Youve recorded and toured a ton together over the years. We did a short tour opening for Hall and Oates. We want to hear it. That was the case with Joni Mitchell. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. I basically was just playing music with my friends. Pedal Steel. All Lap Steels 2022-2023 Asher Electro Hawaiian Junior Lap Steel Black with Gig Bag! All recordings used a Boss RV-5 set on hall reverb, a Fender black face Vibro-Champ amp and a Shure SM-57 mic. I worked on a bunch of stuff with her, including a bunch of stuff that was never released when she got dropped from Warner Bros. To jump ahead, youre on Right on Time on Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. The 6 string lap steel is great for Hawaiian, blues, slide guitar licks, many country songs, dobro style riffs and can imitate a lot of what can be played on the 8, 10 and 12 string tunings. Fortunately, my mother was musical, even though she sang more opera. [Laughs] Yes, but Im used to being intimidated by people in the music business. If it didnt have a purpose, theyd just take it out. On the fall leg, Van Morrison didnt do it. I was like, Im going to try and keep playing music and try to get better. I saved up my money one summer and bought my first pedal steel and started teaching myself how to do that. Victoria had already gotten a deal and made a record in New York. Its wild. She set me straight and said, Im not going to tell you anything. I didnt know it was Eric Clapton. We already have a guitar player. I could see it as a smart thing to do. Im pretty proud of that. Tell me about your friendship with him. February 21, 2023. Every one of the past 30 years has been that busy in the studio, and hes still found time to tour with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Eric Clapton, K.D. For the next eighteen years he toured with Lang and recorded with her, including her album Ingenue. This track features mostly acoustic guitar and vocals, and the pedal steel is so smooth. But I just overdubbed on it. This is a great album all around, with world class musicianship. "Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel". But anyway, I actually had the experience of playing with him live in the studio. Email admin@steelguitarforum.com for technical support. She also never really toured again after 1998. Although this track has Leisz on lap steel, I couldnt help but include it! He uses phosphor bronze light strings and tunes to open D (D A D F# A D). Another year went by, and one day I got a text. In 1975, he toured with John Stewart (formerly of The Kingston Trio). In 1987, Leisz began working with Dave Alvin (formerly of The Blasters). In all the gigs we did together, he never sat at my instrument or ever let on that he was such an accomplished steel player. I basically thought at one point that Id be a geologist or a forest ranger or something like that. It was one of those things where she had a breakout song with that Cowboys song and suddenly the record company was like, Oh, we knew it the whole time! Ive seen this a lot before. They were amazing. Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on musics A list. It sets the tone for the rest of the track, seguing smoothly into Alison Krausss vocals. We recorded that song with Don Heffington on drums and Greg Cohen on bass. Yeah. I have to go back pretty far. Originally played on the lap, the instrument was a modification to the Spanish guitar, whereby the strings were raised by a half inch, creating what was at . He just sits up there in his golf shirt and jeans and is up there like he just walked out of his house and went down to the local bar and hes onstage playing. It didnt say who it was from. I didnt meet Taylor or either one of the people from the Civil Wars. And its interesting to me that youd think of that. In 2010 and 2011, Leisz toured with Ray LaMontagne as a member of his backing band, The Pariah Dogs. Youre on Safe and Sound with Taylor Swift and Civil Wars. Great player all aroundlap, non-pedal, pedal, dobroetc etc Ironically, I used to play a lot of gigs with Greg in the '80s -- I was playing steel and he was playing guitar. This would encompass all the work he does with T-Bone, and likely the Bon Iver and other indie records he's doing these days. Terry . I was doing Gloria or something. Greg Leisz's playing with k d lang is wonderful. It wasnt the first band that wasnt successful that I was in, but it was the band that had the most attention focused on it, quite a bit in a very short time. At some point, Roxette came to town for a gig and they asked me to come into the studio and play with them. Leisz is no stranger to rock n roll, and always has the ability to add grit and bite to songs. Tunings The Lap steel guitar is not tuned in standard guitar tuning ( E-A-D-G-B-E, low to high). They did a lot of interesting stuff with what I played. I met the first great drummers, the first great bass players, the first great musicians I ever played with while I was playing in country bars, rhythm & blues bars, any type of places. Im going to make a list and send it to people. He told me the band, that he wanted Willie Weeks and Steve Jordan to be the rhythm section and Doyle and Chris Stainton. We went in the studio to make another record and the band broke apart during the dramas of