I play along with a country version of "Beyond the Reef" that I made with band-in-a-Box, but my heart wanted to play something different, so I did. I call the song "Way Beyond the Reef," but I like it. This is standard E9th tuning.
The pink building on my shirt is the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. I didn't notice the hotel in the shirt until I recorded a steel video. I was at Waikiki in 2008 and took some photos from the outside of the hotel, which you can see on the "about page" at my website link below.
Sometimes a whole song can be composed around one awesome chord that you find, which is what I did here. I love that one chord in the song, and you can't miss it. It pulls on the heart strings. To play the chord I lower the 2nd string a whole tone and keep it lowered. I pick strings 2,3 and 4 on the 15th fret. I use the B and C pedals. Keep B down and pump the C pedal. Remember to keep string 2 lowered the entire time. Then move down to fret 13 and pump the C pedal again, same strings. Then at the end let off the knee that lowers string 2 and raise it up to normal. It's a great sound.
It's also important to pick the strings as triplets, i.e., not at the same time. You're actually picking all the strings in the time it would take to play one note. Thumb pick first on string 4, then the index finger on string 3 and then the middle finger on string 2. I hope that makes sense. It's a great technique. Stu Basore often picked chords this way, i.e., picking chord strings seperately.
I get the West Coast steel guitar sound by picking closer to the pickup. It really gives a 1970's sound to the music.
Another part I play is a thing I learned from listening to Lloyd Green, who has played on over 7,000 recordings! Pick strings 3,4,5 with A pedal and F knee lever on fret 15. Then slide down to fret 14, same strings, with only A and B pedal down. Then play strings 4,5,6, 14th fret, with A and B down. slide down to fret 12 with B pedal down and E's lowered. Lloyd doesn't lower his 4th string E, but I do, so that's the only change here. Then let off B and the E knee. It's important to use the triplet picking technique on all these chords, as seen in this video.
My ShoBud has a Bill Lawrence pickup in it, I think it's a 710. My amp is a Fender Princeton Reverb tube amp.
My right leg is completely numb from a damaged spinal cord in my neck, and I'm on mega doses of Oxycontin for neck pain, but I thank God for the health I have. I appreciate the prayers of my friends, thank you so much. One day at a time.
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