Further Cosmic Pedal Steel Situations :: Winter 2024
The cosmic pedal steel scene continues to expand — and we’re here for it. Daniel Lanois, one of the godfathers of this movement, once called the pedal steel “my little church in a suitcase.” And if anything ties these various musicians together, it’s a certain kind of earthy spirituality, an openness to the myriad possibilities that the instrument offers. Check out a few of my recent favorites over at Aquarium Drunkard.
And while you're over at AD — well, we've got a fab 2024 going for you already. Check out Brent Sirota's magnificent Fourth World mixtape ... or the latest installment of James Adams' Dylan-tastic bootleg column Diamonds From The Deepest Oceans ... or Jennifer Kelly's convo with Kayla "Itasca" Cohen (her new one is ridiculously good) ... or Michael Klausman's appreciation of Butch Hornsby's lost 70s classic Don't Take It Out On The Dog ... or J. Neas' Q&A with the GBV gawd Robert Pollard ... this is all in the first couple of weeks, people! I've said it before and I'll say it again: what a cool website!
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Listen/purchase: Fleurette Africaine by Dave Easley
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239. Jeff Easley - Player's Handbook Cover (1983)
Not exactly a new publication, but a new visual in line with the re-branding of Dungeons and Dragons as a more prestige game, using more lush paintings for the book covers, this is the first of three new covers for the 3 big books of AD&D.
In line with new publications, like Monster Manual II, these new covers helped homogenize the brand, and Jeff Easley's awesome art does give the books a different feel. Not necessarily better, and it ended up not being as iconic as Dave Trampier's original, it does look more "realistic" and polished, eschewing the cartoonish style of earlier manuals.
The interior of the book remains the same as the previous printings, so not much more to talk about here. Which is pretty good for me as I am working through the Greyhawk box set, so these covers are really useful as a stopgap!
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2024 Arizona Diamondbacks Roster
Pitchers
#19 Ryne Nelson (Henderson, Nevada)
#23 Zac Gallen (Somerdale, New Jersey)
#24 Kyle Nelson (San Francisco, California)
#29 Kenneth Kelly (Scottsdale, Arizona)
#30 Scott McGough (Plum, Pennsylvania)
#32 Brandon Pfaadt (Louisville, Kentucky)
#35 Joe Mantiply (Bland County, Virginia)
#37 Kevin Ginkel (San Diego County, California)
#38 Paul Sewald (Las Vegas, Nevada)
#40 Bryce Jarvis (Brentwood, Tennessee)
#47 Tommy Henry (Portage, Michigan)
#50 Miguel Castro (La Romana, Dominican Republic)
#57 Eduardo Rodríguez (Valencia, Venezuela)*
#65 Luis Frías (Río San Juan, Dominican Republic)
#81 Ryan Thompson (Turner, Oregon)
Catchers
#14 Gabriel Moreno (Barquisimeto, Venezuela)
#16 Tucker Barnhart (Brownsburg, Indiana)*
Infielders
#2 Geraldo Perdomo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
#4 Ketel Marte (Nizao, Dominican Republic)
#6 Jace Peterson (Lake Charles, Louisiana)
#9 Blaze Alexander (Ft. Myers, Florida)**
#18 Kevin Newman (Poway, California)*
#28 Eugenio Suárez (Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela)*
#53 Christian Walker (Norristown, Pennsylvania)
Outfielders
#3 Joc Pederson (Palo Alto, California)*
#5 Alek Thomas (Chicago, Illinois)
#7 Corbin Carroll (Seattle, Washington)
#12 Lourdes Gourriel; Jr. (Ciudad Sancti Spíritus, Cuba)
#15 Randal Grichuk (Rosenberg, Texas)*
#31 Jake McCarthy (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
Coaches
Manager Torey Lovullo (Santa Monica, California)
Bench coach Jeff Banister (La Marque, Texas)
Hitting coach Joe Mather (Phoenix, Arizona)
Assistant hitting coach Jacinto Easley (Lakewood, California)
Assistant hitting coach Drew Hedman (Redding, California)
Assistant hitting coach Rick Short (Elgin, Illinois)
Pitching coach Brent Strom (San Diego, California)
Assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson (Portland, Oregon)
Bullpen coach Mike Fetters (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Bullpen catcher Sharif Othman (Riverside, California)
Bullpen catcher Jose Queliz (Valencia, Venezuela)
1B coach Dave McKay (Vancouver, British Columbia)
3B coach Tony Perezchica (Mexicali, Mexico)
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With his latest release, “Ballads”, Dave Easley cements his reputation as one of the preeminent pedal steel guitarists in jazz today. Backed by an all-star band including guitarist Jeff Parker, double bassist David Tranchina and drummer Jay Bellerose, Easley puts his inimitable spin on jazz standards and deep cuts alike.
