Neil Flanz

Chance Wilson · Post by **Chance Wilson** » 9 Dec 2021 7:01 pm

Neil was a legend and a gentleman. My condolescensces to his family and friends. He was a great teacher and my rudimentary understanding of doublenecks comes from his teachings. Unless you're feeling Curly, the far neck is for I-IV-V and the inside, Right or Wrong is for circle of fifths. Man Neil could make an Emmons honk like no other. I'll hang on tight to the lively Madison picture that B0b posted.
I'm sure he's off on the Star Route now-RIP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XssjaFKfc7M

Ron Hogan · Post by **Ron Hogan** » 9 Dec 2021 8:34 pm

Jim R. Harrison · Post by **Jim R. Harrison** » 9 Dec 2021 9:59 pm

I've still got this LP by Neil that I bought in the summer of 1965! Loved it then & still do.

Tiny Olson · Post by **Tiny Olson** » 11 Dec 2021 10:37 am

I met Neil when we both worked an outdoor gig in the mid-70s in Aquilla, TX. What a great guy and player !! We talked quite a bit and were both lamenting the weather that day as it was about 100 degrees and very humid.

I'm sad to hear of his passing. Like others have said, I too used Neil's, Sho-Bud instructional album as there were no other such items available when I started playing.

RIP Neil. My prayers and sympathies go out for Neil's friends and family.

Sincerely,
Chris "Tiny" Olson

Olaf van Roggen · Post by **Olaf van Roggen** » 11 Dec 2021 12:29 pm

Weldon Myrick and Neil Flanz at the Texas Steel guitar Jamboree in Dallas 2001.[/img]

Jim Robbins · Post by **Jim Robbins** » 12 Dec 2021 8:17 pm

Oh man, how sad. I had the great good fortune to meet him at a TSGA jamboree (through the good offices of Bob Blair). Such a nice, interesting guy. RIP.

John Sims · Post by **John Sims** » 4 Jan 2022 11:41 am

I'm sad to hear this! I took lessons from Neil years ago when Neil lived in Hollywood, FL, and he was a great teacher and friend. My he rest in peace.

Craig Stock · Post by **Craig Stock** » 5 Jan 2022 3:24 pm

RIP Neil, Great Player for Sure.

I found this shirt on the Finger Pistol Website and thought it was pretty cool.

https://fingerpistol.com/MerchMarket/fi ... r-t-shirt/

Jim R. Harrison · Post by **Jim R. Harrison** » 5 Jan 2022 6:13 pm

Very neat, Craig, thanks for posting this. However, you will note that the photo of Neil on the shirts goes back to his first days of playing in Toronto, even before he moved to Nashville. Too bad it wasn't a more recent photo.

Craig Stock · Post by **Craig Stock** » 6 Jan 2022 11:47 am

Jim, I like the nostalgic vibe that the band Fingerpistol used for Neil, I will be ordering one for sure.

John Sims · Post by **John Sims** » 7 Jan 2022 9:22 am

Here's a video of Neil playing Nameless Shuffle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XajpDDglGAs

Bruce Bouton · Post by **Bruce Bouton** » 9 Jan 2022 2:11 pm

Neil was always so nice to me. I hate that I lost touch with him in the last few years. RIP Neil

John Sims · Post by **John Sims** » 2 Feb 2022 3:11 pm

Here is the first 'in person' lesson that I took from Neil Flanz around 20 years ago when he lived in Hollywood FL. I still have to refer to it every now & then. Thank you Neil for teaching me the number system and a few George Strait songs on my first lesson! He wrote this out while sitting there teaching me...

[/img]

Tommy White · Post by **Tommy White** » 5 Feb 2022 7:57 pm

Neil was so kind and generous to me with his knowledge of pedal steel guitar early on in my trek. His Sho-Bud Special Instructions lp taught me to play. I still play what Neil taught to this day. Rip ol’ compadre.

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 5 Feb 2022 8:17 pm

Wasn't Neil the steel player with the original 1978 Whorehouse cast? I think I heard that he was...and he was great. I had to learn all that for a run of that play one time, and I was gladly influenced by it. He had a little bit of everything that was good.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 8 Feb 2022 6:53 am

Duane Reese wrote:Wasn't Neil the steel player with the original 1978 Whorehouse cast? I think I heard that he was...and he was great. I had to learn all that for a run of that play one time, and I was gladly influenced by it. He had a little bit of everything that was good.

