Pedal Steel Sessions with The Sums and Shadow Captain.

Pedal Steel
Pedal Steel

Earlier this year I was asked play some pedal steel guitar on a couple of recording sessions.  The first session I played on was for Shadow Captain, (aka Stuart Todd). The songs were Goodbye and Clandestine Lover. I played drums on that on too. That’s due for release late 2019/ early 2020. Andy Fernihough, who is well known as a musician and as the studio manager at Crash Rehearsal Rooms, has been working on those recordings. So when the Sums, formerly known as Smaller were looking for some different sound, Andy suggested that I could do some steel on their new album, Better. I played on two tracks, Contraception Is Rife and Salt of the Earth. I first saw, lead singer, Digsy perform with Smaller at the Liverpool Lomax, supporting Oasis. Later I played on the same lineup a few times in venues like the Picket, when I was in the Marbles.

I bought the steel from a friend in about 2006, some of it was hand made but it has a Ronnie Bennett pickup on it. It’s hard work to play the mechanisms are very stiff, but I’ve persevered and managed to get some good things out of it. I need to practice more. Some of my favorite steel players are Buddy Emmons, Buddy Cage (New Riders), Jerry Hogan (Heads Hands and Feet), JayDee Maness (Sweetheart of the Rodeo), Red Rhodes (Mike Nesmith), Weldon Myrick (Areacode 615) and of course Jerry Garcia,

I have a some more sessions planned.

Mark Pountney Interview on Vintage Radio

I was invited to do an interview with Cliff Howarth on Vintage Radio last week. I played three new tunes and discussed the recording of my new album.

Mark Pountney live on vintage radio with Clifford Howarth

Posted by Alison Roberts on Thursday, August 8, 2019

As well as perfoming three songs; You Got it All, Nothing Lasts Forever and The Key, I discussed early influences, songwriting technique and some of the session work I’ve been doing on Pedal Steel. I recently recorded some steel for the Sums on their now album, Better, and Shadow Captain, the artist formally known as Stuart Todd’s new album. The interview was streamed live on facebook.