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Psychic Temple - A Universe Regards Itself - Chris Schlarb, producer of the Maria Elena Silva album below, has a recent album from his own ensemble with guest musician synth whiz Lisa Bella Donna
The 8th full length album from Psychic Temple is an epic, two song, all instrumental collaboration with synthesist Lisa Bella Donna. The full ensemble includes Dave Easley on pedal steel guitar, Mike Baggetta on 12-string acoustic guitar, Steph Richards on trumpet, bassist Steuart Liebig, alto saxophonist Isaiah Morfin, and drummers Tabor Allen and Danny Frankel. The band is joined by a choir led by Ann Thaiss and featuring Heather Sommerhauser, Alicia Walter, Alyssandra Nighswonger and Adriana Schlarb. Composed, produced, and mixed by Chris Schlarb.
Tabor Allen - drums, percussion
Mike Baggetta - 12-string acoustic guitar
Lisa Bella Donna - Arp 2600 & String Ensemble, MiniMoog, Mellotron, Hammond organ, Oberheim Digital Sequencer
Dave Easley - pedal steel guitar
Danny Frankel - drums, percussion
Steuart Liebig - electric bass
Isaiah Morfin - alto saxophone
Steph Richards - trumpet
Chris Schlarb - guitars, tapes
Alyssandra Nighswonger - voice
Adriana Schlarb - voice
Heather Sommerhauser - voice
Ann Thaiss - voice, choir direction
Alicia Walter - voice
Produced by Chris Schlarb
Cover artwork by Eric Thompson
Layout and design by David J. Woodruff
Written by Chris Schlarb
Published by Interstellar Music Holdings of the Psychic Temple (ASCAP)
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157: The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band // "Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward."
"Born Into Trouble as the Sparks Fly Upward."
The Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band
2001, Constellation (Bandcamp)
22 years ago Montreal’s other iconic prodigiously-membered post-rock band released their second LP. It’s not easy keeping all of these pro-Zion-but-not-Zionists straight, so I’ve helpfully listed and ranked each of the musicians who have passed through this constantly shifting collective from first to least-first. Let’s go!
Members of A/The/e Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band, Ranked
1. Mike Garson - piano
2. Annie Clark - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
3. Brian Teasley- percussion
4. Daniel Hart - violin
5. Szabolcs Szczur – accordion
6. Davey 'Crabsticks' Trotter – Mellotron
7. Timothy Matthews – mbira
8. Buffi Jacobs – cello
9. Bach Norwood – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
10. Harriet Ballance - triangle, backing vocals
11. Japhy Ryder – floristry
12. Stuart "Peebs" Peebles – piccolo
13. Chandler Petrino – natural horn, oboe
14. Jared Pechonis – theremin
15. Toby Halbrooks - theremin
16. Corn Mo - backing vocals
17. Patrick Hewitt – theremin
18. Darin Hieb – trumpet, backing vocals
19. Rachel Woolf – flute
20. Mark Beardsworth – claviola
21. Allen Halas – percussion
22. Edwin Mendoza – viola
23. Todd Beaupré – vibraslap
24. Thaddeus Ford – trumpet
25. Paul Deemer – trombone, trumpet
26. Mike St.Clair – trombone, synth effects
27. Josh Guyer – trombone, spoons
28. Chris Curiel – trumpet
29. Heather Test – French horn
30. Victoria Arellano – classical harp
31. Sean Redman – violin, mandolin
32. Kelly Test – percussion
33. Mike Mordecai – percussion
34. Jason Garner – drums
35. Audrey Easley – flute, piccolo, EWI
36. Rick G. Nelson – viola
37. Nick Groesch – piano, keyboards
38. Keith Hendricks – percussion
39. Evan Hisey – keyboards
