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. #raylamontange. Youve been really busy recently. 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. At some point, Roxette came to town for a gig and they asked me to come into the studio and play with them. That was the first thing I did with her. I was shaking on my way to the studio. He has played on so many noteworthy productions, with so many great artists, that to say he has been influential in modern music is probably an understatement. ], Note: Messages not explicitly copyrighted are in the Public Domain. And its interesting to me that youd think of that. I'm learning to appreciate and love the form but it's just not my natural habitat, musically speaking. Alot of T-Bone Burnett records have Greg playing steel. Do whatever you want to do.. 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. Mint items are in essentially new original condition but have been opened or played. As a janitor, Id work at City Hall, just cleaning bathrooms and stuff like that. I didnt really see myself in the picture. Leisz single-handedly liberated pedal steel from the bondage of country.. Greg's playing on Bon Iver is some of my favorite steel playing of all. That was enormous, yeah. It was pretty terrifying. Leisz is no stranger to rock n roll, and always has the ability to add grit and bite to songs. Odelay was interesting because he was working with the Dust Brothers. I didnt really expect any sort of a follow-up. This track has such a sweet groove to it, and Leisz adds just the right ambience to float with it. And then I went, Holy shit. I texted back to see if it was real. Lets start with Roxette and their hit It Must Have Been Love. Then you were with Joni Mitchell on Turbulent Indigo in 1994. One of Bill Frisells favorite musicians to work with, Greg has such a characteristic style of playing and it always shines with Frisell. He was inspired to pick up the pedal steel after hearing Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Buddy Emmons. His heart gets taken out because its broken. So tasteful! Watch this gear and we'll notify you if it becomes available again. Im pretty proud of that. Was this the 1998 tour with Bob Dylan and Van Morrison? I dont think the one I play on was in Pretty Woman. Lang record Ingnue. The music started coming into my consciousness a lot more. For any of you that don't have the book from fellow Forumite Andy Volk entitled, http://www.myspace.com/video/lol/robert-plant-alison-krauss-killing-the-blues-with-lyrics/24448189, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxvTTRKvfEU, http://www.laweekly.com/2004-04-08/news/south-of-here/. She didnt want a lot of guitar parts. If it didnt have a purpose, theyd just take it out. Editors picks The first note of the solo slides up to the 12th fret. This is one of those songs that I cant imagine without Leiszs pedal steel. Violin (5:18) Amos Lee: Vocal, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Fuzz Guitar, Vibraphone Jaron Olevsky: Rhodes Electric Keyboard, Organ Joey Burns: Piano, Electric Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Upright Bass Greg Leisz: Pedal Steel I had produced a bunch of his records too. Can you bring your 12-string over here to the studio? Married to Mai Leisz . 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. I never really liked the Grateful Dead, and now Im in Bobs band the Wolf Brothers with Don Was. I feel very fortunate we got through the whole year. Everything was recorded onto a Zoom R24 then ported to a PC for mastering using Reaper. ------------------Livin' in the Past and the Future with a 12 string Mooney Universal tuning. What drew you to the pedal steel? Join Hed even introduce me in the set. Her original version was more what she was doing at the time. On the fall leg, Van Morrison didnt do it. We went in the studio to make another record and the band broke apart during the dramas of making the second record. T Bone wasnt even there to tell me it was good. Terry . Im not going to try and edit what you do.. At the 2:44 mark check out Leiszs cool harmonic lick that echoes the vocals. Whats more interesting to me is that much later they had me play on Western Stars. And Id save money from doing that and come back to California with several thousand dollars, which is a lot of money for fighting fires. I played a lot of different kinds of guitars on that record. Lindley's style led me to Greg Leisz, my greatest inspiration. Why was I even there? Its kind of a disappointing thing. Jim Scott ended up mixing that album. Yeah. They were different sessions and I recorded with her sitting right next to me while I overdubbed. What sort of career did you see yourself pursuing? They were just guys that were factory workers during the day that played country music at night. I went to college and took stuff that kept me out of the draft. 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. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar My wife plays bass with David Crosby. 