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Topic: Red Rhodes live performances |
Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 8:51 am |
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Hi all,
Years ago, several SGF members were kind enough to send me audio performances of Red Rhodes when he was at the ISGC. Unfortunately, many of those tapes wound up missing after I moved - is there any chance somebody still has some they would be willing to share?
Further, would Scotty have ever videotaped any of those performances?
Now, as for me, an early Christmas miracle has occurred. A video of Red Rhodes (my pedal steel guitar muse and hero) that I thought was long, LONG gone after tearing the house apart looking for it years ago was found! It was hidden in a box with a bunch of old computer software, the box wedged between a bookshelf and the side wall. To add to the excitement, when I found the case and opened it, it was a Lloyd Green and Tommy White DVD (and so I thought the video was STILL missing)....but I had Red tucked under Lloyd/Tommy in the tray.
So...as my Christmas present to all of you...
RED RHODES doing a FULL SET of instrumentals in the early 1990s in California! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxbL95Zhb1w
Note Red is playing his blue MCI, which he toured with Mike Nesmith during this time (and can be seen on Nesmith's "Live At The Britt" concert and "Austin City Limits" appearance). When Red would play Scotty's International Steel Guitar Convention in the 1980s, he had a penchant for classics from the 30s and 40s...he continues that tradition in this set.
0:59 - Mr. Sandman
4:00 - Georgia On My Mind
9:24 - Sweet Georgia Brown
12:37 - Moonlight Serenade
17:17 - "The Third Man" Theme
20:26 - Rose City Chimes
22:23 - Somewhere Over The Rainbow
25:45 - Four Wheel Drive
28:02 - Faded Love |
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Alan Bidmade
From:
Newcastle upon Tyne UK
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 10:10 am
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I'll need some time to listen to this, but... thank you. Red Rhodes is my favourite steel player, bar none. A musical genius and a consummate steel player.
Buddy Emmons said of Red, "The cat can't play."
I wish I couldn't play like Red!
_________________
Ben-Rom #017 'Lorelei', Guild D25, Epiphone 'Joe Pass', Roland 40XL, Hilton VP
First name Alan, but known as Nick |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 10:18 am
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Thanks Joe! Love Red Rhodes!
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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scott murray
From:
Asheville, NC
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 11:57 am
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wow what a treat! thank you Joe! never seen live footage of Red before
_________________
1965 Emmons S-10, 3x5 • Emmons LLIII D-10, 10x12 • JCH D-10, 10x12 • Beard MA-8 • Oahu Tonemaster |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 12:43 pm
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Alan....Buddy Emmons really said THAT? That's pretty classless, if true.
Anyone questioning Red's abilities can listen to him do "Four Wheel Drive" on this at Herby Wallace speed and judge for themselves.
I remember one of the local pedal steel "snobs" in Indianapolis that was mentoring me years ago had me listen to tons of tracks by the greats. I played him the solo Red did on Nesmith's "Wax Minute" and was expecting him to be amazed...floored even. I said to him....can YOU do THAT? His response? "Why would I want to" with a look of disgust.
Seems Red's style was polarizing to some of the traditional Nashville crowd. Their loss. And now he's in the SGHOF  |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 12:45 pm
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Not to be lost in the discussion, please let me keep my question at hand in priority - does anyone have any video/audio of Red Rhodes they would share?
Can someone that is in touch with Scotty's family ask about the existence of any ISGC performances?
Thanks!
Joe |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 23 Dec 2018 1:08 pm
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| Joe, Bill Ferguson may have some of those. He has been posting may of the ISGC recordings. Bill was the sound engineer there for most of the years. Bill is a forum member and a super guy who supports all things steel guitar. |
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Roy Heap
From:
United Kingdom
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Posted 24 Dec 2018 1:43 am
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| Great find Joe, thanks for posting just loved anything Red done. |
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John Haspert
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 24 Dec 2018 6:53 am Red Rhodes
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From my interactions with Red, he was quite a character.....in a good way and I too admired his genius. He had a sense of humor. I read the Buddy comment and am guessing that it was Buddy's sense of humor. Red told me stories about a number of Red / Buddy adventures, I'm guessing they were friends back to Buddy's LA days. So, my take on the comment was that it was just one great expressing admiration for another great with a humorous twist. I miss both of those guys, everyday.
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Pedal Steel Guitar is "Music from Heaven" |
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K Maul
From:
Hadley, NY/Hobe Sound, FL
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Posted 24 Dec 2018 7:24 am
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I think Buddy liked best the steel players that DIDN’T try to sound like him. Red didn’t and certainly neither did Pete Kleinow. Buddy said great things about him.
_________________
KEVIN MAUL: Airline, Beard, Clinesmith, Danelectro, Evans, Fender, GFI, Gibson, Hilton, Ibanez, Justice, K+K, Live Strings, MOYO, National, Oahu, Peterson, Quilter, Rickenbacher, Sho~Bud, Supro, TC, Ultimate, VHT, Williams, X-otic, Yamaha, ZKing. |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 24 Dec 2018 8:23 am
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| Quote: |
| Alan....Buddy Emmons really said THAT? That's pretty classless, if true. |
I remember reading liner notes on a Red Rhodes album where Red says that the Palomino house band loved it when Buddy came by to sit in...but couldn't understand why  .....sounds like they were both joking.
I would love to see/hear footage of Red playing his Fender pedal steels, not that the MCI sounds bad. It's sound beautiful.
Happy Holidays!
dz
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 26 Dec 2018 1:16 pm
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Dave - I would bet the "Live at the Palomino" album that came out in '68/'69 would be with his Fender steel. Unfortunately, that's about the only live audio that exists with that steel. No footage (audio or video) exists of Red with the First National Band, where he did use the Fender exlusively. By '73, Red was playing a ZB live, and by '74 an MSA.
