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Pete Kleinow
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This topic was originally posted in this forum: Wanted To Buy |
| Author | Topic: Pete Kleinow |
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Marty Muse Member Posts: 34 |
posted 24 March 2000 12:53 PM
I noticed a lot of surprise at Buddy Emmons choice of Sneaky Pete Kleinow on his top 10 list. It's really great to see someone with so much influence in the steel community tip his hat to one of the truly original players of this instrument. Hopefully it will turn a whole lot of people on to him that wouldn't normally have heard him. I never realized what a monster player he was until I heard him live. Blew me away. Someone was telling me of a time when Buddy was starting out in Calumet City that Buddy, Sneaky, and Red Rhodes could all be found playing the clubs there. Is that so Buddy? Wish I could"ve been there to see some of that! Kudos to Sneaky Pete and all the great players of the pedal steel! MM |
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Steve Feldman Member Posts: 2983 |
posted 24 March 2000 01:01 PM
Here here! |
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Glenn Suchan Member Posts: 1187 |
posted 24 March 2000 01:44 PM
Somewhere along the way, I remember reading something, an interview I think, in which Sneaky Pete described his approach to playing the steel guitar. I think it sums up the way he plays. He said that he would listen to the music that he was going to play steel with and play what the music needed. ie. style, flavor, accent, whatever. In other words, he adapts his steel guitar to the music instead of trying to fit conventional steel guitar cliches into whatever the music is (a common mistake that many players of our instrument make...me included). I sincerely think this is the reason he's been such a successful session player even though his personal instrument would not be considered a worthy guitar by most on this form. Sneaky Pete on Mr. Emmons' "short list"? 'Makes sense to me. Both are one of a kind mavericks who follow their impecable instincts rather than fashion....Trendsetters! Marty, it's great that you're participating on the forum. I enjoy reading your posts. Best wishes! Keep on pickin'! |
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Moon in Alaska Member Posts: 1155 |
posted 24 March 2000 03:16 PM
Sneaky Pete was limited with that old cable rig, But that was his ONLY LIMIT !! Anyway he made that old Fender sound REAL-REAL-REAL GOOD !! ------------------ |
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Bob Farlow Member Posts: 895 |
posted 24 March 2000 03:20 PM
Sneaky is confirmed to play at the Atlanta PSG show next Thanksgiving weekend. |
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Buddy Emmons Member Posts: 1403 |
posted 24 March 2000 03:47 PM
Marty, I'm sure Pete and Red could have worked Cal City at some time or other although I don't recall them being there in 1953. Sneaky Pete and I worked in bands around the Indiana/Michigan area when I was fifteen years old, so we go back a long way. He went by Pete Metcalf at that time. Everything about his playing from the sound, the technique, and the ideas, is a departure from any other steel player I've ever heard. He is one of a kind. If that's not enough, I heard he has something to do with the animation of my favorite little character on TV, the Pillsbury Doughboy. Now that's heavy!! |
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C Dixon Member Posts: 5912 |
posted 24 March 2000 04:05 PM
For those of you that have not heard it, borrow or buy the album "suite steel" and listen to Sneaky Pete and Buddy Emmons trade their unique styles back and forth on the Beatles classic "Yesterday". Truly an unprecedented blend of steel guitars from two totally different musical spheres. And yet quite complimentary to each other. If you get this album or you already have it, listen to the very ending of "Yesterday" and hear BE use that G# to F# knee lever picking strings 4, 5 and 6 at the tonic chord. Drove me nuts the first time I ever heard it! But then what doesn't drive me nuts when the BIG E does it? Walk with HIM and all things will be blessed, carl |
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John Russell Member Posts: 455 |
posted 24 March 2000 04:51 PM
