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. 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. I think I played the dobro. Greg's playing on Bon Iver is some of my favorite steel playing of all. Hes added so much great pedal steel playing to Frisells albums over the years, that listening to Frisells work is perhaps one of the best ways to learn what the pedal steel is capable of in Leiszs hands. I went to his home studio and worked with his engineer. On pedals,he plays both necks very well and he told me he's been playing a U-12 Sierra on the Bill Frisell gig.On lap,he plays a number of tunings and seems to come up with nice stuff even if it's a tuning he just made up to suit a certain song.No slouch on standard guitar either.I've been trying to get him on the forum as he's aware his name Use these diagrams as a reference tool, or memorization aid for your practice and playing. Leisz grew up in the garage band culture of mid-1960s Southern California. The first couple minutes of this track display how well these two musicians can create soundscapes within songs. Once I could actually play the guitar, I started meeting a couple of other kids in the neighborhood and wed play together. What sort of career did you see yourself pursuing? Bob [This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 26 November 2003 at 07:59 AM. I didnt meet him. He came out of that world in England where he heard Muddy Waters and it was all over for him. Victoria played guitar and I played pedal steel on it. Are you vaccinated? lang, adding pedal steel to this Grammy-winning album. A detailed look at one of the most challenging and mysterious aspects of steel guitar playing: the right hand An In-Depth Guide to Picking and Blocking How to Efficiently and Accurately Play Notes on Steel Guitar with Info, Advice, and Tips Great for Pedal Steel, Lap Steel, and Console Steel Guitar And now Im going, There is something here . He heard my pedal steel and thought that was something that Joni would embrace in her music. And then seven or eight years after that, she did her last album [Shine], and she called me to work on that one, too. I didnt have any role models or anyone that would suggest that could even be a possibility. Thats another one of those random things. All Rights reserved. Its called Horizon. Its probably on Spotify now. These two have such a great melodic sense, and their instruments weave in and out of each other to create a beautiful tapestry of sound. A couple years later, he made another record [Old Sock] and Doyle called me again. Some of you may know about Gaby Moreno. That was great, for me. I went in and did one day where I played on a few songs. He uses phosphor bronze light strings and tunes to open D (D A D F# A D). The music started coming into my consciousness a lot more. I dont think the label was very confident. Another close collaborator is Bill Frisell, with whom he tours regularly and is featured on the albums Good Dog, Happy Man, Blues Dream, The Intercontinentals, Disfarmer, All We Are Saying, and Guitar in the Space Age. Great album. And it was a cool thing to get to do that. At the 2:44 mark check out Leiszs cool harmonic lick that echoes the vocals. Its crazy. Eventually, when I finally got one, I had friends that I could play along with. I put it together myself from maybe a few takes. I really enjoyed his work on the recent Blue Ridge Rangers" album (John Fogarty). I guess because of that, Ive been fairly active. It was an amazing experience. There was something called new country. Once that started happening, I had been pre-conditioned to play that kind of music. I already knew it and I came out of the Sixties and had a folkie background and could understand that stuff. Lang record Ingnue. You can do anything you want. He asked me to come to Chicago and I was there. The word "ubiquitous" is usually placed in front of pedal steel player and guitarist Greg Leisz's name. The early Eighties must have been rough then. Note chart for the E9 pedal steel neck. Check out these 7 songs that feature Leiszs fantastic pedal steel playing. Bill Frisell "Good Dog, Happy Man" lotsa Leisz. I found out the day before the Super Bowl. Hearing Leisz' work on that Bon Iver album convinced me that pedal steel is where I want to head. On pedals,he plays both necks very well and he told me he's been playing a U-12 Sierra on the Bill Frisell gig.On lap,he plays a number of tunings and seems to come up with nice stuff even if it's a tuning he just made up to suit a certain song.No slouch on standard guitar either.I've been trying to get him on the forum as he's aware his name comes up from time to time.Hey Greg - you out there? I really do like what I played on that song. LIM_FLAG - Soundboards allowed in ***streaming format only*** four months following a given performance Audience-made Bob Weir concert recordings (exclusive of Grateful Dead, RatDog, The Other Ones, The Dead, and Furthur recordings), can be made available as downloads while available. Theres a picture of me. Some of it is credited and other things arent properly credited since that thing was a mess in the latter stages of that record. Diagrams that display the major scale notes on the E9 fretboard. Another year went by, and one day I got a text. One of Bill Frisells favorite musicians to work with, Greg has such a characteristic style of playing and it always shines with Frisell. Steve Earle had taken over from her ex-guitar player [Gurf Morlix], who left the band during the sessions. Log in, Steel Guitar Forum LLCPO Box 237Mount Horeb, WI 53572 USA. He just came in and said, Im going