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Topic: Curly Chalker video available |
Ron Sodos
From:
San Antonio, Texas USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2007 12:06 pm |
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WOW I sat and watched the Curly Chalker video I got from Mike Perlowin on Sunday. It is so totally cool. He sure was a master of those big jazz chords. This is 2 hours of the greatest steel guitar music you can ever want to see. Y'all need to contact Mike to buy one. It was the best $ have spent in a long time. ...........  |
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Ron Sodos
From:
San Antonio, Texas USA
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Posted 5 Feb 2007 2:23 pm bump
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Charles Dempsey
From:
Shongaloo, LA
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Posted 5 Feb 2007 4:21 pm
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Got mine today. I'm in the middle of the second song, and all I can say is, Woah!
Charlie |
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David Wright
From:
Pilot Point ,Tx USA.
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Posted 6 Feb 2007 1:44 pm
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| I got mine in Mesa... just love it thanks to Mike for getting all this done !!Now lets support him and Buy One!!!!! |
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Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 7 Feb 2007 4:29 am DVD
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| I place my order this morning for the Curly Chalker DVD. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it. For years I never thought he was a great player because all I ever saw was him playing on Hee Haw. The show Hee Haw never showcased the talent he had just as they never showcased Bobby Thompson. It mainly was about Buck and Roy. The old Wilburn Brothers show used Curly Chalker and let him play some instrumentals. Man was I wrong. I have since found out he was a monster player and has me looking for any recordings he has available. I do have "Nashville Sundown" which is a good project but I want some C6th playing. I figure this DVD will give me many years of enjoyment and a greater respect for Curly Chalker. |
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Shaun Marshall
From:
San Rafael California, USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2007 10:22 am
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Mike the Curly DVD is ALL TIME ! Thanks so much for doing this DVD for Curly and all of us.
Now I know what a sunset sounds like on a steel guitar ! |
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Darvin Willhoite
From:
Roxton, Tx. USA
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Posted 8 Feb 2007 3:59 pm
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I finally got a chance last night to watch about half of my DVD. THIS IS GREAT STUFF. I enjoy Johnny Davis' guitar playing as much as Curly's steel playing. They were and are great musicians. For all of you that missed it, Johnny played guitar in the staff band at the Mesa show a couple of weeks ago. He still has those chops. I have the old VHS tapes, but I hadn't watched them in a year or two. The DVD is much better. If you don't have it, GET IT AS FAST AS YOU CAN.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro. |
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Tom Bradshaw
From:
Walnut Creek, California, USA
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Posted 9 Feb 2007 8:15 pm
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I've never gotten enough of Chalker. The video I obtained from Mike Perlowin will be a treasured addition to my collection of his work. It made me think of some of my experiences with the man.
I got myself in trouble with Curly back in the '60s by tricking him out of his copedent, then publishing it. Boy, was he upset. But getting his tunings was just too big of a need of mine at the time. Back then he was secretive, arrogant, and could be very hostile if you rubbed him the wrong way. He took no guff from anyone, as I observed on a few occasions. I knew I had rubbed him the wrong way when he refused to talk to me at the Dallas 'Show & Exposition' that Reece and I put on in '69. Frankly, I don't think he wanted to be there, but he was playing a Sho-Bud and I’m sure they paid him well to show up for that show. As usual, I was in awe of his playing.
It wasn't until I was writing for Guitar Player magazine in the early '70s that I saw him again in Nashville. He was very considerate of me, and had set aside his hostility. He was riding high at the time with his signature licks and playing style on several of Carl Smith's recordings; 'I Love You Because' being one of his standout performances. He then hit it big by landing the steel job on the Wilburn Brothers TV Show. [Years later I tried to work a deal with the Brothers to buy the instrumentals that he and the guitar player worked out (one per show) for those TV shows. Too many problems prevented the purchase (money mainly).] Curly went on to do the Hee Haw show and record with almost every major Nashville performer.
