The Steel Guitar Forum

Howdy folks,

I found funny things:

it was a long, long time ago ... It must have been 1988 or '89 (under the video it says 1992 - but that's not true!).
A friend from the UK recently discovered it on the Internet and sent me the link. Until then I didn't know that there was this on the Net

The recording is from a TV show here in Germany in which we appeared and in which we had promoted our first single record with our own songs.
It was very funny to see that again ...

It was a really lousy TV station. One of the first private broadcasters to be "on air" at all. Terrible camera work, hardly sensible technology in the studio. But ok, you can't have everything
It's a shame that those who probably took over the old video stock of the station cut our songs so stupidly. The beginnings and the ends of the songs are missing. That's a shame ... But at least some of it is online at all

In the first song (Cowboys From Berlin) I'm - oh wonder - at Steel, in the second song (Men Of The Alamo) - written by a former 4-star general in the US Army and composed by me - active as a singer.

So, let´s see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsLI0rZycGQ





Don't be surprised about my name: "Mike P. Maker" was my stage name (by Mike PeaceMaker)

Very cool ! There was a bunch of similar productions going on in the USA then on Public Access stations. Really fun stuff.

You sound great on that MSA !

I was in Berlin for a week in the 80's when it was split still. I ended up with enough unbelievably wild stories to last a lifetime. Such an amazing town.

Very cool, Mike -"Cowboys from Berlin," eh?

Yes, I remember NYC public access programs like "Paul Tschinkel's Inner Tube" from that era.

Thx Bob! Yes, I loved this guitar!

Oh, you know Berlin WITH the wall? Then you got to know the "real, true" Berlin! Back then Berlin was still Berlin ... After the wall fell, Berlin drastically lost its old flair. Don't get me wrong ... We are very happy about the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification. But Berlin has become more and more unattractive since then. Well, certainly not for tourists, but for "us old and real" Berliners. Too loud, too dirty, too much Trolley cases rattling through the night... and always more expensive, including rents that hardly anyone can afford anymore.
But ok ... times change

It is also a shame that the US Army, and with it the soldiers, have left Berlin. Back then we played VERY often and a lot in the barracks and outside clubs for the GIs. "Andrew Barracks" ... "McNair Barracks"... "Gator", "Starlight Groove Club", "Checkpoint", "SilverWings Officers Club" (on Tempelhof airport) and many more. That was all gone at once. What a pity...
Oh my god ... So many pictures came up in my mind, when I think about that time...
It was a really funny and happy time!


Thx Frank! Yes... "Cowboys from Berlin"... I´m a "Berliner". Berlin/Germany. See, what I wrote to Bob about Berlin

Michael, good stuff back then. Young and full of joy.

Michael, I loved it! Great job.
I wouldn't worry about the video production.
On the songs, were the band members German? If so, did the lead singer speak English, or just learnt the English words for the songs?
Where do you live in Germany? I visited Germany in May, 2019 my wife and I fell in love with your country. We went to Munich and Berchtesgaden. Really want to adopt Berchtesgaden as my home-loved the old town and mountains. We plan on going back too. Maybe next year or 2023.

Larry... Thx, and yes, young and full of joy!

Duane... Thx, I appreciate it!

The video production... As I said, it was a show from a TV station. Many artists were there. But even the moderator of the show was soooo bad ;-{ And, as I said, the technology... and the camera work... * AAaaahhhhrrgggg.... *. But ok, it was just the beginning of private broadcasters
It's only just a shame that those who uploaded excerpts from our performances on the show cut these excerpts so badly that all the intros and endings of the songs were cut away.
How ever...

To your questions: Yes, all members of the band were/are Germans. Why do u ask, and which "lead singer" do you mean, whether he can speak English? We could actually all speak English. One more, the other less
Well, the singer of the first song in the video ("Cowboys From Berlin") could actually speak English quite well. Only his accent was a bit harsh, a bit "German like" Incidentally, he also wrote the English lyrics for the song.
The singer of the second song in the video ("Men Of The Alamo") is myself, as I wrote in the previous post. And my English back then was actually a lot better than it is today (I think so at least, cause I never had the problem to talk to anyone in english) But now... I hadn't needed to speak English for a long time. You forget a lot there. Remember it again and again when I write in the forum... I have to look into the dictionary more often for certain words that I just can't remember or that I don't even know
Uh... I know something went wrong... I mispronounced the name of the river on the song. "San Jacinto River". I pronounced it - so my thoughts back than - "in English". But more likely a Mexican pronunciation is required, like "San Hassinto". Unfortunately, I was told that by an American GI only AFTER the recording had been completed and after the record was released. Baaad luck...

"I'm a Berliner" Born in Berlin - Schöneberg area - and lived there all my life. Until three years ago. Then I moved to live with my parents, who moved near Hannover area many years ago. They are also not the youngest anymore ... so we can better support each other and help in everyday life, and we are not that far away from each other. It is better to be closer with family than so far away from each other…

You fall in love with Germany? Great! And yes, this part of Germany (Munich, Berchtesgaden etc.) is also really beautiful, in terms of the landscape. But there are also many other super beautiful areas that you can fall in love with. But of course it is nowhere as extensive as in the USA. Our whole country is only as big as a golf course in the States *HAHA!!!*
Still, Germany can be beautiful. But the same applies here: Not everything that glitters is gold!
If you come to visit Germany again: You are very welcome!

Really enjoy reading this whole post Michael!

That pleases me! Thx Terry!

Great reminiscences!
I used to work a stint in public broadcasting/ educational TV production and I get a kick out of watching stuff like this. Some studio setups still look like this these days, while some stations were pretty innovative back in the 80s. I found a clip where they threw plastic bags to float in front of the band for an apocalyptic effect. That was on TV weiss-blau (Tv München) Can't remember what band it was right now, too bad.
AND:
In the early 2000s I did my first steps playing lap steel in shortlived band with some buddies (and a lady) that was called "Peacemaker"!

Very funny to read
So others "were allowed" to have such "great" experiences with television *haha*

Oh... another band called "Peacemaker"... I've already seen that the name is not so rare now. Back then it was still relatively "innovative" ... but now there are a lot of bands with this name all over the world.
But we were already a bit "special" back then... We still had the $ symbol at the end of the name

Michael, I served two tours in Germany. Frankfurt 1963-1966, then 1970-1974 Mannheim. Played in country bands both times, as a part time job. There were three German Friends who I met and played with. Teddy Schell, Frankfurt/ played Bass, Red Saxon, (Not his real name I guess) played Pedal Steel, went on to play for Dave Dudley there in Germany, His cousin Rocky, last name unknown, played drums. I think Red has passed away, and maybe Teddy has too. I never went to Berlin, but my family and I traveled all over Germany, Holland, Luxembourg, France, and almost every bordering country to Germany. The second time there we had a pick-up truck with a camper on the back. We loved it over there, we still have German Friend, who we talk to all the time from there. My second home, for sure, so beautiful there.

Hi Michael,
I was stationed in West Berlin in the Army 1971-72 at McNair Barracks. I had just started playing steel 6 months before and had my steel sent to Berlin. I played the German-American Volkfest in August of 1971 with 4 other servicemen. Band name, Country Blues. We also played weekends at military clubs. Hung out at White Horse when we weren't playing on a weekend night. There were two Berlin country bands that played the Volkfest, but I can't remember their band names. One played a lot of Haggard songs and the other did Buck Owens. Very impressive bands. I was back in Berlin for a military re-union in 2002 and became friends with Horst Waisnor and his wife, Susie. He picked us up at the hotel one evening and took us to hear Larry Schuba and his band. Excellent country band. Horst is also a very fine steel player.