The Steel Guitar Forum

I felt compelled to sling this guy an e-mail too:
Sam, you obviously know so little about the Pedal Steel Guitar that you had no business
writing this article. Really sad. Next time do a little more research before you start
dissing something you know so little about. Try a google search of Poco/Rusty Young; Buddy Emmons;
Paul Franklin Jr; Hal Rugg; Doug Jernigan; the list could go on and on. Robert Randolf? good player, very much in the
spotlight lately. Did he rescue the Pedal Steel from the scrap heap of the uncool? You could not have been
more off base. You could have written a great article about RR without insulting legions of devoted steel guitarists and their fans.
You simply flaunted your own ignorance.
I normally sign a letter "respectfully".......
But your article deserves none.
John Ummel
Steel Guitarist

Robert Who???,
Bill Bailey

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Thanks to all you guys that took the time to write this clown. On the other hand. The only bad publicity, is no publicity.

If you don't believe me? Ask Bobbe Seymour.

Speaking of Bobbe, when I was down there he told me that he has known RR for some time, and thinks he's an intelligent, vibrant young man with an immense talent.

The writer is doing him no favors for sure, as he is obviously not speaking for Mr Randolph, and from what I've gathered, is very kind to and respectful of "traditional" players.

He seems to know how to make MONEY, and I doubt he's got a tip jar onstage..

More power to him.



EJL

If you think you can get the same sound from a $49 Wal-Mart 6-stringer, it's because you're listening through a $49 Wal Mart hearing aid.

You know what this writer could have said instead...

"Robert Randolph is taking an already cool instrument, that has served as a main pilar of country music, and taking it in a new cool direction."

But hey, it seems that he is just some kid that doesn't like country and wrote an ignorant article. He may not even know what a steel sounds like in country, and anyone who does that reads the article will know he's ignorant, and as for the rest... Oh well.

Gaylon,

Thanks for exposing this ignoramus.



I e-mailed him, too!

cheers,
Drew

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<font size=1>Drew Howard - website - Fessenden guitars, 70's Fender Twin, etc.</font>

Man I'm pi$$$ed!!!

Wow,

After all your nice emails to this writer, I'm sure he has a lot more respect for the Pedal Steel community.

I'm sure we'll see another article from him on the pedal steel, oh... around the day after never.

Well shoot, I just downloaded a video clip of R-R and the guy can play -- period. This guy is not sitting in his back bedroom playing "Together Again" -- out of tune and off-the-time for the zillionth time. He's making $$$ and probably enjoying all of the fringe benefits.

The steel guitar is not an un-cool instrument, but face it, most steel players are about as exciting as mashed potatoes on stage. We are a tight little community of fanatics about one of the most difficult-to-play instruments ever invented.

But unfortunately, it's also an easy instrument to ridicule for the no-nothing set. I just turned off the Christmas re-run of GOO. Lord it was so duuuuuuuuuuuuulllllllll... No spark at all. So if some young guy can make a show of playing the guitar, let 'er rip. And if some dumb**** doesn't know what he's talking about, so what? I'd still play the sucker even if I was the last one on earth, and screw the mass media opinion of it.

After all, my second instrument -- well third after guitar and steel? The accordion! :- <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Tom Quinn on 28 December 2005 at 06:37 AM.]</p></FONT>

The most common reaction I get everywhere I play is "That's cool!" I don't know how anyone can think that a pedal steel isn't among the coolest of instruments.

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<font size="1"><img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b2005.gif" width="78 height="78">Bobby Lee (a.k.a. b0b) - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs, Open Hearts
Williams D-12 E9, C6add9, Sierra Olympic S-12 (F Diatonic)
Sierra Laptop S-8 (E6add9), Fender Stringmaster D-8 (E13, C6 or A6)   My Blog </font>

If some of us sent him sound files of great stuff, that would shut his mouth and open his ears.

