C6 Jazz Solo + Vocal...

Reece Anderson · Post by **Reece Anderson** » 23 Jun 2005 4:38 am

Rick is an awesome musician, and his steel playing and singing on "Pork Pie Hat" completely blows my hat in the creek.

He was kind enough to play guitar for JayDee, David and I when we played a concert in Oceanside Calif. for "Steel Guitars of North County" last April.

Just as I expected, he's also a monster guitar player. Most importantly for me, Rick is as fine a person as he is a musician.

I hope Rick will continue to share his music with us. I have already told him I want anything he ever records.

Chuck McGill · Post by **Chuck McGill** » 23 Jun 2005 4:41 am

Rick. What a great rendition of a wonderful tune. Any chance of getting your set up? I would buy anything you record brother.

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 23 Jun 2005 7:43 am

I posted before, but I shall again...

if only to repeat what Reece said- you blow my hat in the creek!
and my most sincere compliment-"It makes me want to practice!"

MORE PLEASE!![This message was edited by Dave Van Allen on 23 June 2005 at 08:45 AM.]

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 23 Jun 2005 10:04 am

Great job bringing this back up! I've told so many people to search the forum for this since Rick first put it up here.

Gerry Hogan · Post by **Gerry Hogan** » 23 Jun 2005 1:09 pm

Rick, as you know I've been mostly away for some months, and having returned, I've been reminded of your great playing and singing, from this posting - (I emailed you about it back then, since I was not registered on the Forum at the time).

You really are very special and I feel so amazed that you are coming over to Europe shortly to play bass, standing right next to me, while I'm dithering with the instrument of 20 strings.

It's jolly-well not cricket, old chap. I mean, after all, play fair!

Seriously, I'm really looking forward to seeing you and working with you again very shortly, Rick. By the way, the removal van is booked for the day you arrive. O.K.?

Gerry

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 23 Jun 2005 2:47 pm

Wow!!! This resurrected thread has really cheered this old dude way up! It comes at a time when I really needed the lift. I'm so flattered by so many kind words from my illustrious steel guitar friends. Thank you all so much!

Chuck...here's a link to another forum thread that has a link to a PDF file with my set-up. (thanks to David L. Donald and John McGann)
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum5/HTML/010352.html

Gerry....I can't wait to bore all the other Heather Myles band with all of our steel-guitar-speak!

It's gonna be great to see you again my friend!!!!

MUSICO · Post by **MUSICO** » 24 Jun 2005 2:37 am

Just discovered this gem.

Personally I´d´like to see tab....could never play it but it´s just an intellectual exercise of going through those grips to see what is what...¿how much is there on my guitar and I just never bothered to look for it? ¿How much is due to the extra pedal?

For now I´m just content to listen to it over and over again.

I would personally be prepared to pay (in advance) $30 for a transcription. ¿Anyone else? If enough people wanted it .........just an idea.

Jeremy Williams
Barcelona Spain

Jeff Lampert · Post by **Jeff Lampert** » 24 Jun 2005 9:35 am

Transcendent. A perfect juxtaposition of masterful playing and soulful singing.

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Jeff's Jazz

Bill McCloskey · Post by **Bill McCloskey** » 24 Jun 2005 11:09 am

Boy, it be great if there was a forum for the "Best of SGF". This would be right at the top. Really fantastic piece of overall musicianship. I've always loved the piece ever since I first heard John McLaughlin play it on My Goals Beyond in the early 70's. That was before I got totally into Charlie Mingus and heard the original. Really, really fantastic. Great job Rick.

Greg Vincent · Post by **Greg Vincent** » 24 Jun 2005 11:39 am

I can DIG IT! -GV

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 24 Jun 2005 12:48 pm

Thanks for digging this one up. It knocked me out in '03, and did the same again now. Rick, sir, you got TALENT!!

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 24 Jun 2005 7:51 pm

This is still one of my favorite steel guitar cuts of all time. Especially late at night when I am in that mood. It has soul.

(Rick, the offer still holds)

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www.tyack.com

Terje Larson · Post by **Terje Larson** » 24 Jun 2005 10:05 pm

Really liked it Rick. It's a personal favorite and I thought your version was fresh. Who wrote the lyrics? I've never heard them before.

This is one of those tunes that is on my wishlist over songs to learn and play in the band. Heck, I should work on it later today, in the afternoon when I have some time for myself.

So, thanks for inspiring me also!

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If you can't hear the others you're too loud, if you can't hear yourself you've gone deaf

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 25 Jun 2005 5:00 am

Terje,
I think they're part of a lyric set that Joni Mitchell wrote. She spent some time with Mingus before he died; got to know him and applied lyrics to several of his tunes for an album 'Mingus', with Jaco Pastorius, who plays great horn lines on bass.

I think you would enjoy it; it's a favorite in my stable of albums.

Terje Larson · Post by **Terje Larson** » 25 Jun 2005 6:01 am

Thanks for the info. I like Joni Mitchel, just don't have that many records with her. Come to think of it I have only that one, Blue. Which is great and I put it on a couple of times a year, around Christmas.

