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Topic: 30+ Years--Thanks to Zane Beck & Bill Stroud |
Carl Williams
From:
Oklahoma
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Posted 16 May 2007 6:24 pm |
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Well, I guess it had to happen--I just walked away from my steel after playing a while with my new BJS 7/8" Chrome Bar I received today. I got so caught up with the "new" tone that I didn't pick my old bar...when I started taking off my picks and placing my new bar in its holder, I saw the bar that I got from Zane at his house in Scranton when I was 21 years young (1975), a 7/8" Stainless Bar, and it hit me--an old friend who I've had in my hand for so long and it just sit there as if it wasn't ready to retire  I'm sure some of you older players have experienced this kind of thing but we have to move on. My old bar served with me for 22 years of a military career from Alaska to Sicily and I'm lucky I never lost it. I'm not sure what I'll do with it now but will try to continue to hold on to it for the memories of my younger days and the music I've tried to make with it--thank goodness it couldn't hear all the things I tried to play with it!  Thanks again Zane for being so kind to a greenhorn Arkansas kid who didn't have a clue of how big you were and still are in the Steel Guitar world! Carl
P.S. Bill, your BJS bar is just super and I'm sure it will hang with me for the next 30+ years--great work sir! |
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Paul Redmond
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 16 May 2007 11:52 pm
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A fine tribute to Zane and Bill. Bill had sense enough to get out of IL while the gettin' was good. . .I waited longer and then actually came back!!
Seriously, Zane loved to 'talk shop' and discuss tunings, and all the neat stuff that makes this steel guitar fellowship so special to so many people. I remember him calling me one night to ask me if I knew of anyone 'up north there' that was selling a used dozer as he was bush-hogging his new land in Arkansas and couldn't find what he was looking for. FWIW he also gave me a hint as to how to record performances at Scotty's without all the crowd chatter, etc. You just go to the back of the hall and point your mike toward the wall. . .NOT the stage!! I remember trying it once in 1981 and it worked fine!! Zane left us much too soon.
I would recommend carrying both bars with you and using the 'Zane' bar on 'special' songs. Just a suggestion.
PRR |
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Carl Williams
From:
Oklahoma
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Posted 17 May 2007 6:22 pm
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| Thanks Paul---I'll probably take your advice and keep Zane's bar close and use it every now and then. Thanks for sharing the story about Zane and yes, I'm sure he would have given us so much more music and shared more of his great talent had he been with us longer. I'll bet there are alot of Zane Beck stories out there from his old Sho-Bud days as well as working with the ZB & BMI crews not to mention Tom, Randy, and Blake...just to name a few! Take Care--Carl |
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