Posted: 20 Nov 2004 3:07 pm
Related to Jr. Blankenship?
Here it is a week since the show and I'm still so wound up that I almost forgot to take my steel to my gig last night. For therapy, in hopes to get back to normal perhaps I'll offer some insight on a back woods steel picker's first big steel show.
Back in the seventys (before my 18 year lay off on steel) I played several big shows, but I was always the side man over in the corner. Playing a steel show front and center is a totally different thing.
I was lucky enough to have everything at this show click in my favor. I was within driving distance so I was able to bring my own amp,hospitality was abundant when I got there and I was scheduled to play with two of my favorite musicians, Don Cerce Jr. (guitar) and Larry Eagle (drums). I was also able to have my brother, Elton, and niece, Deedee play my set with me. I figured in the excitment of it all if I forgot to cue the band on something Deedee could fill in the blanks for me and if my picking hadn't gone so well I could have had Elton sing an extra song.
I mentioned that I'd love to go on early so Jeff put me on first. I was thrilled. This way I wouldn't have to sit nervously through a super picker's set in fear that the audience would be disappointed in mine.
I find it interesting to watch the crowd's reaction to various styles of music at steel shows and find that country music in the style of late 50's 60's and early 70's (when pedal steel was the powerhouse) seems to go over well. How lucky for me as this is what I like to do.
So I kicked it off with a medley of shuffles that everyone would surely know, perhaps a little jittery at first, but when I finished and during what seemed to me like a thunderous applause I notice a fellow in the front row. It was written all over his face that he thoroughly enjoyed that tune. He looked like I felt when I attended my first steel show there a few years ago. That's when I knew it was going to be OK.
As I settled into "I Love You So Much It Hurts Me" I glanced down at Dick Lee and he gave me a wink. He told me after the show that he could tell just by my face that I was getting comfortable at that point, and he was right and the set went fine.
To top it all off, at the end of my set, Bob Maickel stepped in for the M.C. and said some very nice things about me and invited me back in the future. What a nice gesture. These are things that, as we grind away, trying to get a handle on this instrument,we only dream about happening some day.
My wife, Jean, is sorry she couldn't be there. It seems that most of us have some sort of situation at home and ours is our youngest son, Matthew who is 27, has what is called "Lennox Gastaut Syndrome" which leaves him severly physically and mentally handicapped. He also suffers from grand mal seisures and obviously requires our constant care. While our daughter Michelle (the fiddler) was planning on watching Matt for us that weekend, when the time came he wasn't doing so well so Jean thought she should stay with him.
I know this may sound like a dissmal situation but Jean and I feel Matt has been a tremendous blessing in our lives. I've always said that out of something bad always comes at least something good. In this case I think Matt is probably the reason I'm back to playing steel again.
For years while working day and night building up our buisneses, Jean devoted her time to caring for Matt. Now that the buisnesses are well established and I can "kick back" a little, I encourage her to go out evenings and do all those things that she's been missing, singing in the Sweet Adalines Chorus etc. while I stay home with Matt.
Now this is the good part. Matt loves to listen to me play the steel. So quite often Matt and I will head on out to the music room, he'll sit on the couch and play with his pick-up sticks, I'll fire up my Band In A Box and steel and away we go. I can play those same old songs over and over and although he can't speak a word, when I look over at him he is usually giving me a great big million dollar smile.
Sorry about babeling on but I would like to thank everyone for the enthusiastic compliments and giving me one of the best weekends of my life.
Merle
