It all started with my first listen to Gram Parsons with The Byrds and their 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' legacy album, with all of the outtakes. I was given that album back in 2004 and cranked it in my headphones. I couldn't let anyone know that I liked country music. I was becoming a closet fan! If you knew me a few years ago you would know that I absolutely hated country music. Well, I was ignorant. I didn't know enough about it to differentiate between top 40 country and real country music, western music.
I brought this over to the UK with me and started loving country music.
It was the sound of the pedal steel that would just make me melt inside. Under the influence, it would kill me even more!
I met all kinds of folks over there who felt the same. It surprised me. I didn't think anyone really liked it.. especially anyone my age.
I attended 'Come Down and Meet the Folks' at a pub in Camden town, London one Sunday afternoon for a piece of country pie, wearing a 'The Band' shirt that some kid made me when I was volunteering down at Levon Helm's. Some long haired, bearded 'bloke' approached me with a card. 'Sin City' nights near the 'Great Portland Street' tube station. Down there in a little pub was a f*cking hoedown. Proper! It was amazing. Folks dancing to Waylon, Emmylou, Southern Rock, all kinds of great tunes and westerned right up.
It was heaven! I can only hope to do something around here someday. It's been my dream ever since to play this awesome music and have people dance to it. Actually, build a music barn and have hoedown's.
Bryce and I put on a barn dance in September of '09 with live music and I DJ'ed some great tunes afterwards. We had the barn looking ripe. Straw bales to sit on, corn stalks, gourds, pumpkins, white lights, corn roast, the whole lot. People were pumped about it and this will become an annual event.
Anyway, I will come up with a list of great ditty's that will surely impress you if you love the sound of pedal steel like I do. Just a great mix of country music. Bands and artists that you SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.
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