This article certainly doesn't surprise me, nor does the fact that the writer seems to be completely ignorant of the history of the instrument, including the history of sacred steel guitar, whose virtues he extolls. To wit, this statement:

<SMALL>The young churchgoing man from New Jersey has single-handedly upended the concept of pedal steel.</SMALL>

is the biggest crock in the article. There are other factual inaccuracies, but most of the other significant points are just the writer's opinion. But he asserts this like it is some kind of fact. We all know it is not.

We should not denigrate Robert Randolph about this - he has, over and over, paid full homage to his mentors and influences, which are obviously wide and varied. It's just expecting too much of "rock journalism" to get any facts straight - it's all about image, and the image of the classic country pedal steel player just doesn't fit their copy. This is just a hype-up.

There's also no point in arguing with someone about whether classic country music is "hip" or not. It's a loaded term, and fairly unimportant, since it will encompass something totally new by next week.

I play mostly in front of rock audiences. Virtually everybody I ever talk to thinks pedal steel is the hippest of the hip instruments. I'm a relatively new player - it can't be my "dazzling technical prowess" - I don't have any. I'm mainly a guitar player, but people are so taken with the steel, I spend 90% of any night on it, by popular demand. I play a mix of trad country steel guitar and some blues and rock oriented steel. What people seem to react to is the overall voice of the instrument, not any particular style.

So, I would take all this with a big grain of salt. Our job is to educate the public and writers like this. This reminds me of ignorant comments by well known sports people - they served as a catalyst to highlight that ignorance. Ignorance is forgivable - we all are ignorant until we go out and get the facts. The way to educate is to explain how to get the real facts.

A final point: A writer is free to have an editorial opinion. Where this writer went wrong was to present opinions as "facts", and not do some research on those "facts". IMO.

So, do we blame the subject of the article,
for the stupidity of the writer...
Absurd on it's face, but I see several rants
against RR personally, as if he was quoted.

What may be hip and cool or awesome for us...
just is unknown and misunderstood for most people.
tis true, tis true, I can not denie!

This writer fits in the "most People" catagory. Gee small wonder.

Yeah he probably only knows Kenny, Conway (with the funny name),
Willie and Johhny Cash,
but forgot 2 of them while writing on deadline.

Still he no doubt reflects mass opinion more than our views do.. SADLY

What Bob Hoffnar said.

Heck with the writer,
But I'll gladly support RR.
I hope the next album is really cool and makes the PSG a world wide phenomenon
<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 27 December 2005 at 09:47 PM.]</p></FONT>

Isn't it strange how one ignorant kid with a column can floor this many people?

David,
I hope steel becomes a world wide phenomenon too. Yet I hope it's not a Randolph CD that does it but rather a Perlowin or Bobbe's latest or one by any of a hundred mentioned on SGF. I like Randolph and think he's a good player, but I can say the same for Duane Eddy, Dick Dale, Hound Dog Taylor, and a lot more. If people think of Randolph as what steel is, then they are less likely to get into all of the great styles of steel playing.

Anyway, I envy you for getting to live in Thighland. A friend of mine retired there after working on the railroads, laying ties. He likes to send people post cards of Phuket.

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"Drinking up the future, and living down the past"--unknown singer in Phoenix

I'm starting to be sorry I contributed to all this at all, for a few reasons...


1) The guy writes for a small local paper, and it's a tiny drop in the bucket overall (if an ignorant one for sure)that few will ever read... Not worth the time or effort to worry about, as several here have pointed out...

2) A small handful of people on this forum have said things that to me are far more offensive than the "smug ignorance" of the original writer, and far more ignorant in my opinion...

As if the very bright and talented Robert Randolph had anything to do with, or any control over, what some underpaid, over-his-head, local journalist writes about him...

Nicely said, Pete

There is hope! At least this thread did not turn into a Randolph fest like so many have before. That's encouraging.

All a real steel player needs is a guitar and a amp. What RR plays, I don't consider Psg music. From what I've seen, he could do the same thing on a electric guitar using a slide. But then again, I'm sitting here typing and he's probably on the road somewhere making thousands of dollars. If what RR does is working, then fine. On the other hand, if a writer is going to write about Psg or its players, then he or she needs to go to a Psg source for info.