40. Dylan Silvers – guitar
41. Daniel Hart – violin
42. John Lamonica – percussion
43. Marcus Lopez – percussion
44. Matt Bricker – trumpet, synth effects
45. Taylor Young – percussion
46. Joe Butcher – steel drum
47. Evan Jacobs – piano, keyboards
48. Todd Berridge – viola
49. Nick Earl – guitar
50. Evan Weiss – trumpet
51. Jay Jennings – trumpet
52. Tamara Brown – violin
53. Merritt Lota – steel drums
54. Daniel Huffman – guitar
55. Timothy Blowers – harp
56. Anthony Richards – steel drums
57. Louis Schwadron – French horn
58. Andrew Tinker – French horn
59. Nick Wlodarczyk – trombone
60. Paul Gaughran – flute
61. Isabelo Cruz – French horn
62. Bryan Wakeland – drums
63. Hayley McCarthy – viola
64. Dave Dusters – percussion, backing vocals
65. Billy Mills-Curran – flute
66. Logan Keese – trumpet
67. Ricky Rasura – classical harp
68. Tonya Hewitt – banjo
69. Daniel Poorman – slide whistle
70. Andy Parkerson – clarinet
71. Joseph Singleton – viola
72. Jenelle Valencia – violin
73. James Reimer – trombone
74. Regina Chellew – guitar, trumpet, backing vocals
75. Ryan Fitzgerald – guitar, backing vocals
76. Cory Helms – guitar, backing vocals
77. Jessica Jordan – backing vocals
78. Jenny Kirtland – backing vocals
79. Kristin Hardin – backing vocals
80. Elizabeth Evans – backing vocals
81. Neil Smith – backing vocals
82. Julie Doyle – backing vocals
83. Christine Bolon – backing vocals
84. Natalie Young – backing vocals
85. Constance Dolph – backing vocals
86. Elizabeth Brown – backing vocals
87. Apotsala Wilson – backing vocals
88. Jennie Kelley – backing vocals
89. Roy Thomas Ivy – backing vocals
90. Jamey Welch – backing vocals
91. Ethan Voelkers – backing vocals
92. Mark Pirro - bass
93. Frank Benjaminsen – backing vocals
94. Stephanie Dolph – backing vocals
95. Jennifer Jobe – backing vocals
96. Mike Elio – backing vocals
97. Kelly Repka – backing vocals
98. Jason Rees – backing vocals
99. Jeneffa Soldatic – backing vocals
100. Michael Turner – backing vocals
101. Don Congeler – backing vocals
102. Michael Musick – backing vocals
103. Melissa Crutchfield – backing vocals
104. Sandra Powers Giasson – backing vocals
105. Paul Hillery – backing vocals
106. Stephen Dix – backing vocals
107. Jessica Berridge – backing vocals
108. Melisma MacDonald – backing vocals
109. Ross Cink - backing vocals
110. Lucy Williams - choreography
111. Josh David Jordan – backing vocals
112. Brad Butler – backing vocals
113. Jason Rees – backing vocals
114. Andrew Aldenenotti – backing vocals
115. Getting hit by a bus wearing a flowing white robe
116. Tim DeLaughter - vocals, guitar, piano
Hold on. I’ve just received word that these musicians are actually members of some other band? Apologies for the confusion!
157/365
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Brian Blade Fellowship – Perceptual
Perceptual is the second studio album by Brian Blade Fellowship, released in 2000, on the Blue Note label.
Brian Blade Fellowship:
Brian Blade – acoustic guitar, drums, vocals, producer, liner notes, art director
Melvin Butler – tenor and soprano saxophone
Jon Cowherd – producer, piano, pump organ, Fender Rhodes
Dave Easley – pedal steel guitar
Daniel Lanois – acoustic guitar, guitar, pedal steel guitar
Joni Mitchell – vocals (“Steadfast”)
Kurt Rosenwinkel – acoustic guitar and electric guitar
Christopher Thomas – bass, backing vocal
Myron Walden – bass clarinet, alto saxophone
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THAC0 Thursday: Origins of AD&D 2E
For this THAC0 Thursday, I’d like to talk about the origins of 2e.
