Hi guys and gals,
How much fun is it just doing something all by yourself?
Have you ever noticed that the more people there are enjoying something, the more fun you seem to have? Did you ever tell somebody what a great turnout there was at a sports event, a concert or even bragged about how many people showed up for so and so’s party? There’s a moral here and I’m getting at something very important. It is human nature to enjoy things more if there are more people enjoying these things at the same time. How would you like to go to a big steel guitar show and only have 3 or 4 people show up? Ever noticed how much more successful something like a car club is if it has more members? The sure death of any club, interest or organization is if there aren’t enough people to enjoy it.
This is exactly why we need to encourage others to enjoy the things we love. Not only are we giving them the gift of the love of our great instrument which we have every right to feel good about, but we also can enjoy the instrument better ourselves if we have many more people to share it with.
I have pretty well spent my life encouraging and promoting the love of steel guitar. Looking at where steel guitar was 50 years ago, where less than 1% of the population knew what it was and a good percentage of this 1% cared very little about it. And now, look where steel guitar is. In every field of music, all over television and radio and every teenager in the world at least knows what it looks like. This has made me appreciate and love steel guitar even more and it should you also. Now here’s what I’m really driving at. Attend steel guitar shows, encourage your lead guitar buddies and other musicians to understand and love your instrument and what you’re doing with it. Put on shows of your own and learn to play the instrument better and better and don’t be prejudiced against any kind of music that we can get steel guitar into. The more of us there are to love it, the more we’re going to love it and the more people are going to understand us and our love for it.
As an example of my own efforts beyond what you’re seeing from me through my store, educational tapes and personal performances, I am pushing to get steel guitar into new venues all the time. On of my recent endeavors is to join up with two of the greatest steel players in the world … Mr. John Hughey and Mr. Doug Jernigan … to do a steel guitar exhibition show at one of the most famous music clubs in the world, the famous Bluebird Café in Nashville. This intimate club has been used for many years as a showcase lounge for Nashville’s newest artists, Nashville’s greatest songwriters and talent that has excelled to the top of the music industry. Steel guitar has never before been featured as it’s primary draw. Doug, John and I are about to change all that on September 15th when we do the first Bluebird steel guitar in-the-round show. We will be facing each other in the middle of the audience in a setting akin to playing in your living room. We will be accompanied only by two of Nashville’s finest musicians … Charlie Chadwick on upright bass and Kenny Malone on snare and hi-hat. These two well-respected musicians have set the standard for jazz and country backup in Nashville for 30 years. We are negotiating to have it broadcast live on WSM-AM radio. This will be a very quiet, easily heard performance in a smoke-free environment with great food. It will also be video taped for future broadcast and enjoyment. This is an event you should not miss if at all possible and is another significant step forward in exposing steel guitar to those that care but may not have noticed.
I have also finished Volume Two in my Beginner’s Series showing you how to play “Please Release Me” and “Amazing Grace” the way I did on my CDs. Step by step, note by note, knee by knee and lever by lever. You don’t have to sound like a beginner just because you are one. With my beginner’s series, you can go straight to playing and sounding like an advanced player … one song at a time.
As always, my mailing list gets the discount price. You have to order from the hidden mailing list sale page below. Do not order from the video page on the website because you will pay full price if you do. I repeat, you have to order from the hidden mailing list sale page to get the mailing list discount price.
When you get to the page, it’s the link at the top of the list. All of the other videos are there as well for anyone with an incomplete collection.
Your buddy,
Bobbe