During the interview at his business office near Music Row, Curly told me about an album he had cut with the Nashville symphony. He was very excited about it and played me a bit of it from a dub-tape he had made of the album (he and the recording engineer actually did the mix-down of all the tunes). I thought it was funny that Curly got up, walked over to me and made certain that my tape recorder was turned off before he started playing the tape! As usual I was impressed and asked him when it would be released. He said he questioned if it would ever be. He said the company had gone bankrupt and the master recording was tied up in litigation. I finished my interview and went home to do the GP story, but never got around to completing it. I finally did quite some time later and it was published.
Several years passed and I managed to get a copy of a several-generations dubbing of the very same recording that Curly played for me in 1971. On a lark, I phoned him about the album. He said he had no knowledge of what happened to it. I asked him where he had recorded it. He told me, but said that studio had been sold. In '71 it was called the 'Clements' Studio.
Not wanting to give up as Curly had, I began calling all the recording studios in Nashville. By accident I talked to a receptionist at one studio who knew where the old owner of Clements was. He had bought another studio in town. I called him and to my surprise, not only did he remember the recording; he had possession of the master tape! He said he had been waiting years to be paid the balance owing on the studio fees. I asked how much was owed and he told me. I then asked him if I could pay that balance and have the tape. To my surprise he said yes. It was the best deal I ever made: $1300.00! My wife had trouble holding me down as I jumped for joy when the tape arrived. I wanted to repeat what Churchill had said, 'It was my finest hour'.
Boy, was Curly surprised when I called him and said I owned that album. He agreed to do two a capella tunes for the album, since I felt there weren't enough songs on it. In 1977 I released 'Counterpoint' as one record in a 2-record set. Those albums became a huge seller for me for my Steel Guitar Record Club. I pulled out that album and read what I had written as an introduction to Curly. I hate to brag, but I feel I captured the musical essence of this steel guitarist better than any other steel player I ever described. I said,
"It takes rare qualities to place certain steel guitarist apart from all others. Those qualities become readily apparent when listening to the touch of Curly Chalker. He has the presence of originality and personal style; his technique is the obvious product of years of refinement; his delivery is intensely exciting; he has an obvious knowledge of the legitimacy of his musical constructions; his executions are flawless; he has a personal flair of expression and, his creativity astounds listeners who appreciate its difficulty. These attributes, plus his recognizable 'sound' are worthy achievements.
"Certain playing techniques are distinctly this man's. They include a procedure called quaking; wherein the tone bar is moved a fret above and below the chord being voiced. Such a procedure, as Chalker uses it, calls for resolution and the promise of impending musical drama in the executions that follow. Although Chalker may not have originated 'gutting', he definitely perfected it as no other steel guitarist has. That knack for explosive volume swells with chords, is perhaps his most notable trademark. His use of these sophisticated chord voicings in a punctuated delivery, with the rapidity of single-string riffs, is almost his own reserve. Chalker is one of a handful of steel guitarists who understand the technical employment of chords; perhaps not in their theory to a musical construct, but more realistically, to their employment in any composition to which he is introduced. That ability to hear many complex chords and their individual tones, in advance of their position of employment, is the nearest thing to musical genius.
"Many years of dedication to perfection have yielded its reward. The results place Curly Chalker in a class unto himself."
When watching the video and listening to Chalker, I feel my evaluation of the excellence of his talent still applies. As a player of the instrument I love, no one did it the way Curly did, and I doubt anyone ever will.
Thanks Mike, for retrieving and preserving these fine performances. …Tom |
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Charles Curtis
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Posted 10 Feb 2007 6:51 am
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| Thank you Tom; I enjoyed every word. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 10 Feb 2007 8:30 am
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| Tom Bradshaw wrote: |
Thanks Mike, for retrieving and preserving these fine performances. …Tom |
That’s what this project was all about: preserving this wonderful performance. I felt obligated to preserve this material and not allow it to be lost.
Those of you who have already seen the DVD know it is taken from 2 different concerts, one in St Louis and one in Los Angeles. The L.A. concert was produced by the late Jack Lox. In 1986 and ’87, Jack produced a series of steel guitar concerts featuring Buddy Emmons, Jimmy Day, Doug Jernigan, and one of local artists including Red Rhodes and J.D. Maness. Every one of those concerts was videotaped, and upon Jack’s death, every one of those videotapes (including the original master of the Chalker concert) was lost.