Carl and Marty: Check out Pete's playing on his Shiloh record called "Sneaky Pete" (Shiloh SLP 4086, recorded in 1979). It includes some slow ballads but the intro cuts on side 2 are "Oklahoma Stomp" and "Beat the Heat" are real barn-burners. The first couple of seconds into each tune and you'll realize that this is a serious player! If you didn't know what type guitar he plays you'd still realize what a major talent the guy is. But to be a steel player to hear it and knowing about the Fender 400 is just mind boggling. I bet his life would make a fascinating story, esp. since he walked away from a promising musical career to do the animation. A true renaissance man. Let's get him on the forum. John |
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Terry Wood Member Posts: 1205 |
posted 24 March 2000 05:17 PM
Steel Forum Members, John and Buddy are right on about Sneaky Pete. If you don't have his CD titled "Sneaky Pete Kleinow: The Legend & The Legacy," you might consider adding it to your collection. In fact, mine is right here in my computer right now so I can enjoy his original steel pickin' and the pleasing sound to the ear! As a visual arts teacher I get an extra bonus, I can enjoying looking at the cool picture on the CD cover. Brillant! Terry J. Wood |
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ebb Member Posts: 1045 |
posted 24 March 2000 06:04 PM
http://www.b0b.com/forum/Forum1/HTML/008668.html |
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Craig Stock Member Posts: 557 |
posted 24 March 2000 06:12 PM
Pete went into the animation business, but has recorded in addition to that. I just coresponded with Pete this week and he says that he is working hard on his third solo album. I was really happy to hear that. Does any one have a lead on where to get 'Suite Steel', I'd love to get a copy of it. ------------------ |
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Jimmy Youngblood Member Posts: 352 |
posted 24 March 2000 07:28 PM
In the 70s, I saw Pete perform at Lake Tahoe with The Flying Burrito Brothers. Pete had a lot to do with introducing the pedal steel to a whole new audience. God bless you, Pete Kleinow! |
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Dave Horch Member Posts: 628 |
posted 24 March 2000 09:18 PM
On the “endorsement” area (back cover) of John Bidasio’s “E9th Workbook”, Pete K. writes, “I don’t use E9 tuning, but if I wanted to learn it, this would be the book for me.” No E9 Pete? Hard to believe, from what I’ve heard. Anyway, thanks to both you and Doctor Emmons, . Regards to all, -Dave ------------------ |
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Peter Dollard Member Posts: 705 |
posted 24 March 2000 11:36 PM
It would seem that Pete kleinow's only major limitation is that producers think he is Dan Dugmore. At least that is what at least two notable players in Nashville have told me. They think it was Dan playing Ronstads "I Cant't Help It" as well as tracks on other California artists of the Seventies and Sixties. |
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John De Maille Member Posts: 521 |
posted 29 March 2000 07:10 PM
Marty, I had the great joy to open up for the Flying Burrito Bros. back in 1982, at the Lone Star Cafe in N.Y.C.My band played more west coast country than most around here, and that's why we got the booking.Sneeky Pete was gracious enough to let me play through his twin session 400's.The sound was almost too much to handle, and really set me back a bit. I was using a Fender Twin at the time, and that night I was in Hog Heaven.I wish I only had more time to talk to him that night,but,they were on a tight schedule and had to leave right after they played their second set.I'll never forget that night.Sneeky Pete was, and still is one of my all time favorite steel masters. Sincerely, John De Maille V.P.-P.S.G.A. |
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Roland van Beveren Member Posts: 121 |
posted 30 March 2000 01:28 PM
Sneaky Pete Kleinow is The Greatest Steel Player On Earth. Listen to his inimitable playing on Frank Zappa's "It Must Be A One-Shot Deal" (Waka/Jawaka, 1972). If that doesn't convince you, try his lyrical licks on Little Feats' "Willin'" (Sailin' Shoes 1972). Man, the man's got soul! |
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CHIP FOSSA Member Posts: 2536 |
posted 30 March 2000 07:41 PM