Never did buy that Mingus album but I was aware that it existed and that Jaco was on it. Looks like I'm off to buy myself a new CD soon. And I just got the melody line down on balalajka here. Gonna try to work in some of the chord tones as a second voice here and there too.

I'm also a big fan of Mike Perlowin's version of this song, which is at the end of his Firebird Suite CD, which I also highly recommend to anyone here who hasn't bought it yet. Buy it and thank me later.

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If you can't hear the others you're too loud, if you can't hear yourself you've gone deaf[This message was edited by Terje Larson on 25 June 2005 at 07:02 AM.]

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 25 Jun 2005 8:23 am

Actually I heard this version of lyrics years before Joni came up with her beautiful but verbose take on this tune. It was on a Roland Kirk album. I'm not sure if Roland was the guy responsible for the words? When I was working this tune up, I wanted to get quickly in and out vocally, so I only used one of the two verses I could find. Joni's lyrics contain many more verses than that...a pretty long narrative!

Once again guys...all your kind words are "Blowin' MY hat in the creek"!!!!!

Thanks so much!

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 25 Jun 2005 8:33 am

Terje...at the risk of hijacking my own thread, I've gotta say that if you wanna get some of the greatest Joni Mitchell albums in her jazz phase, you should check out "Heijira", "Court and Spark", "Hissing of Summer Lawns", "Don Juan's Reckless Daughter" etc etc etc. I havn't really been keeping up with all her recent stuff, but I'm sure it's all brilliant too!

Wayne Cox · Post by **Wayne Cox** » 25 Jun 2005 10:08 am

RICK and whoever resurrected this thread; THANK YOU!!! Like John McGann said,"Either you can play it or you can't". Obviously RICK can! Don't know how I missed it the first round but I'm glad I caught it this time. When I think about how to best describe it, only superlatives come to mind. I guess there is reason for that, hmmmm. Please keep up the GREAT work!
~~W.C.~~

Terje Larson · Post by **Terje Larson** » 25 Jun 2005 11:21 am

Rick, I'm very glad I stumbled on this thread and heard your great music. As I've said it has inspired me to finally learn a tune I have thought of learning for a long time. Thanks for that, and thanks for the tips on Joni Mitchel.

BTW there's nothing stopping you from playing this as a regular 12-bar blues in F minor, is there? I mean, there's that E in bars 6 and 7 but in bar 6 that would be the b5 of the ivm7 chord (Bbm7) and in a jazzy blues that can't be wrong.

In bar 7 it would be the major 7th of the im7 chord (Fm7)... that's not really blues but... don't worry, I will learn the chords tp this, I'm just thinking like this if I take this melody with me to a blues jam sesssion or something.

Anyway,now I'm almost hijacking your thread here, sorry. Do you have this or anything else on a recording? You know, one that you sell.

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If you can't hear the others you're too loud, if you can't hear yourself you've gone deaf[This message was edited by Terje Larson on 25 June 2005 at 12:22 PM.]

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 25 Jun 2005 11:31 am

Roland Kirk, sure, that makes sense. Joni is long winded.
Terje, what Rick Schmidt said about 'Court and Spark'. that was at the top of her form, and the L A Express backs her up. Highly recommended.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 25 Jun 2005 12:43 pm

Rick--you're not gonna be collecting money from us to reblock your hat, now, once you fish it out of the creek, are you?
Is this the same hat that you wore on the Scott Weiland TV session? 'cause that was cool and I'll pitch in some $$ for that one. Please let us know.
PS--if it's just a porkpie hat, I dunno. I'd have to think about it.

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 26 Jun 2005 7:14 am

Terge.....no, I don't have any product to sell.....except for possibly the hat that Jon was mentioning.

If I still remember how to play steel after I get back from a month playing bass in Texas and Europe with Heather Myles, I hope I'll be inspired and energized enough to at least think about doing something like finally recording my CD.

John Billings · Post by **John Billings** » 27 Jun 2005 2:50 pm

Stunned silence..................

Terje Larson · Post by **Terje Larson** » 29 Jun 2005 10:55 am

Rick, I love hats, seriously, so don't even joke about it. You could fool me into buying any hat that I could wear. But I doubt it that the hat you'd have to sell would be the right size since my head is very big (there's nothing in it, it's just big). If you go to my band's site (www.drbalalajka.com) you'll see just how bad it is.

Back to the more serious part of the topic... those sure as hell are not the lyrics Joni Mitchell sings on the record Mingus. So who really wrote the lyrics you're singing?

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If you can't hear the others you're too loud, if you can't hear yourself you've gone deaf

Rick Schmidt · Post by **Rick Schmidt** » 29 Jun 2005 11:08 am

Terje...I heard these lyrics a long time ago on a Roland Kirk record. When I was thinking about singing along with my steel arrangement, I asked the Forum if anybody knew those words. Sure enough, forumite John Kavanaugh come up with them from a fake book.

Here's that link:
http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum10/HTML/003485.html

Once again, thanks to b0b for making it all possible!

oh and BTW, I've got a large melon head myself.