Big Band Music On Pedal Steel

In the thread by dobro, we were talking about the pedal steel, the dobro, and other steel guitar stuff, so I decided to post a cut from some stuff I did in the studio several years ago. Pedal steel guitar, dobro (acoustic lapsteel resonator guitar), an archtop electric, rhythm acoustic, piano, upright bass, and drums. This is a "countrified" version of Benny Goodman's classic, Jersey Bounce.  Still meant to be dance music!

Does the word 'Bounce' refer to the name of the song, or reefer to the name of the mixdown?

But explain to me one thing.  How did this forum suddenly become a host for the best music on the web? 

This is a "countrified" version of Benny Goodman's classic, Jersey Bounce.  Still meant to be dance music!

I beg to differ, there's very little "country" about this - pretty much straight swing, IMO. Not that I'm complaining, it's very nice indeed.

It's unfortunate the instrument has become so associated with country music that the moment one appears everyone says it must be a country song/tune.  Elto John has used a string of psg players on his albums and shows - and he could hardly be called country .

[As someone who was mad enough to buy a pedal steel guitar a year or so ago, I admire anyone who can knock a tune out of it - it's just about the most illogical instrument I have ever had the misfortune to play]

How did this forum suddenly become a host for the best music on the web? 

Well, it's provided the best audio advice for years. So it's not really that surprising that the best music ends up here as a result, is it? 

Does the word 'Bounce' refer to the name of the song, or reefer to the name of the mixdown?

I dunno, there's quite a few tunes from the swing era that are "Bounces." There's another that I play that's called "Bud's Bounce" but I have no idea who Bud is...

Be careful how you spell "refer," will you? The internet police will be down on us.... 

There's an older gentleman who plays clarinet and alto sax in one of the big bands that I play guitar in. He has studied Goodman for years and has his tone and inflections down pat. When he heard this, he was almost aghast... "Country musicians can't play Goodman!"

[I have no idea who Bud is]

I dunno, there's quite a few tunes from the swing era that are "Bounces." There's another that I play that's called "Bud's Bounce" but I have no idea who Bud is...

I suggest you look up Bud Isaacs, and under the circumstances, be perhaps prepared to  be slightly embarrassed...!

... be perhaps prepared to  be slightly embarrassed...!

...just because Amazon says he introduced pedal steel to country music in 1953 in a record jacket blurb...?

Sorry, but there were others who were much more influential in the early development of the instrument. Paul Bigsby was the driving force behind development of electric Hawaiian guitars with bridges able to shift pitch. Leon MacAuliiffe, Joaquin Murphey, Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant, and others who played non-pedal steel long before 1953 were also making the switch back then and recording western swing, country and old-time music. I own one of Leon MacAuliffe's old guitars, and I had several opportunities to talk to him before his passing. He mentioned a lot of musicians who dabbled with the new techology, but ended up going back to the single-tuned necks that they knew so well. Their solutions seemed to be multiple necks which allowed the use of different tunings by shifting from one neck to the next, rather than altering the one you've got with pedals and knee levers.

But I honestly had never heard of Bud Isaacs before, even though he's in the Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame. It seems he only ever recorded the one album.

Does the word 'Bounce' refer to the name of the song, or reefer to the name of the mixdown?

I dunno, there's quite a few tunes from the swing era that are "Bounces." There's another that I play that's called "Bud's Bounce" but I have no idea who Bud is...

Be careful how you spell "refer," will you? The internet police will be down on us.... 

There's an older gentleman who plays clarinet and alto sax in one of the big bands that I play guitar in. He has studied Goodman for years and has his tone and inflections down pat. When he heard this, he was almost aghast... "Country musicians can't play Goodman!"

Just joshing with you, aside from the bit about this being the best music on the interwebs.  This is lovely, lovely stuff.  Who's playing guitar and who's playing pedal steel on this one?  The proximity of swing and country swing...yeah, but this one's country swing because of the instrumentation - if you swapped out the guitar for a clarinet, it would sound a lot more New York and less Houston.

just becuse Amazon says he introduced pedal steel to country music in 1953 in a record jacket blurb...?

No, but because it took me all of about, oh, 30 seconds to find out why it was named Bud's Bounce! I'd never heard of him either, FWIW.

If you want some slightly different steel, have a look at BJ Cole's website - here. He was very much into MIDI for steel guitars at one stage, and I spent quite a while talking to him about it. But that was ages ago - sometime back in the 80's, IIRC. Very good player though, and a really easy guy to talk to. Learned quite a bit from him...

... Who's playing guitar and who's playing pedal steel on this one? ...

My usual tracking regimen on things like this is to play a scratch track, a rough take with a click track first. I play the arrangement in full, taking every solo and lead and keeping strict time through key changes and so forth.

Then I added the rhythm guitar part. I don't worry too much if there is some minor overstepping with the rhythm guitar. I can always cut something in the mix if I need to.