making the second record. She wanted something focused on every song. It was very quick. Help Greg's toured or recorded with Dave Alvin . Married to Mai Leisz . Ron Aniello is somebody I have worked with before, so he hired me to come and play on some stuff. Podcast 66: Greg Leisz on Buddy Emmons. I went to his home studio and worked with his engineer. Read More. To make a long story short, I knew her engineer and he asked me to come play on the record. The ring and pinky fingers always rest on the strings behind the bar . I spent a lot of hours in country bars learning how to play, but my musical background has always been very wide. Im wondering if thats something youd ever like to do.. Lang record Ingnue. They did two version of that song. His tunings include low G (D G D G B D) and a secret tuning that he uses in three different keys-one for each of three instruments. The Robert Plant / Alison Krauss album was another amazing record. I didnt know much about Roxette and it was just that day. I didnt really like service jobs. How Do the Pedals and Knee Levers Work on a Pedal Steel? Greg Leisz net worth is $800,000 Greg Leisz Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family Gregory Brian Leisz (pronounced "Lease") (born September 18, 1949, Buffalo, New York, United States) is an American musician. The idea that you were going to have to go to Vietnam and maybe kill people, it wasnt conducive to thinking about being a musician. I just had to hope she wouldnt walk out of the room and not come back. Versatile and musically accommodating, Greg shapes up many tracks with his pedal steel playing. I love how much of a drive this song has, it just makes you want to dance under some neon lights. He just came in and said, Im going to go out. He said, Im not sure what songs Im going to do. No matter who I play with, I try to integrate what Im doing with what Im hearing. T Bone talked her into doing it this other way. Tour Gretsch 's Corona, California, custom guitar building operation with company master builder Chad Henrichsen and PG 's own John Bohlinger. A few weeks later, they called me back and I did another song. http://archive.guitarplayer.com/archive/artists/frisell.shtml. Starting in 1986 or so, your credits list gets insane pretty quick. youtu.be. It is always a pleasure to hear Leiszs playing. It gets crazy. I didnt study music because I didnt think that was a career option for me. #raylamontange. Leiszs ability to add whatever a track needs always feels natural and timeless at the same time. Hed heard me play pedal steel, but he didnt know I had blues knowledge that went deep. His tone (on recent recordings) is, in my opinion, the best you will find in the world. There was something called new country. Once that started happening, I had been pre-conditioned to play that kind of music. He tried to get a deal as a solo artist and he was told that he should get a band around him. Custom pedal steel t-shirts, mugs, posters, and moredesigned in Asheville, NC. He was already famous before he graduated because of the Nico thing. But its been a crazy year, just like it has for everybody. She didnt want a lot of guitar parts. Leisz spent his younger years catching acts like the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers in Southern California clubs. I play on two songs [Not to Blame and Borderline] on that record. They just took pieces of it and moved it around. I had played a very little bit on a record [2010s Clapton] three years before when Doyle Bramhall brought me into the studio to meet Eric. I want to go back here and talk about your life. I was going, Oh, shit. It really wasnt like I saw the Beatles on TV and said, I want to be like them. I never really did that. I knew right then it was all up to me. Hes the one that knew me. I dont know who actually made it. Like what? I overdubbed on the song. It was like, Maybe we can put this instrument on this one song. I also played some other stuff on a couple other songs, but the songs didnt make the record. Leisz is no stranger to rock n' roll, and always has the ability to add grit and bite to songs. I think I played the dobro. And it was a cool thing to get to do that. I didnt really expect any sort of a follow-up. For more ideas on utilizing the pedal steel sonically, check out the page below, Stay up to date on articles, tabs, and more, The pedal steel is much easier than it seems if you approach it with certain essentials in mind. And then I started working with some musicians that were playing in some of the folk clubs in Southern California. And then it became, Wow, I can make a little money. But I had all sorts of different day jobs the whole time. They were all playing together and I was in the band with them. Four years later, I worked with her again on Taming the Tiger. I feel very fortunate we got through the whole year. It was pretty terrifying. Once you get an instrument in your hand and start playing it, you go, Wow. Then you teach yourself something and youre able to do it, you can apply it, its mind-expanding. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. I worked with Rose Flores from Austin Texas last year out here in NZ and Greg was all over her albums and material --- fantastic playing ! The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time I keep a Strat copy with a Nut Riser and strung with 11's tuned to Open E for gritty Lap steel Blues. The C6 tuning for 6 strings is (beginning with string 1): E C A G E C. Lap steel players have been spelling their tunings from high to low for many years. Well, in those 10 years, I spent a lot of time playing in clubs, basically. Ive come full circle with him. He met Jules Shear. s-10 sierra crown gearless 3 x4 - Regal RD45 - fender hotrod deluxe. I am a huge fan of Greg's playing, and had the pleasure of meeting him after the show. That was great, for me. He didnt introduce anyone. Any kind of musical style or production can probably be enhanced one way or another with a touch of Leiszs pedal steel, and this track is no exception. You can do anything you want. He asked me to come to Chicago and I was there. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time I didnt really know what to call it. Those threads can have a huge impact on your musical journey. And now hes one of my best friends. A marvelous pedal steel player, Leisz has some of the most tasteful playing and impactful tone. Free Shipping if you live in the North American US - email me directly for shipping everywhere else. I remember seeing David Lindley and Jackson Browne back in the 1970s and he was definitely using a Rickenbacker B6 on stage.-----Brad's Page of Steel A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars. Honestly, though, I hardly play it as I've been really focusing on C6 (and E6). We had the pleasure of opening for her here in Fort Myers a while back. And it was the first time I remember going to somebodys house to record. I havent really been hunkered down as much in the last couple of months, particularly since Ive been vaccinated. His heart gets taken out because its broken. By the next year, the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. Youre touring with Bob Weir now. He toured in 2013 as a member of Eric Clapton's band, in 2015 as a member of Jackson Browne's band, and again in 2017. Log in, Steel Guitar Forum LLCPO Box 237Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA. I overdubbed on that. 8 bars over a 1:3m:4:5 chord sequence - bliss! A detailed look at one of the most challenging and mysterious aspects of steel guitar playing: the right hand, 200 Country Riffs & Licks for E9 Pedal Steel, Add these country licks to your playing repertoire, The Elixir of E9 Pedal Steel: Harmonized 6thsif(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'playpedalsteel_com-medrectangle-1','ezslot_6',177,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-playpedalsteel_com-medrectangle-1-0');report this ad, Stay up to date on articles, tabs, and more, The pedal steel is much easier than it seems if you approach it with certain essentials in mind. It was something I really liked to do and I started doing it a lot. And then I went, Holy shit. I texted back to see if it was real. Bob [This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 26 November 2003 at 07:59 AM. It was that tour. Thats another crazy story. I know Greg plays other guitars live, but I gotta believe that unmistakable Leisz sound comes from the bolt-on. I loved it. That was the first thing I did with her. I think I was probably at least 40 years old before I started thinking, Maybe I can keep doing this., I want to talk about a few random credits that caught my eye. Manage Settings Buddy Miller's "Majestic Silver Strings". That happens a lot of the time. I never ended up doing anything live with him. Alot of T-Bone Burnett records have Greg playing steel. He said, Im maybe going to go on tour next year. Classic country shuffle styles for Band-in-a-Box, by BIAB guru Jim Baron. Lets start with Roxette and their hit It Must Have Been Love. You get very disillusioned about that being a possibility, but you still keep doing it. 00:00:00. I was like, Thats an unusual thing, to play on two different Albums of the Year two years in a row. Not only that, the year that Daft Punk won, I played at the Grammys. All Rights reserved. mastering by Greg Calbi. Blues and Rock players tend to favor one of two tuning families: open G/open A, or open D/open E. This is an invaluable ability for sessions, where the musician often has to hear and learn the music on the spot for the recording. But I played on a song with Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Kris Kristofferson. That was fun since I had done all these albums with Dave in the preceding years. This edition features pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz. Playpedalsteel.