cotton quit. Rusty played some steel and sounded great when he did. Two points in the show were really frustrating though- on A Good Feelin' to Know he played a (imho) redundant guitar part and Paul played Bad Weather with just Rusty on mandolin. Two of may favorite Poco steel tunes.. anyway that aside, the show was really, really great. I wouldn't hesitate to see them in any form. Rusty is very entertaining as front man and it amazes me that even though he was never one of the "Poco" voices, he sounds just like Poco when he sings. As for steel, if you search Rusty Young steel guitar on youtube, there are quite a few videos. I don't think he has forsaken the steel guitar, it's just that he can only do so much at one time.

James Mudge · Post by **James Mudge** » 15 Jan 2012 7:52 pm

I completely enjoyed Poco's performance tonight. It was a fine show from beginning to end. Rusty Young is now the front man and he does a fantastic job. He plays guitar, mandolin, Dobro & PSG. Tonight he played the Pedal Steel on two songs and the dobro on a couple others including Grand Junction. If you go expecting to see Rusty playing only PSG you will be disappointed, but if you are open minded you will realize that he is an extremely talented musician that plays many instruments at a masters level. The band was a trio that switched instruments throughout the show depending on the arrangement: piano, accordion, mandolin, Pedal steel, harmonica and so on.

He told me that his PSG wouldn't stay in tune due to some airline handling problem. They are going back to Nashville, TN tomorrow, where it will be repaired. Well, it may have been damaged but it still sounded good to me especially on Kind Woman

James Mudge · Post by **James Mudge** » 16 Jan 2012 7:39 am

Pictures from last nights show have been added to the previous post.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 16 Jan 2012 7:40 am

Interesting that he has removed the Carter logo from his steel...

James Mudge · Post by **James Mudge** » 16 Jan 2012 7:53 am

That PSG looked like it had some hard miles on it. It is his road guitar, and he thought that it had gotten banged around as checked baggage on a recent flight. He said it was going in for repair today after he gets to Nashville. One of the tuners was damaged.

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 16 Jan 2012 7:54 am

He is not the first pro to go stealth with a Carter

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 16 Jan 2012 7:58 am

RR relabeled his Carter as a Fessy?

Bo Borland · Post by **Bo Borland** » 16 Jan 2012 8:00 am

if not Rob himself, then his old tech did it..

chris ivey · Post by **chris ivey** » 16 Jan 2012 11:39 am

i opened up for poco a dozen years back with rusty fronting the band. he's very talented and a nice friendly guy. i did miss the steel on bad weather though he played steel on a few others. nothing compares to the original spark of the 'pickin up the pieces' era.

his steel had old corroded 'rusty' strings, as he evidently takes the same approach as i do about unnecessarily changing strings that still vibrate.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 16 Jan 2012 11:41 am

At two songs per night, they oughta last awhile...

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 16 Jan 2012 12:18 pm

Good to hear that the show was enjoyable! Not that I doubted that Rusty wouldn't do a good job as a "multi-tasker," but those of us here of a certain age that have seen the original version of a band typically hold that up as the expectation - unfair in a way, but maybe it's just human nature.

Thanks for the photos.

A fairly recent experience for me sort of along the same lines was at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in San Francisco last October. The current version of the bluegrass band Seldom Scene played on Friday and the only original member in the group was the banjo player, Ben Eldridge. I didn't doubt that these guys would be a least very good, regardless of personnel - but the old Seldom Scene was legendary among bluegrassers. I'm happy to report that the modern version was incredible, one of the best 'grass sets I have ever witnessed.

And dobro geek that I am, I was wondering if Fred Travers could hold a candle to Mike Auldridge, who is practically a god to me.

Fred was fantastic.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 16 Jan 2012 12:27 pm

"Pickin' Up The Pieces" is the "Sgt. Peppers" of country- rock for me.

Mike Daly · Post by **Mike Daly** » 18 Jan 2012 7:38 am

Or maybe "Sgt. Peppers" is the "Pickin up the Pieces" of rock...

J R Rose · Post by **J R Rose** » 18 Jan 2012 8:20 pm

By the way guys, for your info Chris Ivey from Sacramento, Ca. here on the forum is one super picker. I got to see and hear him many years ago there at a local cowboy dance club, can't remember the name but was an outstanding nite. J.R.
P.S. I think it was The Yellow Rose

Lynn Kasdorf · Post by **Lynn Kasdorf** » 4 Aug 2012 9:26 pm

I saw Poco at the Hamilton in DC last night. Great show, but as has been noted, very little steel. In fact, only on Kind Woman, which was the encore. Talking to Rusty before the show, he told me this and said that if I wanna hear some steel, we better clap loud!

Considering that Rusty is such an fine and important steel player, it was weird to see PSG treated in the way that a guitar player who dabbles with steel would treat it. I mean, the steel was not even plugged in until the encore. He had a crappy Ernie Ball volume pedal and played through the house black face reissue Twin Reverb, which was way too dirty sounding.

Kind Woman started on piano, and as the intro was playing he walked over, grabbed the steel, asked the sound guy for a chair, set it up, plugged it in, and tweaked the amp a bit (silently- the song was already going).

When he started to play, he kept looking at the amp in dismay. Talking to him later, he was annoyed that it sounded so bad- he said it was ok during sound check.

I've played the same room, and attempted to use that twin, and it was too dirty for me.

Still, you could hear Rusty's touch on the steel.

Rusty said that they do "guerilla rock band"- in that they carry whatever instruments they can manage to check as luggage or carry on without too many extra fees. So- they are dependent on house amps and whatever else they need.

One interesting thing was that he played dobro with a flat pick on most of the tunes. On one song, he started on flat pick, then decided to put on finger picks, mid song. He likes the bluesey sound of playing with a flat pick.

It made me wanna run up there and play guitar so Rusty could play steel! Jeez- seems a crime to play "Good Feeling to Know" without that haunting steel line on "Colorado mountains..."

The Steel Guitar Forum

Rusty Young Pictures added below

Rusty Young Pictures added below

Rusty Young - with pictures

Rusty Young pictures added