The Steel Guitar Forum

I want to tell everyone how I found this article. I have a yahoo mail account in addition to my hotmail account. Yahoo offers news alerts that will be mailed to you once a day or as they happen. All you have to do is enter in keywords. I have the following keywords set up for my alerts: "Gretchen Wilson," "Steel Guitar," "Sony Nashville," "Jasper Georgia," & "Gaylon Mathews." Anytime any of these are in the news, I get an email. Needless to say, I get anywhere from 5 to 10 emails per day about Gretchen. About, 2 to 3 a week about steel guitar, 1 or 2 a month about Sony Nashville, about 1 every 3 months about my home town and maybe 1 a year(or less) about me. My email hit on this article through Gretchen AND steel guitar so naturally I investigated. It's a neat way to keep up with things you are interested in. OK, that was slightly off topic but I'll bring it back now by saying, yes...this guy writes for a small news paper but his article can reach a whole lot of people as everyone can see. Maybe not as many if I hadn't posted here. But, I thought everyone here should have the opportunity to read this article and make up their own mind what he was getting at. I really didn't expect my post to get more than 10 or 15 hits and then it would die out. Wow, you guys are serious about this stuff! Oh well, at least the writer will know he got someone's attention...won't he!

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www.gaylonmathews.com

Gretchen Wilson
www.gretchenwilson.com

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<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Gaylon Mathews on 28 December 2005 at 07:19 AM.]</p></FONT>

My blisteringly sarcastic comment--made before I had gone through the thread-- appeared here for some minutes. If you missed it for this comment, you missed nothing. Everything I might have felt either way was well covered, including the sadness at the ignorance of so many.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by James Cann on 28 December 2005 at 07:48 AM.]</p></FONT>

I know it's not exactly rocket science but, if it's cool enough for Steve Robinson, it's cool enough for me.

I'd be impressed if there was someone passionate enough about accordian to take exception to someone insulting it.

Randolphs contribution should be balanced. Just because PSG guitar sales and an increase in students wanting to learn his style can't be subtantiated yet does not negate the absolute fact that he has introduced the instrument to thousands and thousands of people. Out of these thousands, there will be some who will want to learn it, some who will investigate what it has been used for further, and the rest will at least know what it is now!

Anybody want to send him some CDs? We could burn do-it-yourself best-of CDs of great cuts. W could promote new releases by sending one cut from each one.

"I'd be impressed if there was someone passionate enough about accordian to take exception to someone insulting it."

You are kidding, right?

I guess we are all ignorant about the things we are ignorant about. Hang out in Minnesota sometime.

Or for that matter listen to Tex-Mex, Cajun, French cabaret, south american, tangos, and of course, Polkas!<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill McCloskey on 28 December 2005 at 08:33 AM.]</p></FONT>

Maybe "cool" means something different in the great State of Virginia, and throughout the eastern US. When Bob Hoffnar said 'he has a point', it got me thinking 'huh?'

Here in rural North California, blues is cool. Western swing is cool. Kids who rock are cool, of course, but so is cajun-style accordian and Gram Parsons' country-rock.

I suspect that in the Eastern US a lot of this stuff is uncool. That's why Bob Hoffnar, a New Yorker, might feel that he plays an uncool instrument sometimes, even though he plays some very cool music.

It's a regional thing.

By the way, did anyone notice that he mentioned RR playing with Dave Matthews and Del McCoury, but not with Eric Clapton? My guess: old slowhand isn't cool.

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I am not qualified to speak on this subject as I have never heard any of the music of RR. But as far as promoting the pedal steel for all types of music I would mention my friend Roger Rettig. He pushes the envelope in all directions. His playing has introduced pedal steel, to music directors in Broadway productions and many other venues.
My personal opinion is, we don't have enough qualified instructors for the pedal steel. There are a lot of folks who will get you started with a few licks and a lot of old country songs. But to teach you what is necessary to learn the fret board and all that, is on there ,I find a serious lack
of help. my 2 cents

<SMALL>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?</SMALL>

Nail on the head, Herb. I've definitely said my share and more. It's not worth a steel player's time to think this guy is a threat or anything - he's apparently just some kid.

Oh and to give you an idea of what the non-country sector of the "Sponge Bob" generation thinks of steel, I had an 18 year old girl tell me the other day, "I've never even seen one of those."

Doubt they even really know what it is, doubt they know who Conway (Harold Jenkins) or Kenny Rogers are, doubt they care. If they come to understand anything at all about pedal steel, it's probably going to be via Robert Randolph, which is no big deal. It's not like someone is going to come confiscate your E9/C6 double neck if it becomes unpopular enough - it'll still sound as good as ever, too.

Heck - when one of my old heavy metal band mates (from times I'd rather forget ) heard I was playing steel, he brought up Ben Harper, and he was in his late 20's. What does that tell you?

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

<SMALL>Anybody want to send him some CDs? We could burn do-it-yourself best-of CDs of great cuts. W could promote new releases by sending one cut from each one.</SMALL>

If this guy is as narrow minded and ignorant as you all believe, then this would have about the same effect as sending emails to him. They will all end up in the garbage. It seems he is a hard core rocker and trying to expose him to any pure steel guitar (country, jazz, classical, etc) would be fruitless. He probably already knows what a steel guitar sounds like and doesn't like it, probably because of it's association with country music.

