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Topic: "Smoggy Valley Boys"-Who plays steel?? |
Egil Skjelnes
From:
Meland,Frekhaug
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Posted 5 Mar 2007 8:27 am |
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Hi.
Got a strange LP in the mail today,and I hope someone can tell me more about this,and who the steel player might be.The LP titled "Chicken Pickin`",is made in England,and released in 1976,so 31 years old.One side is mainly steel guitar instrumentals,and length of songs are from 0:30 to 1:50,so alot of short tunes,make me think this can be made for use for DJ`s,or radio.Label is PEER Intenational,have never heard about it either.Playing is quite good,alot of fast chicken pickin style,as also the title indicate.Don`t know if this is made by an English band,or US band on an English pressing.No names are listed.The other side of the LP is acoustic guitar,almost classical.So complete different.
Any idea of who this is,any of you English players that have heard about this??
Best from Egil. |
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Bryan Bradfield
From:
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.
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Posted 5 Mar 2007 2:36 pm
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Egil -
I understand that one way for describing those short instrumentals that were used beneath radio announcers' voices is "station breaks". |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 6 Mar 2007 2:30 pm
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The Peer label was a U.K. "library" production company that made less than 50 album releases in the 1970-1980 timeframe. The "Library" stuff was used by radio and TV stations for backgrounds and station breaks, and by production companies for making commercials. It was licensed material which became royalty-free upon purchase of the albums, and saw very limited distribution as a result. (Most of these albums were never offered for public sale, being advertised only in trade publications.) While most of Peer's albums are credited, the ones that aren't will be very hard to obtain such data (unless someone who worked for them comes forth). Peer was bought out by the Zombie company (or something like that), who later sold out to BMG.
Odds are that the chicken-picken cuts were made in the U.S.A., and licensed to Peer for their limited pressings. It might even be Ralph Mooney stuff. |
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steinar
From:
Finneidfjord, Norway
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Posted 10 Mar 2007 11:12 pm
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Gentlemen, I`d be honored to solve the PEER puzzle for you.
As all of you who made it past the fifth grade may remember, Norwegians did quite a few trips over to the British Isles up through the ages and especially the 11th. and the 12th. centuries provided good opportunities for travelling.
Naturally, British damsels took quite eagerly to these dashing buccaneers, and this brings us right over to our topic, - PEER actually IS one of these viking offspring! Born near the historic site of Hastings, he early developed an interest in the steel guitar, On the am radio, he had been listening to the Norwegian band "The Flying Norwegian," featuring a young and budding Egil Skjelnes on steel, and this inspired young Peer to break the piggy bank and get himself a steel.
His playing skills developed so quickly that he soon wanted to showcase his talents on a record. The only problem here was a birth defect of Peer, - a very loose sfincter! Songs or solos longer than a minute and a half invariably got him in trouble, so hence he specialized in chicken picking the heck out his instrumentals before certain things invariably threatened to hit the fan. At this point, Peer would quickly finish the song and take off like a bat out of hell for the nearest "water closet," (that`s British for toilet, Egil).
Who knows what longer masterpieces we would have been treated to had Peer had his sfincter tightened up, but that´s the way the story goes.
The latest on Peer, is that he now makes a living playing at rodeos. So if you go to a rodeo and wonder why the band`s steel player chicken picks the heck out of his guitar every time a new bull comes out, - well, it`s only Peer trying to earn his living the few seconds before the rider is thrown off. A visiting U.S. rodeo champion lasting more than a minute got Peer into serious trouble, but that`s another story! |
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Egil Skjelnes
From:
Meland,Frekhaug
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Posted 14 Mar 2007 11:45 am
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Hi Donny,and Steinar???
Donny,that is what I believe too.I don`t think these tunes were meant for sale,but for use at radio.Picking is good,and will try to add some sound track at some later occasion to see if somebody can recognise the player.It sound like an wood neck steel to me.
Steinar-trudde aldri eg skulle få løyst dette problemet,burde egentlig tenkt meg det!!!
Egil. |
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