Musicians to jam July 13

By CARL E. FEATHER - Lifestyle Editor - cfeather@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

June 25, 2008 05:27 pm

— The line-up reads like a who’s who of the steel guitar world: Sonny Curtis, Rudy Osborne, Bobbe Seymour, Danny Hullihen, Mike Sigler and Herby Wallace.
They are scheduled to perform during the annual BSG Steel Guitar Show July 13 at Kathryn Rose Party Center, 3116 North Bend Road.
Don and Ruby Burrows are organizing the not-for-profit show, which, depending upon the reference point used, is in its second or fourth year.
“The first year we had it in our garage and had 40 or 45 people,” Don says. Two years ago, it was held in the Kingsville Township Park. Attendance was good, but the hot weather made it miserable for both the performers and audience. That prompted a move to Kathryn Rose Party Center, where the event blossomed in the air-conditioned comfort of the hall.
“I loved it, it was the perfect spot,” he says. “All level, no steps.”
Don says that’s important because of all the equipment the musicians haul to the event. Steel guitars are heavy and bulky, one of the factors that’s working toward their demise on the concert circuit.
“It’s kind of dying,” he says. “Nashville is sending their bands out on the road without a steel guitar player to make more money.”
Shows like the one the Burrows started are popular with afficienadoes of the instrument, but can be hard to find. The next closest ones are in Washington, Pa., and New Philadelphia, but they are held on alternating years. The Burrows wanted to provide a local venue for the music so northeast Ohio residents didn’t have to travel so far.
Last year’s show drew 530 persons, a sold-out crowd, and the Burrows are counting on a repeat this year. Tickets are sold in advance for $6 each. They operate on a thin margin to keep the price low and make the show accessible. Any profits are donated to the New Philadelphia show, a multi-day event.
The show provides nearly eight hours of continuous country music.
“All country, mostly good, classical, traditional country music,” Don says.
From noon to 3 p.m. there will be an open steel guitar jam where local players can come together on the stage. The band in which Burrows plays, Fort Huntsburg, will open the show.
Burrows says the band is extremely popular -- they have 17 engagements this month and next.
Various vocalists will join the band throughout the day. Last year the show offered a vocalist sign-up sheet, but Burrows says that won’t be the case this year and vocalists will be chosen ahead of time.
The guest performers will begin taking to the stage at 3 p.m. Each performer will have 45 to 60 minutes on the stage. Highlighting the show this year will be:
Bobbe Seymour, who owns the world’s largest steel guitar shop, in Nashville, Tenn. Seymour grew up in rural western New York and, while stationed in Texas during military service, started playing steel guitar with western swing band greats like Bob Wills, Johny Lee Wills, Western Starlighters and Hank Thompson. In Nashville, he’s worked with Stonewall Jackson, Connie Smith, Billy Walker and Claude Gray. Ray Price hired Seymour for his band, which eventually led to studio work. His last on-the-road work was with Johnny Paycheck.
Sonny Curtis, a Chillicothe, native, hated the steel guitar’s sound as a teen-ager. But after hearing Jerry Byrd’s records and watching him play at dances, Curtis took an interest in the instrument and started practicing after the rest of his family went to bed.
His first professional job was working with Bobby Bare at a local club. That job was followed by work with Johnny Paycheck and the Jones Boys, which played on the Jimmy Dean television show in 1964. He traveled with Georg Jones from 1964 to 1969, and, after Jone’s marriage to Tammy Wynette, with that duo until 1975. He stayed with Tammy’s solo act after their divorce until 1980.
Mike Sigler started playing the steel guitar at the age of 10 and way playing clubs and square dances by the age of 12. He’s played for Holly Dunn, Ray Pillow, Lynn Anderson, Michael Martin Murphy and many others. His venues have included the Grnd Ole Opry, Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree and steel guitar shows around the nation.
Herpy Wallace was also introduced to the instrument during his early adolescence and at the age of 15 was playing on local (Chattanooga, Tenn.) venues and a TV show. He went on the road shortly after high school and worked with Leroy VanDyke, Nat Stuckey, David Rogers, Donna Fargo, Jody Miller and Billie Joe Spears. He’s done more than 2,000 sessions and backed up many artists on tours and one-night shows.
Wallace has 14 instrumental albums to his credit and averages 15 steel guitar shows annually.
Don Burrows is also a celebrity in the steel guitar field, but in a behind-the-scenes role. He builds the instruments in his Rockwell Road shop. Burrows has custom-built more than two dozen steel guitars and recently shipped one to Austrailia.
The Burrows expect all tickets for the show to sell out before the event -- tickets are being purchased by fans from as far away as Tennessee. To order, call Burrows at 992-6129, Howard Cosner at 224-0182 or Dorothy Sparks Corey at 964-3817.

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.