Hello All. This "Sneaky" post has gone before. Hell-oah-oaah!! But I love to say it....I lucked out, and got to see the ORIGINAL BURRITOS, with MR SNEAKY, GRAM PARSONS, CHRIS HILLMAN, MIKE CLARK, and RICK ROBERTS on bass. AAAAAANNNNNDDDDDD.......now this is 67'-68'...Gram: introducing someone he said he 'discovered' singing in outback honky-tonks in the badlands of Alabama. And who was that? WWWWWWHHHHHYYYYY,,,,,,,,IT'S EMMYLOU...... EMMYLOU HARRIS.......... So this is what happened to Chip Fossa many That wonderful, creative enviornment we all That Flying Burrito gig was at a very small Believe it or not..........I told, actually warned, all present, that we are wittensing Anyway...thanks all....you don't have to be religious, just spiritual. Chip to Shore |
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John Brabant Member Posts: 59 |
posted 31 March 2000 02:44 PM
Boy Chip, you sure you don't have your dates alittle mixed up. From chatting with folks who played with Gram and reading much about him, I would have to say you have your dates alittle off. My understanding is that Rick Roberts and Chris Hillman discovered Emmylou Harris while in Washington DC at some folkie club, circa 1971. They then dragged GP down to see her, and he asked Emmy if he could come up and sing with her and did just that. Gram asked her if she was interested in joining the Burritos and being the "Burrito Sister", to which Emmy couldn't say no. Soon there after, due to Gram's excesses, Gram and the Burrito Bros. parted company and he and Emmylou went on to...., wel the rest is history. What I'm saying is, IMHO, that you musta seen that show with Emmy circa 1971, before GP split the Burritos. Another fact, Barry Tashian came up with the Burrito Bros. name, and the B. Bros. didn't form until Chris Hillman and Gram split the Byrds. This was after Sweethearts of the Rodeo was released in 1968, and they teamed up with Chris Ethridge and Sneaky to form the Burrito Bros., who didn't release an album until 1969. I would be surprised if you saw them in 1967, as they were with the byrds then. You may have caught the Byrds in 1968 with JD Maness, but most likely not with Rick Roberts. Rick only joined the Burritos in 1971 or so and about the time GP split. Michael Clark wasn't with the Burritos until 1969, after the 1st album was released. He joined along with Bernie Leadon who played lead electric which before then they didn't have drums or lead guitar; Sneaky did all the lead work. You can see this line up of the Burritos on the Gimme Shelter video, circa 1969. I am 99.9999% sure about the timing described up above. Do you get the sense that I was a groupie? |
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Arty Passes Member Posts: 123 |
posted 31 March 2000 10:01 PM
I had the great fortune of seeing Sneaky Pete with the New Riders at the Armadillo in Austin around 1978. During the break I ran into a friend who was hanging out backstage. "Come on, I'll introduce you to Sneaky Pete!" I'd been playing a few years and it was Pete and Rusty Young who got me hooked. I was in awe! He was a great guy, we chatted and then I watched the rest of the show just offstage, between Pete and his amp(s). A thrill I'll never forget. One of my favorite cuts of his is on Joni Mitchell's "Blue" Chills down the spine stuff. By the way, I think he worked on Gumby, too. Arty |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 31 March 2000 11:39 PM
John Brabant, you sir win a coconut, for a wonderful write up on Burrito history, although I will add a couple of comments, they got together in late 1968, in December '68, with a studio jam with Chris Hillman, Gram, Chris Ethridge and Sneaky Pete with Chuck Blackwell on drums just to pull it all together. Chuck was only there for that occassion as he was working with the Taj Mahal Band at the time. They recorded the debut album fairly quickly with as many drummers as they could get, most were session players, although Jon Corneal from Gram's pre-Byrds group came in and cut a couple of tunes he never joined as some articles will mention. The debut was in the can, by the time Michael Clarke joined in Jan '69 or so, they rehearsed and then started gigging around, at first local clubs and the like. their first tour left in February 1969 as was pretty much a shambolic affair by all accounts as they were notoriously underehearsed. Through 1969 they gigged mainly through Southern California, high school dances, coffee houses!...you name it, although they did play the Palomino Club with Clarence white sitting in. There are tapes of this gig, and a certain Record Co. boss has a master copy of the gig, maybe one day there will be an official disc. This line up cut onlyone officially released track, 'The Train song' a 1969 single, the b-side was from the debut LP. This group played the Altamont gig in Dec '69, rumoured to be Bernie's first with the band, as seen on the aforementioned 'Gimme Shelter' film. the next line-up change was Gram leaving in 1970 to be replaced by Rick Roberts, and so on. From Bernie joining the group onwards they reallyhit the College circut heavilly, with Festivals as well. ------------------ |
