Stringbender Music Studio

As my retirement date approaches, I have pretty much finished the work on my music studio.  This is where I plan on giving lessons for guitar, bass, dobro, banjo and pedal steel guitar.  Thanks to my son, Kevin,  the room is insulated very well and will maintain a comfortable temperature in both the winter and summer.  Here's a photo of the interior.

 

The room is equipped with instruments, amplifiers, chairs/stools, tablature, computerized rhythm tracks and accessories such as cords, music stands, picks, tuners, etc, etc.  Another important item for any teacher is the dry-erase white board!  One wall is complete with this amenity as shown below.

What is that above the whiteboards you ask?  Well, being an old school engineer, I worked my way through a college degree using a slide rule for quick calculations.  As my teacher, Bennie Tschoerner, used to say, "A slide rule is highly reliable. It doesn't need batteries; it doesn't break if you drop it and it's faster than an electronic calculator." (And don't make any irrational bets about this with Tschoerner!) I've seen him win the bet with several calculator wielding freshmen!  Now I won't be using this slide rule in music classes, but it might be helpful in explaining the ratio between semitones in the twelve note scale of western music!

The Gospel Banjo

Since 2012 was such a busy year, I completely forgot to blog about one of my recordings, "The Gospel Banjo".  This CD contains some of my favorite tunes. It was a small-scale production, meaning...I played all instruments on it...banjo, rhythm guitar, acoustic bass, and a little lead guitar on "Count Your Many Blessings".

2013 Wrap-up

Around the first of July, I was contacted by the proprietor of a recording studio, StoneAge Recording, in Trinidad Texas.  He had heard some of my steel guitar work on a recording I did in the 1980's for Kerri and Jerry Shurtleff of Greenville.  Jerry currently records lead guitar track for the studio and the owner B.D. Williams called me to lay down some steel guitar, banjo and dobro tracks for him.  B.D. specializes in recording music for various songwriters in several states.  These songwriters, such as Allen Farr, can be found on the internet at their own websites and their music can be heard on internet radio stations.

So, B.D. has sent me recorded tracks via internet/email and I have recorded the requested instruments along with the tracks and sent them back to him.  The finished songs can be heard in the locations I mentioned above.Here are some of the songs I've recorded on:

July  - "Cold Beer" and "Hole In The Sky"
Sept - "Don't Go Down That Road" and "Daddy"
October - "My King"

Hawthorne Studio (Powderly Texas)

In August, Mike Grigsby decided to record new version of a couple of this Christmas favorites.  These songs had be played during the past runs of his production, "Home Town Christmas" at PJC from 1993 through 1997.  First, a group of musician went to Rick Hawthorne's studio and laid down the tracks for "Happy Holidays" and "Santa Don't Be Late".  Musicians were:


Mike Grigsby: Vocals
Randal Hayes: Bass
Terry Folsom: Lead Guitar
Tony Ward: Keyboard
Kevin Hudgens: Drums/Percussions
Michelle Anderson: Flute
Boyd Hudgens: Steel Guitar and Banjo
Rick Hawthorne: Classical Guitar


To make a long story short, the production quality of the music was excellent.  A few weeks later in October, a video of the song "Santa Don't Be Late" was filmed on location in Paris.  It was uploaded to YouTube and has had over 1000 hits on the internet.  "Happy Holidays" has also been disseminated via internet and has had great review.  Both songs are to be played this Christmas on radio stations in Paris and many other states.

Finally

On October 5th, my son Kevin along with Karl Louis and the Blues Drivers played in downtown Rockwall for their annual C-of-C celebration. Some of this music was recorded and is also available on YouTube.  October 20th was the reunion of my family, the Edelhausers.  As traditional, the musicians in the family got together for some good picking and singing.  Some of my fondest memories are of Selfs Texas and the Edelhauser reunions of old.  My grandfather, John Edelhauser, his brothers, Roy Lee and Paul Edelhauser, sister Christine, along with my uncle Kenneth Edelhauser, Roger Edelhauser, Garland Edelhauser, Chock Allison and others, always played music at our reunions.

