Sara Jory

Terry Barnett · Post by **Terry Barnett** » 28 Oct 2017 2:23 am

Led Zeppelin

Tony Smart · Post by **Tony Smart** » 28 Oct 2017 2:56 am

Stupid Idiot........ (Alright - I know I am.)

Barry Blackwood · Post by **Barry Blackwood** » 28 Oct 2017 7:14 am

Stupid idiot would merely be redundant..

Ken Byng · Post by **Ken Byng** » 28 Oct 2017 7:24 am

Severe topic drift.

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 28 Oct 2017 12:44 pm

W. C. Edgar wrote:This is one of the things I've never liked about any forum. There's always someone shooting off their mouth degrading someone else when they in turn are the ones that should be practicing.
Go figure

All I've ever read from you here was about promoting yourself. Nothing else! I'd bet that you don't even follow this thread anymore.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 28 Oct 2017 5:25 pm

I wrote this several days ago and sat on it, saving to a textfile. But in light of recent posts, I think it is appropriate to just let it loose.

Dave Mudgett from a few days ago wrote:In the spirit of total brutal honesty that seems to pervade this thread, I have to confess that this discussion makes me cringe. And I'm sure I have no idea what 'constipation' has to do with any of this.

I see Sarah as someone who simply physically reacts to the music she is playing. Great musicians often physically react to the music they are playing. Some of it may be 'show-biz', but I think a lot of it is a natural result of some musicians' bodies being mentally and physically connected to the music they are playing. Pick one of the great violinists like Perlman and just look at a video - here's the first one that come up on a google search - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYokqDoXQjU. Do you really think he's 'mugging'? Gimme a break. And there are lots more very serious musicians who are way too busy playing to worry about what the peanut gallery thinks about how their body reacts while they're doing it.

Of course, there's plenty of wild theatrics in the wider popular music culture that actually displaces musical performance. I don't like it, never did, never will. But I don't think that is remotely comparable to what is being discussed here.

OK, to the present. As far as "thought police" go - again, gimme a break. I personally think there is no good that could have ever come from the original post, but nobody has silenced the discussion. Some members here feel free to post gratuitous and, IMO, insulting commentary about one of the most personal aspects of the way a great musician performs. Nobody has interfered with anybody's privilege (granted by b0b, not the First Amendment of the US Constitution - this is not a First Amendment Free Speech Zone) to do this. But other members are equally free to disagree, even heartily, and some have. Sorry if you can't take the heat. But IMHO, you should have never posted personal criticisms of a really fine player in the first place if you can't take this kind of disagreement.

Why do I think nothing good could have ever come from this kind of discussion? Because it is really irrelevant to the playing of music, and, to many, it just comes off as curmudgeonly grumbling by a bunch of old men about the woman who is, arguably at least, the finest female player of the pedal steel guitar extant. Even worse, this type of criticism may squelch the natural tendency of other steel players to just "let it loose" while they're playing. My God, do we really want to institutionalize the standard Sphinx-like, stonefaced stare most pedal steel players adopt while playing?

Feel free to disagree with me. But I think you should think hard before you dismiss this and other criticisms as a bunch of nonsense, and ask yourselves, "Just who are the thought police?".

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 28 Oct 2017 6:27 pm

Dave, I repeat again! Sara is a wonderful musician and one of the best current steel players.

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 28 Oct 2017 7:30 pm

Brian, I don't think this is about so-called 'political correctness'. I think it's about judgment and taste. Everybody likes what they like, and dislikes what they dislike. That is perfectly reasonable.

But I just think that calling out something personal like this about a fellow musician and pedal steel player on an open, world-wide forum for everybody to see and yack about is not a good idea. There's no law against it. B0b is obviously not gonna shut this down, nor have I suggested he should. But I think it leads nowhere good. And that is my 'politically incorrect' view

Funny how 'political correctness' depends on the lens of the one whose ox is being gored.

