"Wicked Game": Lap Steel B11 Tuning

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 2 Apr 2010 6:17 pm

I've always liked this song, and this instrumental version is one of the nicest steel pieces I've listened to in years.

Kay Das · Post by **Kay Das** » 4 Apr 2010 8:28 am

Gentlemen, Grateful for the appreciation..I know of at least one other steel guitar rendition a-borning from the membership...

Did anyone see the Youtube video mime with Chris Isaack and Helena Christensen.... not for the faint of heart...though she looks rather bored.

Kay

Peter Lindelauf · Post by **Peter Lindelauf** » 30 Apr 2010 9:32 am

Love that rendition, Kay. Thought I had pretty well heard that song to death way back when but your version was a great rediscovery. Makes me want to learn it on lap steel.

Kay Das · Post by **Kay Das** » 7 May 2010 2:57 pm

Peter,

Thank you for the appreciation. A great tune for steel guitar with its innate bending notes. A number of people are asking for tabs, which I am not good at doing, but I am working on it.

Kay

John Subik · Post by **John Subik** » 12 May 2010 7:05 am

Kay,

Hope you don't mind, I liked this so much I shared your link with James Wilsey, the lead player for Chris Isaak when the original version was recorded. He's a memeber of a guitar forum I frequent. He asked me to tell you that he likes it very much.

Jim is very tasty player in his own right, got a chance to see him leading his own instrumental group a while back.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 12 May 2010 9:32 am

real nice Kay

you've helped a steelin' friend of mine, get close the 11th tuning
Merci

Kay Das · Post by **Kay Das** » 15 May 2010 8:41 pm

Hi John,

That is very kind of James Wilsey to say so. I would like to hear more of his music, if you could please direct me. I am a member of a few non-steel guitar forums but have not come across his name.

Salut "CrowBear",

Grateful.Good to hear of steel guitar in that beautiful part of France. I used to travel Marseilles/Nice/Grenoble frequently in a past life but never got the chance to see the Pyrenees.

Kay

Roman Sonnleitner · Post by **Roman Sonnleitner** » 16 May 2010 8:05 am

James Wilsey is one of my all-time favorite guitar players, here's the Myspace site for his instrumental solo project:
http://www.myspace.com/jameswilsey

Kay Das · Post by **Kay Das** » 9 Jun 2010 8:22 pm

Just ordered the" El Dorado" CD by James Wilsey. The samples have great sounds and have been excellently engineered. Amazingly, per the video, he did it all himself. Thanks for introducing this, Roman.

Kay

John Subik · Post by **John Subik** » 12 Jun 2010 11:51 am

Howdy Kay, I've been away for a bit but I see Roman has enlightened you to Jim Wilsey and El Dorado.

Jim & Roman (as well as myself) are members of the TDPRI Telecaster forum.

Barney Roach · Post by **Barney Roach** » 24 Jun 2010 7:14 pm

Kay- this is absolutely wonderful! You are such a talented player. ( And your backing track is incredible too )

At the San Diego Vintage Lap show, Kay got up on stage
about 20 minutes after the last scheduled performer-
and just blew-away everybody that was still in the building
with his control over those 8 strings! Touch, tone, and
phrasing- Mr. Das is a master of the instrument- pure and simple.

It was a pleasure meeting you, and getting to talk afterwards.
I hope someday you'll give me some pointers on how to play.

Tim Heidner · Post by **Tim Heidner** » 25 Jun 2010 11:43 am

Kay Das wrote:Hi John,

That is very kind of James Wilsey to say so. I would like to hear more of his music, if you could please direct me. I am a member of a few non-steel guitar forums but have not come across his name.

Kay

He posts on the TDPRI Telecaster forum as WICKEDGTR but he kind of seems a bit overwhelmed or exasperated at all the attention he gets.

Kay Das · Post by **Kay Das** » 1 Jul 2010 10:56 pm

Welcome back, John. Thanks for the lead, Tim. Barney, that was very generous of you, thank you...

The atonal style of Jim's solo guitar in "Wicked Game" is again very much present in "El Dorado" which has some beautiful timbres. James Tilsey makes us aware that there can be more than 12 notes in an octave and with tasteful playing the "in between" notes can be made to sound tantalizing.

And so too also on the steel guitar....

Kay Das · Post by **Kay Das** » 2 Sep 2010 7:46 pm

I went to see Chris Isaak at The Greek Theater with my daughter last week. What a treat it was! What a great entertainer! If you have the chance, do not miss out if southern and slow country rock ballads are your cup of tea..

His lead guitarist at this show was Hershel Yatovitz, a great player. What intrigued me was the way Yatowitz played slide (not steel) guitar on "Western Stars", a cover for the K.D. Lang original. If you closed your eyes you would swear there was a steel guitarist on stage. Hershel played slide harmony in a manner I have rarely heard on slide guitar. I then realized that the upper four strings of a normal guitar are indeed tuned to an inverted sixth....and there you go...

That said, I am of the opinion that Chris Isaak would sound even better with an additional lap steeler on stage. And I hope his marketing people are listening in!

Kay