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Topic: Great Bobby Black Article |
Bob Snelgrove
From:
san jose, ca
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 22 Apr 2013 2:33 am |
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Saw Bobby with George and the lads in Glasgow in 1976. One of the best gigs I've ever been to, despite Billy C. having being sacked from the band a week or so before in mid tour.
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 22 Apr 2013 4:43 pm
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Shared the article with George on FB. He and Bobby are playing together in Sacramento this weekend.
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Bob Snelgrove
From:
san jose, ca
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Posted 22 Apr 2013 5:19 pm
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| Archie Nicol wrote: |
Shared the article with George on FB. He and Bobby are playing together in Sacramento this weekend.
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George?
What's the Sac gig?
thx
bob |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 2:03 am
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Sorry, Bob. George Frayne, AKA, Commander Cody. The band is now Commander Cody and his Modern Day Airmen. Hope this works. It's his gig guide.
click here
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Bob Snelgrove
From:
san jose, ca
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 7:15 am
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| Archie Nicol wrote: |
Sorry, Bob. George Frayne, AKA, Commander Cody. The band is now Commander Cody and his Modern Day Airmen. Hope this works. It's his gig guide.
click here
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Thanks! Is Bobby on the road with them? I saw Santa Rose, not Sac?
thx
bob |
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Buck Reid
From:
Nashville,TN
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 9:18 am
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Thanks Bob for posting this again. Great read!
_________________
www.BuckReid.com |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 10:03 am
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I see the Commander will be here in Santa Rosa this Sunday. I wonder if Bobby Black will be playing with him or will it be Sebastopol forumite Dave Zirbel with feet on pedals? Dave has played with George a number of times.
Speaking of Sebastopol, two days prior (Friday), former Lost Planet Airman Bill Kirchen will be playing there, and he'll be on the bill with the Commander on Sunday with the Austin de Lone Band.
_________________
Mark |
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Herb Steiner
From:
Spicewood TX 78669
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 10:49 am
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Bobby is one of the most elegant steel guitarists ever, IMO a true disciple of the what I'd call the Jerry Byrd school of thought, both on non-pedal and pedal steel. Soulful expression of beautiful melody with almost a vocal tone to it. Jimmy Day also had this, though JD sang his own song.
Bobby recorded an album a few years back entitled "The Steel Guitar of Bobby Black." It's tracks featured a lot of synth samples rather than the live musicians I'd prefer to have heard,... great arrangements BTW, just synthed up. But Bobby's playing and song selection on it is so exquisite, with such purity of tone and feeling, it actually changed the way I now approach a song. I really recommend this CD to everyone, I think it's a classic steel album. Not too much country, mostly Hawaiian and Great American Songbook standards. You know, the good stuff.
I even called him and told him he changed the way I think about steel guitar, and his reply was "Oh gosh, come on man...jeez." So typical! 
I had forgotten where and when, but Bobby recently reminded me that we met at a show in Wichita Falls in 1973, when he was with Cody and I was with Michael Martin Murphey. Now, 40 years later, I'm still doing gigs with Murph and Bobby's still gigging with Cody. What goes around, comes around, I guess. 
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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Tommy Janiga
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 11:06 am Bobby Black
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Bobby was the first steeler I ever saw live - on the Great Lawn in Central Park in August, 1974. Commander Cody opened for The New Riders that day, so that meant I saw not only Bobby Black, but Buddy Cage also 
I found a pic of David Nelson and Buddy Cage from that show:
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Mullen G2 SD10, Nashville 112, 1975 Fender Stratocaster, 1970 Fender MusicMaster Bass, 1971 Univox 1221, DH Baldwin Piano |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 11:17 am
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"Elegant" is an apt description for Bob. Smoothness, perfection in technique. I have that CD about which Herb commented myself.
Unfortunately it closed last year, but it used to be a lot of fun to go to the town of Sonoma to a kitschy restaurant called Little Switzerland. Don Burnham's Lost Weekend used to play there a couple times a year with Bobby on on either the pedals or non pedal.
