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 Dave Easley out on East Coast tour!
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David Mason Member From: Cambridge, MD, USA |
posted 27 June 2005 10:37 AM
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Dave just called me - he's out on the road with Shannon McNally on a swing up here. NYC tonite and Thursday, Boston Tuesday, Philly Wednesday, Annapolis July 9th etc. Here's her tour schedule: http://www.shannonmcnally.com/index.php?page=gigs She just released a CD with steel by Greg Leisz and I guess Dave E. picked up the tour, at least through Annapolis according to his site: http://ndmis.business.nd.edu/band/viewschedule.asp I've never heard anyone else do anything like the things he does on steel, Coltrane tone clusters and stuff. Steel guitarists are from Pluto, Easley beamed in from a different galaxy. I don't know if he gets to let it out or has to rein it in for these gigs - she's "alt-country" whatever that means, and I didn't think he even knew any country songs? [This message was edited by David Mason on 28 June 2005 at 06:08 AM.] |
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Bob Hoffnar Member From: Brooklyn, NY |
posted 27 June 2005 07:50 PM
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I just saw Dave in NYC. He is a treasure ! A must see for anybody interested in pedalsteel. Bob |
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Howard Tate Member From: Leesville, Louisiana, USA |
posted 27 June 2005 09:00 PM
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Dave is an amazing player,and very friendly. I hope he gets the recognition he deserves. ------------------ |
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Reggie Duncan Member From: Mississippi |
posted 28 June 2005 05:10 AM
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A genuinely nice person and great pedal steeler... |
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Bob Watson Member From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S. |
posted 29 June 2005 01:50 AM
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Dave is an amazing steel player, it is good to see him playing with a new up and coming recording artist. I hope this helps him get the recognition that he so greatly deserves. |
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David Doggett Member From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 29 June 2005 05:46 AM
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I'm going to see Dave and Shannon tonight in Philly at the Tin Angel. Did anyone see the Boston show last night? Does he play any of his trademark jazz, or does he just accompany her in alt country (hard to imagine)? |
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David Doggett Member From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 30 June 2005 07:42 AM
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Well, I finally heard David Easley last night with Shannon McNally. Bill Stafford told me he is a phenomenal jazz player, so I didn’t know what to expect from him playing with her. He was playing an Emmons push/pull D10 with 8(?) and 2. That’s right, there were no left knee levers at all. He played plenty of tasteful E9 traditional country stuff for her alt country numbers, and I got the impression he could play anything he wanted to. Once they warmed up and began to rock out, the rock-jazz-blues licks came flying, sometimes from the E9 neck, but mostly from the C6 neck. He played these fantastic clusters of arpeggios with amazing expression. Once I began getting use to hearing that on pedal steel, I realized it had a familiar sound and began to try to place it. Okay…it’s ‘60s psychedelic rock guitar…not quite Hendrix…it’s the Byrds…on 8 Miles High. At least that’s the closest I can get to describing it. I’m not a rock or jazz guitar connoisseur, so maybe those more knowledgeable can hear other influences. He used a wah-wah pedal sometimes. He also played an electric six-string quite a bit. He just sat right there behind his pedal steel, with the six-string in his lap. And he played the same stuff on it, except he added some fast strumming, again like the Byrds right at the end of 8 Miles High. I’m not saying he just sounded like a Byrds knock-off, that’s just as close as I can get to describing it. On some numbers he used a big flat brass bar, with no damping fingers behind it, to play some really hot slide guitar blues-rock stuff on his C6 neck. It was sort of like Hendrix and Johnny Winters meet Robert Randolph. There was lots of open string stuff. There was no 6th sound to it at all. I have never seen a 6th neck played like that. As the evening wore on, he just got better and better, and really won over the crowd. I think everyone there but Jim Cohen and I had come to see Shannon. But by the night’s end Easley was getting big ovations after every ride. Shannon McNally? Oh, yeah, she sang every bit as good as she looks, which is plenty good. Check the schedule above and don’t miss this show if it comes near you. |
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Bob Hoffnar Member From: Brooklyn, NY |
posted 30 June 2005 08:17 AM
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David, Did you notice his string lever that works his C neck ? All those alt country licks were played on the C neck using that 3rd lever the night I saw him in NYC. I get the impression he is one of those frightening musicians that never runs out of bullets ! He is playing again tonight in NYC at the Living Room at 8:00. I have a gig at Makor or I would be there. ------------------ |
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David Doggett Member From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 30 June 2005 08:39 AM
