Robert Randolph |
Although most people associate the pedal steel guitar with country music, Robert Randolph is helping to dispel that notion. Along with his cousins, who help form the Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Randolph is introducing the pedal steel guitar -- and the Sacred Steel musical history -- to thousands of new fans throughout the world.
Randolph's high-energy music is an amalgam of styles, ranging from the church and gospel underpinnings of the Sacred Steel (steel and lap steel guitars) tradition, to blues, jazz, country and straight-out rock "n" roll. Randolph, now 24 years old, comes out of the Sacred Steel tradition, where steel guitar provides the musical accompaniment to boisterous, evangelical church services. Given his current stature as one of the most recognizable proponents of popular steel guitar -- he's been called the "Jimi Hendrix of the steel guitar" -- it's surprising to learn that it wasn't until just a few years ago that Randolph ever played before a secular crowd. It was, in fact, something of an issue within his tight-knit church community when he began playing in clubs and bars.
Since 1999, when Randolph appeared on "The Word," an album of church and secular music released by the North Mississippi Allstars and John Medeski of Martin, Medeski and Wood, Randolph has enjoyed an ever-increasing popularity, particularly among the jam-band crowd. In fact, his debut album, "Live at the Wetlands," was recorded at the now-defunct New York City club Wetlands, a haven for jam bands and fans alike. A new album, appropriately entitled "Unclassified," is scheduled for released in July.
Recently, StarPolish editorial director James K. Willcox spoke to Randolph about his newfound fame, playing before secular audiences, and making a living in the music business.
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From Church to Clubs
STARPOLISH: I thought that a good place to start is your movement from playing in church to more secular types of clubs. Was that a difficult adjustment for you? And I was wondering whether or not there were issues related to your parents perhaps not wanting you to go out and play in bars and clubs, and to wanting to keep the music within the church environment.
RANDOLPH: There was a concern in the beginning because they weren't used to what I was doing, and they didn't actually know. Over time they've all gotten used to it, and they see that it's good -- that music is being spread throughout what we've been doing: traveling and playing music and letting people know about the sound and the history of where I come from and the style of music. They understand it, so it's not too much of [an issue] now.
STARPOLISH: A lot of the artists on our website face similar issues of their parents not necessarily wanting them to pursue music as a career in general, or not wanting them to pursue a specific type of music they may not like. I was wondering if you had any advice for a person whose parents don't necessarily approve of what they're doing and what they are pursuing, but who would like them to be more supportive or at least understand the calling?
RANDOLPH: Well, it's funny because most parents want their kids to be a doctor -- and you never know what a person has in them. Most parents are concerned, but I usually tell people to just do what they love to do and continue to pray and continue to practice and be good at what you can do. Don't try to be like anyone else. Search within yourself and you can find out what's best for you. That's just part of life; you have to sometimes do things that you really want to do. And some of them will be a mistake and some things in life won't be a mistake, but you never know until you go out and do what you want to do, what you love to do.
Family Issues
STARPOLISH: The name of your band is "Robert Randolph and the Family Band," and your cousins play bass and drums. Does that make it harder or easy? I ask because my brother and I were in a band and we used to fight all the time. We took the fights that we would have, just as being two brothers around the same age, and sometimes brought that into the band and it could make it very, very difficult. I'm wondering whether your experience in working with family members makes it easier or harder.
RANDOLPH: In some ways it makes it easier because you can talk to them a little differently sometimes. It makes it easier. We all know what needs to be done and we all love to play music. With the other guy in the band it's kind of harder to communicate with him because he's not family and we didn't grow up together with him -- but it still all works out in the end. It makes it easier when you have family, I think -- at least for me. Being that they're my cousins, it works out. I probably know what you mean. I could probably never be in a band with my brother because sometimes we argue a lot, too. If it's your older brother and he's not the head of the band...
STARPOLISH: I can relate to that -- and I think that there are natural leadership issues, too. It was difficult for me, because my brother's a way, way more talented musician than I am and I'm the older brother, so I was used to being in charge -- but in the band, he was.
Anyway, I was wondering how, as you started to play music outside of what you would hear in church, that music you heard affected you, so that you ultimately wanted to pursue music that was -- I don't know if commercial is the right word, because I certainly don't think of you as a commercial artist -- but more secular types of music? Who are your influences, and did you have an idea at a certain age what it was you really wanted to do, or has it just naturally evolved?
RANDOLPH: Basically, it all naturally came together. I grew up in church only really wanting to be a good church pedal steel player, just within the church. As it happened over time, it all just evolved into me becoming an artist, a musician. It just happened -- meeting the right people and developing a love for music. It all just happened.
STARPOLISH: Were there a couple of people who heard you in the church that helped you make a decision that you might want to do this for a living?
Robert Randolph |
RANDOLPH: One of the guys, his name is Calvin Cooke, he's an old pedal steel player. He's one of the pioneers of the church. He's about 60 now and he's helped me come along and taught me a lot of stuff and gave me a lot of advice to steer me in the right direction. Another guy was Ted Beard [Elder Maurice "Ted" Beard ]. He's another one of the older pioneers of the sacred steel sound -- one of the original sounds of the sacred steel.
STARPOLISH: Did they earn their livings as musicians?
RANDOLPH: No, not really. In our church you didn't get paid to play music, but you were the musician in the church. They all had day jobs.
STARPOLISH: Did they play outside of the church environment? Did they play gigs?
RANDOLPH: No, they've never done it. Part of what I'm doing now is trying to help these guys get out and get documented.
The Sacred Steel Tradition
STARPOLISH: Do you feel a sense of obligation to help those people who helped you develop -- to shine a spotlight on some people who might not otherwise get attention, and to make people aware of the tradition that you come out of?
RANDOLPH: Yeah. My whole thing is play the music and play the pedal steel guitar to educate more people about the pedal steel guitar and the keyboards. It's been around in music and the way we play it is a great style. I want to get that out to all the world so everybody will know what the instrument is, for one, and to show them I came from a long history of guys playing music.
STARPOLISH: I think most people associate [the instrument] with country-western music and may not even be aware of the different ways it's been used.
RANDOLPH: Yeah, a lot of people get it mixed up with country music, and when they hear the tune that first comes out on stage they think we're about to do a country song. They totally get blown away when they hear it's not country music and it's not in that style. There are so many people that don't even know about the instrument, especially young kids and people like that. They don't even know what it is -- they don't even have a clue.
STARPOLISH: How do you describe the music that you play? I've seen it described as everything from blues to gospel to rock. Is there a way that you describe it?
RANDOLPH: It's kind of mixtures of all of it.