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. I didnt play live with her. Once I could actually play the guitar, I started meeting a couple of other kids in the neighborhood and wed play together. [Editors note: Leisz does, in fact, play on the Pretty Woman version of the song.]. It was just four or five hours. I forget if it was directly by James Iha or the management. Kiley Dean Began As Britney Spears' Backup Singer. He appeared in the 2016 Cameron Crowe cable television series Roadies, accompanying Jackson Browne on three songs in the last episode of the series. Music wasnt brought to me through older siblings or really through any older kids. [Laughs] Thats so random. The band got signed very quickly because there was already a songwriter that had a couple hit songs. The longer scale of the Strat (as opposed to traditional Lap steels) seems suited to this type of stuff. 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? In the studio, usually David used Valco instruments. Its a song called Moonlight Motel. Its the last song on the record. I also didnt have parents that thought it was a good idea. But I love that record. The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap.Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional acoustic guitar, in which the performer's fingertips press the strings against frets, the pitch of a steel guitar is changed by pressing a polished steel . Youre on Safe and Sound with Taylor Swift and Civil Wars. Pedal Steel. 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 . I cant really believe it myself. Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46, Powered by Infopop www.infopop.com 2000 It was from Eric. A couple years later, he made another record [Old Sock] and Doyle called me again. I basically was just playing music with my friends. Ive come full circle with him. We met the day I got the studio. And although I've already owned six different lap steels, I have yet to get my Bakelite Rick. They ended up pulling it because of that incident. We spent two hours on the phone with Leisz, and just barely scratched the surface of his life and career. This edition features pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz. Hearing Leisz' work on that Bon Iver album convinced me that pedal steel is where I want to head. 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. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. It was Steve Gadd and [organist] Walt Richmond and Doyle and Eric. No matter who I play with, I try to integrate what Im doing with what Im hearing. That album [Loose] was a really great album for me. Thats what he did. And she got Roy Bittan. Check out these 7 songs that feature Leiszs fantastic pedal steel playing. That record was Album of the Year at the Grammys. He was inspired to pick up the pedal steel after hearing Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Buddy Emmons. It was just Eric sending me a text. Everybody was trying to get record deals. I didnt really like service jobs. They were all playing together and I was in the band with them. Manage Settings 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. Shes fantastic. Almost all of the keys are provided. My first musical experiences were hearing her sing around the house. If you take a look at the music recorded in the last 30 years, theres a good chance youll come across the name Greg Leisz. You get very disillusioned about that being a possibility, but you still keep doing it. Its crazy. [This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 30 November 2003 at 06:55 AM. In January 2008, Leisz joined the group Works Progress Administration, a band composed of Leisz, Sean Watkins (guitar), his sister Sara Watkins (fiddle), Glen Phillips (guitar, vocals), Benmont Tench (piano), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Pete Thomas (drums), and Davey Faragher (bass). I just went in and overdubbed on one song. I overdubbed all those parts. Im looking at your credits and theres a 10-year gap after the Funky Kings and before you start racking up a ton of credits. That was a really interesting thing too. 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. The group released their debut album, WPA, on September 15, 2009. The last plane flight I was on, I went to New York at the beginning of last February. When legendary artists head into the studio nowadays, theres a good chance theyll have Leisz play steel on the production. Hes help put the pedal steel on the map of countless areas of music that it probably had never been before. When he was working on it, I got brought in. Tell me your first memories of being a kid and hearing music that really reached you. He said, Im not sure what songs Im going to do. 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. They had two different studios in the same complex. 