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. He was probably looking to do something at that same time. Pearl Jam did Crazy Mary on that. Music wasnt brought to me through older siblings or really through any older kids. They had the chorus. He introduced Jules to Jack and vice versa. If you have a certain kind of shy disposition, youre usually intimidated because you dont know what to say and you just hope the person that is intimidating wont be intimidating because of something that you say. Does he mostly play E9? lang's Grammy-winning Absolute Torch and Twang and joined her on the resulting tour. Great for diving into single note playing possibilities and runs on the tuning. I started teaching myself how to play out of these folk-music books, which basically had songs by the Kingston Trio and Burl Ives, like On Top of Old Smokey., When I heard Tom Dooley by the Kingston Trio, that totally hit me. This page contains affiliate links. I went in and played a couple of songs with him live in the studio with a full band. While Frisells guitar playing is unique and bends genres in its own right, Leisz complements this so well. But that particular song, what happened there is kind of interesting. Youre all over the last Daft Punk album. Time and time again, Leisz shows that his ear is always adept to the present musical situation he finds himself in, creating in the moment. Almost all of the keys are provided. I think she had an idea of how she wanted to do it. I didnt really see myself in the picture. Enjoy weekend savings on Fender, Gretsch, and more. If you think about that era, I was in the mid-Sixties conundrum generation where you had a generation gap and a draft. He began playing guitar and soon added dobro and lap steel. Well, no. I love that song. When I taught myself how to play the electric guitar when I was 13, 14, its a visceral thing. T Bone wasnt even there to tell me it was good. I took piano lessons when I was nine, but I didnt have a good teacher and I gave it up pretty quickly. "I don't know how to comprehend everything I've done," says the musician, who has also played with Beck, Phoebe Bridgers, Bob Weir, Smashing Pumpkins, and Lucinda Williams. Greg Leisz is my favorite modern pedal steel player. But I overdubbed. I never even listened to the Dead. At sparse moments in the song, his pedal steel playing adds so much emotion to the music. Were going to try and match the sound and have you play the 12-string in the parts that arent there. If you look at the credits, it has two players playing 12-string on the song. If youre interested in diving deeper into playing chords and scales on E9 pedal steel, check out these guides, Learn the chords on the E9 neck in a way that makes playing simple and enjoyable. She wanted something very specific. Ron called me and said, I just want you to know I used your pedal steel in this Jeep commercial. When I ordered my Williams, Bob Rudolph told me that he uses S-12 Extended E9th tuning. I really liked that project. Tell me your first memories of being a kid and hearing music that really reached you. He was doing a record with her. I was usually to shy to go up and talk to anybody about it, but I just kind of absorbed the music. I never really tried to emulate a pop star. your profile | join | preferences | help | search. I love how unconventional Leiszs pedal steel has been on many recordings. Bill Frisell "Good Dog, Happy Man" lotsa Leisz. Playpedalsteel.com also participates in affiliate programs with CJ, PartnerStack, and other sites. 190 views, 8 likes, 1 loves, 1 comments, 1 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Asher Guitars and Lap Steels: Ray Lamontagne live with Greg Leisz on his Asher Lap Steel. That record was Album of the Year at the Grammys. He said, OK, Im going to do a Hop Wilson song where I can feature you. That was a big deal for me since when we actually did go on tour, I just played utility. Nonesuch Records 2001 . Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46, Powered by Infopop www.infopop.com 2000 Weve been doing live streaming shows from the Bay Area. And then I was like, Wow, I can actually play this stuff. She did a tour with an orchestra [in 2000], but it was last time she went out and played guitar with a band. Why was I even there? Its kind of a disappointing thing. I did a couple of songs, and then a couple of days later, I played on another song. While he was mixing, he had a conversation with her and she said, Theres a song in there called Right in Time. When we recorded it, I wanted to have a 12-string guitar go through the whole song, but they talked me out of it.. She ended up having me play enough takes that she felt she could put together what she wanted. Leisz has been a top-call session musician in the L.A. area for many years, so its no wonder he got the call to do work on this production with such fantastic artists. They ended up pulling it because of that incident. Some of it is credited and other things arent properly credited since that thing was a mess in the latter stages of that record. A couple of months later, a box came to my house and it had a banjo in it. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. She seems sweet. But I have worked on several other sessions with him, including several where we played live in the studio, like Mutations. I actually didnt think much about a career. And it came out really good. I said, Oh great. And I had to go, How do you deal with that? But thats another story. She had a strong vision. Tony Berg is a producer Ive worked with quite a bit. Every instrument and musical note seems to fall right in place, with great sounding timbres, and Leiszs pedal steel is no different. Greg Leisz played some really nice parts on her new CD "Illustrated Songs" but I did not see this listed among his credits. David Murphy (left) photographed by Richie Tyndall. I can see why his recording career show so many credits. He does some nice work on Jakob Dylan's "Women And Country". But with the Daft Punk project, everything that band does seems to be very important.