The Steel Guitar Forum

J D Sauser,

Thanks for the lengthy reflections. Are you still building steel guitars, and have there been exchanges between you and the membership here on the forum, touching on the subject?

Steiner G.

On the contrary, I do care very much that you would explain how you feel in communicative writings. How very fortunate I would be, to know that a steel player from Norway would take part in these discussions. I am not an unyielding preoccupied musician. I hope to read more of your inspiring messages. Thanks..

Now THIS reads almost like butter, Bill! Thanks, I appreciate the courtesy.

I am currently not exactly BUILDING PSG's but I am still designing and brain storming on alternative concepts which would allow me to build a "better" sounding instrument, yet at least retaining all the mechanical playability and tuning (changer) possibilities. As you will only know, I currently still live in the Dominican Republic. I hope to move on to a more developed country soon. But meanwhile I can't seem to find the materials nor the mechanical precision know how to have parts made here (in the DR). I have shortly considered the possibility of having parts made in the US while still living here, but decided to save myself the agrieviation of dealing with remote vendors and suppliers.

And yes, I have and keep on communicating with fellow Forumites about this very subject.

... J-D.

Bill Hankey wrote:J D Sauser,

Thanks for the lengthy reflections. Are you still building steel guitars, and have there been exchanges between you and the membership here on the forum, touching on the subject?

Georg S.,

I can't respond to what appears to me as a dicey situation. Clearly, you have not made yourself clear from my standpoint. It would be appreciated if you remove any doubts for the purpose of satisfying your inquiry. If you would paraphrase your act/art terminology as it relates to the pedal steel guitar, I could pick up the tempo to further suit the inquiry.

Steinar,LOVE your TECHNIQUE YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.

Mr Hankey, check out Mr. Curly's technique here. Maybe it could be applied to "air steel". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNNZGj4D ... re=related

Paul, that's why I have always loved and respected you so much. You get it.
We know that all aspects are important but the most important is the final result, what comes out of the amp and into the ears and hearts of the listener.
A little story for you guys. Once a guitar player and a steel player were playing in a club and some guy kept coming up and asking to set in. Finally the guitar player asked the man, "can you play as good as me or him, (referring to the steel player). The man said no. The guitar player looked at him very seriously and said "then go sit down and listen".
Take that anyway you care to. BTW, I was not the steel player in the story. One other thing Bill, you use lots of big words that myself and probably a lot of other steel players don't understand. However, it don't hurt my playing one little bit. Now I'm really done.

Johnny Cox,

My unabated deference for your special talents traces back a few years when I first heard you play. If my memory serves me at this moment, I believe you were playing a song that Ray Price sings so well, called "THE OTHER WOMAN". I was blown away by your style of playing. I immediately compared it to Buddy's arrangement of the same song. It brought me to attention immediately.

I'll trade story for story with you, on the subject of musicians who on rare occasions, perhaps became a bit risque in terms of trying to fill the shoes of technical players. Most will refuse to "sit in" if offered the chance to add some variety to a show. Then there are others who may have been members of the same group, and have since moved on. It's not uncommon to welcome a musician who possesses a good voice, and a broad knowledge of both Spanish, and steel guitars. To witness an unloading of talent on whomever is a bit skeptical about guest entertainment is a good experience.

There are two meaningful and explicative words to serve as reminders in these exchanges. Listed in any order, they are PROPRIETY, and uncharted FINESSE. Either of the two have the power to whittle away
assumed social and musical superiority.

Kevin H.,

I have been curious to know if you've ever heard of TOM BATH? I'm not positive, where he hails from. It could be Buffalo, N.Y. I heard him play in 1992 in Armonk, N.Y., and haven't laid eyes on him since that time. I heard him play "Indian Killed A Woodcock". He is a credit to the industry.

He was my teacher, and lives about a mile from me. He does not play steel anymore. He was directly responsible for any advances that I made on steel guitar. He was one of the most advanced steel players in the world and highly respected by the master players. He could play faster than banjo players. They still talk about him in Texas. Those that saw him play were lucky. Genius mentality.

Kevin,

Thanks for bringing me up to date concerning Tom Bath. I can't imagine that he would ever give up playing the pedal steel guitar. Did he spend a lot of time with your lessons? It will be just one year shy of 20 years this coming November, since I last saw him.

Tommy had no time for people who could not absorb what he was showing them. I was lucky that he let me learn from him. He wouldn't show you twice. I tried to be specific when I was in front of him. He literally knew every fret, every string, every, pedal, and every knee lever. He knew all the licks by the grand masters. He could do more with 4 knee levers than others with 7. Usually when I walked into his basement he would be jamming to high speed jazz tracks. The walls would be vibrating. As I said, he does not play anymore. One of the top players in the world. People who saw him remember. He was in his own class.

