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Topic: Whatever happened to the steel intro? |
Frank Freniere
From:
The First Coast
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Posted 29 Jan 2012 2:38 pm |
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The last time I had to pull over and stop was when Buddy Emmons kicked off George Strait's "When Did You Stop Lovin'Me." The only other intros that readily come to mind are Paul Franklin on Keith Urban's "But For The Grace of God," and Cowboy Eddie Long on Jamey Johnson's "High Cost Of Living."
I'm sure there are other, more recent examples but... what do you think's going on? |
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Mike Cass
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 5:16 am
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Back when radio was radio, any instrumental intro whether it be steel, fiddle, guitar, etc., was put on the front of a song at the time of recording mainly to give DJ's time to "intro-duce" the tune they were about to play, especially if that performer was about to appear within the stations listening area. In that case the jock would promote the upcoming show(s) along with any station promo's such as free tickets or records in effort to secure larger turnouts and draw more listeners to the station for the purposes of higher ratings, and thus bring in more advertsing dollars for the station.
Being a musician, it always bothered me to hear the DJ yakking over some cool steel or fiddle intro that I was trying to listen to until I got into the recording industry myself(admittedly in a somewhat lower capacity than others on here)and realized that it wasnt about me the listener, or even the music. It was about the radio station and dollars.
Todays DJ's(with the notable exception of Eddie Stubbs)tend to rattle on halfway through the 1st verse about whatever pops into their 5 Hour Energy fueled brains because its all about them and the products they're promoting and their personal ratings, ambitions, agendas, etc., which at the end of the day still translates into dollars. Plus, pedal steel guitar in its pure form(insert here your example of the Strait intro which Big E absolutely slayed)is pretty much persona non grata on the airwaves these days, in part because not every steel guitarist who now gets on records can begin live up to that kind of example, so the bar(no pun)needed to be lowered to include the newcomers which often means little or no steel, period, intro or otherwise. Also, the music we love as steel guitarists is now persona non grata due to its subject matter(while essentially no different than the current offerings)which tends to remind some folks of bar fights, adultery or other less politically correct behavior associated with their youth which they'd now rather forget about while they drive the kiddies to soccer practice. The recording business has never been about what we the listener want or even about the music; its always been about the almighty $$.
So the next time you hear a song on the radio that has no steel on the intro or elsewhere, think about what Ive said, and then pull up your favorite steel gem on your iPad or such, smile and enjoy. With the rare exception, thats the only way to hear what you want to anymore.
I now rest my case, don the flame-retardent suit and surrender my soap-box to the next contender 
MC
Last edited by Mike Cass on 3 Feb 2012 5:42 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Cal Sharp
From:
the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN
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Mike Cass
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 5:41 am
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| LOL!! you nailed that, Cal. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 5:42 am Why don't we hear more steel?
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The whole thing can be explained in one short sentence.
We like steel guitar, but most others do not. |
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Mike Cass
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 5:44 am
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| ....or do they even know what steel guitar is.......... |
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Jim Vogan
From:
Ohio City, Ohio 45874
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 6:04 am
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Eddie Stubbs will sometimes play an intro or turnaround twice and tell who played it.
_________________
Jim Vogan
Derby SD 10 3&5 |
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Mike Cass
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 6:12 am
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ya gotta love Eddie  |
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Joe Miraglia
From:
Jamestown N.Y.
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 6:56 am
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" Your Man" by Josh Tuner. Forum member Steve Hinson,played steel on the CD. Into. and ending- Steel guitar  by steve. |
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 10:19 am
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Six years old... recent is relative  . Ryan Adams and the Cardinals:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMoYIgGSNxc
_________________
Fender Kingman, Sierra Crown D-10, Evans Amplifier, Soup Cube. |
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Kevin Milner
From:
Los Angeles, California, USA
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Posted 3 Feb 2012 12:45 pm
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I miss the Cardinals (although Greg Leisz's work on the most recent record will do just fine!)
Seeing Ryan again on the 17th.
_________________
GFI S10-P Ultra -> Milkman 40w Pedal Steel Mini or 300w Half & Half (or Sarno SGBB/Nashville 112 or '94 Twin Amp or Homebuilt 5e3)
Effects: Cali76-CD Compressor -> EP booster -> Sarno Earth Drive -> Earthquaker Devices Zap Machine -> Earthquaker Devices Grand Orbiter Phaser -> Caitlinbread Dirty Little Secret Mk III -> Malekko Envelope Filter -> Hilton VP -> Pedal Projects Klone -> Tech 21 Blonde -> Strymon Timeline -> TC Electronics Spark Mini Boost -> Strymon Lex -> Strymon Flint |
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Brett Robinson
From:
Nashville, TN
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Andy Jones
From:
Mississippi
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Posted 4 Feb 2012 9:13 am
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This is why I seldom listen to radio anymore.This "country" music of today,most of it,doesn't lend itself very well to the steel guitar.Crummy lyrics,rock and roll beat,and lousy vocalists seem to be the rule of the day.
Also,as Mike Cass alluded to,dj's can't shut their pie holes long enough so you can hear the entire song without being interrupted.
JMHO,flame me if you want.I'm a fireman,so I've got the gear to bear the heat.
Andy |
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David Hartley
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Posted 4 Feb 2012 9:38 am Hi all.
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That was a great reply from Mike Cass.
The easy answer is, don't listen to the radio, just fill up your iPod with all the songs you can find with a steel intro.
Question? What radio station is Eddie Stubbs the dj? And s it streamed? |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 4 Feb 2012 9:43 am
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I gave up listening to Country radio. With a collection of over 3,000 LPs and about 1,000 CDs why should I waste my time listening to second best ? 
Hank Williams, Marty Robbins, Jim Reeves, Johnny Cash ... they're all alive and kicking on my stereo system; steel introductions, C6 riffs, played on big 60s speakers through a tube amplifier. That's the way to go. |
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