For Steinar - "The Man And The Mountain"

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 17 Mar 2012 5:15 pm

A tune in remembrance of our wonderful Steinar.....by Kevin Brown.....

As I'm in the process of editing photos & videos of The 2012 Rick Alexander Non Pedal Sessions.....I came upon this impromptu version played by Kevin (as I was recording Kevin's D tuning instruction which hopefully he'll put out in the near future) after the show was over....it was Kevin, myself, & Jeff Strouse in somewhat of a melancholy state of mind at the show's end and the recent passing of Steinar.....

It will take awhile before I post the show....but I wanted to share this with ya'll now......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Zt3udCsBEc

Will Houston · Post by **Will Houston** » 17 Mar 2012 5:23 pm

Real nice.

Mitch Druckman · Post by **Mitch Druckman** » 18 Mar 2012 8:08 am

Thank you Howard for posting this beautiful song

Rob Anderlik · Post by **Rob Anderlik** » 18 Mar 2012 8:16 am

Beautiful! I'm so glad you posted this. What a nice tribute to a great guy and wonderful musician!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 18 Mar 2012 9:02 am

Kevin is so good.

Bill Leff · Post by **Bill Leff** » 18 Mar 2012 2:09 pm

Brought tears to my eyes.

Tom Pettingill · Post by **Tom Pettingill** » 18 Mar 2012 11:05 pm

Thanks Howard

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 19 Mar 2012 8:40 am

Very nice, Steinar is smiling from above.

Mike D · Post by **Mike D** » 19 Mar 2012 1:08 pm

Damn...that was good and very touching.

Stephan Miller · Post by **Stephan Miller** » 19 Mar 2012 3:56 pm

Thanks, Howard. And thank you, Kevin, for expressing what words can't say.

John Subik · Post by **John Subik** » 19 Mar 2012 5:18 pm

Outstanding and very moving.

I forwarded a link to this thread to his nephew Preben, hopefully the family will see it.

AJ Azure · Post by **AJ Azure** » 19 Mar 2012 8:43 pm

Nice.
I sent Mike Neer an e-mail earlier this week about a project to honor Steinar. I want to take some time for us all to process his loss and I will post about it in the near future.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 20 Mar 2012 1:36 am

Real nice

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 20 Mar 2012 5:40 am

Beautiful...touching.

Thanks for posting this Howard.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 20 Mar 2012 8:10 am

A fitting and touching tribute. Thanks for posting.

Peter Jacobs · Post by **Peter Jacobs** » 20 Mar 2012 8:17 am

Just wonderful. Thanks for posting this, Howard -- outstanding playing by Kevin, and a great tribute to an inspirational musician.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 20 Mar 2012 10:24 am

museum video link deleted

Jerry Gleason · Post by **Jerry Gleason** » 20 Mar 2012 9:30 pm

A very nice tribute. Thanks, Howard.

John Subik · Post by **John Subik** » 21 Mar 2012 8:31 am

I just received an email from Steinar's nephew Preben. He showed this thread & the tribute video to his family and told me that they were very moved by it.

Thanks, Howard and Kevin.

J. Wilson · Post by **J. Wilson** » 21 Mar 2012 7:28 pm

Beautifully written and performed! Gorgeous sounding guitar as well.

Michael Nemick · Post by **Michael Nemick** » 25 Mar 2012 6:36 am

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Steinar would have loved it. This song is the epitome of "Play to express, not to impress" which will be with me for eternity. Thank you .

Kevin Brown · Post by **Kevin Brown** » 26 Mar 2012 2:06 pm

I have wanted to post for a few days but its taken a while to gather my thoughts. Firstly many thanks for all your uplifting words, no matter what rung of the ladder we are on, its encouragement that keeps us all going. ( a good Steinar’ism ) Just a few notes about the tune. It was finished the week of the Dallas show and began nearly 20 years ago. It was originally written for slide guitar and recently re-worked for the weissenborn. I began to realise its potential as a tribute to Steinar and mentioned it to him in an email shortly before he died and he gave the idea his blessing. The only other instrumental I have dedicated to anyone is ‘Jessica’s Kingdom’ and that was to my daughter.

Airing the piece at the Dallas show seemed fitting as much of the ethos of the event was shared by both Rick Alexander and Steinar, It was the likes of them that helped make our lap steel community so very special. I have had some personal experiences within our group that would never have happened in the ‘ordinary’ guitar world…. too many egos’. That this humble log of wood can draw so many people from all walks of life together from all corners of the earth says a lot for human nature, both Rick and Steinar had the handle on that.
The hours that the likes of people like Mike Neer and others spend annotating and tabbing, the tedium that bOb and Brad must endure to make it all work, the sheer effort that Mark Roeder put in to provide backdrop and backline, the single task of hauling that across country alone speaks volumes. Players like Ray Montee, Carco Clave and so many others self funding the ‘pilgrimage’ just to make it to the show and help contribute. How about Howard manning the camera non stop for two days, or Jeff hosting and mc’ing the entire event single handedly!! Why do we do this, why do we march boldly out of our comfort zone, endure stress, sleepless nights and travel fatigue We do it because we care about each other, and we are dedicated to the beauty and joy that this humble log of wood seems to bring to the world.

Here’s an example of ego free-ness , I buy the Lap Steel book by Andy Volk ( again a labour of love) I see Billy Robinson in there, I stare in awe, and I never and I mean NEVER dreamt that I would one day, share his home, his music and his paintings. I mean that’s like Eric Clapton plucking me out of the audience and inviting me home to do some picking! Or how about meeting Ruth White, widow of my all time hero Howard White, it was Howard’s recordings that inspired me to take up lap steel. To be invited to spend time with his widow many years later was a classic ‘lap steel community’ moment.
Take my trip to Norway where I met and performed with Steinar, It was our mutual love of the instrument that brought us together. It was like a micro Dallas, people coming together sharing their love of the instrument.
Its the people that make our non-pedal world special and Steinar was no exception, he stood for everything that the organisers of the Dallas show represent, it is egoless, dedicated and caring.

The success of next years event is vital, those of you who have been thinking about coming should make next year the one. We can double the attendance and have an even richer experience. Yes you’ll have to bite the bullet but you will bring something away from the weekend that money cannot buy and what’s more it will last you a lifetime, I know, I speak from experience!

As a mark of respect for the hard work so many people put in why not make a special effort for next year, It’s the very least we can do to show our thanks to Rick and Steinar for their marvellous contribution to our community. It would provide a very positive outcome for our sad loss.

Here’s the man himself with me the day after our concert together in his home town of Arendal Norway. It has been suggested by his nephew Preben Kobro that the tune be called ‘The Man and the Mountain lets call it that from now on

Bob Blair · Post by **Bob Blair** » 26 Mar 2012 2:48 pm

Well said Kevin, and a wonderful tribute to an inspiring man. A giant in more ways than one, as the picture of the two of you together shows. See you next year.

Michael Nemick · Post by **Michael Nemick** » 26 Mar 2012 4:24 pm

Bob Blair wrote:Well said Kevin, and a wonderful tribute to an inspiring man. A giant in more ways than one, as the picture of the two of you together shows. See you next year.

Ditto. I couldn't agree more Bob.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 26 Mar 2012 5:45 pm

Kevin, what you said was very touching, only because it is so true. I treasure the bonds I've made with everyone here. I remember feeling like I was in No-Man's Land for the longest time and it was a lonely feeling.

It's hard to learn how to play this instrument on your own, no matter how great a musician you might be. Hopefully, the number of people who will pick up the instrument will continue to grow, and when it does, we'll be here.