What could this group have sounded like?

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Dec 2020 7:39 am

Octave mandolin, banjo uke, harp guitar and three Hawaiian steel guitars - one of which is a 12-string!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 30 Dec 2020 7:41 am

Wow, love love love the stands!

Let me guess: deep plain vanilla groove.

Bill Hatcher · Post by **Bill Hatcher** » 30 Dec 2020 8:15 am

had to have been cool for their day. one of the guitars is a 12 string. girls with thumb picks.....nice.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Dec 2020 8:40 am

The idea of stands for non-pedal steels has been floating around for a loooong time.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 30 Dec 2020 9:20 am

Andy Volk wrote:The idea of stands for non-pedal steels has been floating around for a loooong time.

Of course it would have been unladylike to put them on their laps with legs spread. Lol.

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 30 Dec 2020 10:23 am

I bet they sounded....bitchen?
Or maybe like they needed a bass player.
The Dixieland Chicks.
The lady on the left, â€œSomebody is NOT tuned to C6â€.

Seriously, a group featuring 3 women playing lap style guitar? That is cool on a scale of One to Forever!

David Knutson · Post by **David Knutson** » 30 Dec 2020 10:43 am

Great looking combo. I guess the mando-cello and harp guitar are covering the bass. Every time I see one of these photos with multiple steelers I'm reminded to spend a little extra practice time just making sure my intonation is tight.

Jack Hanson · Post by **Jack Hanson** » 30 Dec 2020 10:47 am

Fred Treece wrote: Seriously, a group featuring 3 women playing lap style guitar? That is cool on a scale of One to Forever!

In that era, there may well have been more women who played Hawaiian style than there were men who did. Two of my old pals have moms who played, one of which learned from her mom. One told me that all of her girlfriends played Hawaiian guitar when she was young. When I asked her why, she said guitars were cheaper than accordions.

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Dec 2020 10:51 am

Kathy Wilson in the Jazz Age FB group said ...

"1926 c. Skirts had just risen to below the knee in 1925 and progressed upward another inch by 1926. Skirts fell by the 1930's. So 1926 c. is my best guess!"

When I see vintage pics, I always think in terms of the instruments. it never occurred to me to think in hemlines!

And yes, Mando-cello more likely than octave mandolin.

Sam Conomo · Post by **Sam Conomo** » 30 Dec 2020 12:04 pm

Wow,
Love am,
I wish I could hear
Them.
Sam.

David Matzenik · Post by **David Matzenik** » 30 Dec 2020 12:18 pm

I am thinking Robert Crumb material.

Noah Miller · Post by **Noah Miller** » 30 Dec 2020 12:50 pm

These three couples are the parents of ZZ Top. They are pictured here performing an embryonic acoustic version of what would become "Sharp Dressed Man".

David Knutson · Post by **David Knutson** » 30 Dec 2020 1:10 pm

We can always count on you for the accurate historical reference, Noah.

Adam Tracksler · Post by **Adam Tracksler** » 30 Dec 2020 2:35 pm

David Matzenik wrote:I am thinking Robert Crumb material.

^^ This.

Rick Abbott · Post by **Rick Abbott** » 30 Dec 2020 3:10 pm

Noah Miller wrote:These three couples are the parents of ZZ Top. They are pictured here performing an embryonic acoustic version of what would become "Sharp Dressed Man".

Good one, Noah!

It may have been Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers, you never know.

Scott Thomas · Post by **Scott Thomas** » 30 Dec 2020 3:45 pm

I noticed that the steel guitars get progressively shallower left to right. It never occurred to me that such bands may have progressed to the point where multi-steel guitar bands separated themselves by different registers. If that's the case, the 12 string may have been strung as a six and used for its relatively larger/deeper body.

Nic Neufeld · Post by **Nic Neufeld** » 30 Dec 2020 4:36 pm

I would guess something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eEIIB5hVy4

"I finished MILES ahead of you chaps!"

Jerry Overstreet · Post by **Jerry Overstreet** » 30 Dec 2020 6:57 pm

Noah Miller wrote:These three couples are the parents of ZZ Top. They are pictured here performing an embryonic acoustic version of what would become "Sharp Dressed Man".

...or "Legs"...hubba hubba.

Ian Rae · Post by **Ian Rae** » 30 Dec 2020 9:14 pm

An extraordinary photo on many levels. Not even the banjo looks normal. And you wonder who these people actually were. Three couples? Total strangers? One family?

Adam, I may have asked you this before but remind me - in your avatar pic, who's the guy in the background?

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 31 Dec 2020 3:45 am

This group is from Baltimore, MD.

From writer Michael John Simmons:

I have the original of that photo. This is whatâ€™s written on the back. No date but some interesting info. The 1923-26 dates people are suggesting feel right. I donâ€™t see many flattop Hawaiian guitars in photos after Nationals came on the scene 1927 and Rickenbacker electrics showed up in the early 1930s.

Picture file

Kirk Francis · Post by **Kirk Francis** » 31 Dec 2020 9:22 am

isn't that H. L Mencken on mando-cello?

David M Brown · Post by **David M Brown** » 1 Jan 2021 5:37 am

Ian Rae wrote:An extraordinary photo on many levels. Not even the banjo looks normal.

Is it a banjo-uke? 4 course mandolin-tuned banjo?

Mel Bergman · Post by **Mel Bergman** » 1 Jan 2021 1:31 pm

Wow, that sure does look like Mencken. If it is, this catapults this already great photo into another dimension .

Brooks Montgomery · Post by **Brooks Montgomery** » 1 Jan 2021 5:21 pm

As cool as the photo looks, having three or more acoustic steels (or dobros or weissies) all playing at once, tends to sound like a Chinese marching band IMO.
At least thatâ€™s been my experience at reso-summit or other jams where multiple steels are playing.
Never-the-less, classic photo!

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 2 Jan 2021 5:05 pm

It appears to me that the lady on the left is playing with a round steel bar and the other two with a flat steel guitar bar.

That would make a difference in the sound for sure.

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What could this group have sounded like?

What could this group have sounded like?

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what could this group have sounded like?