Thelonious Monk's "Bye-Ya"

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 27 Sep 2015 11:50 am

Monk-y Tonk!

This is another for my upcoming recording of all Monk tunes for steel guitar. This one is a lot of fun, IMO. Again, this is my cast aluminum Clinesmith, which I am LOVING!

https://soundcloud.com/ionahoopii/bye-ya-demo-mike-neer

Nate Hofer · Post by **Nate Hofer** » 27 Sep 2015 12:32 pm

I always look forward to these posts. Sounds great. Mike, what are you using as the "back up band"?

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 27 Sep 2015 12:35 pm

Nate Hofer wrote:I always look forward to these posts. Sounds great. Mike, what are you using as the "back up band"?

Me on bass and steel, and drum loops from my fairly extensive library, simply imported into my DAW.

This one took about 30 minutes to come together.

Stephen Abruzzo · Post by **Stephen Abruzzo** » 27 Sep 2015 3:04 pm

WOW.....outstanding playing Mike. Right in the pocket, really swings.

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 27 Sep 2015 3:39 pm

Nice arrangement... well done!

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 27 Sep 2015 4:51 pm

Enjoyed it, as always.
Thanks for sharing.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 27 Sep 2015 5:00 pm

Cool! I never heard that Monk tune before. You (and the new Clinesmith) sound great.

Andrew Roblin · Post by **Andrew Roblin** » 27 Sep 2015 5:10 pm

Great music, Mike!

Steve Cunningham · Post by **Steve Cunningham** » 27 Sep 2015 5:39 pm

Sounds great Mike...one of my favorite Monk tunes!

BTW, how do your Clinesmiths sound overdriven? (or is that sacrilegious to ask?)

Ulrich Sinn · Post by **Ulrich Sinn** » 27 Sep 2015 5:41 pm

Very nice!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 27 Sep 2015 7:28 pm

Steve Cunningham wrote:Sounds great Mike...one of my favorite Monk tunes!

BTW, how do your Clinesmiths sound overdriven? (or is that sacrilegious to ask?)

Steve, they all sound amazing with overdrive, fuzz, whatever! I use a Digitech RP1000 and get many killer sounds. But I'm digging clean tones these days a lot.

That Beck tribute record I did last year has a great OD sound, if I do say so myself.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 28 Sep 2015 2:12 am

That explains the tireless drummer, and no wonder I dig the bass player, he knows where you're going with it.

This one has a nice nightclub feel to it. Digging it the most.
The segue into 'Well You Needn't' on SoundCloud is also cool. These are going to make a nice suite.

Stefan Robertson · Post by **Stefan Robertson** » 28 Sep 2015 4:20 am

Sounds great as usual Mike. Keep it up.

Stephen Eger · Post by **Stephen Eger** » 28 Sep 2015 6:14 am

wow, that's really great! The steel guitar sound, with the sustain and slides, really adds to this tune. Or maybe this tune accommodates the steel. Anyway, I like it.

Stephen Eger · Post by **Stephen Eger** » 28 Sep 2015 6:18 am

great solo, too!

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 28 Sep 2015 10:32 am

Great job Mike. Keep 'em coming!

Larry Dering · Post by **Larry Dering** » 28 Sep 2015 12:19 pm

Mike that is just too cool. Great work!

Bo Parker · Post by **Bo Parker** » 28 Sep 2015 4:34 pm

Very nice!

Rick Bernauer · Post by **Rick Bernauer** » 29 Sep 2015 12:52 am

That was great - thanks for sharing.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 29 Sep 2015 7:18 am

Thanks for all the nice comments and most of all thanks for listening.

My first exposure to the music of Thelonious Monk was an LP that was released in the 80s, called That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk, with diverse artists as NRBQ, Todd Rundgren and many others. I had forgotten all about it until recently. I knew I wanted to make a recording of Monk's music, but I am tired of trying to adapt steel guitar to fit into a jazz quartet type of setting. I really want to celebrate steel guitar and all its quirks and not sound stiff.

As an avid student of Monk's music, I can't help but think he is one of the most misunderstood musicians I can think of. People expect that his music is avant-garde and far out when really it is deeply entrenched in blues and stride and the history of music. He was a Janus-faced composer with deeps roots and a modern approach (at the time). His compositions will live forever.

I just started hearing Monk's music in different ways. I don't want to force it, though; it has to come naturally. I have a bunch of other arrangements, but this will be the last one I post until the record is done, probably a year from now.

Billy Easton · Post by **Billy Easton** » 29 Sep 2015 7:57 am

Great job, Mike....I really enjoyed this...

Billy

The Steel Guitar Forum

Thelonious Monk's "Bye-Ya"

Thelonious Monk's "Bye-Ya"

GREAT tune!