The Jimi Hendrix Of Pedal Steel Comes
To H.A.C.C.
by Benjy Eisen
 “It
may be one of the greatest shows that you can see,” boasted Robert
Randolph to MODE Weekly backstage at Walther’s Grassroots Festival in
Cockeysville, Maryland this month. And he may be right. Robert Randolph
will roll into area for a free mid-dayconcert at Harrisburg Area Community
College in the Cooper Student Center on August 24. Randolph got his start
playing in his local church and didn’t start playing out until September
of 2000. In just over a year of touring, he has become something of a
meteoric star and has earned a reputation as the Jimi Hendrix of the pedal
steel. The what? “You heard me out there today — I said ‘It’s not a
keyboard. It’s not a turn-table.’ I guarantee that if I didn’t say that
somebody would come up to me afterwards and say, ‘You played great
keyboards today, man!’” Randolph plays his own custom made 13 string pedal
steel, in which he leads his band through territories covering gospel,
rock, blues, jazz, jam and even hip-hop. “The thing is I don’t want
anybody to label us because we can play almost all styles of music. When
you’re playing music that comes from the inside, no matter who you’re
playing for or where you’re playing at, it’s just great music. That’s how
I look at it.” |
147x50.gif)