Fortunately, I copied the Chalker tape on a Beta VCR the day after the concert. (VHS may have won the format war, but Beta was the superior format.)
Shortly afterwards, I made a VHS copy of the tape for Scotty, who in turned loaned me the master tape from his Christmas party with Curly, and I again made a beta copy. I then dubbed the material from both tapes on to another tape (Beta again) and edited out the dead time in between the songs. I also eliminated the parts of Scotty’s party where people from the audience got up and sang. (It was after all a party, not a concert) It was this 2nd generation tape from which I made the VHS tapes that circulated several years ago. My unedited 1st generation copies of the original masters were then stored in a drawer and not played, kept away from dust or any other element that might cause them to deteriorate, till the opportunity came to do something with them.
That opportunity came in the form of our fellow forumite Michael Brebes. I mentioned this in another thread, but it bears repeating. This project would never have happened without Michael. I may have got the ball rolling, but he did all the actual work of turning the videotapes into the DVD. He deserves at least as much if not more credit as I do. If it had not been for him, The DVD would not exist, and the tapes would still be in storage. I will be sending Michael (who is a fine guitarist, but relatively new to the steel) to the convention later this year as a token of my appreciation for all his work. If/when you see him, be sure to tell him what a great job he did.
Like I said earlier, I felt I HAD to do this. I believe that in years to come this DVD will be looked upon as an important historical document.
I know that other people have videotapes of other great players, including many who are no longer with us. I hope that these other videos will also be converted to DVD and made available.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin
Last edited by Mike Perlowin on 10 Feb 2007 5:04 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Bill Cunningham
From:
Atlanta, Ga. USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2007 8:37 am
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I got my copy while hanging out with Mike P and listening to Al Vescoco Thursday night.
Mike made a big personal investment in this project. Let's keep the thread up as ongoing advertisement until he has broken even!
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Bill Cunningham
Atlanta, GA |
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Bob Kagy
From:
Lafayette, CO USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2007 2:23 pm
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I've had my Chalker DVD for several days. There's a lot of great playing on it not only by Curly but by the guitar soloists at each set. Wow. Some of the close up shots of Curly's hands have to be some of the best to show blocking and bar handling.
The Wilburn Brothers stuff on YouTube featuring Curly is must see, as are the recordings Tom Bradshaw talked about, plus the "More Ways to Play" album, all classic, great stuff.
Tom that master tape you bought - I'm not clear - is that what's on the Counterpoint recording?
Tom, Mike thanks to you both. And to Michael Brebes - very good job, thanks for all your work - this is such good stuff. |
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Terry Farmer
From:
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2007 7:27 pm
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| I got it and I love it! Thank you Mike, you done good!!! |
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Tom Bradshaw
From:
Walnut Creek, California, USA
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Posted 10 Feb 2007 8:42 pm
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Yes, all the tunes that Curly recorded with the Nashville symphony were on the Counterpoint album, plus one. The original recording produced 11 tunes. Back then, albums typically contained 12 tunes. I had Curly go back in the studio and cut 2 tunes a cappella. They were "If" and if my memory serves me right, "Born To Lose". I put "If" on the Counterpoint and used the other tune to offer something more for the other disc, "Big Hits On Big Steel". I purchased the release rights (for a limited run of pressings) to have a double-album set.
As all know who bought selections from my old Record Club, I provided extensive musical biographies of the featured artists on those albums. The double-album jacket allowed me to provide a lot about Curly. And incidentally, he was very helpful in providing his history. I think Curly finally forgave me for the trick I pulled on him. Several years later when I produced his Nevada Breaks album, he was overly helpful, saving me a bunch of money by having all the tunes worked out to perfection before he ever went into the studio in Las Vegas.
I mention this because Curly had a surly reputation. I heard many stories about him before and after I got to know him. As it turned out, I was an annoyance to him, whereas he treated me with respect that made me wonder if all those stories were exaggerations. Over the years I've concluded that they weren't. I can't explain it. ...Tom |
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Bill Stroud
From:
Dresden, Tennessee, USA * R.I.P.
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Posted 11 Feb 2007 12:43 pm Curley's DVD
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Thanks Mike for all the hard work that you put into putting this DVD together. Guys Mike put a lot of money and time in the making of this DVD, so lets get behind him and add this DVD to our collection.
