Pedal Steel Guitar Ace Joe Goldmark Shines Like "Blue Steel" on New CD Coming April 20 from Lo-Ball Records

Joe Goldmark Shines Like Blue Steel on New CD Coming April 20 from Lo-Ball Records

S.F. Bay Area Favorite Creates Exciting Mix of Americana and Blues/Roots Music with Special Guests Glenn Walters, Dallis Craft & Jim Campilongo

San Francisco, CA – Pedal steel guitar ace Joe Goldmark announces an April 20 release date for, Blue Steel, his most exciting album to date, with a mix of Americana, blues and roots music worthy of the album’s title. Joining Goldmark and a cadre of Bay Area musical notables for the recording sessions at Red Rooster Studio in Berkeley were ex-Hoodoo Rhythm Devils lead singer Glenn Walters, plus chanteuse Dallis Craft, who share the album’s seven vocal performances, plus long-time Goldmark compadre, Jim Campilongo, who guests on electric guitar.

“Hot Instrumentals, Cool Guest Vocals” - Stream “The Wobble” here:  http://joegoldmark.com/

Blue Steel showcases a number of original songs, plus a diverse mix of cover tunes ranging from Jimmy McCracklin, Graham Parker, B.B. King and Jeff Lynne, to Lefty Frizzell, Rufus Thomas and Dallas Frazier. Best known for his honky-tonk country and Americana sounds, Goldmark has combined an extra component this go-round with the addition of blues/roots songs like “All Night Worker,” “The Wobble” and “Beautician Blues,” that are destined for strong play on blues radio stations.

“My album cover is loosely based on an old Starday Records album by Arthur ‘Guitar Boogie’ Smith, called Blue Guitar,” Goldmark says. “The artwork is blue, but the title Blue Steel actually reflects the R&B feel of the music on the album. Although the pedal steel guitar is considered a ‘country’ instrument by many, I’ve always placed it in other musical genres with excellent results. Blue Steel is colored by a soulful approach to all the tunes, especially on the handful of blues numbers.”

Goldmark was very deliberate in both his choice of musicians and songs he picked to record on the new disc. “I was fortunate to convince local hero Glenn Walters, formerly of the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils, to sing some R&B tunes that I thought would work well with steel. I then recruited Dallis Craft to provide a female balance with her soulful singing. Finally, I mixed in some of my instrumentals, plus one that my good friend and former bandmate, guitarist Jim Campilongo, wrote for this album and played on in his own inimitable way.

“I’m very pleased with how ‘Howlin’ Wind’ turned out.  It was the title tune from Graham Parker’s debut album, and Dallis really nailed it. Her other tunes were originally performed by Roy Orbison, Lefty Frizzell and Percy Sledge, and she interprets them beautifully. 

“It was hard to figure out in which order to put Glenn’s songs, because they’re all so cool. I decided to start with ‘All Night Worker, written by Rufus Thomas, which I first heard in a Tex-Mex version by the Stardusters. His other two songs are by Jimmy McCracklin and B.B. King, so we are covering some classic R&B.”

Joe Goldmark has seven pedal steel guitar CDs under his belt, including the popular Seducing the 60s and critically-acclaimed Steelin’ the Beatles, which demonstrate his unique vision for the steel guitar. He’s recorded three seminal albums as a member of the storied “Jim Campilongo and the 10 Gallon Cats.” He toured and recorded with “The Twangbangers,” and all-star band that featured Redd Volkaert, Bill Kirchen and Dallas Wayne. He has also toured with Jim Lauderdale and Peter Rowan, and played in the legendary “Texas Chainsaw Band.”

Growing up in Tucson, Arizona, he played cello from the age of nine, but also took up guitar and played in garage bands. He moved to San Francisco in high school and started playing bass in soul bands during the late ‘60s. Joe became enamored with the San Francisco Sound and saw many of the greats, including Hendrix, Cream, Doors, Big Brother, etc. It was while watching Jerry Garcia play with the New Riders of the Purple Sage, who were opening for The Grateful Dead, that Joe got bitten by the pedal steel bug. He soon dropped out of college to play the steel guitar full time, which he pretty much did for the next fifteen years. After getting married and having a son in the mid-1980s, Joe was fortunate to get a day job, going into the pizza business. Ten years later, he came full circle by becoming a partner at Amoeba Music, and getting totally immersed in the music business; however, he never stopped performing on the pedal steel. 

Joe brings the pedal steel guitar into new musical territory playing high-energy reinterpretations of rock and soul music, as well as writing and performing his own instrumentals. He also has recorded with other artists, including the True Stories album with David Byrne, Restless Rambling Heart with Laurie Lewis, Amazing California Health & Happiness Road Show with the Mermen, and nine albums with “The Usual Suspects,” a project that included legends Mike Bloomfield, Taj Mahal, Peter Rowan, Norton Buffalo and Maria Muldaur.

Joe Goldmark also has an amazing vinyl website called VinylBeat.com which is literally “Record Collecting 101.”