The original steel player for the Broadway production of Whorehouse was Lynn Frazier, great steel player from Austin TX. Neil was in one of the many road companies that played the show for years.

Olaf van Roggen · Post by **Olaf van Roggen** » 8 Feb 2022 7:27 am

The original steel player for the Broadway production of Whorehouse was Lynn Frazier, great steel player from Austin TX. Neil was in one of the many road companies that played the show for years.[/quote]

Exactly Herb, Neil took a six week tour with the road production of the musical in 1984. Since he didn't read music he had to transpose 80 pages of sheet music to the Nashville number system and memorizing many musical lines. He loved the music and the people and recommended me to buy the record album with Lynn Frazier which I did.

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 8 Feb 2022 6:17 pm

Okay, that explains the confusion.

Olaf van Roggen wrote:Since he didn't read music he had to transpose 80 pages of sheet music to the Nashville number system and memorizing many musical lines.

You know something? I wish I could have borrowed those charts from him!

Have you guys ever seen the steel score for Whorehouse?? It's all hand-written and strictly noted out; plus, if you're like me, you got sheets that had been Xeroxed multiple times. It is rugged, man. I did the same thing — marked it all up with Nashville numbers. I guess guys like us would have washed out in an orchestra in the 19th century..

Olaf van Roggen wrote:He loved the music and the people and recommended me to buy the record album with Lynn Frazier which I did.

It was a good recommendation. Neil had good taste. Both of them were/are great steel players.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 8 Feb 2022 8:32 pm

Duane Reese wrote:Okay, that explains the confusion.

Olaf van Roggen wrote:Since he didn't read music he had to transpose 80 pages of sheet music to the Nashville number system and memorizing many musical lines.
You know something? I wish I could have borrowed those charts from him! Have you guys ever seen the steel score for Whorehouse?? It's all hand-written and strictly noted out; plus, if you're like me, you got sheets that had been Xeroxed multiple times. It is rugged, man. I did the same thing — marked it all up with Nashville numbers. I guess guys like us would have washed out in an orchestra in the 19th century..

Olaf van Roggen wrote:He loved the music and the people and recommended me to buy the record album with Lynn Frazier which I did.
It was a good recommendation. Neil had good taste. Both of them were/are great steel players.

I did the show in 1986 for two weekends here in Austin. When I took the gig, I then got the book, with the steel parts written out in standard notation. Yikes, I can read, but not like that.

But when I got the album of the Broadway performance, it all made sense. I'd hear what Lynn did on the album and pretty much figured it all out by ear. You'd be surprised at how complicated a fairly snappy but pretty obvious steel ride can look when written down in notation. So I found that once I learned the songs it was not incredibly challenging. I thought the main thing to concentrate on was paying attention to the conductor/pianist, since the band had to be cueing the dancers, so precision was paramount for me.

Duane Reese · Post by **Duane Reese** » 8 Feb 2022 9:28 pm

Herb Steiner wrote:I did the show in 1986 for two weekends here in Austin. When I took the gig, I then got the book, with the steel parts written out in standard notation. Yikes, I can read, but not like that.

I knew someone here had done it.. Yeah, yikes is right.

Fortunately, the thing with (most) music directors is that they just want to get through it, first and foremost. Sometimes you'll have one who is indignant about not hearing some note or string of notes that is really, REALLY important to them, but usually they're just glad to have a steel player at all, if it's that kind of gig.

Olaf van Roggen · Post by **Olaf van Roggen** » 10 Feb 2022 2:59 am

There is a nice interview from the spring of 1981 in the Omaha Rainbow magazine with Neil.
I am not sure if it's readable when i upload the content. This is the cover and page 1.

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John Sims · Post by **John Sims** » 11 Feb 2022 6:28 pm

Thank you Olaf!

Olaf van Roggen · Post by **Olaf van Roggen** » 11 Feb 2022 9:06 pm

You're welcome John.
I'll upload the rest of the interview, hoping it's readable, after being resized.

John Sims · Post by **John Sims** » 12 Feb 2022 6:21 am

Thanks Olaf! I can read it just fine...

admin · Post by **b0b** » 12 Feb 2022 10:02 am

On some computers you can right-click the images and download them to view in higher resolution.