Together Again

Tom Brumley, famed pedal steel guitarist with Buck Owens' Buckaroos passed away today in Texas. He was 73 years old.

Brumley was renowned in the steel world for playing the solo on Owens' "Together Again", a heart-felt ballad of reconciliation punctuated by the beautiful melodic solo that perfectly captured the sentiment of the lyric. Much like George Harrison's "Something" the solo is so intrinsic to the song that it sounds wrong if a band covers the tune and does not at least nod to the original.

Brumley's father, Albert E. Brumley, wrote the gospel classic "I'll Fly Away". Only drummer Willie Cantu is still left from the original Buckaroos line-up, a combo that is largely acknowledged to be among the finest road bands to ever perform. I suspect there's going to be a hell of a jam in Heaven tonight.

This Year's Model

Well, it is with sadness and fondness that I finish up this week with my last dates with the LeAnn Rimes band and crew. I signed on almost exactly a year ago, did the very fun and successful Kenny Chesney tour and many more headlining dates, but I've decided to accept an offer from the Keith Urban gang to be one of the guitar techs for them this Summer.

LeAnn and her husband Dean have been kind, generous and honest with me at every turn and I thank them and their management, band and my fellow crewmates for that experience. This is a family of friends that I have spent a lot of time with, and that's not something easily walked away from. So to all of LeAnn's band and crew, past and present, thanks for making the job seem like a hobby. I will miss all of you and will bug you frequently.

Keith was on many of the stadium dates we did with Chesney, and his show last year was pretty amazing. Lots of great guitar playing and a road band that holds it's own against any I've heard. I first met him when I was teching for John Fogerty and he and JF did the CMT Crossroads in California.

I look forward to adding to my road experiences with a new cast of characters, details of which may appear on this site from time to time and town to town.