Peter Burak's set on thursday

Dirk B · Post by **Dirk B** » 4 Sep 2002 6:59 am

A lot of people probably missed this, but Peter Burak played a very good & interesting set on thursday during the talent search.

He played "fingerstyle" steel, if you will, in an approach reminiscent of fingerstyle guitarists like John Hurt. He played unaccompanied while singing through a headphone mic setup. His songs were steel & vocal arrangements of songs like "City of New Orleans", "Lady Madonna", and others. Apparently he does this as a solo act in his town.

This was the most unusual approach to steel I've heard in a long time -- very interesting, and worth hearing.

JB Arnold · Post by **JB Arnold** » 4 Sep 2002 9:45 am

Pete's the bomb. It's not like he doesn't play regular style steel-if you were in the Sierra room at all you could hear him tearing the place up real regular. But he's got this new style he's playiong with, and I think it's neat to hear something new up there.

JB

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"All in all, looking back, I'd have to say the best advice anyone ever gave me was 'Hands Up, Don't Move!"
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Neil Flanz · Post by **Neil Flanz** » 4 Sep 2002 3:24 pm

Pete Burak is definitely one of the up and coming younger steel players with a fresh new approach to the instrument. I've seen him play for the last three years and he just keeps getting better and better.

jim milewski · Post by **jim milewski** » 4 Sep 2002 3:50 pm

did he use finger and thumbpicks, E9th tuning, sounds very interesting

Larry Behm · Post by **Larry Behm** » 4 Sep 2002 6:09 pm

Pete, a real bright spot and a great human being. Pete for President.

Larry Behm

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 4 Sep 2002 6:37 pm

Mike Perlowin and I have already agreed that, although Pete plays great, we hate him anyway, cuz he has hair.

Al Marcus · Post by **Al Marcus** » 4 Sep 2002 6:56 pm

I wasnt there, and I didn't hear it on the Radio, but I know Pete played a good set, and I'll bet you did too, Jim....al

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 4 Sep 2002 7:56 pm

Hey Gang,
Thanks for the kind words!
And for what it's worth Mike and Jim, my hairline is beginning to make a run for the border, with or without me it seems. (I'm auditioning for "Salt & Peppa" next week!).

But seriously, Jim M. asks...
"did he use finger and thumbpicks, E9th tuning, sounds very interesting"

Although I play an S12U, I have added changes reminisant of Extended E9th for the fingerpicking thing I'm working towards.

I use a thumbpick and two fingerpicks, and I'm training my right hand to do a style that is similar to that done by guys like Leo Kottke, Chet Atkins, and Merle Travis (by no means can I play like these guys, just using them as an example to get the jist of the style across).

I'm using an AKG headset mic that seems to work well and eliminates having to find the mic while trying to play and sing (one less distraction).

At the convention I played:
City of New Orleans - Arlo Guthrie version
Lady Madonna - Beatles
Lay Lady Lay - Bob Dylan
Lookin Out My Back Door - CCR
Somwhere Over The Rainbow - Uptempo version
And my big closer was...
My Way - Elvis/Sinatra

Anyway...
My tuning is E9/B6 + Ext.E9 (I guess).

For the sake of the fingerpicking style, strings 1 through 8 are standard E9th.
String 9 through 12 are B, G#, E, B.

Most of the stuff I play in this style lies between strings 5 and 12, (though I do have some patterns that span the whole neck).

LKL = Stings 4, 8, 11, E's to F.
LKR = String 11, E to F#. (also raises strings 5 and 6 a whole tone [my B6th P7].
LKV = Lowers strings 5, 9, 12, B to Bb.

RKL = String 9, B to D (also raises string 4, E to F#, and D# to D)
RKR = Strings 4, 8, 11, E's to Eb

Pedal 0 = All G#'s to G (for minor chords and to walk up and down to/from I-IV chords).

The "A" Pedal raises strings 5 and 9, B to C#, and lowers string 12 B to A.
String 12, B to A, is probably the most important change for this style, as it gives a huge bottom end to everything.

B Pedal raises all G#'s to A.

Pedal 3 (I now call the C pedal "Pedal 3") raises the B strings 5, 9, 12, B to C#.

Having string 12 lower to A, or have it raise to C#, is the difference between the A pedal and P3, and plays a large roll in getting different chords and bass lines.
I'd like to get this tuning on an S14U so I could do both those moves on the A pedal.

I look forward to demonstrating this for folks at upcoming shows, as well as jamming on the standard E9/B6 setup.

Thanks again for your comments guys!
If I can answer any other questions, please let me know.

Hi Neil!!! Hope you made it home O.K!

Talk to you all later,
Pete B

Al Gershen · Post by **Al Gershen** » 4 Sep 2002 9:46 pm

Hi SGF:

I heard Peter Burak play at the Steel Guitar Jam held in Canby, Oregon this past summer.

One of the things that comes to my mind about his playing was that he appeared to change the tone of his instrument (using his digital processor, amp, etc.) on every song played.

Unlike most steel players, who set their tone one time during a gig, Pete searches for the right sound to match a particular song.

It is certainly an interesting approach to playing and it emulates what many lead guitar players do during their performances.

Pete is an exciting young player and he should have a great future in the music business.

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Regards,
Al Gershen
Grants Pass, Oregon. USA
Fender 1000 (1956),
Fender PS 210 (1971) &
Gibson Electraharp EH-820 (1960)
Al's Photographs and "Photos of the Day" at http://www.alsphotographs.com

<FONT SIZE=1 COLOR="#8e236b"><p align=CENTER>[This message was edited by Al Gershen on 04 September 2002 at 10:47 PM.]</p></FONT>