My 7 weeks in the U.S.A.: 4 weeks in Nashville, 2 weeks in St. Louis, and 1 week in Branson 2005

by Henning Kock, Denmark, Europe
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1. week report from Nashville:
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Hello back home.
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Temperature here in Nashville is a nice 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Two days ago 100 degrees.
I already have done a lot of steel guitar activities:
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Monday August 1) Arrived in Atlanta, Georgia. The flight was from Frankfurt, Germany with Lufthansa on the Airbus, which has room for 261 passengers. At the airport my rented car Chevrolet Classic with automatic transmission (gear) was waiting.
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Tuesday August 2) Visited Fran Newman in Watertown between Knoxville and Nashville.
She continues to sell Jeff Newmans instruction materials. Now on CD and DVD. She will move to North Carolina to be close to her children soon, and continue the business from there.

Wednesday August 3) Drove to Nashville in the Chevy. Stayed the first week in Nashville in Best Western Downtown Convention Centre in Nashville. $85 per night. Nashville is still famous for all kinds of activites relating to country music and music in general: recording studios, radio- and TV-studios, talent booking managers, musicians, singers, country music clubs for listening and dancing, record stores and tourism in general.
I read my e-mail every morning at the Nashville Public Library on Church Street downtown Nashville. One hour of computer work was free every day. They have about 100 public computers plus 200 for intern library use !
I took a walk on Broadway every afternoon and evening listening to country music and pedal steel guitar in the clubs. “Legends Corner” and “The Stage” usually had pedal steel players in the band.
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Thursday August 4) Visited Bobbe Seymours shop Steel Guitar Nashville. Just drive 15 miles north of Gallatin Road to Hendersonville.
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Friday August 5) Did shopping for western shirts and pants at Rivergate Mall (10 miles north of Gallatin Road) and on Broadway. The leading shops being the Trail West shops.
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Saturday August 6) Heard a great band on “The Stage” on Broadway Saturday night with Mike Sweeney on pedal steel. Signed up with Mike to have pedal steel lessons next 3 weeks. Saw a show on TV with Charlie McCoy, and The Grand Ole Opry, with Steve Wariner and Lloyd Green on pedal steel.
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Sunday August 7) Started calling musicians by phone regarding taking lessons on pedal steel guitar, lap steel guitar and piano. I had already sent letters to some of them weeks in advance.
The lessons should be on a one-to-one basis, and I would record the lessons on my new Sony Minidisc. I had previously been taking lessons in Nashville (in 1971, 1982, 1985, 1992 and 1996) but that was in the old days, where I taped my lessons on a cassette tape recorder.
As usual it was a puzzle to set my lesson schedule up, since the musicians are busy working in recording studios, TV-studios, clubs, concerts and tours on the road.