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 29 Oct 2017 3:11 am

Ga McDonnell · Post by **Ga McDonnell** » 29 Oct 2017 4:27 am

Comment deleted. Five pages should be enough about such an unnecessary topic.

Don R Brown · Post by **Don R Brown** » 29 Oct 2017 4:46 am

Larry Jamieson · Post by **Larry Jamieson** » 29 Oct 2017 5:03 am

Don, you are correct and it's time we stopped...

Don R Brown · Post by **Don R Brown** » 29 Oct 2017 5:55 am

Larry Jamieson wrote:Don, you are correct and it's time we stopped...

You mean like

?

James Kerr · Post by **James Kerr** » 29 Oct 2017 1:22 pm

Here is the Lady in question aged about 9 years, standing behind of one of my Guitars, and smiling for you all.

James Kerr

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 29 Oct 2017 2:44 pm

My personal thoughts on this thread...

I saw her perform in Dallas this past March. She did a good show. I've seen Ray Charles perform live, and also Stevie Wonder. When someone is in touch with their music and their guitar and is so involved with singing the song through their instrument that their emotions take over the physical countenance, I don't see that as an affectation. I see it as honest expression. Unless it's part of a stage show that gets repeated each time the song is performed, of course. Since we don't know what's in Sarah's heart when she's playing, I'm giving her the benefit of doubt. To me her actions seem genuine.

Sarah is a great player who's accomplished more professionally than the vast majority of steel players of either gender. Feel what you want, but cutting her some slack here is the civilized thing to do. You always can go to Twitter, after all.

Jerry Berger · Post by **Jerry Berger** » 29 Oct 2017 4:59 pm

Sarah is a awesome player! I saw her at the ISGC in 2013. I don't recall seeing all those so called "facial contortions." I guess I was mesmerized by her skill at playing this instrument.

Mitch Ellis · Post by **Mitch Ellis** » 29 Oct 2017 6:52 pm

James Kerr wrote:Here is the Lady in question aged about 9 years, standing behind of one of my Guitars, and smiling for you all.

James Kerr

She was probably a better player then, than I am now. And cute as a kitten.

Mitch

Fred Treece · Post by **Fred Treece** » 29 Oct 2017 11:55 pm

Maybe there should be a "National Enquirer" section on the forum for bogus stories and inane gossip.

Incidentally, my steel guitar was hijacked by aliens who returned it to me with my A-B-C pedals transformagated to U-F-O pedals.

Georg Sørtun · Post by **Georg Sørtun** » 30 Oct 2017 4:01 am

TSGA 2017...

Excellent audiovisual performance

Pookie Anselmi · Post by **Pookie Anselmi** » 30 Oct 2017 4:34 am

Tommy Emmanual was mentioned earlier in this thread.
I heard Tommy once say in an interview that he was an entertainer that happened to play guitar.

Perhaps Sarah is also an entertainer who happens to play steel. Just a thought.

Charlie McDonald · Post by **Charlie McDonald** » 30 Oct 2017 5:05 am

In Georg's picture, she looks to me like she's digging it the most.

There's a difference between emotion and emoting, like some figure skaters do, but isn't the emotion of creating the music.
Is it done to supplant lack in the music, asking the listener to use their imagination to bridge the gap to what she meant?
Is it only entertainment? Well, if you're going to change a string without missing a beat, it better be entertaining.
It's just what she does. I find her amazing. Maybe the act, if there is one, is what keeps my interest, lagnappe beyond the music.

Don R Brown · Post by **Don R Brown** » 30 Oct 2017 5:17 am

Fred Treece wrote:
Incidentally, my steel guitar was hijacked by aliens who returned it to me with my A-B-C pedals transformagated to U-F-O pedals.

Maybe Elvis forgot to change them back before the aliens returned it!

Ken Campbell · Post by **Ken Campbell** » 30 Oct 2017 5:27 am

Almost six pages.

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 30 Oct 2017 6:12 am

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 30 Oct 2017 6:43 am

OK, so we're agreed!
Sara Jory is better'n'you