| Subject: | RE: [RESOGUIT-L] Angry Dobro Syndrome | | Date: | Sunday, September 9, 2007 17:10:58 (+0100) | | From: | Lennie Harvey <lh @............com>
|
| In reply to: | Message 7420 (written by Pete Reichwein) |
I haven't really followed every twist and turn of this thread. It's my age I
think, my attention span isn't so great these days. It's hard to see why it
got so 'testy' to steal pete's word.
A lot of young players, ( young in terms of how long they have been
playing ) tend to overplay. I tend to overplay in a stressful situation. I'm
aware of it, but sometimes it's hard not to.
I used to play in a blues band that hosted a sunday night jam and I remember
being virtually reduced to tears by a young whippersnaper determined to play
every possible blues lick he'd ever learned, all the way through the song.
Now my singing ain't great, but man that was just impolite.
As an older person, I would tend to have a quiet word in someones' ear if
they were doing that ( seem to recall having my only ever on stage tantrum
back then ).
Thing is it's horses for courses, if it's a mad fast bluegrass stomp then
wheel out the pyrotechnics if you must, that's fine it fits. Or you can make
a really BIG impact, especially if following someone who just did that, by
playing something really cool and syncopated, long unexpected notes.... etc
etc make a difference
I remember Mike telling me years ago, that one of the reasons he took the
direction he did, was that after spending much time trying to sound like
Josh he realised that a) he would never match Josh's attack and attitude and
b) why should he want to, Josh is Josh...
Rob tells a similar story of trying to sound like Mike, learning everything
he ever played etc etc. No-one could accuse either of them of sounding like
anything other than themselves now. And so it goes on, we learn by imitating
the great players, until you get so good that you need to do your own thing.
Along the way there is much to learn, and for the great players the learning
never stops...
keep on picking folks
it's all good
Lennie
-----Original Message-----
From: Pete Reichwein [mailto:petereichwein@comcast.net]
Sent: 09 September 2007 15:19
To: resoguit-l@elistas.com
Subject: Re: [RESOGUIT-L] Angry Dobro Syndrome
Wow... touched a nerve with this subject, didn't ya, Howie.
I'm pretty sure I know where that "Angry Dobro.." quote came from, and if
I'm right, that person knows a thing or two about taste. I heard the quote
too, and I believe most of what Tim said was in the sub-text of the comment.
I think we're all trying to please someone when we play... yourself or your
audience. Like it or not, people respond out of habit to certain things in
ignorance of what is really going on. So often, an aggressive flurry will
get a response from listeners where the tastiest and most innovative passage
may not jump out and be noticed. So by habit, we tend to throw the fast
ball... I remarked to a buddy dobro player that I think Jerry sometimes
throws one of those in a place where I don't think it fits well because his
audience expects it... and they always react, right on cue... they're happy,
so Jerry's happy. My buddy got real mad at me for saying that.
This is great discussion for this list... but we do tend to get testy when
our values are challenged. Don't feel lonesome, Greg T-K, your post was
right on, in my opinion. And much as I love Mike, "House" has never been on
top of my list either.
But then, what do I know?
Pete Reichwein
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> Hey Mark,
> I understand what everyone is saying about the "angry dobro playing" If
> you listen back far enough you will hear some of Uncle Josh's playing
> being I guess what they consider "angry playing" but sometime this type of
> playing is very necessary, Not all the time but playing the dobro always
> needs to be played by the feeling you have at the time. If a song makes
> you sad play it that way, if a song needs the hammer ons and the pull offs
> use them, Playing dobro is not just doing it one way you have to be
> versatile when it comes to this instrument. I know a lot of new players
> want to do it like Jerry Douglas or Like Mike, these guys are considered
> the best and I agree, but if you go back and see where they got their
> influence you will see Uncle Josh, and he had more fire in his playing
> then all of us so I guess you can call him an "Angry Dobro player too" but
> Uncle Josh could make you cry in the same song. He was the master of
> playing with feeling. Just play it like you feel it. That is how everyone
> needs to play Not always angry or not always sad use a good mixture of
> feeling in your playing and you will do ok.
>
> Tim Graves
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