Background
The year was 1987. AD&D 1e was proving to be popular, but the popular rules were all spread out. Unearthed Arcana, the Wilderness Survival Guide, the Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide and Dragon magazine all contained updated and revised rules that improved play. 1e had begun to outgrow itself, so TSR resolved to consolidate the rules into a new edition.
The Team
Headed by David “Zeb” Cook, a small team of designers including Steve Winter, Jon Pickens, Mike Breault, Jean Black, Curtis Smith, James Ward, Kim Janke, Linda Bakk, Betty Elmore, Angie Lokotz, Jeff Easley, Douglas Chaffee, Larry Elmore, Craig Farley, John & Laura Lakey, Erik Olson, Jack Pennington, Jeff Butler, Jeff Easley, Jean E. Martin, Dave Sutherland, Colleen O’Malley and Paul Hanchette, as well as countless playtesters, started work on Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. The first 2e book was published in 1989.
Changes
First and most notably, the origin of the name of this series, THAC0 was introduced officially. No more looking at tables all day, now you just did a subtraction problem!
Classes were grouped into Warriors (Fighters, Paladins, Rangers), Wizards (Mages, Specialists), Priests (Clerics, Druids) and Rouges (Thieves, Bards). Proficiencies were officially introduced as an optional rule.
Due to outrages over D&D’s supposed “satanic” nature, devils and demons were removed in this new edition, returning as the Tanar’ri and Baatezu, respectively. Also notable was the removal of the Assassin class and Half-Orc race, as TSR wanted to stress the heroic nature of characters and teamwork of the party.
The Monster Manual was replaced by the Monstrous Compendium, a loose-leaf binder with a full page for each monster. This was useful and novel at first, but quickly the organization of dual-sided pages began to become a problem. The Monstrous Manual, a bound book of popular monsters, was published in 1993.
That’s about it for now! Hope you enjoyed!
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Nothru Far Rider, an Ul-mor outcast trying to return to Volturnus, meets Raoul Debonham, a lost xenopologist, near the ruins of an ancient Tetrarch city on the arid planet Laco (Jeff Easley, with Star Frontiers characters from Dave Cook’s “Encounters” article, Polyhedron 9, RPGA/TSR, December 1982)
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nobody else is using the tv so I finally get to watch kipo >:)
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Dave Easley - Ballads
I loved Byways of the Moon, pedal steel virtuoso Dave Easley's previous record for Big Ego — so when the mensch Chris "Psychic Temple" Schlarb asked me to write the liners for Easley's Ballads LP, I said yes immediately. What an honor, ladies and gentlemen.
As great as Byways was, Ballads might be even better, with pedal steel-led versions of tunes by Ornette Coleman, Duke Ellington, Sonny Sharrock and more. And it's got guitarist extraordinaire Jeff Parker, ace bassist David Tranchina and expert drummer Jay Bellerose ... what more do you need? An instant classic, if I do say so myself. The record comes out on October 20, 2023 — go preorder it, for heaven's sake!
If you need a sample of what's in store, check out the above in-studio video of Duke's deathless "Fleurette Africaine." What a tune, what a sound.
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Listen/purchase: Who Does She Hope To Be? by Dave Easley
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Barrister's, 1997: Jeff played his last show there May 26, 1997
Tell me the story behind that Jeff Buckley photograph.
I met Jeff in January of '97. I was taking pictures of a band that Dave Shouse had started called Those Bastard Souls. Jeff Buckley's girlfriend Joan Wasser played violin. We were in this hotel in St. Louis. Jeff came to visit Joan and that's where I first met him. He was real nice and we had a great time. A month or two later Dave told me that he was going to move here, and record at Easley. The vibe was that he was trying to avoid the media, so I was really cautious about approaching him because I didn't know him real well. We sort of ran in the same circle of people here so I knew we'd get to be better friends. I figured my best shot was just to leave him alone and get to be friends instead of grabbing paparazzi-type stuff. So anyway I saw him play at Barristers a few times. It was impossible to really take a good picture of him because it was so dark and you couldn't use a flash without pissing everybody off. But this one particular night one of the Grifters said, "Take a picture." I was doing these long exposures at the time, but I didn't have my equipment, so I just set my camera down on a little cocktail table and set him down in the loft upstairs at Barristers and borrowed a flashlight and a piece of blue filter gel lying around. I rigged it all together and we tried to take these pictures with these long exposures, but it was really difficult because there were people all around us. Everybody was moving. People were smoking grass and the pictures turned out less than what I'd have liked. But he really liked them. He said let's definitely do some more, but let's wait till the band gets here. They were flying in. I was like "OK," and I decided to wait. Then the day that they flew in, he drowned. So I only got these few precious pictures of that whole thing. He drowned because the Mississippi River moves so fast?
