The Steel Guitar Forum

Not for the faint of heart....oh mercy. He melted my face off!!

Love it.

https://reverb.com/news/video-robert-ra ... edal-steel

that is great... thanks Chris

He started out astonishing and keeps getting better ! Thanks.

That was a hell of a thing!

Hendrix of PSG!!!!!

Distortion ,,, yes ,,, it can be your friend

Robert is way more than SOME forumites give him credit for. He's just a monster musician. Yes....I'm a fan !

This is amazing, thank you for posting!

It sure ain't country.

Erv Niehaus wrote:It sure ain't country.

He doesn't play country. he plays Sacred Steel. It's a music form that's related to his church. Here's a link for more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_St ... tradition)

Erv Niehaus wrote:It sure ain't country.

Well-spotted, Erv. (And it's not supposed to be country.)

I've got a good idea it's not country, and it's a far cry from Sacred Steel!
His roots were in Sacred Steel but no more.

Huh? Go check out some Campbell Brothers shows. Those dudes rock in a very serious way.

Just because Mr. Randolph left the Church doesn't mean he's left the vast influences behind. In an interview he said that he owns as much, or more, recorded material in an archive of Sacred Steel as is archived by the Grateful Dead. As a Deadhead, I realize the staggering amount of music he's alluding to.

Say what you will, but R.R. is a Sacred Steel player. EVERYTHING about his technique and sound is derived from the Campbell's approach, IMO, even the use of effects.

Holey Moley!!!

He just keeps getting faster!

Erv Niehaus wrote:

It sure ain't country.

Well-spotted, Erv. (And it's not supposed to be country.)

It's a pedal steel guitar, so it HAS to be country. What crappy country! Jeez you guys, next thing is men in skirts. Oh, OK - Scotland. But keep it DOWN Scottish steelers, please keep it down.

Well I like shred guitar, I though it was something of a shame that many of the best guitarists of the mid-80's and on had to wear eyeshadow and fishnet stockings and... ummm... SKIRTS to become gainfully* employed. Somewhere around here, I have a Joe Wright CD wherein he assayed the "20 shred licks you need to wear lipstick" or such - 90's maybe? And I bought Mr. Randolph's latest instrumental "The Word Two" (or such) in the hopes that he had challenged himself a bit, and I am pleased to say, he even has a FIVE-chord song on there! (Well four, really, but one of 'em's really cool). I still wish he'd either take a job playing something he doesn't already know, or hire a really subversive pianist or something to CHALLENGE him. Whatever else it means, speed is a pretty fair measurement of "time-in-seat" and I suspect Robert is possibly hiding some maybe-interesting ideas IF he'd slow down to the point he was thinking about what he's playing.

I also have an inexorable preference for musicians who broadcast wider emotional settings than just "Dumb Happy Boogie!"; "REALLY Dumb Happy Boogie"; "REALLY, really-HAPPY Dumb Boogie!" etc.

(FOGEY ALERT! FOGEY ALERT!) Your face can only melt so many times before it starts to scab over and I just DON'T CARE ANYMORE if you're a Voodoo Chile, pull up your pants, put your hat on straight etc. etc.

I mean, John MAYER has officially outgrown his Stevie Ray Vaughan fixation; maybe RR should join the Grateful Dead! (HAHAHAHAHA O-sorry, the angels made me do it. How about, join Steely DAN! Or, join VSOP, your job - the Miles Davis licks... yar.)

*(GAIN-fully? Ha HA HA! Get it?!? GAIN-ffff... aw never mind)

Blues Metal Shred is sacred, alright. I am glad he decided to ditch the crappy sounding effects and just play.

Freaking Impressive...

He's got my respect. I've got to go hear him play live sometime. I don't care what you call it; I call it impressive.

David Spires

I've been fortunate to see RR live 3 times so far and he is an amazing steeler. You can also find countless hours of live audio from his shows free on archive.org. The man can and will play a whole range of different styles during his live shows. Listening to him through the years you can tell he has grown as a musician. His rhythm work is impeccable and his picking is phenomenal and his expression is unmatched even among his peers in the sacred steel camp. Yes, a lot of his more popular songs can be a little musically dumbed down and simplistic but he really shines in his live shows.

It really makes me sad to see the responses from so many steel players who just can't see the quality and positive nature of RR's success, because it's not a style they understand or like. So quick to denigrate him or anyone else that doesn't stick to the Country orthodoxy.