All the regional "steelheads" would gather for these shows to enjoy Bob's playing. One time even Todd Clinesmith made the drive, five plus hours each way from his place in Humboldt County when he still lived in California.
Nice wooden dance floor, it looked like a low rent Swiss chalet from the outside, but a couple times a year it was the closest we'd get here in the wine country to "Little Texas," or maybe a piece of western swing in Sonoma County from a bygone era.
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Mark |
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Chris Templeton
From:
The Green Mountain State
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 11:35 am
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One time in the 80's, I heard/saw Bobby Black in New Mexico wither Commander Cody. Bobby was so approachable and we spent several hours talking and most of which was him fielding my questions. Bobby is a special person and Both a super pedal and Hawaiian player.
_________________
Excel 3/4 Pedal With An 8 String Hawaiian Neck, Sierra Tapper (10 string with a raised fretboard to fret with fingers), Single neck Fessenden 3/5
"The Tapper" : https://christophertempleton.bandcamp.com/album/the-tapper
Soundcloud Playlist: https://soundcloud.com/bluespruce8: |
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Bob Snelgrove
From:
san jose, ca
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 12:30 pm
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| Herb Steiner wrote: |
Bobby is one of the most elegant steel guitarists ever, IMO a true disciple of the what I'd call the Jerry Byrd school of thought, both on non-pedal and pedal steel. Soulful expression of beautiful melody with almost a vocal tone to it. Jimmy Day also had this, though JD sang his own song.
Bobby recorded an album a few years back entitled "The Steel Guitar of Bobby Black." It's tracks featured a lot of synth samples rather than the live musicians I'd prefer to have heard,... great arrangements BTW, just synthed up. But Bobby's playing and song selection on it is so exquisite, with such purity of tone and feeling, it actually changed the way I now approach a song. I really recommend this CD to everyone, I think it's a classic steel album. Not too much country, mostly Hawaiian and Great American Songbook standards. You know, the good stuff.
I even called him and told him he changed the way I think about steel guitar, and his reply was "Oh gosh, come on man...jeez." So typical!
I had forgotten where and when, but Bobby recently reminded me that we met at a show in Wichita Falls in 1973, when he was with Cody and I was with Michael Martin Murphey. Now, 40 years later, I'm still doing gigs with Murph and Bobby's still gigging with Cody. What goes around, comes around, I guess. |
Bobby has a newer Hawaiian CD which is also awesome!
bob
_________________
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRwye98siA4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZlAdlrRYj0
http://www.reverbnation.com/bobsnelgrove
1978 Crawford Emmons P/P
1976 Tommy White P/P
1986 Franklin D-10 |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 1:08 pm
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Took my boy, who was then 17, to the Commander Cody reunion tour concert at Gary Keillor’s edifice in downtown Saint Paul in the cold, cold January of 2001. It was on a Saturday night directly following the live radio broadcast for which Mister Keillor has become quite wealthy and famous. Quite a coup for Keillor to feature the entire classic Airmen lineup, although it may have helped that fiddler/sax man Andy Stein was at that time a member of Keillor’s house band. The band was on fire that night, they were playing better then ever.
There are two things I’ll never forget from that show. First, the look on my son’s face after the lights went out following Gary’s introduction, when the combustibles were ignited and passed around in true 1970‘s fashion. And his comment to me after the show (and listening to a couple hours of Bobby Black playing his PSG), something to the effect of “oh, so that’s how that thing you play is supposed to sound.” |
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Archie Nicol R.I.P.
From:
Ayrshire, Scotland
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Posted 23 Apr 2013 3:50 pm
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Bob, I don't know much about the geography of the American West Coast. Quiz me on Scotland, if you like.
Latest;
`its called Grass Valley Performing Arts Center
sat night-no prob arch should be a great show we also got sean allen on guitar then sunday gig with kirchen and delone and elvin bishop in santa rosa at last day saloon-elvin appearance is not advertised but you can break the news for me`
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