The Steel Guitar Forum

For the unknown, fine singer/banjo-ist Pete Wernick is in an awesome bluegrass band called Hot Rize, he has an alter-ego named Waldo Otto whom is an excellant steeler in Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers. Red and the boys show up mid way thru every Hot Rize show for a half hour of pure country and WS with plenty of corn, and until lately, there has been a severe paucity of recordings by either of these top shelf groups.

After the passing of singer/guitarist/bassist Charles Sawtell/SLADE a few years back, I was wondering if that would spell the end of them and all that good steel from Waldo.
Happy to say they are still at it.
Here's the photogenic proof from a recent gig, with 'Suede' filling in on bass for the 'blazers - www.kimandmikeontheroad.com/station_inn.htm (last half of scroll)
You'll now find a bunch of live HR/RN at http://tela.sugarmegs.org/sugaree (under Hot Rize)
There's even video of the Trailblazers in the link titled - HotRizeOsaka3 - and maybe more.

In a 'new' SGF search for Pete/Waldo, 0 came up on these guy's.

On my CD, "Over My Shoulder", I tried to hide a few little gems here and there to pay tribute to different players. In a skit at the end, a drunk bar patron comes up and asks, "Is that a steel guitar?" The player, Purvis Winslow, replies "No,
I bought it." That's a line from an exchange between
Red and Waldo they did all their live shows.

P. S., remember Waldo's great bumper sticker,
"Waldo's doughnut shop, you bite it, you've bought it." Still have one on on eo my steel guitar cases.

Right on, Clyde!

That donut joke was on the live HR/RN LP/CD, which was the only thing I had on Red Knuckles for over a decade.

Both bands (Hot Rize & The Trailblazers) were great entertainers.

I never can remember, were the Trailblazers from Wyoming, Montana or Montana, Wyoming?

Montana, Wyoming.

They also sold a great bumper sticker: "I Ate at the Eat Cafe, Wyoming, Montana"

Holy coincidence! I was just visiting with Waldo Otto on Saturday at the Mid-Winter Bluegrass Festival down in Denver.

He told me that Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers have five gigs coming up soon, and he (Waldo) needed to do a little shed time with his triple neck.

He was telling me about a tuning he got from Leon McAulliffe when my spouse and daughter pulled me away. "How could they take you away from discussion of steel tunings?" he asked rhetorically. Ah, that's our Waldo.

They do a great bit where he plays "Sleepwalk" as the band, one by one, yawns and then vanishes from the stage.

Waldo lost that original Fender Stringmaster single neck in the United Airlines plane crash he and his wife miraculousy survived back in the 80's.

If I remember right, he uses McAulliffe's E13 tuning. At the time I spoke to him he only had the one neck. I wonder what's on the other two necks.

"Fly swatters, with our names on 'em."

Plays a mean electric table.

Great photos of Hot Rize/Red Knuckles!! Wow that is one beat up Stringmaster that Waldo is playing that rivals some that Eddie Rivers has used. And Sam Bush on fiddle too. one of the last times Hot Rize played in Minneapolis they had Peter Ostroushko playing fiddle with them, and he sang "Your Cheatin' Heart" in Ukranian, with Red Knuckles doing a literal translation, it was hilarious!

Cool, Bill, wish I'd seen that!

They used to be regulars on the bill when the national Bluegrass Festival was held on the Belvedere here in Louisvillle. Great entertainers.
I have some video around here somewhere of Hot Rize/Red Knuckles....some pretty authentic quotes by Pete on Lefty's "Always Late". Hilarious choreography and costuming by Tim Reid and the guys. One of the first groups I ever heard do parodies on country/bluegrass versions of pop tunes...such as "White Rabbit."

I have the issue of Time magazine where Pete talks about the airliner crash in the Iowa cornfield too. He was one of several to miraculously survive that disaster.

I have e mailed Pete Wernick in regard to this post, and he got in touch with Waldo. The 2 tunings Waldo used (uses - he still lives in Wyoming, Montana and still sells Discount Donuts)are as follows:

Main neck - double 8 - low to high - GAC#EF#AC#E -1356135

The other tuning the Leon showed him is - EG#DF#G#BC#E - 137b93561

Red Knuckles and the Trailblazers are celebrating their 30th year in 2008. It has been a long strange trip since Hot Rize discovered them at the EAT CAFE in Wyo/Montana. (Where they were all standing around the juke box trying to learn some Ernest Tubb and Hank Sr. songs, and Red's wife Mona was cooking a meal for Hot Rize.

This is Waldo at your service. Lance has asked me to address you all and I have torn myself away from my successful donut busness for a few moments, and now please put down your reading material and may I have your undivided attntion.

It is wonderful to see you talking about me. Of course talk is cheap but I'll take it. First, some of you don't remember things exactly, but of course we all have this kind of problem at times. I have never had 3 necks. 2 is plenty. The black single neck still exists. My employer Mr. Banjo Wernick was indeed in a crash but it was with my dubbleneck Electric Table, and it survived. Still has scortch marks on it, in fact, hard to get those out.

Red and the Trailblazers will be with Mr. Wernick and his stupendus bluegrass group at two festivals this year, if you like that kind of thing. They usually don't ask us to be with them but they did this time, and it's too late to stop it now, even if they will be sorry. The festivals are Greyfox NY and TelluRide in Colorado. You can bet the fans will like us better, as we are the better group. The Electric Table drives them wild, and of course Red and Wendell and Swade are great stars and will do their parts perfectly as always.

Many of the songs we do are from the 20th century, where you'll find a lot of the best numbers are from that time period. Not to put down the other centuries, but it was a honey.

Oh, look at the time, must be going. Remember, ther's not really any need for a pedal. What is important is the sound. javascript:emoticon(':whoa:')javascript:emoticon(':idea:')
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As ever, at your service, WALDO.

Too cool, Lance. Thanx for working your magic and getting the one and only to communicate with us mere mortals, set the record straight on some mighty important matters, and drop the dime on upcoming pie fights.
Here's hoping Senor Otto finds enuf future time and interest to return to our community with some more stunning facts about the 'better' band in the land.

That was awesome Lance! Thanks. By the way,would you mind asking Waldo whatever happened to that road manager Red and the boys had, the one that wore the French beret and looked suspiciously like a well known Nashville hub cap guitarist?