About Wiz Feinberg's history in the music business, his musical equipment and gig schedule
THE ADVENTURES OF STEELMAN
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Prologue:
This is a reprint of an article, written by me, and printed in 1979, in the Steel Guitar Club of Canada Newsletter (now Steel Guitars of Canada,Inc). Reprinted with permission.I hope that all my fellow steel players will find this amusing. Notice the hidden repair that's mentioned in the story.
By Bob "Wiz" Feinberg. Copyrighted 1979
As the sun sets on Megalopolis, we find the Wiz practising a piece of tablature, in 9/8 time, in the key of D flat.
At the same moment, in a motel room 500 miles away, a steel guitarist is in distress. One of his most important knee levers has jammed and he doesn't know what to do. Tonight also happens to be the most important night of his career, because the famous recording artist, Melvin Mikedropper, is coming to hear him play. If our pedal pumping friend blows his main licks, Melvin will never want to hire him! "OH, WOE IS ME!" he cries...
500 miles away, his cries of distress reach the Super-Sensitive ears of STEELMAN, who, disguised as the Wiz, mild mannered reporter for a great Canadian Steel Guitar Club Newsletter, fights a never ending war against grimy mechanisms, in his quest for perfect intonation, smooth action and THE PEDAL STEEL WAY. Dropping his tablature all over the floor, the Wiz rushes into his guitar case and changes into- "STEELMAN!!!" (to the tune of Redwing).
Yes, STEELMAN, ODD VISITOR FROM ANOTHER PLANET, who picks faster than Heintz Ketchup; plays louder than a herd of stampeding elephants; and is able to fall off tall stages in a single bound. Taking a mighty leak, he rises into the air at breakstring speed. ---"LOOK, UP IN THE AIR, IT'S A PIANIST; IT'S AN ORGANIST; NO, IT'S STEELMAN!" (he's everywhere, he's everywhere) (to the tune of Steel Guitar Rag).
In moments, our hero is over the isolated motel, where our friend Grim Pickens is fretting over his ailing steel guitar. Crashing thru the tap-room wall, STEELMAN arrives just in time to save the perplexed picker from committing Steelocide, with a sledge hammer. Prying the hammer from the woeful worrier's hand, STEELMAN calms him down with a shot of Super Scotch, then sets to work on the sticking-steel. Quicker than the blink of a needle's eye, he has the steel belly-up. With the agility of a bulldozer, he locates the jamming lever and using his super powers (#2 Philips screwdriver), causes the wood screws on the knee lever to come loose. Next, he gives the binding shaft a thin coat of steel anti-bind jiz (Vasoline) where the mounts contact the shafts of the knee lever assembly. Last, but most important, the Man Of Steel screws down the mounts, making sure to position them so that the mechanism will move freely, without binding again. Another victory against the Evil Enemy, "MALIGNED MECHANISM" ( to the tune of Lovin' Machine).
To insure that his repairs have been successful, the Son Of Steel rights the guitar and whips off a famous Super Steel Lick, much to the glee of our friend Grim Pickens who is now well into his second scotch. "WOW! STEELMAN", he exclaims, "how do you get such speed in those licks?". "I get my speed from this..", is his reply, as the Sentinal of Steel displays his Kryptonite Bar.
The ever grateful picker offers to repay STEELMAN with a round of draft beer, after which the Steel Sleuth takes another mighty leak and is once again flying high, on his way back to Megalopolis, to resume his disguise as the mild mannered WIZ. (to the tune of Up, Up, and Away).
Copyrighted 1979
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