I don't know if anybody told him not to swim down there because every year somebody drowns in that river. It looks all still and quiet but underneath there's all kinds of other stuff going on. Apparently he was wearing his boots.-words and photos by Dan Ball via vice.com, Aug 20 2015
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2023 Arizona Diamondbacks Roster
Pitchers
#19 Ryne Nelson (Henderson, Nevada)
#23 Zac Gallen (Somerdale, New Jersey)
#24 Kyle Nelson (San Francisco, California)
#25 Corbin Martin (Houston, Texas)
#29 Kenneth Kelly (Scottsdale, Arizona)
#30 Scott McGough (Plum, Pennsylvania)*
#32 Brandon Pfaadt (Louisville, Kentucky)**
#34 Mark Melancon (Golden, Colorado)
#35 Joe Mantiply (Danville, Virginia)
#37 Kevin Ginkel (San Diego County, California)
#38 Paul Sewald (Las Vegas, Nevada)*
#40 Bryce Jarvis (Brentwood, Tennessee)**
#47 Tommy Henry (Portage, Michigan)
#50 Miguel Castro (La Romana, Dominican Republic)*
#55 Austin Adams (Zephyrhills, Florida)*
#57 Andrew Saalfrank (Ft. Wayne, Indiana)**
#63 Justin Martínez (Bonao, Dominican Republic)**
#65 Luis Frías (Río San Juan, Dominican Republic)
#81 Ryan Thompson (Turner, Oregon)*
#99 Drey Jameson (Greenfield, Indiana)
Catchers
#14 Gabriel Moreno (Barquisimeto, Venezuela)*
#59 Bernardo Zavala (La Puente, California)
Infielders
#2 Gerardo Perdomo (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)
#3 Evan Longoria (Downey, California)*
#4 Ketel Marte (Nizao, Dominican Republic)
#6 Jace Peterson (Lake Charles, Louisiana)*
#10 Jordan Lawler (Carrollton, Texas)**
#14 Emmanuel Rivera (Ciudad Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)
#53 Christian Walker (Norristown, Pennsylvania)
Outfielders
#5 Alek Thomas (Chicago, Illinois)
#7 Corbin Carroll (Seattle, Washington)
#8 Dominic Fletcher (Cypress, California)**
#12 Lourdes Gourriel; Jr. (Sancti Spíritus, Cuba)*
#28 Tommy Pham (Clark County, Nevada)*
#31 Jake McCarthy (Scranton, Pennsylvania)
Coaches
Manager Torey Lovullo (Los Angeles County, California)
Bench coach Jeff Banister (La Marque, Texas)
Hitting coach Joe Mather (Phoenix, Arizona)
Assistant hitting coach Jacinto Easley (Mt. Vernon, New York)
Assistant hitting coach Drew Hedman (Redding, California)
Assistant hitting coach Rick Short (Elgin, Illinois)
Pitching coach Brent Strom (San Diego, California)
Assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson (Portland, Oregon)
Assistant pitching coach Barry Enright (Stockton, California)
Bullpen coach Mike Fetters (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Bullpen catcher Sharif Othman (Riverside, California)
Bullpen catcher Jose Queliz (Valencia, Venezuela)
1B coach Dave McKay (Vancouver, British Columbia)
3B coach Tony Perezchica (Mexicali, Mexico)
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Another 60 minutes filled with diverse music await. Including new releases from Better Corners, Honour, Off World, Dave Easley, sneaky jesus and Len, we're flooding the Blue-In-Green:RADIO airwaves with quality music. As well as that, we air two fine tracks from Koma Saxo as part of this week's Album Of The Week. You won’t want to miss this episode!
📻 (www.blueingreenradio.com)
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