Doesn't Patsy Cline have a track names "Shoes". Heard in on XM-13. Would really like to have a copy of that tune...
I don't know about that song, but Dave (Six-days-on-the-road) Dudley has a great song called "Cowboy Boots." Kind of nails me and all the folks I play country music with. Click http://wfmu.org/listen.ram?show=10082 and slide to 1:12:33 to listen.
Ray, I have a version of the Patsy Cline's "Those shoes don't fit me anymore" by a local female singer. If you want a copy let me know. (It features Canadian Steeler Ollie Strong on steel).
Forumite Chris Lucker asked me to post this pic of a pair of boots he designed! Too Cool!!
He will probably be around in a bit to tell us all about em' !
...I Like EM'!!!....
Bernie, you live on Folly Beach? Lucky Dog!! I used to vacation there every summer when I lived in Columbia. Beautiful litttle corner of the world. Hope it hasn't changed since the mid nineties when I used to go there.
Of course you play barefoot: why wear shoes when you live at the beach?
Bernie Straub wrote:Berefoot for 34 years. Socks in the winter. I could probably learn to play in boots, or sneakers, or moccasins, etc, but why? To each his own.
Bernie you must have tough feet! My Fessy pedals are rough on bare feet.
cowboy boots...tall undercut heels...pointy toes...otherwise you might as well play surf music..
Chris, I am interested in trying the cowboy boots again. I think that's what I always used when I got started, but my last pair of Noconas has such long pointy toes that I kept getting tangled in the pedal rods. In all seriousness, how do you keep this from happening?
Get a pair made and you won't have as many problems with the toes getting tangled up.
The black vamp/red top boots I hade made specifically for pedal steel. The heel is a little over 2 1/2 inches and underslung more than any boots you can buy so it is very comfortable with pedals. The tops and vamps are Kangaroo, so rocking side to side is easy, and the pointy toes can be closer to the ball of the foot because with a custom pair of boots there is no stretch left in the vamp, so no worry about toes slipping into the tight toe area. And, with a sixty penny nail for a shank, you have more support than any store-bought boot.
Can anyone name the song running around my boots? That is a question mark at the end when the bootmaker ran out of room.
For great boot pictures, get Jenny June's new boot COWBOY BOOTS THE ART AND SOLE. Mine are on page 261, and are by far the least interesting in the book.
I guess that my favorite footwear would work best in a warm weather type climate for most folks, but I used to wear them when I lived and played In NJ. I have to put my vote in for Kino sandals. Hand made, and very reasonably priced, in Key West Florida. Kinos sort of adapt to the shape of your foot, like a pair of Levi jeans, and are a lot like playing barefoot.
Duncan
dan...actually i'm just used to it from 35 years of playing in boots. my left foot angles out to the left enough that i'm kind of using the inside ball of my foot on the two pedal stomp...on the rare occassion that i play in tennies, i really notice the lack of a heel to pivot on....plus..good western boots make you alot more attractive to the fine honky tonk women!! also, on the right foot...after so many years of it..the volume pedal angle is more comfortable with the heel..
cowboy boots...tall undercut heels...pointy toes...otherwise you might as well play surf music..
Errr... I DO play surf music. Should I be wearing flip-flops? What about when I play blues?
BTW, when I mentioned I didn't play in boots and couldn't figure out how anyone could, it's because I've never even been able to wear boots except under duress for ANY reason. I have a pair of Tony Lamas I had to buy for some gigs about 25 years ago...and wear them about once every 5 or 6 years to a costume party or something. Most uncomfortable shoes ever IMO. Once a year or so I got to a shiop and try some on - Can't get them on without a sledgehammer, and taking them off requires a crowbar - in my normal size. I guess I just wasn't made to wear them, and they're not exactly popular around here.
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional
I have basicly three modes of footware for steel. Dress- meaning a pair of dress shoes, second would be tennis shoes and or boat shoes, third would be barefoot. Seems to me it wouldn't matter what you wear when you play long as you're comfortable. J.C.