Oral History Interview of Herb Steiner Interviewed By
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Oral History Interview of Herb Steiner Interviewed by: Andy Wilkinson June 17, 2015 Spicewood, Texas Part of the: Crossroads of Music Archive Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Copyright and Usage Information: An oral history release form was signed by Herb Steiner on June 17, 2015. This transfers all rights of this interview to the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University. This oral history transcript is protected by U.S. copyright law. By viewing this document, the researcher agrees to abide by the fair use standards of U.S. Copyright Law (1976) and its amendments. This interview may be used for educational and other non-commercial purposes only. Any reproduction or transmission of this protected item beyond fair use requires the written and explicit permission of the Southwest Collection. Please contact Southwest Collection Reference staff for further information. Preferred Citation for this Document: Steiner, Herb Oral History Interview, June 17, 2015. Interview by Andy Wilkinson, Online Transcription, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. URL of PDF, date accessed. The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library houses almost 6000 oral history interviews dating back to the late 1940s. The historians who conduct these interviews seek to uncover the personal narratives of individuals living on the South Plains and beyond. These interviews should be considered a primary source document that does not implicate the final verified narrative of any event. These are recollections dependent upon an individual’s memory and experiences. The views expressed in these interviews are those only of the people speaking and do not reflect the views of the Southwest Collection or Texas Tech University. 2 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Technical Processing Information: The Audio/Visual Department of the Southwest Collection is the curator of this ever-growing oral history collection and is in the process of digitizing all interviews. While all of our interviews will have an abbreviated abstract available online, we are continually transcribing and adding information for each interview. Audio recordings of these interviews can be listened to in the Reading Room of the Southwest Collection. Please contact our Reference Staff for policies and procedures. Family members may request digitized copies directly from Reference Staff. Consult the Southwest Collection website for more information. http://swco.ttu.edu/Reference/policies.php Recording Notes: Original Format: Born Digital Audio Digitization Details: N/A Audio Metadata: 96kHz/ 24bit WAV file Further Access Restrictions: N/A Related Interviews: Transcription Notes: Interviewer: Andy Wilkinson Audio Editor: Elissa Stroman Transcription: Kalem White Editor(s): Katelin Dixon Final Editor: Andy Wilkinson Interview Series Background: The Crossroads Artists Project encompasses interviews conducted by the Crossroads of Music Archive Staff members. They hope to document the creative process of artists and songwriters from all across the Southwestern United States. 3 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Transcript Overview: This interview features steel guitarist Herb Steiner. Steiner discusses his music career in Texas and California and his work with musicians, such as Michael Martin Murphey, Alvin Crow, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Steiner’s interview also sheds light on the Austin music scene in the seventies. Length of Interview: 01:39:07 Subject Transcript Page Time Stamp Meeting Michael Martin Murphey 5 00:00:49 Beginning music and playing baseball 6 00:04:54 Tex and playing the Whiskey a Go Go 9 00:11:45 Moving to Texas and Jerry Jeff 11 00:16:09 The Austin music scene 16 00:29:01 Recording at Rapp Cleaners 18 00:32:12 Michael Martin Murphey and Jerry Jeff 20 00:36:41 Working with Bob Johnston 22 00:39:49 The steel guitar 24 00:44:05 Band breakup 29 00:56:21 Playing with Murphey and Alvin Crow 34 01:07:05 Involvement in theatre and retirement 42 01:22:38 Current albums and gigs 45 01:31:10 Working at the Chronicle 47 01:36:02 Keywords Austin music scene, bluegrass music, country music, music clubs, musicians, night clubs, Western swing music 4 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program Andy Wilkinson (AW): Let me start by saying the date: June 17, 2015. Andy Wilkinson at Herb Steiner’s very nice—I saw the