Thanks again Mike, I hope the forum members will purchase one of these DVD's.
Guys you will like it, it's got some different material that you will like.
I also enjoyed Bobby Caldwell's playing and the back up band members. |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 11 Feb 2007 2:05 pm Re: Curley's DVD
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| Bill Stroud wrote: |
| Mike put a lot of money ...in the making of this DVD, ... |
This is true. This thing will have cost about $6,000 to make by the time it's all paid for. So far I've collected about $2,000 (which isn't bad considering that it's only been available for 2 weeks.)
I'm confident that as the word spreads and people realize just how wonderful these performances are, sooner or later I will recoup all my expenses.
But sooner would be better.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Paul King
From:
Gainesville, Texas, USA
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Posted 11 Feb 2007 2:19 pm dvd
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| Mike, While I have placed my order, I hope others will order as well. I believe you should have everything back you put into getting this project together. I want to say "Thank You" for not only the finances you put into the project but the time you spent as well. I have never met you, but I believe you are just a great person wanting all steel players to have such a great project for their collection. |
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steve takacs
From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
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Posted 15 Feb 2009 3:11 pm
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| bumping for an incredible video.... |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 15 Feb 2009 3:43 pm
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Thanks Paul and Steve.
The $6,000 figure I mentioned included an all expense paid trip to the convention for Mike Brebes, the man who did the actual authoring of the DVD. Unfortunately for Mike, there was a family crises which precluded his going, and he told me to forget about sending him.
This brought my expenses down to $4,500 which I've mostly recovered.
The footage from the California concert came very close to being lost forever after Jack Lox (who produced and videotaped the concert) died. (Scotty still has the footage tht comprises the portion of the DVD that was shot in St Louis.) I couldn't let that happen. This is possibly the finest documentation of Curly's genius that's ever been captured on video. I HAD to preserve it and make it available. I felt that I owed it to the entire steel guitar community.
I still have 600+ copies sitting in my garage in case anybody who does not have one wants one. The price is $32.00. $30 for the DVD itself and 2 bucks for mailing expenses.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Steve Alcott
From:
New York, New York, USA
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Posted 15 Feb 2009 9:46 pm
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| C'mon gang-let's buy'em up. I've got mine. |
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steve takacs
From:
beijing, china via pittsburgh (deceased)
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 5:16 am CURLY & MSA
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| Tom Bradshaw, did Curley play an MSA most of the time? steve t |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 8:33 am
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| Mike, is this the same footage that was on the VHS tapes you sold a few years ago? |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 9:06 am
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Donny, it's the same footage, but the technical quality is much better. The VHS tapes were 4th generation, The DVD was made from a Beta clone of Jack's original VHS tape, which was lost when he Died.
The day of the concert I asked Jack if I could make a copy of the tape for myself, and he consented.
(If I may deviate for a second, I really miss Jack. He was a good guy, a good friend, and a great supporter of the steel guitar and all us players. I wish he were still with is.)
The next I borrowed a Sony top-of-th-line Beta deck, and using the highest quality tape available, made a clone of Jack's tape. I then copied the copy, putting the original beta tape in a drawer for safekeeping. The copy of the copy was then edited and the footage from St. Louis included into yet another tape, which was then used as the master for the VHS tapes.
Those original tapes were fundraisers to help Curly with his medical expenses after his stroke. After I recovered my expenses, all the proceeds from the sales went directly to him.
All the years between then and the time I started this project, the original beta clone I made at Jack's place had been sitting in the drawer, unplayed, and unexposed to the elements. There was a little deterioration over the years, but it's minimal. This was the tape used to make the DVD.
Besides being available from me, the DVD can also be purchased from the forum, Scotty, the SWSGA and the steel club based in Washington State. (Billy Easton and Russ Rask have the discs.)
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin |
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Roger Shackelton
From:
MINNESOTA (deceased)
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Posted 16 Feb 2009 11:57 am
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HI MIKE,
Please post your address for ordering the:CURLY CHALKER DVD
ROGER |
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Mike Perlowin
From:
Los Angeles CA
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