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 26 Dec 2018 3:37 pm
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I believe there is footage of him playing on TV in the early '60's but it's not available....yet.....maybe someday soon! 
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Russ Tkac
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Posted 26 Dec 2018 5:45 pm
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| Looks like Red made the ZB keyless. |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 28 Dec 2018 10:12 am
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| Dave Zirbel wrote: |
| I believe there is footage of him playing on TV in the early '60's but it's not available....yet.....maybe someday soon! |
Cal's Corral? |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 28 Dec 2018 10:13 am
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| Russ Tkac wrote: |
| Looks like Red made the ZB keyless. |
How can you tell? I thought Tom Brumley made them in the early '70s. |
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Russ Tkac
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Posted 28 Dec 2018 10:38 am
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| It looks like a Brumley made steel but no keyhead or tuning machines in the picture. It looks like a keyless tuner is in place of the ZB keyhead. Probably a modification. I assume that Red did the mod himself. |
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Joe Goldmark
From:
San Francisco, CA 94131
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Posted 28 Dec 2018 10:12 pm
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I've always loved Red's "Velvet Hammer" LP. At one of Scotty's shows I was able to talk with Red and tell him how much I liked it and why. He seemed to really appreciate it. He gets an amazing and unique tone on that album plus chooses good tunes and uses the Nesmith band. I think it may have been the only time that Red was afforded the luxury of taking his time and getting the parts to his liking. His other albums are budget things where he probably recorded the whole album in one session, and didn't get to go back and fix anything.
Joe |
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Walter Stettner
From:
Vienna, Austria
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Daniel Morris
From:
Westlake, Ohio, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2018 2:13 pm
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An old interview with Buddy Emmons is rather blunt; he said he didn't care for Red, or Pete Drake. Buddy said they were 'lucky'.
Curly Chalker said he didn't think Jeff Newman was a good player.
(Source: COUNTRY MUSIC PEOPLE, May 1972 & August 1975.)
_________________
1979 MSA U12 Pedal Steel
1982 Kline U12 Pedal steel
2019 Sierra U12 Pedal Steel
2011 Bear Creek MK Weissenborn
Milkman 40W Mini amp w/Telonics 15" speaker.
Dr. Z Surgical Steel w/TT 15" speaker.
Frenzel MB-50 head.
Spaceman, Empress, Eventide, Pigtronix.
Last edited by Daniel Morris on 29 Dec 2018 5:24 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bas Kapitein
From:
Holland
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George Redmon
From:
Muskegon & Detroit Michigan.
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 4:16 pm
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Man i've been following Red's playing for years. Yeah, that Nashville bunch didn't like him, but Red could care less. He wasn't over fond of them neither. Red & Buddy had the utmost respect for each other, and admired each others style and playing.
As i understand it, Red could work wonders on an amplifier in that cluttered shop of his. Great player, not a whimp, not afraid to play outside the envelop and i love it. Try to find a copy of Tom Bradshaw's old record club vinyl record of Red's. I added a short review comment that month on it. |
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Dave Zirbel
From:
Sebastopol, CA USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 5:01 pm
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| Quote: |
| His other albums are budget things where he probably recorded the whole album in one session, and didn't get to go back and fix anything. |
Keepin' it real!
_________________
Dave Zirbel-
Sierra S-10 (Built by Ross Shafer),ZB, Fender 400 guitars, various tube and SS amps |
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Joe Alterio
From:
Irvington, Indiana
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Posted 1 Jan 2019 7:17 pm
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| Joe Goldmark wrote: |
I've always loved Red's "Velvet Hammer" LP. At one of Scotty's shows I was able to talk with Red and tell him how much I liked it and why. He seemed to really appreciate it. He gets an amazing and unique tone on that album plus chooses good tunes and uses the Nesmith band. I think it may have been the only time that Red was afforded the luxury of taking his time and getting the parts to his liking. His other albums are budget things where he probably recorded the whole album in one session, and didn't get to go back and fix anything.
Joe |
I recall an e-mail conversation with Tom Bradshaw some years ago when I asked why the "Steel Guitar Record Club" version of "Velvet Hammer" had different mixes, order and one track ("Cajun Honkytonk") that was not on the original Countryside release. I believe he said that Red was not pleased with the mix and/or mastering that was done originally and took the tapes to Tom to re-work them to his liking. That version of "Velvet Hammer" also made it to the Alshire/Exact label. At the same time, another Red LP was released on those labels which I believe also was recorded with Tom's assistance. |
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Jack Aldrich
From:
Washington, USA
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Posted 2 Jan 2019 9:28 am
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I saw Red a lot back in the 80's when he backed up Mike Nesmith at Mc Cabes/ He was playing a left handed Fender 1000 re-fixed so it was right-handed, with pushrods replacing cables. He told me that it had the best tone of any steel he'd played. I bought my beloved Sho-Bud Pro I from him in 1975. I'd rented an Emmons basic steel (S10 with 3 pedals and 2 knees) from West LA Music and realized I needed at least 3 knee pedals. He showed me a Sho-Bud LDG, and he said it would cost $850. I said that that sounded ok, and he said "You mean you aren't going to haggle with me over the price?" I said yes, and he showed me the red Pro I (3/4) and said that this was what I needed to play professionally. He was right - I played it professionally until 1988. What a guy! btw, if you brought him a 100 watt amp, he'd give it back an a couplke of weeks as a 200 watt amp!
_________________
Jack Aldrich
Carter & ShoBud D10's
D8 & T8 Stringmaster
Rickenbacher B6
3 Resonator guitars
Asher Alan Akaka Special SN 6
Canopus D8 |
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