to go out. The same thing happened when I heard pedal steel on records that I listened to. The earliest Hawaiian lap steel tuning was open A low bass, E-A-E-A-C-E. Today, most open tunings for lap steel guitar fall into 3 primary categories: lang's Grammy-winning Absolute Torch and Twang and joined her on the resulting tour. I never really liked the Grateful Dead, and now Im in Bobs band the Wolf Brothers with Don Was. "A lot of people that I've worked with, you think they're going to be intimidating, but they're so good at making you feel comfortable," says Greg Leisz. They are Swedish musicians, but I knew some of the same people that they did. greg leisz lap steel tuning | 50827 post-template-default,single,single-post,postid-50827,single-format-standard,theme-capri,qode-core-2.1.1,select-core-2.1.1,woocommerce-no-js,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,capri-ver-3.3, vertical_menu_with_scroll,smooth_scroll,fade_push_text_top,paspartu_enabled,woocommerce_installed,blog_installed,wpb-js . We did a spring leg and a fall leg. But when we got to the song My Woman Got a Black Cat Bone, he featured me in the song the whole way. With good reason -- the man's resum is daunting, boasting spots with Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow, Read Full Biography Overview Biography Discography Songs Credits Related Share on facebook twitter tumblr Credits It sort of became an avenue to make a living by expanding my vocabulary as a guitar player. Prior to that record, I knew who she was. It was the same thing that drew me to the electric guitar. Greg's toured or recorded with Dave Alvin . Tell me your first memories of being a kid and hearing music that really reached you. When we ended up playing together, it was kind of fun even though he barely remembered me. What drew you to the pedal steel? That happens a lot of the time. Thats another crazy story. 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. Music wasnt brought to me through older siblings or really through any older kids. 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. He appeared in the 2016 Cameron Crowe cable television series Roadies, accompanying Jackson Browne on three songs in the last episode of the series. That band was really the brainchild of this guy named Richard Stekol, who was one third of the songwriting triumvirate of that band. Hes help put the pedal steel on the map of countless areas of music that it probably had never been before. And after the Steve Earle sessions, he signed off, but she didnt think it was finished. That was fun since I had done all these albums with Dave in the preceding years. Going back here, can you talk about playing with the Smashing Pumpkins on Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness? Private Messages This is a great album all around, with world class musicianship. She wanted something very specific. T Bone actually had me come in and overdub. Rather, it is usually tuned to an open chord, often an extended chord like a 6th, 7th, or 9th. She was on my radar as somebody up-and-coming. 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. It was just Eric sending me a text. I think hed become aware of my playing on a couple of other records, especially this K.D. February 21, 2023. I learned how to play it and Ive now played it on a couple of records. Thats someone I met many years earlier when he played in Ace in the Seventies. By clicking Subscribe, I agree to receive exclusive offers & promotions, news & reviews, and personalized tips for buying and selling on Reverb. What I remember is that was right around the time she was diagnosed with MS. Maybe it was after. I love the layering and devotion to the song instead of the instrument. Then you were with Joni Mitchell on Turbulent Indigo in 1994. We met the day I got the studio. How was your experience in Eric Claptons touring band in 2013? Part of his universal appeal -- which certainly draws on the experimental nature of those influences -- comes from an open-minded approach to lap and pedal steel, an approach that casts aside Nashville references. Greg Leisz is a songwriter, sideman, and producer who pays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. 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. My understanding is he uses a '66 bolt-on push/pull for most of his studio work. Manage Settings He decided he wanted to have that instrument in that particular band for that tour. Thats a little odd. He's on all of them.. Youre all over the last Daft Punk album. Leiszs ability to add whatever a track needs always feels natural and timeless at the same time. They did two version of that song. Podcast 66: Greg Leisz on Buddy Emmons. They had gotten interested in doing stuff with live musicians. Actually, Ive been working a lot with Jackson Browne. Thats another crazy story. With his ability to add texture to the music, and unconventional sonic expressions to the music, his playing feels like putting the final piece into a puzzle. 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. The longer scale of the Strat (as opposed to traditional Lap steels) seems suited to this type of stuff. How has your pandemic year gone? Not to be pigeonholed in just roots music, Leisz (pronounced "Lees") has also played with the likes of Beck, Matthew Sweet, Bad Religion, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Brian Wilson. A marvelous pedal steel player, Leisz has some of the most tasteful playing and impactful tone. She got treated a little rough in the press in the reviews. In the earlier stages of his career, Leisz played and toured often with k.d. Gretsch Custom Shop Tour. 