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CHIP FOSSA Member Posts: 2536 |
posted 01 April 2000 11:04 AM
John....you know, my dates could be off. I'm going on stone-cold memory now, and I have my fair share of cobwebs. But I do know what I saw, and it was definitely R. Roberts on bass. And I still think Gram ran into Emmylou way before the Washington DC gig you mentioned. Gram can't tell us now, so only Emmylou probably would have the final say on this. And it still was, an awesome sound and event. Chip to Shore ------------------ |
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ed packard Member Posts: 1355 |
posted 01 April 2000 11:56 AM
A few years back Sneaky was living in San Francisco and doing a consulting gig for a big video game project in the San Jose area. I had the pleasure of introducing he and Bobby Black; we had lunch at a Hawaiian restaurant in Milpitas that Aki Bono eats at when he is in the area. Pete was not only responsible for the Pillsbury doughboy, but if you check the credits for Terminator and Terminator II you will see that Peter Kleinow is responsible for the "stop motion" segments of the films. The first time I saw Pete was at the Green Lantern on Lake street in Pasadena Ca, ..and that was a long time ago. Some folk just have too much talent. At one time, the FBB's would cut the tracks and send them to Pete who added his part to it at a 24 track studio that a common friend has in his house near San Jose Ca. Some nice parties there also. |
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Dayton Osland Member Posts: 80 |
posted 01 April 2000 04:47 PM
I have been listing to "Christine's Song" on a "Best of the Flying Borrito Brothers" CD I got recently. I cannot get over Sneaky Pete's work on this (and many other songs as well). It is my understanding that there is no other electric guitar on this song. All of the lead including the distortion on the turnarounds is Kleinow's work. It is fabulous. It doesn't sock you in the face, you have to listen to it. He just plays lead on steel. I find his triplets and the use of all the strings just great. It must have taken a lot of guts to be the lead player for a band like this. I really admire his work. Dayton Osland |
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Bob Blair Member Posts: 1002 |
posted 01 April 2000 09:28 PM
Since this thread has gotten into the timing of the various FBB configurations I wonder if someone can tell me (and suspect Jason or John can) exactly when in 1970 Gram left the FBB. In July of 1970 I was at a rock festival in Calgary (called FEstival Express - the bands travelled accross Canada in a train and teh festival ran at three or four different cities), and the FBB's, who I had never heard of, were there. I think that festival started me on the road to PSG - in addition to Sneaky Pete with the Burritos, the NRPS were there with the Dead, and Garcia played steel with them. Also, Ian and Sylvia and the Great Speckled Bird, with Buddy Cage on steel. (Lineup also included Joplin, The Band, Buddy Guy....it was quite an event for a 17 year old hippy-in-training). The memory of all this is pretty hazy for the usual 1970 kinds of reasons, and I only had the faintes notion what a pedal steel was at the time, but the sounds sure stuck in my head! Anyway, I have it in my mind that Gram (who I also had never heard of at that point) was not with the FBB's by then. Anyone know for sure whether he was with them in July? |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 02 April 2000 08:18 AM
Bob, it's funny you should mention that very event, I was thinking about it and how it has never been part of GP folklore and I was going to write you, seeing I knew you were there. The gig was in July right, now this is straight from the memory banks without checking, but I do believe that Gram left in June 1970, actually I will check in my notes, as to what the 'official' version is. Okay just checked and apparently Gram hooked up with Chris Ethridge as early as August '68 then pulled in Sneaky Pete and Hillman over the next few weeks. So I was a bit out with the original formation dates, now Bob the word is that Gram split in June 1970 and Rick was brought in right away. A good singer and guitarist, more pop than Gram but wuld have still been a killer band and by the end of the year apparently a very, very tight sounding outfit. Bob, I would have rather have seen the Festival Express than Woodstock anyday! ------------------ |
