Buddy Cage in "Festival Express"

John Lockney · From: New Market, Maryland, USA

This is an awesome interview with Buddy Cage: http://www.johnbarnold.com/buddycage/psga.htm

In the "Festival Express" DVD he is seen playing a black Emmons with a Canadian flag sticker on it.

Who is he playing with ?

The NRPS were not listed on the tour, in the movie he plays with Mr. and Ms. Warbley-Throat... Who are they ? "Delaney and Bonnie" would be my guess since there are two of them and they are not Buddy Guy. Who are they ? Did Buddy Cage play on thier albums ?

Pete Finney · From: Nashville Tn.

That would be "Ian and Sylvia" with their band "Great Speckled Bird". They were a "folk" duo from Canada that was quite successful throughout the 60's; this was their "experiment" with country rock. Besides Buddy the band also featured the fantastic guitarist Amos Garrett. Unfortunately though there are glimpses of Delaney and Bonnie in the movie they aren't shown actually performing...

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

In fact, the NRPS was on the tour, travelling with the Grateful Dead. At that time Garcia was playing steel with NRPS. Cage left Tyson shortly after to join NRPS.

I remember when all those folks came out with Ian and Sylvia and GSB at the Calgary show - it was tres cool. You can get the 1969 Great Speckled Bird album on cd - Cage and Garret were astounding together. Before the cd came out vinyl copies of that album were selling for a lot of dough.

Buddy's Emmons was more like purple actually - that guitar eventually got stolen. He played that axe for a few seasons running on a TV show Ian and Sylvia had called "Nasville North".

There was always a real cowboy side to Ian's music, even back then, and I was astonished at the time at how well it went over at the Festival - even then he had been a major influence on me and when he came on stage in his cowboy hat I was afraid he was going to get dissed by the big crowd of freaks. He didn't - in fact they blew the doors off the place, and not just because of the killer band.

Ian and Sylvia Tyson are both still alive and well though they have long gone their seperate ways. Ian Tyson is a great writer, who wrote inter alia "Someday Soon", "Four Strong Winds" and "Summer Wages". Sylvia has been a succcessful writer over the years as well - way back when she wrote "You Were on My Mind". She also wrote "River Road - a lovely song covered by Crystal Gayle a few years back.

As for the "warbly-throat", it is certainly true that vibrato is a big part of the way Sylvia sang and still sings. Never thought that label could apply to Ian, who is a great singer.

Ian Tyson just put out a new album of standards that I've not heard yet. But he's been reasonably prolific over they years, though he devotes as much or more time to ranching and raising cutting horses as to performing. A few years ago he put out an album called "Live at Longview" (he has a ranch near Longview Alberta) in which his sixty-something voice is completely to die for. A great singer and a I highly recommend checking out some of his work. start with "Cowboyography".

JB Arnold · From: Longmont,Co,USA (deceased)

Thanks for the compliment on the interview. Cage is a pretty easy subject-he's done a million of 'em and knows how to spice them up.

Cage was hand picked by Garcia to take his place in NRPS after they met on the train. An out take from that interview includes stories of how Cage obtained his release from contract to Ian by talking Ben Keith into taking his place and bolting across the border before anyone could change their minds. He joined up with them in Atlanta in late '71. Here's his comments on the first show

JB:So where was that 1st show with NRPS in '71?
BC: Fox Theater - Atlanta. Gar was supposed to set up with me but backed down and caught a later flight. He actually did us another favor - threw us in the deep end of the pool. I knew how to get it on but he wasn't sure about the band. It worked. We made it work. Nelson is just such an outstanding player!

I went early with the crew (nrps) to hang and whilst persuing a dressing room, I stumbled upon Garcia - alone with his guitar in one small room. It was 2 PM! I said, "Hey Jerry, what a shock seeing you here so early - is this really necessary?" [He was into a bucket of Colonel Sanders] He chuckled that Jerry-chuckle and said, "Oh...I'm ALWAYS here! They never let me leave!" bc

Currently you can get a live CD of the show in Veneta Oregon from spring 1972 that features the NRPS as they developed the set that would turn into "Home, Home on the Road". I've got it, or you can get it from the NRPS site. 16 track master, the best quality of the Kufala series. They opened for the Dead, and it's considered one of the legendary shows of the era.

JB

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Fulawka D-10 9&5
Fessenden D-10 8&8
"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
www.johnbarnold.com/pedalsteel
www.buddycage.net

http://www.nrpsmusic.com/index.html

John Lockney · From: New Market, Maryland, USA

You are right. Buddy's Emmons was CLEARLY not black but light-blue. It also turns out the Burrito Brothers's (Sneaky Peet's ?) steel was NOT covered in fur, there is some sort of tiger-striped covering the front, was that a Fender ?

A few years ago in a bluegrass shop when I picked-up a J.D. Crowe album they told me "If 'Summer Wages' doesn't bring a tear to your eye you have no heart." I didn't realize this was the guy who wrote it.

Amos Garrett definitely caught my ear. I will check him out.

Its funny they made the effort to write the title across the front of a girl's shirt but didn't bother to supply a track-list with who's playing. Thanks for the information.

[This message was edited by John Lockney on 27 March 2005 at 04:38 PM.]

Mark Lind-Hanson · From: Menlo Park, California, USA

That is indeed a Fender PSG Sneaky Pete has on - I was told he has played the same one for YEARS & years, and that they have to run it to the same place down in Nashville every time they want to rework it, since it's the only guy that has the parts he needs, whenever!
It is interesting that the movie shows both Garcia and Cage in good form, although- It might have been interesting to see what the New Riders loooked like on stage with him! Doubtless, they HAD the footage, didn't they?
All you get of Garcia on PSG is a couple of minutes of Bobby Mcgee w/ Joplin, over the credits, pretty much. Buddy pretty much makes the Speckled Bird band segment, for me, anyway. - The first time I saw the NRPS, it was withOUT a steel player, Garcia was sick the couple days before, so sat out their set, (to play a long set with the Dead later on). But I always felt, Buddy blew him away completely, once he joined up...

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

John, Tony Rice did a good cover of Summer Wages too. Fabulous song.

Amos Garret's next gig after Tyson was with Maria Muldaur.

Yes, that was Sneaky with the FBB's. Looked like Hillman and Leadon with Michael Clarke on drums, and Sneaky of course. That was a few months after Parsons left and before Rick Roberts joined them. My memories of the event aren't that clear, but I remember really liking the FBB's and NRPS (I'd never heard either of them before).

[This message was edited by Bob Blair on 27 March 2005 at 03:07 PM.]

Steve Hitsman · From: Waterloo, IL

Check out the Nancy Griffith/Tom Russell duet of "Summer Wages".

Kevin Hatton · From: Buffalo, N.Y.

Where they run Sneaky Pete's Fender to in Nashville is none other than Duane Marr's custom shop. You can see pictures of his guitar at www.duanemarrs.com

[This message was edited by Kevin Hatton on 27 March 2005 at 06:47 PM.]

Bob Blair · From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Steve, where do I find that duet?

Tom Russell and Ian Tyson have done some writing together, and I saw Tom open for Ian in Toronto quite a few years ago - that was when Russell had the full band with Fats Kaplan playing steel. Tom Russell also turned up doing a duet with Sylvia Tyson around the same time, and she performed it with him that night.

Steve Hitsman · From: Waterloo, IL

Bob,

Sent you an e-mail... I don't want to hijack John's thread.

Johan Jansen · From: Europe

Buddy Cage will do some concerts with the Derek Trucks band and some others in Holland, Europe in the second week of october 2005.

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