As with people who tear down Hip-Hop, my response is....."Think it's easy? Let's see YOU do it, convincingly".

I don't even particularly love RR's records (other than "The Word", which is awesome and soulful)......but it's easy to tell that he's GREAT at what he chooses to do, if you have the least bit of objectivity.

Even sadder? Before I opened this thread, I knew exactly what some of the responses would be.

Please, please.......anyone who reads this stuff that wants to try and push the boundaries, and do your own thing on PSG....don't let this discourage you. We need you, desperately!!

I see one "denigrating response" to the OP, and even that one looks like it was written in a drunken stupor. Most of the people in the forum and on this thread have made positive responses and have nothing but respect and appreciation for anyone who pushes the boundaries of music in general, no matter what style, and the steel guitar in particular.

I think it is okay if someone simply says a certain playing style is not their cuppa java. You can do that and still respect the talent. Anyone posting a music video here has got to understand that everyone is a critic. Even musicians who should know better can't help themselves sometimes, especially with someone who has been enormously successful. But we should never take monster talent for granted. Robert Randolph could be gone tomorrow, and the music world would feel the loss.

I think the thread is basically positive, but you are right to say that most R.R. threads end up going down hill because of the "orthodoxy club." I messaged R.R. on facebook and also enlisted help from a gentleman close to him a few years ago to ask him to join the Forum.He actually did join!! He posted exactly 2 times, once as a "howdy" and once in a reply to an ad.

He then stopped posting. I figured he searched his name on the Forum...

The future of steel is what we make it. Traditional Country will have a place, no matter how small, and the rest will be other than that. Robert Randolph is one person who is casting a vision of what PSG can do.Mike Perlowin is another who is taking things a way different (and cool) direction.

An individual's version of how to play this thing is valid even if a player of traditional music feels threatened.

Bottom line, we mustn't fall into looking at pedal steel as a genre. It is an instrument, and what it can be used for depends only on the players' intentions. I also think it's wrong to say which effects are acceptable - the sounds/colors/textures we reach for are to serve the songs, not some pigeon-holed expectations.

I'd also like to hear RR explore more musical territory, but to be fair, I can say that about most musicians/bands I listen to. I also say that about myself and the musicians I work with, cuz it's a constant evolution, right? Shouldn't it be?

David Mason wrote:Erv Niehaus wrote:
[

(FOGEY ALERT! FOGEY ALERT!) Your face can only melt so many times before it starts to scab over and I just DON'T CARE ANYMORE if you're a Voodoo Chile, pull up your pants, put your hat on straight etc. etc.

I mean, John MAYER has officially outgrown his Stevie Ray Vaughan fixation; maybe RR should join the Grateful Dead! (HAHAHAHAHA O-sorry, the angels made me do it. How about, join Steely DAN! Or, join VSOP, your job - the Miles Davis licks... yar.)


*(GAIN-fully? Ha HA HA! Get it?!? GAIN-ffff... aw never mind)

He gets around...

https://www.relix.com/blogs/detail/bob_ ... e_brothers

http://liveforlivemusic.com/news/karl-d ... eful-dead/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h28Oe0mZjkI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcGMOzm458A

I don't approve of shredding instruments, but the way this guy demonstrates the capability of pedal steel is the nuts.
Want to play 32d notes like Hendrix? Then at a minute and a half he's playing something really heavenly. Is that not spirituality?

I think his detractors should shut up and SHRED THIS!

Rick Abbott wrote:He posted exactly 2 times, once as a "howdy" and once in a reply to an ad.
He then stopped posting. I figured he searched his name on the Forum...

Who knows. It was a bum's rush on his welcoming, six pages, when all he wanted to do was chat about steel.
On the other hand, maybe he was just looking to buy a Melobar.

Seriously, it might be hard to chat where if it ain't country it ain't s**t. I mean, these guys are trying to do something different,
raise the spirit, maybe, let bigger hands work through me, things out of my league, but he's always playing over his head and that's what I dig.

And David Mason writes the most entertaining posts, but I really didn't know what it meant. "20 shred licks you need to wear lipstick" is great.
Whatever it means.

Do you know what I think?
I think we're lucky that we can still express our opinions, whether you approve of them or not.
And Charlie, you can stick that in your pipe and smoke it!