Kevin,

I have a copy of Tom's '92 performance, along with the famous jam session combining three important players, Jeff Newman, Hal Rugg, and Herby Remington on cassette tapes. I sat directly in front of Herb Remington (approx. 6') and had a bird's-eye view of his incredulous bar slants. His bar slanting created a perpetual grin on on Jeff's face. Jeff's steel was set up about 20' from Herby, on the right side, angled somewhat, to allow him to better scope out both Hal, and Herby. As Herby's bar slanting became more intense, Hal seemed to develop an unconscious turning of his head, as if hearing slants for the first time. Hal was centered within the trio, facing the central part of the onlookers. Hal was shaken when Herby pulled a surprise ending to a song. He exclaimed, "Are these Herb endings?" No reaction was seen on Herby's facial expressions. The high-spirited activity erupted when Hal and Jeff teamed up by suddenly pulling The O.B.S. out of the bag. I believe different tunings created a problem with that particular arrangement. Picks and bars don't become airborne without a player's assist. B.T.W., Tom Bath was seated back several rows, and witnessed that session.

I wished I had gotten into Hal Rugg alot earlier. One of my lessons from Tom was studying the second string lower and raise moves on "I Love You Just Because" by Hal. Hal Rugg turned out to be one of my favorite players. A real original. I'll tell Tom about that day. I talk to him.

Kevin,

If you haven't checked out the Randy Beavers, or Joe Wright's instrumentals, they are quite knowledgeable when playing off that 2nd string, and E-F change. Most of the hot licks have been worked out in Hal Rugg's 2nd string territory. I mean to say, check out some of their instrumentals at your convenience.

"It takes years of listening to country music to develop the "Heart and soul" that you've mentioned in your statement."

No. It takes years of playing country music.
And even then, you either got it, or you don't

Chris,

Thanks for your comments. I appreciate the fact that the realization of country music's potentialities exists as a consideration within the lyrical boundaries of heartfelt songwriters. The lyrical slicing and dicing of a broken heart, or lyrics that help to mend the hopelessness of a lost love, can't be overstated. An example of that would be David Wills' "A Song On The Jukebox". You wouldn't ever hear a lost lover say to a waitress, "Here's a twenty, bring my change in dimes, There's a song on the jukebox, I want to hear a thousand times." I could relate to, Ray Price's meaningful, "Kissing Your Picture."(Circa 50's) - Those heartfelt lyrics found a place in my heart. Conway Twitty was an outstanding exception in this category of menders of a broken heart. His, "15 Years Ago", and dozens of other songs, could provide the attitudinal changes that are needed to save a broken heart.

Chris, I agree that there is no substitue for sitting in those hell holes and slugging out Haggard, Jones, and Pride. There is something that happens ove those years that gets ingrained in your DNA. When Jones says he has "neon in his vains" he's not kidding. "Misery and Gin" comes to mind also. There is a sixth sense that develops. I can see a bar fight happening before it happens. I was just having a discussion with a Tele player about this. Rock players can't play country. They look funny when they try. They don't understand it or have the feel for it. There is a technique that develops that I call "split screen". Its almost like you split your brain and you are listening to two halves at the same time. One your steel and one the rest of the band. With a third eye watching the crowd. Bill, both Joe and Randy are friends. I'm not now or eever have been in either's class (disclaimer). I would carry their guitars for them anytime. I've been studying both for 20 years. I agree with you.

Kevin,

Songs of joy, those of sadness, polkas, waltzes, praises, etc. make up the repertoire of thousands of American musicians. To each his own is the popular consensus among those groups. I'd trade ten songs that I could name for one good country song. What happened to the songwriters who could write songs that were played over and over, by C.M.Fans?

What happened to the songwriters who could write songs that were played over and over, by C.M.Fans?

Hillbilly Heaven.

Haggard and Nelson are still with us. Marty Stuart also carry's the torch. There are others. Traditional country music is a legitamate art form that takes a whole technique and mind set approach. It really has to be lived in order to be communicated to the souls of others. Otherwise its an empty suit like so much of what you hear on CMT today. Its the truth. The hobo jungle was real. Haggard was there. When Paycheck sang about the handcuffs biting into his wrists, he was there. I heard it said that if you put a bucket under Jimmy Day, he'd bleed for you. You don't get that kind of communicative technique without living it. Its a hard price. The equivelent of Van Gogh, or Monet.

So in order to have been a good traditional country artist I would have to have shoot my wife, abandoned my children, stole something, served jail time for being a dead beat or worse.
I would then have to assume that the folks who enjoy that kind of music would likewise fall into that category.

Well then I guess I'll stay with the CMT folks who just go to rehab, sue their parents, make stupid political comments and sing out their aas instead of their nose.
IMHO of course.