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Bob, yeah he had some kind of wire running around the legs up under there that seemed to be working as a lever. There was a small monitor in front of the pedal board, so I couldn't see all his pedal work. But he seemed to be using the whole range of C6 pedals (wearing sandals). It seemed like the wire let him hit that change no matter where he was on the C6 pedals. On a few of her more traditional numbers he was definitely using the E9 neck with traditional AB pedal work (no left knee levers). But you are right that on the rock and country-rock stuff it was all C6. I talked to him briefly after the show. He is a super nice guy. But they had played Boston the night before, and in the afternoon had done a show and radio interview here (World Cafe Live with WXPN, unknown broadcast date), and have an afternoon and evening show today (I think in Annapolis). So I told him to go get some sleep and I didn't press him about his setup. But his slide guitar stuff on C6 sounded so un-6th-like that I had to ask him about the string tunings. He said they were standard E9 and C6 neck tunings. But who knows about the wire lever and pedals. His amp was some kind of head on the floor beside him that he tweaked from time to time. He played through two 12" speakers in separate small cabs. He had a hugh range of tones, mostly from his hands. His bar work is incredible. It's like nobody ever showed him the "right" way to do it, so he found his own right ways to do whatever he wants. We would all benefit if he did some workshops on video. [This message was edited by David Doggett on 30 June 2005 at 08:50 AM.] |
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Jim Cohen Member From: Philadelphia, PA |
posted 30 June 2005 07:57 PM
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I enjoyed meeting Dave and hearing him play. He's got a great right hand for sure. Unfortunately, my wife and I had to leave after about 45 minutes (the God's honest truth is that, even with Easley on steel, there's only so much of this "singer-songwriter" stuff I can stomach...) Yeah, that string running around the legs of his steel was sure weird. What's up with that, I wonder? jc |
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David Doggett Member From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA |
posted 30 June 2005 10:18 PM
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Jim, Easley played more and better the second half of the set (don't we all?). He was way hotter toward the end. But then, if you stayed to the end, you got to hear her do an a capella rendition of Sam Cooke's "A Change Gonna Come." Words cannot describe it. I know. I tried a whole lots of words here but I just couldn't work up enough meaness to leave any of them in print.  [This message was edited by David Doggett on 30 June 2005 at 10:21 PM.] |
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Howard Tate Member From: Leesville, Louisiana, USA |
posted 01 July 2005 05:10 AM
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The second time I saw Dave he played a Marlen, without the knee string. I don't remember the pedal setup or knees, but it looked more traditional then his Emmons. Looking at his gear and speakers, I decided it didn't matter what he had as long as it had some strings on it. He played some stright ahead jazz with guitar great Brooke Hubbart, (not sure of the spelling). They just blew me away on stuff like Yardbird Suite. ------------------ |
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Bob Watson Member From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S. |
posted 01 July 2005 01:31 PM
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I've known Dave for over 30 years and have watched him progress throughout that time. The first instrument that Dave really got interested in was the banjo. From there he bought a Sho-Bud Maverick and instantly started playing Jazz on it. He then went to a green double neck MSA Classic and really started taking off on the C6 neck. We used to get together and play out of the Real Book, me playing guitar and him playing steel. He was really into playing the outside stuff (Coltrane, Dolphy, etc.). I remember when he figured out "Freedom Jazz Dance" on steel, I knew right then that he was going to take the psg to knew heights. Dave bought a push pull Emmons off of T.C. Furlong in the early '80's. It was a basic setup with 8 pedals and 4 knee levers. He started experimenting with tying string around his knee and then underneath the steel to get the different changes he wanted. He still uses the high G on the C6 neck. He began playing through a Mesa Boogie (and I believe still does) and getting into Larry Carlton and Hendrix and Clapton. He figured out the Eddie Van Halen solo for "Jump" on the C neck when that tune was popular. He also has a steelrider (?) midi setup and does some amazing things with it. Dave's taste in music has always kept him playing in different kinds of musical situations than most steel players. He is one of the most innovative steel guitarists I know of today. He plays with heart and soul and is also one of the nicest people I have ever known. I can't wait to hear him play with this new band! [This message was edited by Bob Watson on 01 July 2005 at 01:41 PM.] [This message was edited by Bob Watson on 01 July 2005 at 01:43 PM.] [This message was edited by Bob Watson on 02 July 2005 at 01:38 AM.] |
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Jim Cohen Member From: Philadelphia, PA |
posted 01 July 2005 02:41 PM
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So... why a piece of string instead of a knee lever? |
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David Mason Member From: Cambridge, MD, USA |
posted 01 July 2005 04:24 PM
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After hearing the 3Now4 CD and wondering W.T.F.? for a while, I e-mailed Dave and asked him, basically, W.T.F.? I'm sure he wouldn't mind me quoting him: quote:I think David D. got it right, nobody ever told him you couldn't play Coltrane solos on a steel guitar, so he just went ahead and did it. To play the really fast arpeggiated clusters he uses a technique he calls "penciling." You pick up the back end of the bar, hold it like a pencil and pick out differently-shaped arpeggios. It gets easier the further above the 12th fret you get because the notes are closer together. Don't even mention the "I" word, his is just fine. [This message was edited by David Mason on 01 July 2005 at 04:27 PM.] |
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Bob Watson Member From: Champaign, Illinois, U.S. |
posted 02 July 2005 01:43 AM
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Jim, I think he used the string because it didn't cost anything and he could experiment with all of the various changes he could think of. |
The tour swings into the Midwest and out to California later, so keep an eye out. 
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