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Topic: My Stage Debut, in Maui |
Ralph Czitrom
From:
Ringwood, New Jersey
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 11:10 am |
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When my wife and I decided to return to Maui for our 25th anniversary, we didn’t know that the annual Maui Steel Guitar Festival was to be held at that time. We saw it as an opportunity to hear some of the best musicians in Hawaii, which it was. What it also became was an opportunity (with help from my teacher, John Ely) for me to play steel guitar on stage for the first time.
I had never been to a steel guitar gathering of any kind, and this was a wonderful way to begin, at Ka'anapali Beach. Got to meet great musicians like Alan Akaka, Greg Sardinha, Gary Aiko, Patty Maxine… Everyone we met was welcoming and encouraging. I hooked up with a talented bass player, Konabob Stoffer, who drafted the well-known guitarist, Kaipo Asing, to accompany me. The amazing thing is that we went on with no rehearsal and no sound check. Attached below is a link to a YouTube video which I’ve posted of “The Hukilau Songâ€, one of the two numbers we performed. It was an experience I’ll never forget. Thanks for watching.
Also making its stage debut was the guitar which Tom Pettingill built for me last year, a long scale Rickenbacker clone with a Lollar horseshoe pickup Tom called the P6. Below is a link to a previous post about the guitar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twDn-Q7Jvzg
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=252215 |
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Jim Mckay
From:
New Zealand
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 11:46 am
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Ralph. That was very nice playing and a very nice sound. Its great to hear a good Hawaiian style and sound. We need more of it.
_________________
Canopus d-8
Excel Jerry Byrd frypan
T-8 Stringmaster
Last edited by Jim Mckay on 28 Apr 2014 10:39 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Michael Greer
From:
Ontario, Canada
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 11:49 am
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Ralph
Congratulations on a fantastic debut.....not many can claim that their first performance was in Hawaii !!!
Enjoyed your playing.
mike |
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David Matzenik
From:
Cairns, on the Coral Sea
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 12:27 pm
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Nice way to start your personal appearances Ralph. The guitar sounds great. I can see you had a pretty fresh Trade Wind that day. I know that can make outdoor recording difficult.
_________________
Don't go in the water after lunch. You'll get a cramp and drown. - Mother. |
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Jerome Hawkes
From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 12:41 pm
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Ralph - that is GREAT and the P6 is amazing!!! (how did i miss that one....how much of my tax refund have i spent??) 
what a great opportunity - beautiful setting too
_________________
'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II |
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Terry Haggerty
From:
New Brunswick, Canada
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 1:45 pm
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Aloha to Ralph and all
Ralph, I was at the Maui Hawaiian Steel Guitar Festival and heard your song---it was great!...an amazing opportunity to play among the best. The chap from Germany was also one of John Ely's Skype students...he also did a great job. Kudos to John Ely for teaching you so well and encouraging you to perform.
It was a great festival also with some good info. I bought AlanAkaka's recommended non stage amp...the Yamaha THR 10... It's great...as a bonus, when I got back to Eastern Canada I found 1950s National D8 in pristine condition! Now all I have to do is learn to play ;0)
Aloha,
Terry |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 1:46 pm
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Awesome post, Ralph, wish I'd been there even more now. Keep bringing it!
Terry, please expound on your experience with the Yamaha, not much on stage comments to be found for this great non-amp. |
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Jerome Hawkes
From:
Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 2:20 pm
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don't want to side-track Ralphs thread, but i've had the THR10 for over a year and its a great amp for what it was designed for - low level bedroom/practice playing + the portability with batteries (it actually sounds better with batteries for some reason).
the key to getting a great sound is the supplied software where you can choose different parameters like speaker size, effects, etc and then save that preset. mine stays by the bedside and i will lay there at night and play my frypan til i doze off....and yes, i'm a bachelor..haha
i've also owned the Roland micro cube and the old version of the Vox DA5 (i think they re-issued tham as they were so popular) which are also great small portable amps, but the THR10 is a different league. Yamaha would have hit a home run if they had just put a line out on this thing so you could go direct to the board! perfect for acoustic level volume jams
_________________
'65 Sho-Bud D-10 Permanent • '54 Fender Dual-8 • Clinesmith T-8 • '38 Ric Bakelite • '92 Emmons D-10 Legrande II |
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Ralph Czitrom
From:
Ringwood, New Jersey
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 3:58 pm
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Thanks for the good words, guys. Karen and I have decided that, if our luck holds out, we're going to make this an annual event. Sure is something to look forward to!
Jerome, the P6 evolved out of a series of conversations I had with Tom. I love the sound of the B6, but I like a long scale guitar and Tom's knowledge of woods, plus the availability of one of Jason's horseshoe pickups, allowed the guitar to come to life. If you have guitar dreams, Tom makes dreams come true. |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 4:39 pm
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| Jerome Hawkes wrote: |
| a line out |
Try the headphone out, works for me in some situations. |
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Ron Whitfield
From:
Kaaawa, Hawaii, USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 4:41 pm
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| Jerome Hawkes wrote: |
| a line out |
Try the headphone out, works for me in some situations. |
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Rick Aiello
From:
Berryville, VA USA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 4:57 pm
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Very cool, Ralph.  |
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Norman Markowitz
From:
Santa Cruz, California
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 5:26 pm
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| Super job, great tone!! |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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Mike Neer
From:
NJ
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 7:20 pm
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You did a good job, Ralph, and your tone and touch were perfect for the music. Keep it up!
_________________
Links to streaming music, websites, YouTube: Links |
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Stephen Abruzzo
From:
Philly, PA
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Posted 28 Apr 2014 8:34 pm
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| Great job Ralph. |
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Steven Cummings
From:
Texas
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Posted 29 Apr 2014 3:47 am
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_________________
Lookin' on the sunny side.... |
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Ray Montee
From:
Portland, Oregon (deceased)
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Posted 29 Apr 2014 8:02 am Great looking guitars............
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TOM: How'd YOU manage to keep 'the RIC Suits' off of your back with that look-a-like pickup cover and the five panels?
Another SGF member wasn't so lucky, as I understand it. |
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Tom Pettingill
From:
California, USA (deceased)
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HowardR
From:
N.Y.C.-Fire Island-Asheville
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Posted 29 Apr 2014 4:22 pm
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| stellar tone & playing! |
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Bill Leff
From:
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
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Posted 30 Apr 2014 6:46 pm
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| Excellent playing and tone! Congratulations on your debut. |
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Don Kona Woods
From:
Hawaiian Kama'aina
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Posted 30 Apr 2014 8:15 pm
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As I often say, "Playing Hawaiian Steel Guitar in Hawaii has a special effect of bringing out the Hawaiian touch and tone."
Ralph's performance is an example of what I am talking about. Great job.
I will look forward to hearing more.
Hope to see you next year in Maui. |
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Jean-Sebastien Gauthier
From:
Quebec, Canada
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Posted 1 May 2014 3:56 am
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| Good job!! Nice tone and touch! John Ely is a great teacher! |
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Mark Roeder
From:
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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