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Bob Blair Member Posts: 1002 |
posted 02 April 2000 07:48 PM
Yeah, I was seventeen and a ways short of finding my musical identity (or any other kind of identity for that matter). The memory is not clear at all of the FBB's. Someone, probably one of my buddies, told me they were a Byrds offshoot, but I had never heard of them except for seeing their name on the program. I do remember they did "Drugstore Truck Driving Man", and them having a steel who of course was Sneaky. And it seems to me I remember that there were two curly haired guys who I later figured must have been Hillman and Leadon. Another funny thing - Sha Na Na played the first full day, and then the second day when Mountain was a no-show, some guys from Sha Na Na came out, calling themselves "Son of Sha Na Na" and did some original stuff with a real country flavour, including a song called "Are You on the Top Forty of the Lord" - it was real fine. They had someone playing steel on that set - no idea who. I hardly know what a pedal steel was at that point. A friend of mine had an album with some of those tunes including "Top Forty", but he has apparently lost it. So between that, The FBB, the GSB and NRPS I got an earful of country. Ian and Sylvia were already people I followed, and I remember that Delaney and Bonnie came out and sang some harmony with them. So yeah, Jason, it was quite an event, and with Buddy Cage, Sneaky and Garcia all playing PSG, it was quite a steel guitar event. And from that weekend on the sound of a psg really did things to me, so I guess they worked their magic! |
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Glenn Suchan Member Posts: 1187 |
posted 03 April 2000 08:08 AM
For all the the fine print details on Gram Parsons aka Clyde Ingram Connor, read the biography titled "Hickory Wind". It's very informative and interesting and will clear up all the questions about when things happened in Gram's life. Most of the things from the early 70's are related to the author by friends of Gram's. Even if Gram were alive today, it's doubtful he would remember much from this time period due to his excesses which eventually killed him. Many people gravitated to Gram due to his inhertance (trust fund) which allowed him access to a variety of substances and the ability to throw "fun" parties. BTW: Welcome to the forum, Arty! Keep on pickin'! |
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Bobby Lee Sysop Posts: 14849 |
posted 03 April 2000 09:06 AM
As for the dates, "If you can remember the sixties, you weren't there."  |
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Jason Odd Member Posts: 2665 |
posted 03 April 2000 09:19 AM
Bob, yeah sounds like a real gem of a time, if you ever find out who the Sons of Sha-etc. were, or who originally cut the song I'd be curious to know. The live group you saw,I suppose the first thing that springs to mind is a jam band with members of every group you mentioned at the gig. But from what you said, it might have been a Sha Na..etc, spin off band or previous incarnation of the group playfully revived. Bobby Lee, do I remember that one time you posted a tale of trouble with the law in the late 1960's due to some 'Easy Rider' type hair length cultural clash? P.S Sneaky worked on Gumby, Outer Limits and the second Star Wars film, the Empire Strikes Back. ------------------ |
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wayne yakes md Member Posts: 650 |
posted 03 April 2000 09:34 AM
Three greatest steel guitar players from Mishawaka, Indiana(suburb near Southbend) are Herby Remington, Buddy Emmons, and Sneaky Pete! |
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Glenn Suchan Member Posts: 1187 |
posted 03 April 2000 10:22 AM
Wayne, It must be somethin' in the water in Mishawaka. 'Think I'll just head on up to Indiana and start a company bottling the Mishawaka public water as "Steel Guitar Tonic".... "Step right up! Step right up! Git'cher Steel Guitar Tonic! One thin dime...One tenth of a dollar! Step right up! Step right up!.... Keep on pickin'! |
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