Hi all.
The South London Steelies met yesterday in the glorious surroundings of the Bread and Roses pub, Clapham. Numbers were a bit lower than usual - only 4 pedal steels... but, our first slide player, David Cooper, with a Gretch 6-string. We also had John Brooker along to observe - he's also a budding slide player, so, we are slowly becoming a bit more eclectic. We did grave injustice to Apartment # 9, Making Believe, Take these chains and Help me make it through the night (or in my case, help me make it through the chorus). New steel player Nicholas Hawkins came along with a really nice blue Rains 4+5 which we all had a go on!
We were also joined by Henry (Tooting) and Tom, who came sans guitars. Henry gave us a virtuoso demonstration of a Day player playing an Emmons set-up (ouch!) and Tom showed his mastery of all things slide/bar by deftly re-tuning David's lap steel and suddenly we were in Paris, Texas instead of Clapham, London!
Difficult to award the golden thumb-pick this month, so, a golden finger-pick each to Jon for stepping in with a sound system to play backing tracks in Shaun's absence (and for some tasty playing, too) and Andrew, who was throwing out licks and turnarounds like nobody's business! Great fun.
The next meeting will be on SUNDAY 16 FEBRUARY. We're going to reprise January's tunes as there were a few absentees yesterday, and we're going to add I Fall to Pieces and Love Me Tender, all being well. We are also suggesting each of us chooses a Beatles tune to present, unaccompanied, at the February meeting (Optional, of course). Any that we like we could perhaps try to teach each other over the forthcoming months. Suggestions include:
Across the Universal
While Those Next Door Gently Weep
Here, There and All Over The Place
The One After nine E9
Rain(s) (for Nicholas)
I Want You (Sho Bud's so Heavy)
Another Day (for Henry)
and the all-time classic, Mother Nature's Zum
Any other suggestions???
Happy days
Nick