Since I don't play drums, that was my next move. A friend set up his rather simple kit in my little room and we made use of lots of baffles around him. There isn't much need for anything but some snare througout most of this. I played bass along with his drum tracks. I lined out of my bass pre-amp directly into the board.

Then I added a new, finished steel part into the mix, according to the arrangement,followed by the dobro, and got busy with the electric guitar, which is the most difficult part of the overdubs. You will note that there are multiple unison overdubs between steel and electric guitars, in some cases even a second overdub with a harmony line. These harmony overdubs play in unison to the steel guitar, so timing is everything! The fills are rather easier to get correctly, since you have the lead track to play off of. I pan some of the electric guitar fill right and left for an interesting effect (bounce, maybe...?) This is the most time-consuming part of the process; getting the timing right.

Finally I rolled the piano into the center of the room and got a piano-playing friend to come in and do the piano fills. He was able to vamp around the pedal steel lead, and did his stuff mostly in one take.

Multi-tracking in the digital world with Audition is soooo easy compared to the days when we used to bounce tracks on tape.

I should add that my son-in-law does the main tracking for me. The fills and dubs I do myself with the use of a Tranzport remote control.
 

... Who's playing guitar and who's playing pedal steel on this one? ...

Finally I rolled the piano into the center of the room and got a piano-playing friend to come in and do the piano fills. He was able to vamp around the pedal steel lead, and did his stuff mostly in one take.

Multi-tracking in the digital world with Audition is soooo easy compared to the days when we used to bounce tracks on tape.
 

Bounce might have got into the name via your experience of Audition Multitrack, then.

I'm really impressed about the piano part of the process.  That's so good when you can make that guest appearance work.

If you want some slightly different steel, have a look at BJ Cole's website

I worked with Brian on a couple of tracks in the late 70's - very country influenced at the time.  Some time after, he started to really explore the instrument - and got (still gets) quite a lot of stick from many traditional players. They're a pretty diehard lot and a great many of them are stuck in a time when, if it wasn't 'country', it wasn't music.  'Music' started and ended with 'country'with most of this mob.  However, he did get an award at last years European Steel Guitar Federation's bash and that was long ovedue.

There are a few (a very few) innovative psg players and they are largely ignored by the old-timers - which, to my mind merely demonstrates just how parochial they are.  I can't say I'm a great fan of some of these innovators, but at least they are trying to gain some recognition for an instument that has been so poorly labelled as solely as 'country'.  Anyone interested should do a YouTube search, you'll be amazed at the stuff some can play.

Me?  I can just about busk around four chords - but it's a lot of fun. More importantly, my woman loves the sound of the thing (unlike me, she actually likes country music) so I can play for hours without her getting upset. I even take it to gigs - I'm useless at playing it, but in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king .

There's an older gentleman who plays clarinet and alto sax in one of the big bands that I play guitar in. He has studied Goodman for years and has his tone and inflections down pat. When he heard this, he was almost aghast... "Country musicians can't play Goodman!"

Last night I was lucky enough to hear the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra headed up by Wynton Marsalis.  They opened with an Ellington tune called 'Mooch' or 'The Mooch' or something.  I was thinking: You could do this tune with pedal steel and banjo and guitar if you were good at those things. Just don't tell any purists.

Last night I was lucky enough to hear the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra headed up by Wynton Marsalis...

Cool! By coincidence, my wife and I have tickets to see them on Tuesday evening. I'll pay close attention... 

I suppose I ought to join this discussion. BJ Cole was a friend in the 60's. At the time he played a Fender steel with cable operated changers. I still have his first amp, the Fender Deluxe that we went down into Soho to see what they offered. Then I gave him a bit more.

At the time I was having lessons on non-pedal E13th tuning. Pedals are easier, I think. I had a pedal steel built in the early 70's, but in the 80's I took it to pieces, intending to refurbish it completely. Then along came the keel and oak, so the steel got put on hold while we built the boat. This might spur me on to digging it out again.

I last went to see BJ play about 3 years ago performing a classical set with a cellist. In the 60's I always remember that he wanted to learn cello.

Bud Isaacs is on a lot of early Chet Atkins guitar recordings, but to be honest I prefer the ones with the jazz mandolin of Jethro Burns - much more fun.

There seems to be a lot of vagueness about who invented what. The Merle Travis Paul Bigsby Leo Fender triumvirate were definitely up there with, if not ahead of, the pack, but there's more info around about the guitar side of things, such as Merle's original doodle of what became the Bigsby, then Fender headstock design rather than the steel developments.

Pedal steel has always bounced around between jazz, swing and country. I favour country, but it's in spite of the steel I hear on the little contemporary country I've heard. But the late Jimmy Day, Ralph Mooney, Buddy Emmons (an awful lot of Bud's play steel) are still the ones for me.

This was really great, the balance, the arrangement (it sounds countrified to me in the best possible sense of the word) and the musicianship. Wow.