As a writer who writes a weekly column, I think I can speak from this guy.

His writing a column, always looking for idea. He is also trying to be entertaining for his audience.

This guys focus is Robert Randolph, not the history of the PSG.

As such he is writing his column, probably minutes before his deadline, he is trying to come up with and idea, and he is trying to be entertaining.

I hate to tell you guys, but PSG is not considered by people who have never seen it to be a particulary cool instrument. There are few cool instruments: guitar, maybe sax. Beyond that it is just not cool. I doubt if even Bass is considered cool. Maybe Dobro if you've seen Jerry Douglas, but if you haven't, definitely not.

So he writes a funny line, he comes up with the best examples he can of country people, and out it goes.

Now he gets a mailbox full of nasty in your face emails from a bunch of what appears to him lunatic pedal steel players who can't imagine that someone doesnt' think a pedal steel guitarist who played with Loretta Lynn isn't cool. I hate to break it too you: until Jack White came along, she wasn't.

Now here was an opportunity to expose this guy to the wonderful world of pedal steel. Instead he is berated for his ignorance, his stupidity.

What a waste of an opportunity! Keep on like this and we'll make sure no one ever writes an article on the pedal steel, for fear of the pedal steel police knocking on his inbox and reporting him to his superior. (btw, that was actually one of the lowest moments I've ever witnessed on this forum. You threaten a person's livelihood because he doesn't love the pedal steel? discusting.)

Having been involved for a decade with an alternative newsweekly (the Austin Chronicle) that sometimes published what I considered uneducated or ill-advised opinions on music subjects, I agree with Pete Finney and Bill McCloskey. Especially Pete's comment about the amount of uneducated opinion occasionally found here in Forumland.

This guy is small potatoes. I doubt very highly if he was paid anything significant, if anything at all, for his article. He did get a load of grief for his trouble though, didn't he?

Hey, he's young and at the age when he thinks he knows all there is to know; and who amongst us hasn't said anything stupid and hurtful when we were young? Or old, for that matter.

Robert Randolph is a great musician and showman. And in RR-hotbed Austin Texas during the last 4 years, I've had exactly one student ask to learn RR-style... on dobro. So he hasn't drastically affected steel guitar around here that I can see.

If another steel guitarist reaches the height of public acceptance that RR has, he/she will probably come from the Sacred Steel community. According to a knowledgeable friend of mine in that church, there are over 200 young, gifted players who have chops similar to, or exceeding, Robert's.

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

well, perhaps..

If someone writes an article with humor..it should be recognized as humor or gest ..or it doesn't work..if folks read it and don't laugh..there is no humor...

I'm thinking this was not humor but rather ignorance...his attempt at being profoundly COOL...perhaps witty....

Scrap Pile, Conway, Kenny Rogers...the writer did not need to use a personal name to associate with humor in my view..

This Instrument has enough going against it to laugh at..bringing Conway or Kenny's name into the mix is an overkill...

You know what they say, we can all laugh at ourselves and each other, but when an outsider laughs at us..then the gloves come off...

I wonder if we would have all had the same reaction if the article was about They Might Be Giants and how they saved the acordian from the scrap heap of the uncool. I'm sure the writer would have recieved hate mail from fanatice polka players saying polka music is the coolest thing going.

BTW, anyone heard any good banjo jokes?<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill McCloskey on 28 December 2005 at 07:13 AM.]</p></FONT>

<SMALL>What a waste of an opportunity</SMALL>

A "wasted opportunity" because e-mails were sent to this guy taking exception to what he said? Not at all, if you want to train a donkey you gotta get his attention first! I'll stand by what I said to him, that he could have written a great article about RR without the scrap heap comments, that were completely off base.
By the way I'm never insulted when someone comes up and asks me about my "steel pedal" or "slide guitar" or "keyboard" because underlying is ALWAYS that they think it is WAY COOL!
Johnny