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.. I got pretty good. gretsch. It is in near mint condition and comes with a custom deluxe Cedar Creek hardshell case. There can be a lot of confusion about this, that's why I stated it up front. Adding distortion to the lap steel, Leisz gives so much personality to this Bruce Springsteen track. This is going back to her second album. Weve been doing live streaming shows from the Bay Area. 00:00:00. She was taking parts off and replacing them. I didnt really know what to call it. Yeah. Playpedalsteel.com is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[580,400],'playpedalsteel_com-large-leaderboard-1','ezslot_12',176,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-playpedalsteel_com-large-leaderboard-1-0');report this ad, E9 Pedal Steel: Chord Charts for A, B, & E Minor Chords, The 6 Best Ways To Use Compressors: TIPS & Tricks, Pedal Steel on Todays Music Scene: A Hidden Gem, 9 Best Pedal Steel Guitars (That Sound AMAZING). Well, in those 10 years, I spent a lot of time playing in clubs, basically. Greg Leisz is a songwriter, sideman, and producer who pays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Pedal Steel Guitar: Why Its So Hard To Play, Pedal Steel Guitar WEIGHT (Lighter vs. Greg's always been one of my favorites, from his work with KD Lang to Peter Case to Bill Frisell--I have dozens of CDs he played on that I bought just to hear him. They had gotten interested in doing stuff with live musicians. They made it look like a recording studio onstage. Pearl Jam have played that song countless times. Click HERE to hear me play Moon of Manakoora recorded on the D9th lap steel tuning, which is nothing more than dropping the 4th string on your C6th from a G note to an F#. Another funny story is that when we were in the studio, he had a banjo. He said, Im maybe going to go on tour next year. I basically thought at one point that Id be a geologist or a forest ranger or something like that. It was really a drag that she didnt continue after that because she didnt get enough people didnt really appreciate that last album. Please check the fields highlighted in red. 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. I went to his home studio and worked with his engineer. He was mixing it remotely from here. The best way for me to do that was, I felt, I needed to play music, not sit around and wait for something to happen. I got a job as a janitor and as a substitute mailman for a while. He spent time at the Ashgrove, the Troubador, and clubs on the Sunset Strip . I heard this, and could not get that steel guitar sound out of my head. It is in near mint condition and comes with a custom deluxe Cedar Creek hardshell case. As far as chords on different frets, one of the essential techniques for playing steel (as opposed to just slide . About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . I really liked working with her. This is all very helpful. Later, I did play on a James Iha solo album [Let It Come Down] that Jim Scott produced. This song is a great example of how tasteful Leiszs playing can be. Theres one song where you can really hear how its cut up and moved in the track. ------------------Brad's Page of Steel A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars, Too bad I procrastinated for more than 20 years. Hundreds of pages of practice, instruction, and reference materials for E9 pedal steel. 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. And after the Steve Earle sessions, he signed off, but she didnt think it was finished. Actually, Ive been working a lot with Jackson Browne. I went in and did one day where I played on a few songs. 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. To jump forward here, can you tell me about the formation of the Funky Kings? Right on Nate! I think I played the dobro. http://archive.guitarplayer.com/archive/artists/frisell.shtml. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Podcast 66: Greg Leisz on Buddy Emmons. As far as lately the latest Luncinda Williams has him on steel and guitar. 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. I was basically asked to play all the guitars on the album. Please excuse my ignorance, but what is a "bolt-on push pull"? And then he did the Jeep commercial on the Super Bowl. Thats what they called New Wave at the time. But I love that song. Its overwhelming. It can help with memorizing note names/positions, locating pockets, learningkey signatures, and more. I tended to gravitate towards jobs where I didnt have to be around a lot of people. With good reason -- the man's resum is daunting, boasting spots with Joni Mitchell, Sheryl Crow, Peter Case, Paul Westerberg, Me'Shell NdegeOcello, Victoria Williams, Joe Cocker, Dave Alvin, k.d. Im wondering if thats something youd ever like to do.. I had put in my time many years before that, learning that stuff. August 20, 2019. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time But I spent a couple of summers working as a forest ranger in Idaho and fighting fires. I hope I didn't make a fool of myself. Theres so many little things that happen when you make records. Leisz spent his younger years catching acts like the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers in Southern California clubs. Help This is an invaluable ability for sessions, where the musician often has to hear and learn the music on the spot for the recording. The sound of the guitars blew my mind. In 1989, he played on k.d. Doyle said, Hes kind of interested , I met him and he was so immediately just a normal guy. I grew up in a family where I didnt have older brothers or sisters. I was usually to shy to go up and talk to anybody about it, but I just kind of absorbed the music. She Ended Up Finding Herself. To me, thats really interesting to do that. 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. It has a deep, full body sound, with amazing resonance. They did two version of that song. I saw Rosie play in San Francisco a couple years ago - she was great! She Ended Up Finding Herself, Hear Ann-Margret and Pete Townshends New Take on the Everly Brothers Bye Bye Love, Through the Morning, Through the Night., video where Jackson is getting a heart transplant, David Lindley, Multi-Instrumentalist Who Shaped the Sound of Soft Rock, Dead at 78, How Deem Spencer Learned to be Vulnerable on His New Album adultSW!M, Suki Waterhouse Won't Take Romance For Granted on New Single 'To Love', Travis Barker Says His Finger Ligament Surgery Was a 'Success' After Postponing Blink-182 Tour, J-Hope, Boygenius, and All the Songs You Need to Know This Week, DeSantis Disney Appointee Said Tap Water Might Be Turning People Gay. Lang, and Bob Weir and Wolf Bros. I dont know how to comprehend everything Ive done, he says. Versatile and musically accommodating, Greg shapes up many tracks with his pedal steel playing. I didnt meet him. With origins dating back to the 19thCentury, the steel guitar found its way to Hawaii by courtesy of Mexican settlers. They just took pieces of it and moved it around. I'm pretty new to the world of steel but I'm completely captivated by the subtle detail work Greg Leisz does on 'Bon Iver, Bon Iver.'. Use the modes of the C major scale in the open pedal position to play over chord changes. Tour Gretsch 's Corona, California, custom guitar building operation with company master builder Chad Henrichsen and PG 's own John Bohlinger. Up to an additional 30% off shop-wideEnjoy weekend savings on Fender, Gretsch, and moreShop now, View similar gear from other sellers on Reverb. It is why I am playing steel today. Lang, Matthew Sweet, Bill Frisell, Charles Lloyd & others, helped shape his career Greg. Thats just a huge, huge record. Shes the one that comes in and walks away with it. But once I started hearing songs on the radio I liked, Id memorize them and play them on the piano. Once I got to the point where I could hang out in bars, I used to go to country bars. Tell me about playing on Bruce Springsteens Wrecking Ball. Youre on Youve Got It and We Are Alive. 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. 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. The key to it working out was we had a couple conversations on the phone. In 1975, he toured with John Stewart (formerly of The Kingston Trio). Sure enough, he was serious. All Rights reserved. Having options for playing minor scales or modes in 6ths can be beneficial when playing in minor keys, over chord vamps, and over certain chords in a progression. Are you vaccinated? lang's Grammy-winning Absolute Torch and Twang and joined her on the resulting tour. And now hes one of my best friends. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. The Robert Plant / Alison Krauss album was another amazing record. Brian didnt think that was a great idea. 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. Its from the Hunger Games movie. Ive worked a lot with him. I dont think Warner Bros. was particularly happy, but they allowed her to do it. T Bone has a lot of I dont want to say he delegates, but he trusts musicians to just do what he thinks theyre going to do. Greg Leisz played some really nice parts on her new CD "Illustrated Songs" but I did not see this listed among his credits. Hundreds of pages of practice, instruction, and reference materials for E9 pedal steel. "Legends of the Incredible Lap Steel". I overdubbed on the song. 6.9K views 1 year ago On this Greg Leisz interview, how playing with artists like Dave Alvin, k.d. I can see why his recording career show so many credits. Youre on Becks song Sissyneck from Odelay. It was the sound of it. Leiszs ability to add whatever a track needs always feels natural and timeless at the same time. 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. Leisz's ability to add whatever a track needs always feels natural and timeless at the same time. This track will really take you on a ride into the sonic frontiers, and Leisz shows just how much expression the pedal steel is capable of. I was listening to Jeff Beck and going, Shit, what is that? I was learning to play guitar while he was playing Bob Dylan songs. She came in and she was real sweet. Greg Leisz plays a Weissenborn Style 2, Style 1, and teardrop model with an original metal tailpiece (anyone seen another?).