In the afternoon: Visited Country Music Hall of Fame (which has moved a few blocks since I was there the last time) and The Ryman Auditorium = the original Grand Ole Opry.
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Monday August 8) Took pedal steel guitar lessons from Russ Hicks out in the woods west of Nashville. Russ was also preparing to do some concerts with Connie Smith soon.
In the afternoon I took lessons on “The Nashville Number System” from Charlie McCoy (Mouth Harmonica Player) out in the Belle Meade area west of Nashville. Charlie was one of the inventors of The Nashville Number System. He has also played harmonica on records and in concerts with everybody. On his wall hangs a photo of Elvis and his band, and Charlie was in that band.
In the evening I went to the “Station Inn” on 12th Avenue south, and heard the “Time Jumpers Western Swing Band” (10 players) with John Hughey on pedal steel guitar. Talked to Doug Jernigan there, and signed up for pedal steel lessons from him next week.
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This was first week in N-ville. Just moved to Midway Motel, 741 Murfreesboro Road. $170 per week. More news to follow next 6 weeks.
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2. week report from Nashville:
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I like Nashville. (Who wouldn’t) It is my 6th time here. (1971, 1982, 1985, 1992, 1996, 2005)
Wednesday August 10) Pedal steel guitar lessons from Mike Sweeney in Millersville.
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Thursday August 11) I visited with Lloyd Green ! I was allowed last year to buy Lloyds own personal Rosewood Mica JCH built by Jimmie Crawford, which he owned and played from 1988 to 2002. From 2003 and forward he plays his old Sho-Buds again. He still does not lower the E 4th string, and he still has a .022 wound string for his G sharp 6th string. Lloyd plays so unique and so tasteful. He is constantly experimenting with melody phrases, what string combinations, what pedals or bar slants, what slides, and whether a lick is best played on a plain or a wound string. Also, if a knee lever movement or a forward or reverse bar slant will give the most unified, seamless playing. He also works with the fact, that all licks can be played at 4 or 5 different positions on the pedal steel guitar, but still, licks should be wound together to melody lines - not just licks, he emphasizes. When he composes, he go through many different ways to play a melody line so it is musical, and still is expressing what he want it to express - and transmit his feelings to the listener. One of Lloyds trade marks is also, that he plays string 5 and 8 together a lot. String 5 being a plain string, and string 8 being a wound string. I told Lloyd, that to me it is like a lady and a man singing in a musical. String 5 sounds like the lady singing, and string 8 sounds like the man singing. “You are right”, Lloyd said, “That is an interesting observation”. NEWS ! NEWS ! NEWS ! There is finally a long due appreciation web site for Lloyd on the Internet at the address www.lloydgreentribute.com. It is made by Walter Stettner of Austria. Walther will go to the Steel Guitar Convention in St. Louis in a few weeks. Walter is doing a fine job with this web site.
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In the evening I heard piano player Beegie Adair with her trio at the F. Scott Jazz Club, which is situated in the university area.
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Saturday August 13) Went out to the Grand Ole Opry, and saw the first show 6:30 to 9:00 PM. Talked to staff steel player Tommy White.
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Sunday August 14) Saw a show 1:00 to 5:00 pm at “The Starlight Club” in Gallatin with Charlie McCoy, Russ Hicks and wife singer Laney Hicks. Also with singer Doyle Holly (from Buck Owens former band) with Stu Basore on pedal steel.
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Monday August 15) Afternoon piano lessons with jazz pianist Beegie Adair at “The Nashville Jazz Workshop”.
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Tuesday August 16) Visited George L.s factory (strings, cables, pickups etc.)
Visited steel guitar builders Duane Marrs and Jeff Surratt. Duane Marrs was my first pedal steel teacher back in 1971 at The Sho-Bud store on 416 Broadway.
In the afternoon pedal steel guitar lessons with Mike Sweeney.
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Advice regarding daily life here in N.ville:
Lunch: On Gallatin Road at the Madison Square (there is also one near Midway Motel on Murfreesboro Road) The Piccadilly Cafeteria: Soup, Meat Dish with 2 vegetables, dessert, milk and coffee for under $7.00. Home Town Buffet on Gallatin Road near Rivergate Mall: All you can eat $7.98.
Both places 5 soups, 12 main dishes, 10 desserts, 8 cakes........to choose from.
Also Arbys and McDonald have healthy food like salads with green lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beef, chicken and so on. Breakfast near Midway Motel: Waffle House and McDonalds. Small daily things like toothpaste, drinking water, ice cream: the gigantic supermarkets like Kroger or Walgreen.
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3. week report from Nashville
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Wednesday, August 17 and Thursday August 18) Drove to Memphis to see Elvis Presleys Graceland and the Sun recording studio. Went also to a small town north of Memphis by the name of Henning ! ! to see the Alex Healey museum. Alex Healey was the author of the famous book and television series “Roots”
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Friday, August 19) Had pedal steel guitar lessons from Doug Jernigan in Smyrna, south of Nashville.
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Saturday, August 20) Was invited by Opry staff pedal steel player Tommy White to see the Grand Ole Opry Show back stage.
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Sunday, August 21) Visited Classical Guitar Player and former quality controller at Gibson Guitars in Nashville Alf Fiedler and Danish wife Ingrid.
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Monday, August 22) Saw the Elvis Presley show at Ernest Tubbs Theatre in Music Village Opryland area.
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Tuesday, August 23) Had pedal steel guitar lessons from Mike Sweeney in Millersville.
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4. week report from Nashville
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Wednesday, August 24) Visited George L.s factory again. (strings, cables, pickups etc.) George Lewis is still in the factory every day at the age of 82.
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Thursday, August 25) Heard jazz pianist Mike Rojas play with the Tropicoolas Band at the BarKar, at the Cummins Station jazz club on Demonbreun Street. A mixture of Latin music and modern jazz. Cummins Station is a former train station rebuilt to a modern multi-function activity centre.
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Friday, August 26) Took pedal steel guitar lessons from Stu Basore in Madison, TN.
Visited Bobby Seymours store Steel guitar Nashville again.
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Saturday, August 27) Took piano lessons and piano studio recording lessons from Gene Rabbai in Hendersonville, TN. One of the secrets to piano studio recording in Nashville is, that you play almost only with your right hand.
Visited “Opry Mills” which is a shopping mall situated outside Nashville where the Opryland used to be. Gibson has moved their factory for banjos, mandolins and Dobros inside Opry Mills, and you can actually see these instruments being made by the Gibson craftsmen. They work very slowly, careful and with top attention to details.
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Sunday, August 28) Visited with pedal steel player Tony Farr in Nashville.
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Monday, August 29) Visited with Swedish / American music publisher Dan Ekbaek on Music Row in Nashville.
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Tuesday, August 30) Drove from Nashville in a rainstorm with the rests from Hurricane Katrina whipping the back of my car. Overnight stop at the Super8 Motel in Metropolis (home town of Superman).
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Wednesday, August 31) Saw the Superman museum in Metropolis, and drove the last 4 hours to St. Louis. Arrived at the Millennium Hotel by the Arch, where Scottys International Steel Guitar Convention is going to take place the next five days.
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5. week report from St. Louis
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Wednesday, August 31) Arrived at the “Milennium Hotel”, where International Steel Guitar Convention took place. This hotel is round like a barrel. The ISGC has the entire basement floor with a big concert hall in the middle, and alongside the wall there are displays by steel guitar builders, amplifier builders, accessories vendors, and a lot more related to steel guitar. In the different rooms outside of the main hall there are similar things being displayed and sold plus there are small concerts and demos going on all the time. There is also a wall with the cast bronze plaquettes of the steel players inducted to the “Steel Guitar Hall Of Fame”. This year Leonard T. Zinn, and Red Rhodes (post mortem) was inducted. This steel guitar convention (the biggest of them all) has been going on since 1971, and is run by Scotty, his wife Mary, and there family plus many helpers. I was invited by Scotty Wednesday evening to the buffet for trade people and musicians at the Millennium Hotel.
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Thursday, September 1) International Steel Guitar Convention. I saw the amateur steel player talent search show in the afternoon and the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame fund raising show in the evening.

