News

An interview with Albert about the TSGA Jamboree as aired on community TV:

December 2022 Newsletter

Greetings from all of us at the TSGA!!

It's hard to believe that we are into the holidays. We had a great meeting in October with David Wright and Larry Toliver. They knocked it out of the park! David played some great tunes and had Rebecca sing with him. David had lots of fun and was playing his new Sierra, 12 string, keylesss guitar, keeping with the memory of his dad, the designer of the original Sierra. Super job, David!!

Larry Toliver did a wonderful set with great songs. He and Susie drove in from Abilene after playing a church service. Larry is another great player!! Larry plays an Infinity and will be teaching the non-pedal, E9, and C6 tunings at the TSGA Jamboree on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 9, 10, and 11, 2023. Thanks for a great set, Larry!

The November meeting featured Paul King and Casey Martin. Both of these young guys played very well and shared some great tunes. It was great to have them with us.

Paul is a seasoned player with great tone. Paul has an appliance repair business in the Gainesville, TX area. He played an Emmons LeGrandeIII. Thanks for sharing you talent with us!

Casey Martin is a young player sharing some great tunes on his new Emmons push/pull, 65 wraparound. Casey is super guy, very nice, and plays great!

We received sad news today, Nov 17, that Margie Mays has passed away. She was a very talented lady and helped a lot of players. She and Don made all of the shows. We will miss her.

If you have any news on players or members, please drop us a note at tsgajam@gmail.com or give us a call at 817-558-3481. Be sure to make plans to be with us for 2023, March 9-12, 2023. Enjoy Ronnie's notes from the Irish Show. Reach the Sheraton DFW at 972-929-8400. Y'all take care!!

Albert Talley
TSGA President

Notes from Ronnie Miller on the Irish Show:

We got a call from Mike Fereday in May, wanting to know if I would like to be the featured International Player on the Irish steel guitar show October 15th and 16th. I immediately replied yes. Having toured Ireland for 28yrs with Charley Pride and the Love we have for Ireland and the Irish people it seemed to be a perfect fit, and it was.

SATURDAY morning, I went down to the showroom, a lot of the player were already there setting up, I met the sound engineer Brendon Reilly and the MC for the show Tony McGrath, also the band which I was surprised to learn that I knew almost all of them from past Pride Irish tours and/or The Irish Cruise.

Jonathan Milligan was the first up. He plays an MSA, and is a fabulous player with great touch and tone. He's hoping to be a the TSGA show in March. Irish duo, Paul Gallagher and Mary had a great show and I enjoyed them very much. Next up, from England, tow of the best…David Hartley and Sarah Jory. David's set had a lot of traditional country songs know for great steel guitar. I enjoyed visiting with him over the weekend. Sarah's show covered several genres, WOW! Her set was spectacular to say the least. She killed it on her signature Mullen guitar. She brought the crowd to their feet and she personally blew me away! Mitchell Smithey, MSA builder/player and my longtime friend from Dallas came and played a great set He did an arrangement of Norwegian Wood in a 44 rather than a waltz and killed it. I followed Mitchell with some songs off my album and a few medleys. My dear friend and amazing vocalist Deb Morin came all the way from Maine to do a few songs on my show and turned in a spectacular performance. I would also say that Ryan Turner and the ISGA band did a stellar job with all the players, and Ryan did vocal on one of my songs.

Sunday, Ryan Turner's 13 year old son, Joshua, kicked of the show. Josh has only been playing one year and he did an amazing job. David Hartley followed with his Sunday set including Hwy 40 blues and he nailed it. After the lunch break, it was Richard Nelson's turn on his Bethel double 10. Richard played great jazz C6th and also soe brilliant E9th. He's a great country player as well. My second show, Deb joined me again to do Blue Bayou with Dan Dugmor's great steel ride; Judy Collins' Someday Soon, which had the brilliant playing of Buddy Emmons on the record, and we did a version of Fleetwood Mac's Dreams. Thank you Debbie and Ron for coming. Paul Brennan closed the show. He is an outstanding player and I enjoyed him very much.

All the players both days were top notch. Sorry, there were a few I didn't get to mention when I was not in the room. The ISGA Band was awesome! They were very well prepared and as good as any I have ever worked with. The sound was top shelf both days. A large Thank YOU to Pat Orpan, Mike Fereday, Richard Nelson and the rest of the ISGA board for having us come over. We enjoyed the Irish hospitality and the chance to once again spend time in your beautiful country with the special Irish people. Ginger and I had an amazing time. Slainte, my friends!