Rosie Flores w/ Chris Scruggs at SXSW
During and after South by Southwest this last week, people kept asking me what my favorite show was. It’s probably a toss up between Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, and Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers. (Reviews coming, and also of the pre-SXSW Hank III show).
But one of the cool things about SXSW is the random collaborations of artists that can happen at any time, and that is what generated my favorite, most memorable moment of the whole week.
The Rockabilly Filly Rosie Flores is a legend on her own. (read my artist review of her HERE.) I had never seen her before live, so this was one of my top priorities for the week. When she was setting up at the Bloodshot Records showcase on Friday (3-19), I noticed they brought a steel guitar on stage, NOT a pedal steel, but the pedal-less style.
This was very significant to me. If you could say that there’s one instrument that embodies REAL country music, it would be the pedal steel guitar. But when you’re talking about the one instrument that embodies the country music REVOLUTION and the neo-traditionalist movement, it would be the pedal-less steel. It’s what Wayne Hancock uses, Hank III uses, but it got it’s start in the modern era in BR549, and specifically with one of the best and influential multi-instrumentalists of our time, one Chris Scruggs.
When I interviewed Hank III’s steel player Andy Gibson, he gave credit to Chris for really reintroducing the pedal-less steel sound to the new generation, and re-igniting interest in players like Kayton Roberts.
That’s why my jaw dropped when Chris walked on stage, to back up one of the few women in the world that takes her own leads. Luckily I had the camera locked and loaded, ready to shoot:
As soon as the set was over, I tried to talk to Chris or at least shake Chris’s hand, but he was gone like lightning. My guess is he was collaborating with a dozen different people that day. How Rosie and Chris got hooked up I don’t know; Rosie is Austin and rockabilly, and Chris is Nashville and traditional. But it made for the highlight of my 2010 SXSW.
PS: Don’t let one evil thought enter your mind about the Jessica Rabbit slimmy in the second video. She’s mine. We’re going to get married and have babies so HANDS OFF!
March 22, 2010 @ 2:32 pm
Rosie Flores KicksAss! I missed yer first blog (https://savingcountrymusic.com/you-need-rosie-flores-in-your-life) but have since caught up! GREAT POST!…oh yeah…good luck with those little rabbits…
March 22, 2010 @ 3:12 pm
Them rabbits ain’t little, they’re the perfect size. Too little to slip out of your hands, but too big to slip through your fingers!
Oh wait, what are we talking about here?
March 22, 2010 @ 4:38 pm
Triggerman, did you happen to catch any of the Hillgrass Bluebilly show at Hole In The Wall? I have some friends that were there and man it made me jealous hearin their stories and seeing pictures.
March 22, 2010 @ 4:56 pm
I liked Rosie Flores, never heard her before….
you are right about the pedal-less steel…it’s amazing to hear and watch. Andy Gibson is fascinating!
Speaking of…I put up 3 youtubes (Hellbilly set)last night from Hank III’s show @ The End in Nashville…I was on Andy’s side of the stage and got some great shots of him playing…sound is good too. I put some AssJack & country set up about a month ago from the same show.
http://www.youtube.com/user/VINTAGEQUEEN54?feature=mhw4
I put 8 youtubes of The Muse up 2 days ago…I was on Zach & Davey’s side, and up close to Gary doing his thing, which is also fantastic to watch.
LOL…I finally learned how to use windows movie maker!
March 22, 2010 @ 5:06 pm
Good videos Cathy!
March 22, 2010 @ 5:09 pm
Nlindsey,
I heard about that, didn’t make it over there. Hole in the Wall is a great venue, but it was a little out of the way of everything else. At any given point you were watching something, but could’ve been five other places watching stuff you wanted to see as well. Good thing many bands played multiple times. I’m glad to say I saw everyone on my top priority list, except for the Shivering Denizens, because they had their times wrong.
March 23, 2010 @ 12:31 am
GOOD POST..YOU BETTER HOLD ON TIGHT TO JESSICA RABBIT..I’M AUDITIONING WOMEN TO CARRY ON THE BANDANA NAME..LOL
March 23, 2010 @ 5:51 am
Thanks fer the videos Cathy ..
March 23, 2010 @ 8:18 am
good stuff. thanks to all.
March 23, 2010 @ 8:52 am
Nice
March 24, 2010 @ 3:02 pm
Rosie Flores is great, I had the honor to see her show in Amsterdam, that was about 3-4 yrs. ago, at a small venue a great show. That steel sounds great there, thanks for this post.
Cathy, I’ll have to watch your videos ASAP!
April 20, 2010 @ 5:33 am
Rosie and Chris have been playing together on and off for at least 10 years. I first saw Chris playing slap-bass in Rosie’s band in 1999 or 2000 at the Rodeo Bar in NYC. A couple of years later he was back with Rosie on both bass and guitar. In 2005 at the Johnstown (PA) Folk Festival Chris played drums for Rosie. They also backed Wanda Jackson at Johnstown.
Saving Country Music » Blog Archive » Rosie Flores Breaks Arm, Needs Help
April 22, 2010 @ 9:07 am
[…] end up with zero. Still my bum ass just went over there and dropped a few bucks in. Rosie gave me my favorite moment of SXSW this year and I paid not a dime to get in, so it’s the least I can […]