RonSongs

UNDER CONSTRUCTION ... and ever will be

last update: 2/11/10

The Music of Ron Stephens

In May 1985 I had a totally unexpected experience with God that rocked my world so severely that it was impossible to ignore (though I tried). You can read that story here. Prior to that, music - performing, writing, recording - was my primary interest and goal. This web site exists to document that facet of my life.THE DAY

THE MUSIC DIED - February 4, 2009
Yeah, I know that it was February 3, 1959 when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson were killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. But it was just yesterday, February 4, 2009, that a true master of the Pedal Steel guitar, Tom Brumley, died in San Antonio, Texas. There are many skilled pedal steel players that I've admired and emulated. But none of them touched me the way Tom Brumley did. He not only mastered the techniques of the pedal steel, but his sense of melody and harmony were like no other. Everything he played said something. There were no wasted notes. I had the pleasure of meeting Tom once (back stage after a Rick Nelson concert) and was absolutely thrilled by his welcoming nature and willingness to share his "secrets". I also once had the rare priviledge of hearing out-takes from some of his best known recordings. It was encouraging to hear him play slightly out of tune and slightly out of time (as I too often do). But it was also encouraging to hear his ideas develop from rough take to flawless master recording. Tom Brumley is one of a handful of musicians who have meant something to me personally. Just knowing that he was somewhere, inciting the melancholy joy of "Together Again", or the plaintive resignation of "Garden Party" - not to mention his lesser known, and often even more impressive works - rought me comfort I can't explain. Now that he is gone from this world, I feel a void. But I know that if we meet in eternity, he'll show me how to play "Pedal Patter".

April 14, 2009
i'm taking a 2 week vacation from teaching to work on - and hopefully finish - the CD project i started before there were CDs. thanks to Dave Dixon, Bill Feldmann, Jon Koonce, Rich Gooch and Jack McMahon for their generous contributions. Now Look What You Made Me Do is a compilation of (mostly) unrecorded original compositions about a guy roughly my age, with life experiences very similar (pronounced sim'-yoo-lar) to mine. there's an unfinished demo at myspace if you want a taste.