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. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time I wanted to figure out how to make those sounds. Whats more interesting to me is that much later they had me play on Western Stars. produced by Lee Townsend recording and mixing engineer: Judy Clapp. It was really close in time to after her record came out. I really had no idea it would become what it became. #raylamontange. On the fall leg, Van Morrison didnt do it. Hed heard me play pedal steel, but he didnt know I had blues knowledge that went deep. Hed even introduce me in the set. By that time, I had been in some bands and the bands had broken up. They were amazing. I didnt really listen to the radio. If it didnt have a purpose, theyd just take it out. If you think about that era, I was in the mid-Sixties conundrum generation where you had a generation gap and a draft. Yeah. I didnt have one and said Id like to play it. I think she had an idea of how she wanted to do it. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. It was amazing to be onstage with him every night. It was Steve Gadd and [organist] Walt Richmond and Doyle and Eric. He said, Im maybe going to go on tour next year. Can you bring your 12-string over here to the studio? Its wild. 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. 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. She wanted a wah-wah on this guitar part and something atmospheric elsewhere. He originally just wanted me on Killing the Blues. I just worked with his engineer. Lets start with Roxette and their hit It Must Have Been Love. I saw that she broke her guitar and David Crosby didnt like it. She was just like, I dont need this anymore.. And now hes one of my best friends. I didnt know it was Eric Clapton. This is a gorgeous Asher Acoustic Hawaiian Teardrop Lap Steel owned and played by Greg Leisz who had been using it for recording and touring with Jackson Browne. But Dylan called up Dave Alvin and asked him to be the opening act. I already knew how to play guitar by then. I love the Victoria Williams song Crazy Mary. You play on that. Did certain pedal-steel albums influence you? He was already famous before he graduated because of the Nico thing. Without Brian making that suggestion, I dont think she would have thought of it. I have to go back pretty far. We were both planning on being on tour a lot. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. When she was making Car Wheels, that was really at the end stages of the record. Like what? I actually went to the same high school as Jackson. I recently tried to just make a list of the names of the people Id played with, but it was so many that I had to stop. I was shaking on my way to the studio. He had Flood and the other producer [Alan Moulder]. It was just basically recorded in a bedroom. Pedal-Steel Guitarist Greg Leisz on His Years With Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, and Daft Punk, Neil Young Sets Release Date for Vintage Seventies Bootlegs, Kiley Dean Began As Britney Spears Backup Singer. And then I went, Holy shit. I texted back to see if it was real. All in good time --, [This message was edited by Russ Young on 22 November 2002 at 09:12 PM. I think I was working on another record at the time, a Jakob Dylan record. Hes credited with playing 12-string too. Search Greg Leisz is prolific, to say the least. We had the pleasure of opening for her here in Fort Myers a while back. Custom pedal steel t-shirts, mugs, posters, and moredesigned in Asheville, NC. But I love that record. She seems sweet. Youre touring with Bob Weir now. The pedal steel has an uncanny ability to add so much to any recording, especially one that features a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar. That was the case with Joni Mitchell. After the band broke up, he became a popular musician both in the studio and on the road. I had met Victoria before that. I didnt really know what to call it. It was pretty terrifying. But with the Daft Punk project, everything that band does seems to be very important. For the next eighteen years he toured with Lang and recorded with her, including her album Ingenue. He was doing a record with her. It starts out sounding like a Neil Young song with just an acoustic guitar, but then it has some synths. Up until that time, it seemed like there was always some kind of a studio you worked in. She was living in Nashville and he was in Los Angeles. It gets crazy. That album [Loose] was a really great album for me. Gretsch Custom Shop Tour. Oh, man can Greg play the steel! But I was playing in garage bands and he was doing folk music. Leisz single-handedly liberated pedal steel from the bondage of country.. I overdubbed all those parts. Sometimes, for whatever reason, they just dont use it properly or they bury it in the mix. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. I was like, Now I have to get an electric guitar. That was the start of the garage-band culture of the Sixties. Feb 12, 2008. 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. These five tunings for 6 string lap steel guitar are great starting points for anyone just beginning the lap steel adventure: C6 - C E G A C E - The C6 tuning is by far the most common modern tuning for solid body lap steel guitars. Well, thats a good question. Read More. I havent really been hunkered down as much in the last couple of months, particularly since Ive been vaccinated. Powered by Infopop www.infopop.com 2000 2022 Albums Milan (Deluxe) 2022 Appears On Cardboard Wallpaper (feat. I didnt really see myself in the picture. (He's a really good guitar player.) 