I say leave the guy alone. Leave Robert Randolf alone.

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Carter D10 9p/9k, NV400, Korg Triton Le88 Synth, Korg CX-3 organ, Yamaha Motif Rack Module, Regal Dobro, Tele, Gretsch Acoustic.

i guess I'm in the minority but I directly got interested in pedal steel after listening to Chuck Campbell and Robert Randolph. I heard the Campbell brothers long before I heard Buddy Emmons. I'm not a kid, but I'm not a fan of country music either. If it hadn't been for those guys, I would have never started down this path.

You can stone me, but I'm still more interested in the potential of pedal steel than the recorded lexicon. I have now heard A LOT of pedal steel and there are only a few players where I see the possibility that the Pedal steel can do what I think it can do: Reece's stuff. Randy Beavers, Herbie Wallace, Joe Wright. A few others. But I play the Campbell brothers and RR more than most of those guys put together.

So I'm happy to be the poster child for someone who came to love the steel from the sacred steel tradition.

I still cop most of my licks from guitarists, not pedal steel guitarists, and horn players.

Did anyone click on the Meet Sam to the right of his artical? looks to be in ealy 20s

No suprise there.
He's not exactly writing for the Wall Street Journal, either.

Yeah I just looked at the "Meet Sam" thing - guys I don't think anyone has anything to worry about, and it's probably not worth bugging him any further.

Given his great attention to detail and accuracy of reporting I predict Sam has a great future with the Enquirer.

I wrote my own letter:

"Hey Sam,

First want to thank you for covering a pedal steel player and a great one at that. I got into pedal steel because of the sacred steel tradition, Chuck Campbell and Robert Randolph. It is actually a great instrument – one of the great blues machines, although it is not usually known for that.

I know you got a lot of flack from the steel guitar community and I hope that doesn’t prevent your from covering pedal steel in the future or learning about some of the other great players out there. Sneaky Pete is someone who you would probably like, and there are even some folks in the country realm that are worth listening too.

There are also a lot of players that have taken up pedal steel and are moving it into new directions. Bob Hoffner in New York is a good example. Don’t let the Pedal Steel Police get you down. They are, as is obvious, passionate about the instrument. With good reason. "<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill McCloskey on 28 December 2005 at 09:42 AM.]</p></FONT>

Bob Hoffner is pretty good, too.

oops. I'll correct it.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Bill McCloskey on 28 December 2005 at 09:42 AM.]</p></FONT>

Interesting comments all 'round. Herb Steiner mentioned Sacred Steel artists--anybody here have a good handle on THOSE kinds of steel players? All the mention of how ignorant this kid is.. and most posters here have no clue of the WORLD of Sacred Steel that spawned RR. Anyone?

Hey one thing to note too: he described the pedal steel as having "a tarnished - even rusted - image."

See, he's apparently writing this from the perspective of the Rock 'n Roll culture, which is almost ALL ABOUT IMAGE, especially in the younger generation. And believe me, in the eyes of the "serious" young rocker, country music in general has an image that's probably worse than rusted or tarnished - it's almost an antagonistic thing.

But let's get serious - what is there to worry about?
All those who feel that steel has a rusted image in the country music genre, raise you hand...
Yeah, I didn't think so. Not even in modern country.

Jon the thing that steamed everyone was NOT the mention of Robert R. and sacred steel, it was the putting-down of country steel, which just happens to be where steel is most heard. We've all been aware of other styles for quite some time, and they are rich with talent.

Don't call us ignorant for not accepting inaccurate, ignorant statements from the reporter.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Duane Reese on 28 December 2005 at 10:04 AM.]</p></FONT>

Got a very nice email back from the writer. He's surprised to see he is at the center of "pedal Steel Gate", and had no intention of putting the instrument down.

However, I think he is going to write a follow up column as a result of all the response.

Jon, go to Amazon.com or Towerrecords.com and search on the Campbell Brothers, or on Sacred Steel (ignore the metal band Sacred Steel). You will find several anthologies of African-American gospel steel guitar music. The Campbell Brothers are an especially good choice. They are a killer group, live or on disc. Chuck Campbell was Robert Randolph's mentor. One of the cool things about this group is that one brother plays a lap steel, using a finger on the tone for wah, in the traditional style, and the other plays a 14 string pedal steel with a wah pedal, in a more blues-rock style. Chuck is a member of the Forum and reads it regularly. The Campbell Brothers tour regularly. If they play near you, don't miss them. They will rock your socks off. Chuck is a great guy, who loves to talk steel guitar. He will let you sit right down at his steel and try his E7 tuning. <font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by David Doggett on 28 December 2005 at 10:39 AM.]</p></FONT>

You guys are way too nice. I emailed him and told him he was an ignorant a**h**le.
I told him he should do his research first.By the way Robert Randolph never uses his pedals that I can tell.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Ron Sodos on 28 December 2005 at 10:55 AM.]</p></FONT>

Thanks, DD. Ain't this forum great!