Mike Perlowin has done it

Nathan Delacretaz · From: Austin, Texas, USA

I was joking with a friend months ago that my ultimate rig would be a pedal steel guitar with some kind of contraption that could make it sound like a Fender Rhodes piano whenever I wanted it to....

Well, I went to Mike Perlowin's site on a whim recently and sure enough, on his mp3 sample of "Maria", from his West Side Story CD, the staccato phrases sound like a Rhodes!

I'm not even getting into Mike's staggering musicianship here -- that would take more time and brains than I've got -- simply a sound he's getting. Mike, can you comment on how you achieved that tone?

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

Nathan, I'm glad you liked the music.

The track features several other instruments besides steel. 2 or 3 different 6 string guitars, 2 mandolins, a bass and an autoharp, so I'm not sure exactly which instrument you are referring to that achieved the Rhodes like tone. It might be the autoharp.

I use a Maple/lacquer MSA, and record all my instruments directly into the mixing board without using a microphone or amp. (Otherwise my dog barking would be a promenant feature on all my recordings.) I often use effects, but there are none on Maria. Only the EQ on the board. The sound of my steel that you hear on that tune is my basic steel sound.

I've said before that MSA's expecially the maple/lacquer ones, are more like big hollow body jazz guitars, while an Emmons is more like a Telecaster. The key to getting a good sound out of an MSA (or I suppose any guitar) is to accentuate it's natural frequencies, rather than try to make it sound like something else.

I invite everybdy to visit the site (www.mikeperlowin.com) and listen to the music. As has been pointed out, it's about as far away from country is it's possibe to get.

Nathan Delacretaz · From: Austin, Texas, USA

OK, Mike, I wasn't sure if you'd used steel as all the up-front instrumentation... But I'm pretty sure the lead melody line stuff is all steel, eh? If so, it has the big low-mid, bell-kinda tone that recalls a Rhodes - did you leave off the finger picks, by any chance?

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

The steel is in the foreground at all times. All the other instruments are strictly accompaniment. That big low-mid, bell-kinda tone tone you refer to is the way my MSA always sounds.

Gerry Walker once told me I have the single best sounding MSA he ever heard. I guess I lucked out.

BTW I did use picks when I recorded the tune. I use a regular blue Herco thumb pick and the red picks made by Chuck Brittain. I might have used chrome plated Dunlops or Nationals when I did the recording though.

I like the way the chrome picks glide against the strings when you pick them, but I swirtched to the red picks because they don't dlip off my fingers. I've not noticed any difference in the tone they produce.

Charlie McDonald · From: out of the blue

It's lovely, isn't it, Nathan? I'm afraid it's that thing called--(shudder)--technique. Mike is a real inspiration to me.
A Rhodes isn't so different from a steel in a sense, except for the guages of the 'strings'. All in how it's played....
I think he really just feels the melody with his hands.

John Ummel · From: Arlington, WA.

I recently purchased Mike Perlowin's "Firebird Suite" CD from bOb.
Every track is great. Particularly the title cut. The different timbres and nuances he achieves are an inspiration. He also does "Gymnopedies..." by Eric Satie. I first heard this by Blood Sweat & Tears in ('68?)....I have found the music for it online and am working out my own arrangement for E9. A simple but really beautiful melody and chord structure. Thanks to Mike for the great work and for reminding me of the Satie piece.
Johnny

Nathan Delacretaz · From: Austin, Texas, USA

Thanks for the explanation, Mike. It's great playing, and a great sound.

[As a sidenote, I don't think I've ever heard a board mix I cared for -- until now... You clearly have found a way to make it work...and then some!]

Albert Svenddal · From: Minneapolis, MN

Mike is not only a great player and inventive in unique syles but also a great guy to boot. I had Thanksgiving dinner with him once in Atlanta, and really enjoyed his company and friendship. Albert Svenddal

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Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

I feel the same way about Albert. He's a cool guy and a super picker who deserves far more recognition than he gets.

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

About the Gymnopedies- the song is built around a major 9th chord. This chord is actually 2 different chords piled on top of each other. You would get a C M9 chord if you sat at a keyboard and played a C chord with your left hand and a G chord with your right.

So, I broke the piece down into its componant chords, and played the melody on the steel in the traditional E9 style, but the accompanying instruments (bass, guitar, and autoharp) are always playing a different chord than the steel. When the steel is playing a G chord in the high register, the other instruments are playing a D chord in the lower one.

Because the chords are played in different registers, it all works. The track sounds very traditional and at the same time very strange and unusual. The piece itself is very beautiful and really lends itself to the steel guitar.

Ted Solesky · From: Mineral Wells, Texas, USA

I've heard some clip of Mike's work and he did a very professional job. He really knows what he's doing and does it well. And, again, I'm glad to see him taking the steel sound in a different direction.

John Ummel · From: Arlington, WA.

Thanks for the info on Gymnopedies Mike. That melody has stuck in my head since I first heard it, so it was so cool to find it on your Firebird CD. My wife plays the chords on piano while I play the melody on steel and we really like the result. I also love the things you did with Firebird. My wife being from Russia and a music historian, has a book of folk tales (in Russian with beautiful colorful drawings) with the story of the Firebird. We read this story to our son when he was little and he now loves to listen to your recording of the suite. Great work Mike!!!
My next order from bOb will include your West Side Story CD. Can't wait to hear it.
Johnny

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

Thanks everybody for all the kind words. I’ve mentioned before that my goal is not to introduce lovers of the steel guitar to classical music, but rather to introduce lovers of classical music to the steel guitar.

Nevertheless it’s very gratifying when my fellow steel players appreciate my efforts.

I want to mention again, that I’m actually not that great a player. The CDs are the product of studio trickery, and rather than being an indication of how well I play, they show my prowess as a recording engineer. I’m a competent player, by professional standards, but hardly one of the greats.

For what it’s worth, I think West Side Story is the better of the 2 CDs. Some people have expressed doubts about it, saying that after such deep music as that found on Firebird Suite, they would find the music itself to be somewhat trite and inconsequential by comparison. I disagree. I think most Broadway show music IS trite and inconsequential, but not this. Unlike other Broadway songwriters like Lerner and Lowe, and Rogers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein was a serious composer, and this music, while perhaps not quite as heavy as the music on the other CD, is nevertheless still quite deep and substantive. It TOWERS above the soundtracks of other popular shows such as My Fair lady and The Sound Of Music.

This music has found a home in both the classical and pop music communities. The film and stage show been very successful, and so some of the music has permeated public consciousness. But that does not take away from it’s richness and complexity and great beauty.

I did not choose it lightly. I spent a good deal of time thinking about what I could do for a second CD that would be a worthy follow up, without just repeating what I had already done.

At any rate, I want to thanks everybody once again for all your support.

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