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 . She was unhappy with her producer and had lost her guitar player because I think it was her boyfriend and they had broken up. Id sometimes listen to the band just to hear the pedal-steel player. Yeah. At first he said, Ill play a solo in the middle, and then you play a solo, and Ill play a solo. Eventually he said, I just want you you to play all the solos. It was amazing for me because I got to be featured. Ive worked with Lucinda a lot since then, and even co-produced two of the last three albums [The Ghosts of Highway 20 and Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone] that shes made. Ron called me and said, I just want you to know I used your pedal steel in this Jeep commercial. Steel guitarist Greg Leisz, who first made his name playing on Americana records from Dave Alvin, Lucinda Williams and Bonnie Raitt, has more recently been playing on progressive-jazz albums. I dont think Warner Bros. was particularly happy, but they allowed her to do it. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. And so she goes through this whole process where she has these hits and she makes another record and it didnt do well, and the label immediately stopped supporting her. He needs an artificial heart. I just got contacted. Brian recommend to her that maybe I should do it. They had all these songs and they basically just let me play what I heard. This is a gorgeous Asher Acoustic Hawaiian Teardrop Lap Steel owned and played by Greg Leisz who had been using it for recording and touring with Jackson Browne. He was inspired to pick up the pedal steel after hearing Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Buddy Emmons. I taught myself how to play. Leisz has such a great melodic sense, and this song has it on full display. He also writes songs. Its huge. I want to go back here and talk about your life. 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. Pearl Jam did Crazy Mary on that. I can imagine that being intimidating. Jim Scott ended up mixing that album. Help Tell me about playing on Bruce Springsteens Wrecking Ball. Youre on Youve Got It and We Are Alive. Greg Leisz: Lap Steel Craig Schumacher: Synth Bass John Convertino: Drums, Thunder Drum Brian Lopez: Backing Vocal 3. We spent two hours on the phone with Leisz, and just barely scratched the surface of his life and career. youtu.be. Use the modes of the C major scale in the open pedal position to play over chord changes. Well, in those 10 years, I spent a lot of time playing in clubs, basically. That was kind of a cool thing. I overdubbed on that. I cant really believe it myself. Nonesuch Records 2001 . Ive come full circle with him. Pedal Steel. This was her second record and she wanted to make a bunch of changes. This was a time where I met a lot of people like Victoria Williams and Lucinda Williams, Dave Alvin, Dwight Yoakam, Rosie Flores there was a bunch of people that all kind of knew each other and were playing in the same clubs in L.A. in the late Eighties. Around the 1:32 mark, Leiszs beautiful harmonics grace the listener in the higher frequencies. Four years later, I worked with her again on Taming the Tiger. But I overdubbed. I loved it. 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. Brian didnt think that was a great idea. But the backing of that commercial, the producer took guitar from Moonlight Motel. After all these different attempts to put music behind that commercial, since its Springsteen talking with music behind it, they wound up just using that pedal steel. I did his whole record last year, which isnt out yet. 00:00:00. But I played on a song with Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, and Kris Kristofferson. Ive been very fortunate since all my friends and family have remained healthy and fine. The other guy was Steves co-producer [Ray Kennedy]. Search Ive worked a lot with him. You wouldnt know it was Daft Punk, but its got pedal steel all through it. It was. ], Note: Messages not explicitly copyrighted are in the Public Domain. Im fully vaccinated, have been for some time. How Do the Pedals and Knee Levers Work on a Pedal Steel? No matter who I play with, I try to integrate what Im doing with what Im hearing. lang, Robert Plant and others. It is in near mint condition and comes with a custom deluxe Cedar Creek hardshell case. Getting to all the great records hes played on would have resulted in an interview longer than Infinite Jest and the uncut edition of Stephen Kings The Stand combined. Starting in 1986 or so, your credits list gets insane pretty quick. I didnt play live with her. 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. This is one of those songs that I cant imagine without Leiszs pedal steel. He is one of my favorites. Im wondering if thats something youd ever like to do.. Utilize the major scale on common positions of the fretboard using foot pedals. We recorded that song with Don Heffington on drums and Greg Cohen on bass. They did a lot of interesting stuff with what I played. She also never really toured again after 1998. The Steel Guitar Forum They recorded a version of it after she got MS. That was the first Sweet Relief album. The ring and pinky fingers always rest on the strings behind the bar . All recordings used a Boss RV-5 set on hall reverb, a Fender black face Vibro-Champ amp and a Shure SM-57 mic. As an Amazon Associate Playpedalsteel.com earns from qualifying purchases. Alot of T-Bone Burnett records have Greg playing 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.