The Steel Guitar Forum

I think this is more about `entertainment`.
The player's a little Rusty:

pick here

Arch.

its not a matter of respecting your opinion, I`m just disagreeing with you! How did I disrespect you..?
As stated earlier,

bobbe had the urge to write it, I had the urge to comment on it

I`ve had a few great conversations with you earlier, you have been most helpful when I wanted to get into steelplaying! (even tough I didn`t even buy a steel from you )

..

And then there are those who who point out singers who take breaths in the wrong places when singing the SSB. Some people just can't be satisfied. Don D.

Deleted

Why can't I make a post that says so much with so few words as Ken Byng has done,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,


Bobbe,

..

Ken Byng wrote:I just dusted off 2 of my Jimi Hendrix albums that I bought in the 60's. My taste was quite catholic then and the Hendrix albums shared a shelf with Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Doc Watson, Kenny Burrell, Ivor Mairants, Barney Kessel, Herb Ellis, Andres Segovia, Wes Montgomery, B B King and many other. I haven't played Hendrix for many many years (unlike the others) because to me it is dated, sloppy and out of tune. (Probably because of the influence of chemicals ) The music is of its time, and while I will agree it was extremely different and trend setting, it doesn't stand up to today's rock players in terms of technique and musicality. Beck in particular has taken rock guitar to new heights.

However, Les Paul's stuff from the same period still sounds fresh today, as does Chet's and the great jazz players. These guys were every bit as innovative as Hendrix in their day, plus they knew how to tune their instruments.

That's interesting given the pervasive and deep influence that Hendrix had - and continues to have - on many of today's rock players.

Entertainer vs. musician. . . why can't a person be both? Last March at the TSGA convention I heard this steel guitar player make his steel guitar sound like a car crash. It was horrible. Right up there with Jimi's buzz bombs and whistles in SSB. Nevertheless, this steel guitar player is an excellent, creative musician. . . just like Jimi was.

The melody of the Star Spangled Banner was not written by Francis Scott Key. It was an old bawdy drinking song (which explains why sober people have trouble hitting that high note.) It is a song of war, and the Hendrix version paints a musical picture of war. "War is Hell," and we ought not forget that.

And, no, you can't learn to play Jimi's version in half an hour, even if you are already an accomplished guitarist. Controlling and using the regeneration (feedback) of a wall of high powered amps is a skill you don't understand until you try it yourself, or watch a master do it.

I watched Ted Nugent from 10 feet behind his open backed amps (LOUD!!!) and saw him walk from one duct tape "X" on the stage to another, causing a different harmonic to ring out. I saw another guitarist get a differnt harmonic to ring by tilting the humbucking pickup. Jeff Beck and Adrian Belew have taken the use of electric guitar to create new sounds even further (Belew calls his approach "Wild Rhino.") Thinking it is easy is like thinking driving the family sedan has prepared you to handle a 500 HP race car. Try clamping a speaker or transducer to your steel and you'll experience a new challenge to pick/palm blocking; EVERYTHING is live! But you won't lack sustain. javascript:emoticon(';-)')

By the way, Bobbe, Jimi could tune his guitar. It's just that the guitar Leo Fender designed was being pushed beyond its design limits, and couldn't stay in tune. Hendrix' innovations created the need for the developement of the locking tremolo and Teflon nuts.

I was surprised and disappointed to see Bobbe's comments on Hendrix. Mr. Seymoure has repeated urged his fellow steelers to be open minded about adventurous uses of the pedal steel guitar, so I wonder if his attitude about this is derived from his patriotism, and a mistaken judgement on the intent of Jimi's treatment of the National Anthem.

I'm probably the only one here who actually knew the guy. Seymour you should go back to selling "Shelbys" and "wraparounds." You obviously don't know what you are talking about here, and are using sarcasm to cover your ignorance.

For the rest of you guys, imagine being a shy man with inordinate talent sucked up into the giant money machine of R&R an having the life drained out of you by liars, leeches and trash. Jimi was a great and kind man who will be remembered long after pickers like myself will be pushing up daisies...

Well said Rich. I saw Hendrix at Mile High Stadium in 1969 when I was 18. The next day I tried to get the same sounds out of my Japanese guitar plugged into a Gibson Skylark amp with a 10" speaker. I couldn't get the sounds like Jimi did the night before. Twenty years later, when I could afford some better equipment with more wattage, I tried again and failed again. Just like playing the steel guitar well, it's all in the hands and in the equipment.

I, too, was confused by Bobbe's statement. I thought he was all for creativity in music. But, he is entitled to his opinion even if he thinks Jimi's SSB was not any good. I personally think he's just bored and decided to stir the ant nest a little. I used to like to blowup ant hills with fire crackers, but once I got to Texas I stopped because those fireants fight back.