needle point “Adobe Hacienda”—in Briarcliff, Texas. This’ll pick you up. You know all about recording stuff, so you’ll get it. Let me ask just to start with to get your date of birth. Herb Steiner (HS): November 1, 1947. AW: All right, and where? HS: West Hollywood, California. AW: Wow. Well, the natural next question is how’d you get to Texas? HS: I came to Texas at the behest of my old friend, Michael Martin Murphey. AW: So, you met him out there when he and Bob were doing music, or before that? HS: I met him when he was playing—he was going to UCLA ,and he had a partnership with a friend of his from Dallas who was going to Pepperdine University in LA named Owens “Boomer” Castleman. AW: Oh yeah, I know Boomer. HS: They had a band called the Texas Twosome, and they sang songs that they had both written plus country songs. Two beautiful, blonde, young guys playing Martin guitars, and they had a fellow named John London playing bass for them, and John McEuen played the banjo. And I saw them at a folk music club in Los Angeles, the Troubadour, one night, and this was in about 1968—I want to say—1968. No, excuse me, it was 1966—1966 for sure. And I went to a—they knocked me out. They wore white shirts with brocade vests and string ties and totally country to the max, and I was there, Mr. Hollywood. So, I was a bluegrass musician those days, played the mandolin and the Dobro. I mentioned to another folk music friend of mine, picking buddy of mine, that I 5 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program saw these guys the other night, and they were terrific, and he said, “Well, one of them—I go to school with one of them; Michael Murphey is his name, Mike Murphey.” So I said, “Well, introduce me.” So, he set up an introduction at UCLA, and I told Murphey that, “Look, we have picking parties this weekend. Why don’t you come and play music with us?” So he and Boomer came to the party. There were a lot of bluegrass musicians there; Boomer and Mike fit right in, and that’s how we became friends. He kept going to the parties. Then I left school, and I started working with Linda Ronstadt in 1968, and that was the start of my steel guitar playing career. AW: She needed one or you just wanted to do it? HS: She wanted to have one. She saw Poco who had Rusty Young on the steel, that had come out of Buffalo Springfield—that band Poco. So, she wanted a steel too, and since she had hired me as a Dobro player, but she said, “Look. You learn steel,” so I said, “Oh, okay.” AW: Yeah, they both lay down. HS: You keep paying me a $150 a week. Holy moly, who do I have to kill? AW: That’s good money in ’68. HS: Yeah, yeah man. You could buy a nice car. AW: Can we back up just a little bit before we go forward? HS: Yeah. AW: What got you interested in Dobro and mandolin in the beginning, especially in West Hollywood? HS: Oh. The Kingston Trio. 6 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program AW: Got it. Yeah. HS: Before that, I was into baseball. AW: Really? What was your position? HS: I was a second baseman, although I wasn’t much of a player. I was more into—I mean sandlot playing. I wasn’t into, like, little league or anything like that. AW: But you were a fan? HS: I was a big fan, followed it tremendously, you know, and played in the school yard, but not really, but mostly I think second base—second base centerfield. AW: Were you a Dodgers fan being—? HS: Actually, I didn’t really like the Dodgers. When the Dodgers came in ’59, I didn’t really—I was a fan of the Los Angeles Angels which at that time was a minor league team, was a Pacific Coast League team. AW: Did Autry own them then, too? HS: No. It was a guy named Gilmore, and I don’t know how familiar you are with Los Angeles, but— AW: I’ve been there— 7 Texas Tech University’s Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Oral History Program HS: You’ve been there? Well, the corner of Beverly Boulevard in Fairfax, the southeast corner, which was a huge area that was owned by this guy named Gilmore, and on it was CBS Television City, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium, farmers market, shops, food shops, and things like that, and Gilmore Field, which was a big field—not big like the LA Colosseum, but it was a big minor league—and since that was seven blocks from my house, you know, Gilmore Field, hey, the LA Angels fan, Steve Bilko who later went to the Dodgers, but he was a big star with the LA Angels, was a minor league team, Pacific Coast team. AW: I love minor league ball. It’s much easier to get a seat.