The Steel Guitar Forum

Just wanted to let everyone know about my weekend playing the lap steel. One of the bands that I play in, is a blues band called the Matt Hill Band. Matt is the lead singer/guitarist, & I play lead guitar & lap steel. This weekend we competed in the Piedmont Blues Talent Showcase ( www.piedmontblues.org/ ) & finished 1st place. I played lap on four out of seven songs that we got to perform, & the blues fans seemed to love the instrument. The band now gets to go to the IBC, International Blues Challenge, in Memphis, Feburary of 2005. I can't wait to play lap steel at the National contest.

Are you using a C6 tuning?

Ron...I have mostly been using open E (EBEG#BE) or open D. I am a huge David Lindley fan, & he used that tuning with a lot of his Jackson Browne work. It really works well with the Blues style.

I think E is the best for blues, but I also like D. Just tune down one note.

What kind of rig are you playing?

Congratulations Terry and thanks for spreading the lap steel gospel.

Now I'll only have to figure out a cheap way to get your band over to my local jazz and blues festival. Are any of you guys good rowers by any chance?
Congrats, Terry.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

Yay Terry! Keep spreading the word!

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website

Thanks guys...I really try to "spread the word" while playing music. I have been playing lead guitar 20 plus years, & playing lap steel for the last 2 years. I love playing lap so much that I would like to play steel only.
Richard...when playing live I play guitar & lap steel & must be able to switch between the two quickly,many times playing both instruments during the same song. I run my guitar & lap into an A/B box, I put the lap on a modified keyboard stand, then out of the A/B box into a Mesa Boogie DC-3. This way I can stand & play guitar, walk over to my steel & hit the A/B switch and play a lap steel lead. When I play lap only, I like to sit in a chair to play. My main laps are my new Harmos Model One, my '51 National Dynamic, or my early 40's Oahu Tonemaster. My main guitars are my SRV Strat & my Les Paul Classic Plus w/57 Classic Pickups.

Congratulations Terry! I bet that Harmos with that Chicago Steel pu really sings the blues. Of course, you must be not half bad yourself.

Roger

Congrats Terry.
I also play some steel in our electric Blues band http://www.blueswizards.net/ using it for 'C' tunes like 'Kansas City', 'Born In Chicago' and 'When The Saints Go Marching In'

I'm not much of a steel player and play in more of a bottle neck than a 'steel' style but that guitar gets more comments after the show than anything else I do. People just don't see them much and the tone is so different, it really sets those songs apart.

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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.

Hi Terry, Congrats!

My current band is more 'folky' than bluesy (spanish acoustic, bass + me on 8-string lap steel & backing vocals) fronted by a female singer/songwriter, but we cover some blues tunes too. Tuesday nite we did 2 sets at the Academy St bar & coffee shop and managed to cover Patsy Cline's Walking After Midnight, the Delmore Bro's Blues Stay Away, some Fleetwood Mac, a Dire Straits & a Clapton tune in between the originals. I used a straight C-6 tuning ('G' on top) and dobro on about 4 tunes. The audience acceptance of the steel seemed genuine- it wasnt my playing either, just the beautiful tone & voice of the instrument.

Last winter, I did a few shows with an electric blues band. I used my S-8 with an expanded C-13/9 that gave me a 'D' & a 'Bb' on the bottom for some cool diminished sounds & a strummable dom 9th on the last 4 strings.

I love the C-6 for blues & rock- from Clapton's Bellbottom blues to Santana's Black Magic Woman, to Fleetwood Mac or Dire Straits, but I always schlep along a metal-body Ricky 6 tuned to open E/E7 for straight ahead 12-bar & rock songs in E. Thats the poor man's double neck!

Hey Terry, do you have any upbeat blues songs tabbed out that I could try out on my lap steel tuned to D?. steveb Desert Rose Guitar 8+5.

Steven...I have not thought about it until you asked...but I have never tabbed anything out for the lap steel. When I used to give guitar lessons, I used tab a lot for my students. Maybe when I get some free time, I'll try to put something down!!!

Blues on lap steel works for me. When I go to jams now, I only play lap steel and bottleneck (on a funkly little supro regular guitar with a lap steel pickup). The response to both is great curiosity and appreciation. Other musicians really notice the sound quality. Best thing is, I'm not likely to run into a long line of other steel players waiting to play. Most times I've take the steel out, a substantial portion of the crowd (including musicisns) have never even seen one before.

I play lap at a couple of local jams also. Like you said...not many other lap players in line.
I also have some pictures of our blues band with me on guitar & lap at www.sonicbids.com/thematthillbluesband .