Allen Peterson

Allen Peterson wrote:Entertainer vs. musician. . . why can't a person be both? Last March at the TSGA convention I heard this steel guitar player make his steel guitar sound like a car crash. It was horrible. Right up there with Jimi's buzz bombs and whistles in SSB. Nevertheless, this steel guitar player is an excellent, creative musician. . . just like Jimi was.

I never actually saw Hendrix perform, and I didn't even see the Woodstock movie performance until many years later. Nevertheless, his music had a profound influence on me.

Music is about communication. Jimi was able to communicate the essence of his own humanity to a large audience through his music. He was an avant-garde artist who invented his own techniques. I don't know guitar well enough to say if he was a great guitarist or not, but the instrument obviously served him well as a tool of his art.

I always feel that the amplifier and other equipment that we use are part of the instrument. You have to know how to play the whole instrument, not just the part that's in your hands. Hendrix had that connection - his tools were an extension of his creative mind.

How is that new/old Hammond working out? :- )

Tom Quinn wrote:How is that new/old Hammond working out? :- )

It's a really hard instrument to play.

Having grown up in the Seattle area and been in High School in the late 60's Hendrix is special to me. I saw him play live at Sick's Stadium, same place my Dad took me to watch the Seattle Raniers play baseball, God Bless America. I love Hendrix, Ray Price, the Ink Spots, Bob Wills, Thelonius Monk, Chet Atkins, Elmore James, Bobbe Seymour, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Pride, Vassar Clements, the list (and the beat!) goes on, DIVERSITY, what a wonderful thing....."wouldn't it be a real drag if we were all the same".

I haven't played Hendrix for many many years (unlike the others) because to me it is dated, sloppy and out of tune. (Probably because of the influence of chemicals ) The music is of its time, and while I will agree it was extremely different and trend setting, it doesn't stand up to today's rock players in terms of technique and musicality.

It is my opinion that the bulk of players you're talking about would emphatically disagree with these statements. Read what the young masters say about Jimi. Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, you name it. Or read what Beck, Clapton, or Page thought or now think about Jimi. He opened so many doors that it really isn't possible to think about modern rock without him. As I said earlier - he did all this before he died at 28. I salivate thinking what he might have created had he survived through to the present.

Of course there are issues with some of the recorded legacy. One thing about Hendrix is that he was so important that every chucklehead with a cheap tape recorder was there to make a bad recording of every tripped-out night he was on a stage. Add to that the fact that he was doing things on a Stratocaster that were outside the limits of the instrument at the time.

But I can understand how some of this can be off-putting to someone who demands recorded perfection, as many musicians do these days. I often tend to focus on the more polished studio material, but listen to the other stuff in historical context. Honestly, this is how I view a lot of early blues, country music, and jazz - it is what it is, and I don't apply a modern technical standard to it. Obviously, I agree with b0b that Jimi was an avante garde musician - and most people either love that or hate it. No problem. But I don't think we can overestimate his influence.

... imagine being a shy man with inordinate talent sucked up into the giant money machine of R&R an having the life drained out of you by liars, leeches and trash. Jimi was a great and kind man who will be remembered long after pickers like myself will be pushing up daisies.

Yup, I agree. BTW, forum member Michael Johnstone also has some good Jimi stories and photos, which are out there for anybody who can do a forum search. For example, here - http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=117442

Allen

Thank you

Those fire ants, and killer bees, would be the downside of global warming up here in Minnesota, "Where many are cold, but few are frozen."

Another important aspect of Jimi's music: Mitch Mitchell, with The Experience, was a jazz drummer brought into the rock realm, and that changed Rock 'n' Roll and all music. Before him, "Wipe Out!" was a great drum solo.

BobbeSeymour wrote:...I set my steel on fire at a show in Dallas once in 1959, guess I was ahead of my time.
Bobbe

Surely a picture exists.
'Would love to see!!!
~pb

Hang in there Bobbe. Jody.

...and so castles made of sand,fall into the sea....eventually.

Yeah man what everybody else is saying here. Gee no way Robert Randolph is as good a Buddy Emmons on Steel..I wonder if Robert Randolph can even play country music on pedal steel guitar.

I have to agree with what Bobbe said about what passes as music today in general.I have never heard Jimmy Hendrix play,but if it was any thing like the distorted crap being done at the end of Lenos and Lettermans shows i would like to see it.
Most are running and jumping around on the stage and look as if they were trying to shake fire ants out of thier drawers and it gives my my laughs for the day.
There is show stuff and then there is music.Most of the younger crowd seem to like the show stuff.And i stand by this,one has to be tone deaf to actually call it music.IMO

..