Steve Dean passes on

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of steel guitarists, their friends and families

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Herb Steiner
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Steve Dean passes on

Post by Herb Steiner »

Who's Steve Dean, and why did I list him here?

Steve Dean was a longtime Austinite (we both arrived here in 1972) who owned bars and vintage stores here in AusTX, but was most acknowledged for his dedicated enthusiasm and single-handed participation in the preservation of aging long-time rural dance halls that dotted the countryside all over Central and South Texas. These halls were/are community centers for the agricultural folk that went to dances for entertainment on weekends that employed musicians all over our state for many decades, long before electronic competition from TV and Internet.

Steve was a good pal of mine whose company I always enjoyed. He succumbed to cancer at age 65 last week. His love of music, musicians, and the places we worked will carry on after him. At least I sure hope so.
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.

Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?
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Roger Rettig
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Post by Roger Rettig »

How sad. My sympathies for the loss of your friend.

Steve sounds like one of those unsung, yet vital, heroes who are a part of the lifeblood of any music scene.

65 is awfully young or so it seems from my perspective. It reminds me to be grateful for every day left to me.
Roger Rettig: Emmons D10, B-bender Teles, Martins, and a Gibson Super 400!
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Ricky Davis
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Post by Ricky Davis »

OH no. Steve was indeed a huge promoter of music and it's preservation and history.
"Go rest high on that Mountain" Steve...RIP
Ricky
https://www.facebook.com/dancehalls/vid ... 667421135/
Ricky Davis
Email Ricky: sshawaiian2362@gmail.com
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Michael Maddex
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Post by Michael Maddex »

Herb, I am so sorry to hear the news. Steve's reputation reached at least as far as Northern New Mexico. My sincere condolences to Family and Friends.

RIP Steve Dean.
"For every expert, there is an equal and opposite expert." -- Arthur C. Clarke
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Kerry Johnson
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Post by Kerry Johnson »

Sorry to hear of this loss for Texas Herb !

Thanks Ricky for posting the video of these great old Dance Halls in Texas.

Unless you lived there, you really can't appreciate the real Heritage of these cultural centers in Texas.

I wish I still lived there.

Peace
I teach Pathways, Pattern Recognition and Viewpoints using the nashville number system to understand and learn the process of improvising.
Milton C. Willmann
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Post by Milton C. Willmann »

Steve was a good friend. He will be missed.
Steve and a few other folks created an organization here in Texas, the Texas Dance Hall Preservation Association. They have helped quite a few halls stay open or be kept better preserved. He loved Texas and these old dancehalls. The music was why the halls were built, along with community.
RIP Steve
Milton C. Willmann