One more "end of the year" gig at the Lake Bonham Hoedown in November and our annual Christmas program at L-3 Communications in Greenville on December 5.  Wade White and the gang was booked to play for a Sunday School Christmas party at Webb Hill Country club, but it was cancelled due to the winter storm we had the past couple of weeks.

That should just about wrap up the past musical year!  I've been thinking about recording a Gospel Steel Guitar album, but not sure if and when that project will start.  The Gospel is real...both of my grandson's were saved this past year!!!   Thank the Lord and Merry Christmas! 

2013 Music Continued

Lake Bonham Hoedown
I always enjoy playing banjo for Joan Kelton and the Shades of Bluegrass.  January's show featured the usual cast of musicians, but the March show was a special one, featuring the Bolton Family Band from Paris.  I was honored to play dobro for Sam, Reva, Kay and Jeff at this show.  (They even let me play banjo on one number, "After Lifetime Guarantee".)  Later in November, I made the trek to Bonham, but the attendance was low due to the threat of impending cold weather and ice.  But, we had a good time pickin' and grinnin'!

Bois d'Arc Bottom Band
The band got together as a whole a few times in 2013.  Other times found only two or three of the members playing for an event.  On February 8, Gary, Kelly, and Boyd, along with a few other members of FBC Bonham, played for FBC's annual Valentine Banquet.  On April 13th, Gary and Boyd also played with Fred Siebenthall and "Country Revival" for Honey Grove's Chamber of Commerce Banquet. On June 21st, BBB played at Big A's in Roxton and at the Windom Pavilion on the following day.  It was mighty cold on June 22! Later in October, BBB made their annual trek to Lake Bob Sandlin for a weekend of good music, food, fellowship and camping. (Be sure to check out the new BBB website, http://www.boisdarcbottom.com)


Other Shows
In March, I was invited to play dobro with Stuart Anderson and his band, "Highway 19" in Alvarado for a banquet of the Black Hereford Cattleman's Association in the Diamond W Arena.  Later in March, the Hines Sisters of Paris invited me to play banjo and dobro (not at the same time) for their show at the High Strung Bluegrass Hall in Paris.

Wade White
In April, Wade and the Cowboy Church had a special guest from Russia.  I can't remember his name right now, but he has been a famous body builder and has competed in athletic events, single-handedly winning over entire teams of weight lifters.  But, this man also plays guitar and sings.  He had always wanted to play country music with a Texas band, so Wade and the church invited a group of musician for a Wednesday night fish fry and Country jam session.  Musicians that showed up included the Cowboy Church band members, J.D. Moss and myself. Wade also provided music for the Mothers Day celebration at the Springlake Retirement Center in Paris.

Mountain View - May 24-27
Debbie and I made our annual trip to Mountain View Arkansas and had a great time of music and fellowship on Paris Row and downtown. A couple of my cousins and their wives joined us this year.  I talking about Roger and Debbie Edelhauser and Garland and Judy Edelhauser.

To be continued...

2013 Music and Such

Since I didn't blog last year, let me catch you up on a couple of important dates in 2012.  On March 28, 2012 my hero Earl Scruggs died.  I only had one opportunity in my lifetime to see him in person and that was in 2001 at the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival in Guthrie.  It was there that I got my banjo head signed by Earl.

Another fine musician died in 2012 and I was honored to play steel guitar at his funeral.  I'm talking about Jesse Watson, brother of Gene Watson.  I had known Jesse for a short time, having met him at the Tudor Street Mission Church in Paris.  We had some wonderful times playing music there and he was an outstanding guitar picker.  He also played steel guitar.

While I'm talking about the subject, the year 2013 rolled around and there were a couple of other great musicians who passed away.  On July 4th, Maurice Anderson died.  He created the MSA Steel Guitar Company in Dallas and I have owned three of them in my lifetime.  Maurice was one of the best, having played with Bob Wills and many others.  The MSA Company still makes some of the finest steel guitars in the business!

The other death was closer to home.  My great friend, Joe Julian died on October 10th.  I may blog about Joe later, but for now let me say that Joe, along with J. T. Bryan and Ross Whitt (Honey Grove) gave me my first opportunities to play music with a real band.

To be continued...