Friday, September 2) International Steel Guitar Convention. At the opening ceremonies I was chosen to carry the Danish flag. Then the steel guitar players started doing their thing together with the great backing band in the Grand Ballroom, which is a round concert hall at the bottom of the Millennium Hotel in St. Louis. Around the wall, and in many other rooms, there are lots of manufacturers of steel guitars, amps and accessories, and also CDs, Video Tapes and DVDs.
The concerts also went on
Saturday, September 3) and
Sunday, September 4)
with a lot of fine steel players including (in random order): Paul Franklin, Doug Jernigan,
Leonard T. Zinn, Russ Hicks, Randy Beavers, Don Helms, John Hughey, Herby Wallace,
Junior Knight, Billy Robinson, Bill Stafford, Larry Sasser, Tommy Dodd, Billy Phelps,
Jerry Brightman, Weldon Myrick, Al Brisco, Don Curtis, Ron Elliott, Del Mullen, Mitsuo Fujii, Herb Remington, Cindy Cashdollar, Jim Loessberg, Johnny & Joan Cox, Kayton Roberts, Joe Wright, Gene Fields, Mike Sigler, Bobby Black………and many more………
The singers included Laney Hicks, Rob Parker, Red Kilby, Mike Siler, Curtis Potter, and
fiddle player Bobby Flores.
The backing band included as always great guitarist Bobby Caldwell and great piano player Roy Rosetta.
There was a special steel player at the Convention this year: Steve Robinson. He is the astronaut and flight engineer who did the "Space walk" and repaired the Space Shuttle. Scotty announced from the stage, theat the mayor of St. Louis, proclaimed Sept 3 as Steve Robinson day. Steve Robinson told us, that he played 2 CD's while he was in outer space on this last mission: The Great Jerry Byrd and Del Mullen's new CD.
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6.. week report from Branson
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Monday, September 5) Drove to Branson, Missouri. Branson is an entertainment town (sort of an extra Nashville) with about 97 different music shows (many of these are country music with pedal steel guitar players, and 22 other attractions. There are about 70 motels and hotels with many thousands of hotel beds. I stayed at the Super8 Motel at $45.00 per night.
At night there are neon signs in front of the music theatres, and this looks like Las Vegas at night.
Tourists come in by the thousands by car or buses. Most of the tourists are retirees like myself, so I blended well in with the crowd. I started with the evening show "The Legends In Concert" which is a show with impersonators of Elvis Presley, Tina Turner, Alan Jackson and many more. Next days morning, afternoon or night shows were:
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Tuesday, September 6) Saw the country music show “Little Nashville with Larry King”. (said hello to pedal steel player: Dave Musgrave),
and the show Clay Cooper's Country Music Express, and said hello to pedal steel guitarist Dean Holman. Dean has won many championships on Dobro.
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Wednesday, September 7) Visited with Doug Earnest, who works part time for Bruce Zumsteg building Zumsteels. Doug has a fully equipped steel guitar workshop at his new house in the woods of Hollister, which is on the other side of the river from Branson.
In the evening I saw the rock music show “Lost in the Fifties”.
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Thursday, September 8) I saw the the country show ”The Paul Harris Show” and said again hello to
Dean Holman who played Pedal Steel and Dobro. Dean filled in for pedal steel guitarist Terry Bethel, who was on a leave because of back operations.
In the evening I visited with same Terry Bethel out in the Hollister Woods. As mentioned before Terry use to play pedal steel in the Paul Harris Show, and he will soon return, when his back is okay again. Terry is also president of the Ozark Steel Guitar Association.
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Friday, September 9) I saw the morning country show Jim Owen / Cal Smith, and said hello to pedal steel player Bob Hempker, who I took lessons from in Nashville in 1982. Bob is also the former steel player on the road for Loretta Lynn.
Later same afternoon day I saw the country show “Joey Riley Comedy Review” and said hello to pedal steel guitarist Tom Brumley. We all remember the Buck Owens song “Together Again”, where Tom pedal steel playing played a significant role, and Tom played also this song on this show, together with the singer.
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Friday night I went to “Rockys Italian Restaurant” and saw Hammond organ player / singer / entertainer Jimmy Nicholas. One of Jimmys idols is the Danish/American piano player and comedian Victor Borge, and a lot of this type of comedy was in his performance.
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Saturday, September 10) In the afternoon I saw the “Country Tonite Matine” with Bob Hempker on pedal steel, and in the evening the “Baldknobbers Country Show” which was the oldest country show running in Branson. I said hello to pedal steel guitarist Roger Blevins, and the piano player here who also is a pedal steel player Milton Quackenbush.
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Sunday, September 11) Visited “Silver Dollar City”, which is an amusement park in style with the former “Opryland” in Nashville. The difference is, that in “Silver Dollar City” the entire personnel
Wears clothing from the years 1800 to 1900, and there are lots of working workshops showing handicrafts and daily life from that period. There also are 5 or 6 places with free country and bluegrass music.
After that I saw the Leroy News Country Show, which was a mixture of bluegrass, country, gospel, and Chet Atkins-style guitar playing.
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7. week report from St. Louis
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Monday, September 12) Drove to Harrisonburg, south of Kansas City. On the way I saw endless fields of corn, corn and more corn (majs).Visited with Bruce Zumsteg and wife Doreen. Builder of the Zumsteel Pedal Steel Guitar. They used to live in Kansas City, now they live in Harrisonburg, and next to their house are 2 buildings containing Bruces steel guitar workshops.
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Tuesday, September 13) Drove to St. Louis in the Chevrolet Cobalt. Stayed the week at the Motel-6 at $34.00 per night.
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Wednesday, September 14) Visited Scotty, DeWitt Scott junior, Michael Scott (operator of www.steelradio.com) and Don Curtis in Scottys Music store. Visited the historical museum in the bottom of The Arch. The Arch is a gigantic bow structure made out of hollow stainless steel situated by the river outside the Millennium Hotel. The Arch is the landmark of St. Louis. “The only city in the world with a handle”
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Thursday, September 15) St. Louis: Had lessons on Pedal Steel Guitar by Don Curtis. Visited St. Louis Science Centre.
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Friday, September 16) St. Louis: Visited the Historical Museum of Missouri and the In the evening had lessons on Lap Steel Guitar by Scotty.
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Saturday, September 17) St. Louis: Visited the Scott Joplins Museum (Composer of “The Entertainer, Maple Leaf Rag and many more) I was allowed to play “The entertainer” on his piano. And visited Americas biggest Indian prehistoric site “Cahokia Mounds” In the evening lessons on Lap Steel Guitar by Scotty.
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Sunday, September 18) Driving to Chicago in the Chevy Cobalt. Stayed at the Best Western Hotel at O.Hare Airport.
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Monday, September 19) Chicago. Enjoyed the fresh air at the Lake Michigan.

Tuesday, September 20) Flying home from Chicago with SAS on the Airbus, which has room for 261 passengers.
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Wednesday, September 21) Arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the Tivoli Gardens I heard an open air concert with Tivolis Big Band (jazz) and Tivolis Promenadeorkester (classical). The entire Tivoli Gardens had a Hans Christian Andersen theme.
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Thursday, September 22) Home in Odder near Aarhus again. Reminiscing over a wonderful, educational and advantageous trip to the musical United States. I took 300 photos and recorded 20 mini discs with my lessons and the music shows. These 20 recordings will now keep me busy for a long time.
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Well, this was my 6th time traveling in the wonderful United States. Thanks to all the nice and kind people, I met.
And thanks for recieving and taking care of me so friendly.
Kind regards,
Henning
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pedal steel guitar: www.henningkmusic.dk www.steelguitardanmark.dk www.geocities.com/nashville/1520
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piano & keyboard: www.sitecenter.dk/henning-kock

[This message was edited by Henning Kock on 21 October 2005 at 02:49 PM.]

Kind Regards, Walter

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Drew Howard - website - Fessenden D-10 8/8, Fessenden SD-12 5/5 (Ext E9), Magnatone S-8, N400's, BOSS RV-3

I enjoyed seeing you again. This time in Branson. It had bee many, many, years. I enjoyed our little visit, too. Glad you had a good time and got safely back to Denmark. Good Luck!,